Subjects of Natural History. THE ALĹIGATOR

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 3, Issue 75, 6 November 1851, Page 3

Subjects of Natural History. THE ALĹIGATOR

From Maunder's Treasury. This very formidable and feroaious reptile, is found in tropical climates, and agrees in every essential property with the Crocodile o>ce so terrible alum: ill"! banks of the Nile. There are apparently several species, t•leir general plan of structure being the. same as that of the lizirds. Tiiey have a long flit head, ilii-k neck and protec td by rcjulnr iranversc rows > I square bony p'atc*, raised in the centre of keel-shapi d ;idges. Tit-' moiilli is tX'rrinely huge., extending ron-idi rably behind the ey<s, and furnished in earh jaw with a single row of pointed teeth, nil of diffi-ient si'zjS, and st Hiding apart from one niiot/W. Tlie tongim is short and fleshr, mid firmly at'nched to tin.- under jiitv throughout, so as to be incapable til promt-ions ; the eyes an; 'placed in the uppjr pur; of llie skull, and provided eich wicii tine; distinct lids; and beneath the throat are two small gliiuls which coniaii a inuskey substance. They have on the fore-feet and four behind; but only the three inner toes on each font are provided with claws. Hut the must remarkable, and, at the same time, most important orj;an ihey posses*, is their lonjr t.ipcr t i', which is stiongly compres-sid on the si les, and surmouiiU'U with a double series of plates, which, converging towards the middle, there unite and form a single row to the extremity. Their feet ar-' webbed ; but il is to llie tail ihsy owe the most ol their progressive, power in the wntir; and a'thotiL'h it impedes their motions on dry land even there it often becomes r powerful weapon ol 'defence.. The ailiyator is prodigiously strong and its arms, both ntlenaiw and defensive, are irresistible. Its ordinary length is f:om fil'een to eighteen fret, though sometimes considerably more. The shortness of iti legs, vi-rlebr.il L'onlbrmn'ioii of the back-hone, llv; muscles of the legs, and, in short, i:s whole frame, are calculated for amazing force. I's teeth are sharp, numerous, and formidable', its claws long and tenacious; but its principal instrument of destruction it its tail, with a single blow of which it is capable of ovirturniug a cano2. Its proper element is llio water ; but

, t „...,.„,, „„m|iicis<:uuj or niili a view of depositing its egys, quits the water: it usually lays between fifty and sixty of these (which are about the same size as those of a goose, but oblong rather than oval,) in one place and eovers tli-m up with sand, leaving them to be hatched by the heat of the sun; it geneially happens, however, that half of them iircdevmii-i'd by vultures, or Pill a prey to various descriptions of ravenous fishes. Both the Alligator anil the Crocodile are supposed to be very long-lived, and Ibeir growth ii extremely slow. The must extraordinary accounts are related of the ferocity and strength of this terrible destroyer, ll usually floats along the surf.ice, and seizes fish, fowl, or whatever other prey may fall within its reach; but, this method failing, it is then compelled lo venture near the shore, where it conceals itself among the Hedges in expectation of some land animal toming to drink. As the devoted victim approaches, nothing of its insidious enemy is to be seen ; nor is the tetreat of the former meditated till it is too late. The voracious reptile instantly springs on its piey with mu«h more agility than might reasonably be expected from such an unwieldy creature; and, having secured it with its teeth and claw 3, instantly plunges into the water and dings it lo the btntom, when it is devouied at its leisure. In its depreilntions along the hanks however it sometimes happens that the Alligator seizes on an animal as formidable as itself, and meets with a desperate resistance' With the ti«er, in particular, which is in the habit of lurking in the vicinity of great livers, it has frequent contests ; and the instant this animal (inch itself assaulted he turns about with prodigious agility, and forces his claws into the eyis of the assailant, who immediately plunges with its fierce antagonist into the liver, where the struggle continues till the ti;cr submils to n watery death. The following anecdote from Watertons "Wanderings in South America" cleirly shows that man is not exempt from the attacks of this ferocious dcslrojor: " One Sunday evening, tome years ago, us I was walking with Don Felipe de Yiiciarlc, governor of Augustura, on the bank of ihe Oroonoque. Stop here a minute or two, Don Carlos' said he to me, while I recount a sad accident. One evening last year, as the people of Angusturo, were sauntering up and down here, in the Alameda, 1 was within twenty yards of this place, when I suv a large Cayman (or Alligator, the common species of Surinam and Guiana) rush out of the river, seize n man, and carry him down, before any bofiy had it in his power lo assist him. The srrea-ms of the poor fellow wen; terrible as the Caynitn «as ruuning cfl" with him. lie plunged into the river with his prey: «e i soon lest sight erf him, and never saw or heard of him mote." Alligators and Crocodiles are of the same genual character, the first being peculiar to the American Continent, th« latter being inhabitants of the Nile and other larjje rivers of Afn"i a. It may b» proper to add, that the Crocodile is supposed to be the Levinlhm of the Scriptures : lew persons, indeed, can have read the took of Job without beinjr struck with the magnificent and terrible description of the attributes of Leviathan to which iihme the characters of the Crocodile crrrespond.

A Cbccodile Stoiiy.— We bnd some talk ■the oilier day u-ith one of tlie very few survivor of the Egyptian expedition under Sir Ralph Abercromby who has lived to obtain the ligyptain medal, 50 years after it was earned. What a mockery to wait until there were not, perhaps 10 alive in the country and then award them medals! However, to our story. When the brigade under Sir David Baird was marchine up the eastern bank of the Nile, towards Cairo a number of stragglers fell behind, unable from fatigue to keep up with the mMu body. A rear e:uard was cooyeqiienlly detached to protect the straugU'rs rn<l kf-cp them together. One of them, a Highlander, however became so exhausted that his comrades were obliged to leave him to- his fate. He had not been long nlone when he saw a larpe crocodile undillingtowardshimwith a portentious aspect. Pi or Donald eyed the monster as it aoponehed him wi'h feelings of intense alarm ; and although almost unable to walk, he mustered up all his remaining strength and abided the onslaugnt of the ene»y. As the unwieldly brute was slewing himself round to siize him, Donald desirously got astride on its back and kept his scat. He at once drew his bayonet (for he had parted with his musket), and every time the animal turned round its head to hits him he pricked it severely behind its fore leg, or wherever he could make the steel penetrate. How lons the contest continued Donald could not well tell, hut he thought it an age. When the rearguard reached head-quar-tern, the General, on beina iuformed thai Donald had . beon left behind, immediately

--., >o urillg MM'lll. On coming up to Donald, there lie was still bsIrido of lu's tiiicephdus, which w.\s by this time nearly exhausted nidi the wounds inflicted l>y ihe bayonet. The musket soon accomplished what the bayonet had begin.nnd Domld was hr.mght into the camp little the worso for his extraordiiury onconntcr, and was ever niter known in the regiment as die Crocodile Dragoon.— North British Mail.