less than fifteen feet in length. One lay motionless, and thinking
it was another dead one, I was walking up to it, and had got within
three yards, when I saw the film over its eye moving; otherwise it
was quite still, and its teeth projecting beyond its lips added to
its intense ugliness and appearance of death. There was no doubt,
however, about the movement of the eye-covers, and I went back a
short distance to look for a stick to throw at it; but when I
turned again, the creature was just disappearing into the water. It
is their habit to lie quite still, and catch animals that come near
them. Whether or not it was waiting until I came within the swoop
of its mighty tail I know not, but I had the feeling that I had
escaped a great danger. It was curious that it should have been so
bold only a few days after Mr. Hollenbeck had been down shooting at
them. There were not less than twenty altogether, and they swam out
into the middle of the inlet and floated about, looking like logs
in the water, excepting that one stretched up its head and gave a
bellow like a bull. They sometimes kill calves and young horses,
and I was told of one that had seized a full-grown horse, but its
struggles being observed, some natives ran down and saved it from
being pulled into the water and drowned. I heard several stories of
people being killed by them, but only one was well authenticated.
This was told me by the head of the excellent Moravian Mission at
Blewfields, who was a witness of the occurrence. He said that one
Sunday, after service at their chapel at Blewfields, several of the
youths went to bathe in the river, which was rather muddy at the
time; the first to plunge in was a boy of twelve years of age, and
he was immediately seized by a large alligator, and carried along
under water. My informant and others followed in a canoe, and
ultimately recovered the body, but life was extinct. The alligator
cannot devour its prey beneath the water, but crawls on land with