One of my soldiers, while engaged
with many others in water, only hip deep, was seized by a crocodile. The
man, being held by the leg below the knee, made a good fight, and thrust
his fingers into the creature's eyes; his comrades at the same time
assisted and rescued him from absolute destruction; but the leg-bone was
so mashed and splintered in many places that he was obliged to submit to
amputation.
One of my sailors had a narrow escape. He and many others were engaged
in collecting the leaves of a species of water-convolvulus that make an
excellent spinach; this plant is rooted on the muddy bank, but it runs
upon the surface of the water, upon which its pink blossoms are very
ornamental.
The sailor was stooping from the bank to gather the floating leaves,
when he was suddenly seized by the arm at the elbow-joint; his friends
immediately caught him round the waist, and their united efforts
prevented him from being dragged into the water. The crocodile, having
tasted blood, would not quit its hold, but tugged and wrenched the arm
completely off at the elbow-joint, and went off with its prize. The
unfortunate man, in excruciating agony, was brought to the camp, where
it was necessary to amputate another piece slightly above the lacerated
joint.
I made a point of carrying a rifle at all times, simply to destroy these
terrible reptiles. There never was a better rifle than "the Dutchman,"
made by Holland, of Bond Street. This little weapon was a
double-barrelled breechloader, and carried the Boxer bullet of
government calibre, with a charge of three drachms of powder. The
accuracy of both barrels was extraordinary; it was only sighted up to
250 yards, but by taking the head very full, it carried with great
precision up to 300. I could generally make certain of crocodiles if
basking on a sandbank within a hundred yards, as I could put the bullet
exactly in the right place, either behind the eye, or right through the
centre of the shoulder. This handy rifle weighed 9-3/4 lbs., and
throughout the expedition it was almost as much one of my component
parts as a bone of my body. I had a large supply of ammunition; thus I
never lost an opportunity of shooting at a crocodile's head if I saw one
above the surface. On many occasions they never moved from the shot when
basking on sand-banks, but were simply extinguished.
One of our women went to the river to wash, but never returned. This was
close to our diahbeeah; and the water being shallow, there is no doubt
that she was seized by a crocodile.
I was one day returning from head-quarters to my station, a distance of
a mile and a half along the river's bank, when I noticed the large head
of a crocodile about thirty yards from the shore. I knew every inch of
the river, and I was satisfied that the water was shallow. A solitary
piece of waving rush that grew upon the bank, exactly opposite the
crocodile, would mark the position; thus, stooping down, I quietly
retreated inland from the bank, and then running forward, I crept gently
towards the rush. Stooping as low as possible, I advanced till very near
the bank (upon which grew tufts of grass), until, by slowly raising my
head, I could observe the head of the crocodile in the same position,
not more than twenty-six or twenty-eight yards from me. At that
distance, the Dutchman could hit a half-crown; I therefore made sure of
bagging. The bank was about four feet above the water; thus the angle
was favourable, and I aimed just behind the eye. Almost as I touched the
trigger, the crocodile gave a convulsive start, and turning slowly on
its back, it stretched its four legs above the surface, straining every
muscle; it then remained motionless in this position in water about two
feet deep.
My horse was always furnished with a long halter or tethering-rope:
thus I ordered the syce and another man to jump into the river and
secure the crocodile by a rope fastened round the body behind the
fore-legs. This was quickly accomplished, and the men remained knee-deep
hauling upon the rope to prevent the stream from carrying away the body.
In the mean time Monsoor had mounted my horse and galloped off for
assistance to the camp of the "Forty Thieves."
Crocodiles are very tenacious of life, and although they may be shot
through the brain and be actually dead for all practical purposes, they
will remain motionless at first, but they will begin instinctively to
move the limbs and tail a few minutes after receiving the shot. If lying
upon a sand-bank, or in deep water, they would generally disappear
unless secured by a rope, as the spasmodic movements of the limbs and
tail would set upon the water, and the body would be carried away.
The crocodile, that had appeared stone dead, now began to move its tail,
and my two men who were holding on to the rope cried out that it was
still alive. It was in vain that I assured the frightened fellows that
it was dead. I was on the bank, and they were in the water within a few
feet of the crocodile, which made some difference in our ideas of its
vivacity. Presently the creature really began to struggle, and the
united efforts of the men could hardly restrain it from getting into
deeper water. The monster now began to yawn, which so terrified the men
that they would have dropped the rope and fled had they not been afraid
of the consequences, as I was addressing them rather forcibly from the
bank.
