CLASS III—REPTILIA.
ORDER I.
The Tortoise and The Turtle. This order introduces us to creatures differing very widely, in form and character, from those which we have been considering. There are more than two hundred species of the tortoise, and these are grouped into four families. The Common European tortoise is found in the South of France and Italy, as well as in Sicily and Greece. It feeds on vegetables, and under favourable circumstances lives a great number of years. It is slow in its movements but it burrows rapidly and is soon out of sight in the sandy soil it affects. Tortoises are commonly kept in a state of domestication in England, one known to the writer showing a great preference for pansies, eating the flowers and leaving the other parts of the plant. Mr. Wood describes the efforts made by a tortoise in his possession to attain the summit of a footstool, which shows that the reptile has some measure of intelligence. "Unfit as the form of the creature may seem for such a purpose," says Mr. Wood, "it did contrive to scramble upon a footstool which was placed by the fender. Its method of attaining this elevation was as follows:—First it reared up against the footstool in the angle formed by it and the fender, and after several ineffectual attempts, succeeded in hitching the claws of one of its hind feet into the open work of the fender. On this it raised itself, and held on to the top of the stool by its fore feet, while it gained another step on the fender, and so managed to raise itself to such a height, that it only had to fall flat on the top of the footstool. When once there, it could hardly be induced to leave the elevation which it had gained with such difficulty."
The Elephant Tortoise. The gigantic tortoises of the Galapagos Islands came under the observation of Mr. Darwin, from whom we quote the following descriptive passages: "These animals are found, I believe, in all the Islands of the Galapagos Archipelago. They frequent in preference the high damp parts, but likewise inhabit the lower and arid districts. Some individuals grow to an immense size. Mr. Lawson told us that he had seen several so large that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground, and that some had afforded as much as two hundred pounds of meat. This tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quantities and wallowing in the mud. The larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always situated towards the central parts and at a considerable elevation. The tortoises, therefore, which frequent the lower districts, when thirsty have to travel from a long distance. Hence broad and well beaten paths radiate off in every direction from the wells, even down to the sea coasts, and the Spaniards by following them up first discovered the watering-places. Near the springs it was a curious spectacle to behold many of these great monsters; one set eagerly travelling onwards with outstretched necks, and another set returning, having drunk their fill. The tortoises when moving towards any definite point, travel by night and day, and arrive at their journey's end much sooner than would be expected. One large tortoise, which I watched, I found walked at the rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is three hundred and sixty in the hour, or four miles a day, allowing also a little time to eat on the road. During the breeding season, when the male and female are together, the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing, which, it is said, can be heard at a distance of more than a hundred yards. The female never uses her voice and the male only at such times. They were at this season (the month of October) laying their eggs. The female, where the soil is sandy, deposits them together and covers them up with sand; but where the ground is rocky she drops them indiscriminately in any hollow. Mr. Bynoe found seven placed in a line on a fissure. The egg is white and spherical; one which I measured was seven inches and three-eighths in circumference. The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them. I was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters as it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I paused, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss, fall to the ground with a heavy sound as if struck dead. I frequently got on their backs, and then, upon giving a few raps on the hinder parts of the shell, they would rise up and walk away, but I found it very difficult to keep my balance. The flesh of these animals is largely employed, both fresh and salted; and a beautiful clear oil is prepared from the fat. When a tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the skin, near its tail, so as to see inside its body whether the fat under the dorsal plate is thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated; and is said to recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure the tortoises it is not sufficient to turn them, like turtles, for they are often able to regain their upright position."
The Turtle. The Green Turtle is the turtle of the famous soup. It is a large animal, measuring five or six feet in length and weighing from five hundred to six hundred pounds; it feeds on sea-weeds and is found in large numbers in the seas of warm latitudes. The species from which we get the horny substance known as tortoiseshell (Chelonia Imbricata) is sometimes called the Hawk's-bill turtle. It is a smaller variety, measuring about three feet and belonging to tropical seas. The Leathery Turtle is said to reach eight feet in length and a weight of a thousand pounds. The Loggerhead Turtle is even larger than this, and sometimes weighs as much as fifteen hundred pounds.
Crocodile and Tiger Fight
ORDER II.
The Crocodile. The Crocodile and the Alligator belong respectively to the Eastern and the Western Worlds. The former infests the rivers of Africa and Asia, one species at least belonging to Australia. Some of the best known varieties are those of the river Nile, the Gavial of the Ganges being also among the more familiar species. These formidable and unwieldy monsters grow to an immense size, sometimes attaining to a length of twenty-five feet. Their enormous jaws and innumerable sharp teeth (they sometimes number a hundred) give them a terrible appearance, while their hard scaly coats are invulnerable against ordinary attack. Their point of weakness is their unwieldy character, taking advantage of which the natives will dive beneath them and stab them with knives in vulnerable parts. The huntsman aims at their eyes as being the nearest approach to their brains. Mungo Park relates that one of his guides across the river Gambia was suddenly seized by a Crocodile and pulled under the water; upon which the negro thrust his fingers into the animal's eyes with such violence that it quitted its hold, but seizing him again, he resorted to the same expedient and with more success, as it again released him, appeared stupified, and then swam down the river. This man reached the bank bleeding very much, with long and deep wounds in his thighs, which incapacitated him for travel for six days. The crocodile lays an enormous number of eggs on the banks of its native rivers, but most of these are prevented from maturing by the birds and animals which prey upon them. Mrs. Bowdich tells an amusing story of a merchant who packed some crocodiles' eggs in sand for shipment to England and placed the barrel containing them with other goods in his warehouse. Strange and unaccountable noises, attracted attention to the spot, when it was discovered that the eggs had become hatched and the young crocodiles were quite ready to assume the responsibilities of life. The natives fled in terror, and the merchant had to take speedy measures for destroying his unexpected brood. Some species of the crocodile have been tamed or partially so, the sacred crocodiles being among these. Accustomed to be fed regularly by the same hands they gradually become familiar with their priestly attendants, and to some extent obedient to their commands. Mungo Park says:—"The crocodiles of the Congo appear to be of a smaller species, and not so numerous as those at Old Calabar, where they continually float past the shipping like large grey pieces of timber, and are so bold that they frequently seize people in the small canoes. In Old Calabar river, I once observed a crocodile swimming with a large cat-fish in its mouth to the opposite shore. It held the fish by the head, whilst the body was thrown into a perpendicular position. I watched it with the spy-glass until it had dragged the fish upon the mud bank, and commenced its meal."
The Alligator. The Alligator of which there are some ten or twelve species known, is found exclusively in America. The Mississippi Alligator is one of the most familiar of these. The Alligator is smaller than the crocodile, which it much resembles in form and habit, though specimens have been met with which measure twenty-two feet in length. The Alligator is naturally most abundant in tropical regions. Captain Brown says: "In the height of the dry season in torrid regions all animated nature pants with consuming thirst. A party of wood cutters, English and Irish, went on one occasion to hunt in the neighbourhood of a lake called Pies Pond in Beef Island, one of the smaller islands of the Bay of Campeachy. To this pond the wild cattle repaired in herds to drink, and here the hunters lay in wait for them. The chase had been prosecuted with great success for a week, when an Irishman of the party going into the water during the day, stumbled upon an alligator, which seized him by the knee. His cries alarmed his companions, who fearing he had been seized by the Spaniards, to whom the island belonged, instead of affording assistance, fled from the huts which they had erected. The Irishman seeing no appearance of help, with happy presence of mind (a quality which the natives of that country possess in an eminent degree) quietly waited till the alligator loosened his teeth to take a new and surer hold; and when it did so, snatched away his knee, interposing the butt-end of his gun in its stead, which the animal seized so firmly that it was jerked out of the man's hand and carried off. He then crawled up a neighbouring tree, again shouting after his comrades, who now found courage to return." Mr. Waterton in his "Wanderings" says, "One Sunday evening, some years ago, as I was walking with Don Felipe de Ynciarte, governor of Augustura, on the bank of the Oroönque, 'Stop here a minute or two, Don Carlos,' said he to me, 'while I recount a sad accident. One fine evening last year, as the people of Augustura were sauntering up and down here, in the Alameda, I was within twenty yards of this place, when I saw a large Cayman rush out of the river, seize a man, and carry him down, before any one had power to assist him. The screams of the poor fellow were terrible as the Cayman was running off with him; he plunged in the river with his prey; we instantly lost sight of him, and never saw or heard him more.'"
A Tame Alligator. That the Alligator is amenable to kindness is shown by the following account of a tame specimen, which we quote from Mr. Jesse. He says, "The most singular instance of attachment between two animals, whose nature and habits were most opposite, was related to me by a person on whose veracity I can place the greatest reliance. Before he took up his abode at Hampden-court, he had resided for nine years in the American States, where he superintended the execution of some extensive works for the American government. One of these works consisted in the erection of a beacon in a swamp in one of the rivers, where he caught a young alligator. This animal he made so perfectly tame, that it followed him about the house like a dog, scrambling up the stairs after him, and showing much affection and docility. Its great favourite, however, was a cat, and the friendship was mutual. When the cat was reposing herself before the fire, (this was at New York) the alligator would lay himself down, place his head upon the cat, and in this attitude go to sleep. If the cat was absent, the alligator was restless; but he always appeared happy when the cat was near him. The only instance in which he showed any ferocity was in attacking a fox, which was tied up in the yard. Probably, however, the fox resented some playful advances, which the other had made, and thus called forth the anger of the alligator. In attacking the fox he did not make use of his mouth, but beat him with so much severity with his tail, that had not the chain which confined the fox, broken, he would probable have killed him. The alligator was fed on raw flesh, and sometimes with milk, for which he showed great fondness. In cold weather he was shut up in a box, with wool in it; but having been forgotten one frosty night, he was found dead in the morning."
ORDER III.
Hatteria Punctata. Order III consists of a large reptile belonging to New Zealand which for anatomical reasons cannot be classed either with the Crocodiles or the Lizards. It is rare if not almost extinct, but a specimen may be seen in the Natural History Museum.