The howartis, having studied the wind, ascended for about a
quarter of a mile, and then swam across the river, harpoon in
hand. The two men reached the opposite bank, beneath which they
alternately waded or swam down the stream towards the spot upon
which the crocodile was lying. Thus advancing under cover of the
steep bank, or floating with the stream in deep places, and
crawling like crocodiles across the shallows, the two hunters at
length arrived at the bank of rushes, on the other side of which
the monster was basking asleep upon the sand. They were now about
waist-deep, and they kept close to the rushes with their harpoons
raised, ready to cast the moment they should pass the rush bed
and come in view of the crocodile. Thus steadily advancing, they
had just arrived at the corner within about eight yards of the
crocodile, when the creature either saw them, or obtained their
wind; in an inatant it rushed to the water; at the same moment,
the two harpoons were launched with great rapidity by the
hunters. One glanced obliquely from the scales; the other stuck
fairly in the tough hide, and the iron, detached from the bamboo,
held fast, while the ambatch float, running on the surface of the
water, marked the course of the reptile beneath.
Pages:
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473