four short
legs, which serve it both to walk with upon the land and to swim with in
the waters. It has, besides, a long tail, or rather the body is
extremely long, and gradually grows thinner till it ends in a point. Its
shape is exactly like that of a lizard; or, if you have never seen a
lizard, did you never observe a small animal, of some inches long, which
lives at the bottom of ditches and ponds?" "Yes, sir, I have," answered
Tommy, "and I once caught one with my hand, taking it for a fish; but
when I had it near me, I saw it had four little legs, so I threw it into
the water again for fear the animal should be hurt." "This animal,"
answered Mr Barlow, "may give you an exact idea of a young crocodile;
but as it grows older it gradually becomes bigger, till at last, as I
have been informed, it reaches the length of twenty or thirty feet."
"That is very large," said Tommy; "and does it do any harm?" "Yes," said
Mr Barlow, "it is a very voracious animal, and devours everything it can
seize. It frequently comes out of the water and lives upon the shore,
where it resembles a large log of wood; and if any animal unguardedly
comes near, it snaps at it on a sudden, and if it can catch the poor
creature, devours it." _T._--And does it never devour men? _Mr
B._--Sometimes, if it surprises them; but those who are accustomed to
meet with them frequently easily escape. They run round in a circle, or
turn short on a sudden, by which means the animal is left far behind;
because, although he can run tolerably fast in a straight line, the
great length of his body prevents him from turning with ease. _T._--This
must be a dreadful animal to meet with; is it possible for a man to
defend himself against it? _Mr B._--Everything is possible to those that
have courage and coolness; therefore many of the inhabitants of those
countries carry long spears in their hands, in order to defend
themselves from those animals. The crocodile opens his wide voracious
jaws in order to devour the man; but the man takes this opportunity and
thrusts the point of his spear into the creature's mouth, by which means
he is generally killed upon the spot. Nay, I have even heard that some
will carry their hardiness so far as to go into the water in order to
fight the crocodile there. They take a large splinter of wood about a
foot in length, strong in the middle, and sharpened at both ends; to
this they tie a long and tough cord. The man who intends to fight the