Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1923-07-06
CROCODILE HUNT
THRILLING SPORT
Field Museum Collectors Find
Ample Excitement in the
SWampS of Honduras.

Chicage,-"Have you ever played
hide and seek with crocodile at
night?' asks Karl o. Schmidt, who,
with Leon l., Walters, just returned
to the Field museum after four
months In Honduras collecting reptiles.
"The game is exciting, especially If
played in swampy forest And If the
crocodile tags you you'll certainly
realize you're it! But in this case"
and he holds up the skin of vicious
iive-footer, 81 got him first.
This specimen | got in British Hon
duras. We had caught several smaller
ones but wanted big fellow. They
only grow to about five feet there
we later got some eleven-footers in the
republic Of Honduras. But on this
night Walters and I went out with the
customary headlights on our forehead,
all ready to kill. The headlight daz-
zles the eyes of the animal and gives
the hunter the advantage. Pretty soon
I saw this brawny chap slavvering
around in puddle about foot deep.
Blinded Creature Good Wrestler.
IL shot twice for his ear but missed.
The second bullet scraped his head and
about half-stunned him so that he be-
gan to navigate wildly In circles. I
thought I'd lose him then, but all at
once found him right near me. l
didn't take chance on shooting, but
Just poked my fingers into his eyes
and pulled him out like that. The eye
sockets are rather deep and give you
good hold on the chap. Well, then I
grabbed his mouth, but he kept squlrin-
Ing around in my hands so l could
herdly hold him. Walters came up
just in time to keep the beast from
getting away.
1--WE tied him, but even after that
his muscles were so strong that he
could roll himself around on the
ground like an animated cylinder He
could have got away into the swamp IN
no time II we hadn't tied him to tree.
Well, here he is, poor fellow. And
there is the plaster mold Walters made
of him. have sort of affection for
him now. He gave me good time Of
1t, all right. But I didn't try to get
any bigger ones by hand. No, not after
that"
The collection brought home by
Schmidt and Walters also includes
specimens Of tree-climbing salaman-
dor M, about fn,,r ipnhns law
that lives in the tubular leaves Of the
air plant These leaves always con-
tain water In their bottoms. II is here
that the salamander exists Among the
specimens of this kind taken by the ex-
plorers are several new species.
Heller En- Route With Specimens.
John T. thinner has returned from a
year Of explorations In Peru. He told
Of meeting Edmund Heller, another of
the Field museums collectors, In Peru
In April, 1922.
For more than a year Heller and
his wife have been securing South
American hills and forests In search
OF specimens Of mammals to stuff and
bring back to the Field museum. They
are also bringing few live rarities for
the Lincoln park zoo. The two are
now on their way here from New York.
Among the collection to be mounted
for the museum are the leaf-nosed bat:
the oil bird, or owl that Is not an owl.
a species Of which thousands Of speed
mems were found in Che Lechuza cave
and from whose fat young the natives
make fine salad oil; vampire ami
NAL Ike bear with tooth like the
blade Of knife, and others equally
odd