The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1904-10-20

4&AAAAcAA E4ALEEAAAAEAI al e%AG%@9 49,
coast of the peninsula. from kedah IN
the north to Johore and Singapore IN
the south.
Steaming to the southwark through
MaIacea straits in any small local craft
one hugs the. land sufficiently close to
discern the characteristics of the i'm
mediate shore. Mangrove swamps and
mud flats, sluggish rivers rolling their
yellow waters seward through many
ehannelled deltas, make crocodilian
paradise; and the long, scaly reptiles
have not failed to take advantage Of
1T. Seldom a week passes without
report coming to hand Of the dtsap-
pearance of some unfortunate or other,
who, padding his tiny dugout 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 underwater
larder, there to be kept till a conyen-
lent season; for the crocodile prefers
his food high, and, contrary to popu-
lar belief, rarely bolts a kill on the
spot. ......
Sometimes it happens that one or
more crOcodiles will take up their
quarters close to Malay kampong,
that is, village; and then it. behooves
all the mothers to keep a sarp eye on
their children, for the cunning beast
has been known to swim noiselessly 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 up
on the unsuspecting little ones from the
long grass behind, it seizes its victim
and plunges into the water ere the 9th
er children fully realize what has hap
Epened. .. ..- .....
Several ways of catching the brute
when he becomes more than usually
dangerous to life and limb are employ
led by the Malays; but, for reasons
which appear later, the destruction of
a crocodile is only decided upon when
iall attempts to drive him from the
Ineighborhood of the kampong have
failed. For simple ingenuity it would
| be hard to beat the plan usually per-
sued on the Kedahs river, which de-
pouches into the Malacca strait about
fifteen miles northeast of Pulo Pin
| ang. .....as.
The modus operandi is as follows: A
small bamboo raft some two feet square
| is constructed, and on it is erected a
l1agpost surrounded by a red flag,
while from the under side of the raft
| or float runs twenty or thirty yards Of
/ stout line, ending in few feet Of chain
To this chain the barbed hook of hard
brass metal is attached by three feet
| of UNFINISHED fibre in order that the fine
| ligaments may get between the croco-
ldile's teeth and thus prevent his snap
Iping off the bait. On the shank Of the
hook a live fowl Is made fast, together
with short length Of bamboo to give
lit Notation, and then raft, line and bait
lare dropped into the river. Loudly
fsquawks the unfortunate fowl for few
minutes, but its sorrows are short
lived. A splash, swirl, the bait has
disappeared, and the men return to
their homes. leaving a buoy to mark
the progress of the floating flag. Next
day or the day after half q dozen men
saddle down stream until they sight the
lraft Then, taking the line ashore, they
haul away, and as by this time the hook
It's firmly entangled in the crocodile's
intestines he shows but little fight and
is easily dispatched.
Both in Kedah and in Province
WELLESLEY it is possible to get a shot
from shore, and even in Penang har-
tbor an occasional crocodile has been
5fseen on the muddy beach in front OF
THE club. These stray specimens must
have crossed from the mainland at
least mile away, a fact finch conclu-
Esively disproves the theory regarding
1.-THE crocodile's helplessness in sea wa
tier. Moreover, there is one huge brute
(which has been several times, both
ashore and afioat, close to the fishing
Village at Tanjong Tokang, a small
tpromontory not three miles from PEN
4 THAT is, holy, or the abode of a spirit,
Iby the Malay and Chinese fishers there
Iabouts, who over that he has never yet
been known to touch q human being;
land they certainly testify to the reality
Eof their belief by boldly working their
tprawn nets on the muddy shadows a
hundred yards or more from shore. On
lone occasion was lucky enough to gel
la glimpse of him as he scuttled sea-
ward, and the brief scrutiny thus az.
forded did not evoke a desire for closer
acquaintance. His scares were Of q
fdull brown hue, differing entirely from
the usual color, which is a dark olive
lgreen; the body seemed unusually
broad and the tail stumpy and thick
Needless to say, there was no gun han.
itidy, or / wouldn't have had the luck Il
see him.
Crocodile shooting is usually pooh.
lpoohed on the grounds that it affords
but Indifferent sport, and to certain
extent this is true. But, nevertheless
lit has charm Of it's own, and If proper
care be exercised the sportsman viii
usually be able to get a fair chance fol
a shot during his days outing, but i
THE bullet does not strike home he ha,
1.-THE satisfaction of knowing that one o
ID the cruel brutes has gone to his accoun
land probably serves as a funeral feas
6 to his fellow reptiles at the same time
Though it is possible to get a shot from
shore, the best plan is to take a Canoe
or koleh, as the Malays term them, to-
lgether with a couple of men to paddle
AS to guns, of course, every man ha,
ihis choice, but it is difficult to beat {
I.44-calibre winchester for all-rount
work. Time your departure so as II
! arrive at the river mouth shortly befor,
dead low yUatnr and then &c. ,1ynI1 1,a,