I Have Frequently
Remarked That A Buffalo, Shot Within A Few Yards Of The Lake, Has
Invariably Disappeared During The Night, Leaving An Undoubted Track
Where He Has Been Dragged To The Water By The Crocodiles.
These brutes
frequently attack the natives when fishing or bathing, but I have never
heard of their pursuing any person upon dry land.
I remember an accident having occurred at Madampi, on the west coast of
Ceylon, about seven years ago, the day before I passed through the
village. A number of women were employed in cutting rushes for
mat-making, and were about mid-deep in the water. The horny tail of a
large crocodile was suddenly seen above the water among the group of
women, and in another instant one of them was seized by the thigh and
dragged towards the deeper part of the stream. In vain the terrified
creature shrieked for assistance; the horror-stricken group had rushed
to the shore, and a crowd of spectators on the bank offered no aid
beyond their cries. It was some distance before the water deepened, and
the unfortunate woman was dragged for many yards, sometimes beneath the
water, sometimes above the surface, rending the air with her screams,
until at length the deep water hid her from their view. She was never
again seen.
Some of these reptiles grow to a very large size, attaining the length
of twenty feet, and eight feet in girth, but the common size is fourteen
feet.
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