Story of the Bible Animals: A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New Testament in which Reference is made to themWood, J. G. (John George)
Religion
Story of the Bible Animals: A Description of the Habits and Uses of every living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, with Explanation of Passages in the Old and New Testament in which Reference is made to them
Wood, J. G. (John George)
Animals in the Bible; Nature in the Bible
A short time previously a Crocodile, thought by the natives to be
the same individual, had seized a woman and carried her off; and
another had made an attack on a man in a very curious manner. A
number of men were swimming across the river, supported, after
their custom, on gerbas inflated with air, when one of them felt
himself seized by the leg by a Crocodile, which tried to drag him
under water. He, however, retained his hold on the skin, and his
companions also grasped his arms and hair with one hand, while
with the other they struck with their spears at the Crocodile. At
last they succeeded in driving the reptile away, and got their
unfortunate companion to land, where they found that the whole of
the flesh was stripped from the leg from the knee downwards. The
poor man died shortly afterwards.
Another traveller relates that three young men who were obliged to
cross a branch of a river in their route, being unable to procure
a boat, endeavoured to swim their horses to the opposite shore.
Two of them had reached the bank in safety, but the third loitered
so long on the brink as only to have just entered the water at the
moment his comrades had reached the opposite side. When he was
nearly half-way across, they saw a large Crocodile, which was known
to infest this pass, issuing from under the reeds. They instantly
warned their companion of his danger; but it was too late for him
to turn back. When the Crocodile was so close as to be on the point
of seizing him, he threw his saddle-bag to it. The ravenous animal
immediately caught the whole bundle in its jaws, and disappeared for
a few moments, but soon discovered its mistake, and rose in front
of the horse, which, then seeing it for the first time, reared and
threw its rider. He was an excellent swimmer, and had nearly escaped
by diving towards the bank; but, on rising for breath, his pursuer
also rose, and seized him by the middle. This dreadful scene,
which passed before the eyes of his companions, without the least
possibility of their rendering any assistance, was terminated by the
Crocodile, having previously drowned the unfortunate man, appearing
on an opposite sand-bank with the body, and there devouring it.
The crafty Crocodile tries to catch the baboons by lying in wait for
them at their drinking places; but the baboons are generally more
than a match for the Crocodile in point of cunning and quickness of
sight. Sir S. Baker witnessed an amusing example of such an attempt
and its failure.
"The large tamarind-trees on the opposite bank are generally full
of the dog-faced baboons (_Cynocephalus_) at their drinking hour.
I watched a large Crocodile creep slily out of the water and lie
in waiting among the rocks at the usual drinking place before they
arrived, but the baboons were too wide awake to be taken in so
easily.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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