The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1904-06-30
HUNTING CROCODILES.
an EXCITING SPORT OF TIL,
STRAITS COUNTRIES.

Many BOatmen and Children-TraT
That is Used With Good Results.
Ajer buaia berirang deach croco-
die to swirn) is a favorite Malay re-
tort; but only those who have seen tbs
willy saurian whirl off a mud bank into
deep water. splashing his tail and leav-
ing wake like twenty-knot steamer.
can appreciate the sarcasm to its full
extent. Yet, strangely enough, very
few men will go out of their way to
shoot a crocodile, and as the Malays
themselves seldom trouble to get rid OF
the brutes, they flourish exceedingly all
along the west coast of the peninsula.
| from Kedah in the north to Johore and
Singapore in the south.
| Steaming to the southwark through
Malaeca Straits in any small local craft
one hugs the land sufficiently close to
discern the characteristics of the inn
mediate shore. Mangrove swamps and
mud flats, sluggish rivers rolling their
yellow waters seward through many
channelled deltas, make a crocodilian
paradise; and the long, scaly reptiles
have not failed to take advantage of it.
Seldom week passes without a report
coming to hand of the disappearance of
some unfortunate or other, who, pad
ding his tiny dug-out up stream, has
been knocked from his perch in the
stern by stroke of the reptiles tail,
and then has been carried resistlessly
away to some under water larder, there
to be kept till convenient season; for
the crocodile prefers his food high, and.
contrary to popular belief, rarely bolts
a kill on the spot.
| Sometimes 1t happens that one or
more crocodiles will take up their quar-
ters close to Malay kampong, /. e., viii
lage; and then it behooves all the
| mothers to keep a sharp eye on their
children. for the cunning beast has
| been known to swim noiseIessly for
some distance past the spot where the
children are playing by the waters
edge, then, going ashore, it executes a
| flank movement, and coming down
upon the unsuspecting little ones from
the long grass behind it SEXES its vic
tim and plunges into the water ere the
other children fully realize what has
happened.
Several ways Of catching the brute
when he becomes more than usually
| dangerous to life and limb are en-
ployed by the Malays; but for reasons
which will appear later, the destruction
of crocodile is only decided upon
when all attempts to drive him from
the neighborhood Of the Kampong have
failed. For simple ingenuity it would
be hard to beat the plan usually pur-
sized on theN Kadah river, which de-
bouches into the Malacca Strait about
| fifteen miles northeast of Pulo Pinang.
The modus operandi is as follows: A
small bamboo raft some two feet square
| is constructed, and on it Is erected a
| f1agpost surmounted by a red flag,
while from the under side Of the raft
or float runs twenty or thirty yards Of
stout line, ending in a few feet of chain
To this chain the barbed hook of hard
brass metal is attached by three feet
of UNFINISHED flbe, in order that the fine
| ligaments may get between the croco-
dies teeth and thus prevent his snap
ping off the bait On the shank Of the
hook a live fowl Is made fast, together
with short length of bamboo to give
| 1t flotation, and then raft, line and bait
are dropped into the river. Loudly
squawks the unfortunate fowl for a
few minutes, but its sorrows are short
lived. A splash, swirl, the ball has
disappeared, and the men return to
their homes, leaving a boy to mark the
progress of the floating flag. Next day
or the day after half dozen men
paddle down stream until they sight
the raft. Then, taking the line ashore,
they haul away, and as by this time
the hook is firmly entangled in the
crocodile's intestines, he shows but lit
tie fight, and is easily dispatched.
Both in Kedah and in Province Wei
lesly 1t is possible to get a shot from
short, and even in Penang Harbor an
occasional crocodile has been seen on
the muddy beach in front Of the club.
These stray specimens must have
crossed from the mainland at least a
mile away, a fact which conclusively
ldisproves the theory regarding the
crocodile's helplessness in sea water.
Moreover, there is noe huge brute which
has been seen several times, both ashore
land afioat, close to the fishing village
| at Tanjong Tokang, a small promonto-
lry not three miles from Penang town.
He is regarded as kramat l. e., holy, or
the abode of spirit, by the Malay and
Chinese fishers thereabouts, who aver
that he has never yet been known to
touch human being, and they certain
ly testify to the reality of their belief
by boldly working their prawn nets on
the muddy shadows one hundred yards
or more from shore.
On one occasion / was lucky enough
to get a glimpse Of him as he scuttled
seward, and the brief scrutiny thus af-
forded did not evoke a desire for closer
acquaintance. His scales were Of
|dun brown hue, differing entirely from
the usual color which is dark olive
green; the body seemed unusually
broad, and the tail stumpy and thick.
Needless to say, there was no gun
handy. or 1 wouldn't have had the luck
to see him.
Crocodile shooting is usually pooh
pooled on the grounds that it affords
but Indifferent sport, and to a certain
extent this is true. But nevertheless it
has a charm of its own, and if proper
care be exercised the sportsman will
usually be able to get fair chance for
La shot during his days outing, and if
the bullet does strike home he has the
satisfaction of knowing that one of the