The San Francisco call., 1904-07-03
Shooting CrocodIes.

Ajer buaia bernang (teach a crocodile
10 swim) is a favorite Malay retort;
. but only those who have seen the willy
saurian whirl off a mud bank into deep
water, splashing his tail and leaving a
wake like a tWenty-knot steamer, can
appreciate the sarcasm to its full ex-
tent Yet, strangely enough, very few
men viii go out Of their way TO shoot
a crocodile, says H. H. Hipwell in the
London Field and as the Malays them
selves 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
Malacca Straits IN any small local
craft, one hugs the land sufficiently
close TO discern the characteristics of
the immediate shore. Mangrove
swamps and mud flats sluggish rivers
rolling their yellow waters seaward
through many channeled deltas, make
a crocodilian paradise; and the long,
scaly reptiles have not failed to take
advantage of ii. Seldom week passes
without q report coming to hand of the
disappearance of some unfortunate or
other, who, padding his tiny dugout up
stream, has been knocked from his
perch in the stern by a stroke Of the
reptiles tail, and then has been car
Eied resistlessly away to some under
water larder. there TO be kept till a
convenient season; for the crocodile
prefers his food high, ana, contrary to
popular belief, rarely bolts a kill on
the spot.
Sometimes it happens that one or
more crocodiles viii take up their quar-
tiers close to a Malay kampongli, e.,
village; and then 1t behooves all the
mothers TO keep a sharp 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, 1t executes
q flank movement, and coming down
upon the unsuspecting little ones from
the long grass behind it seizes it's 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 MaIays, but, for reasons
which Will appear later, the destruction
OF a 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-
sued on the Kedah River. which de-
bouchcs 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 II is erected
q flagpCst surmounted by a red fac.
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 nv
three feet Of untwisted fiber, in order
that the fine ligaments may get be-
tween the crocodile's teeth and thus
prevent his swapping off the bait. ON
the shank Of the hook a live fowl is
made fast. together with short length
of bamboo TO give it fotation, and then
raft, line and bait are dropped into the
river. Loudly squawks the unfortun-
ate fowl for a few minutes, but its
sorrows are short-lived. A splash. a
swirl, the bait has disappeared. and the
men return to their homes, leaving a
boy TO mark the progress Of the float