Signification of the word Leviathan—Description in the Book of Job—Structure and general habits of the Crocodile—The throat-valve and its use—Position of the nostrils—Worship of the Crocodile—The reptile known in the Holy Land—Two legends respecting its presence there—Mode of taking prey—Cunning of the Crocodile—The baboons and the Crocodile—Speed of the reptile—Eggs and young of the Crocodile, and their enemies—Curious story of the ichneumon and ibis—Modes of capturing the Crocodile—Analysis of Job's description—The Crocodile also signified by the word Tannin. Aaron's rod changed into a Tannin—Various passages in which the word occurs—Use of the word by the prophet Jeremiah.

The word Leviathan is used in a rather loose manner in the Old Testament, in some places representing a mammalian of the sea, and in others signifying a reptile inhabiting the rivers. As in the most important of these passages the Crocodile is evidently signified, we will accept that rendering, and consider the Crocodile as being the Leviathan of Scripture. The Jewish Bible accepts the word Crocodile, and does not add the mark of doubt.

The fullest account of the Leviathan occurs in Job xli., the whole of which chapter is given to the description of the terrible reptile. As the translation of the Jewish Bible differs in some points from that of the Authorized Version, I shall here give the former, so that the reader may be able to compare them with each other.

"Canst thou draw out a crocodile with a hook, or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
"Canst thou put a reed into his nose, or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
"Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
"Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him as a servant for ever?
"Wilt thou play with him as with a bird, or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
"Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
"Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons, or his head with fish-spears?
"Lay thine hand upon him, thou wilt no more remember the battle.
"Behold, the hope of him is in vain; shall not one be cast down at the sight of him?
"None is so fierce that dare stir him up; who then is able to stand before Me?
"Who hath forestalled Me that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
"I will not be silent of his parts, nor of the matter of his power, nor of his comely proportion.
"Who can uncover the face of his garment? who would enter the double row in his jaw?
"Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
"The strength of his shields are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
"One is so near to another that no air can come between them.
"They are joined one to another, they stick together that they cannot be sundered.
"His snortings make light to shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning dawn.
"Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
"His breath kindleth live coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
"In his neck abideth strength, and before him danceth terror.
"The flakes of his flesh are joined together, they are firm in themselves; yea, as hard as nether millstone.
"When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid; by reason of breakings they lose themselves.
"The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
"He esteemeth iron as straw, and copper as rotten wood.
"The arrow cannot make him flee: sling-stones are turned with him into stubble.
"Clubs are counted as stubble; he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.

"His under parts are like sharp points of potsherd; he speaketh sharp points upon the mire.
"He maketh the deep to boil like a pot; he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
"He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
"Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
"He beholdeth all high things; he is a king over all the children of pride."

This splendid description points as clearly to the Crocodile as the description of the Behemoth which immediately precedes it does to the hippopotamus, and it is tolerably evident that the sacred poet who wrote these passages must have been personally acquainted with both the Crocodile and the hippopotamus. In both descriptions there are a few exaggerations, or rather, poetical licences. For example, the bones of the hippopotamus are said to be iron and copper, and the Crocodile is said to kindle live coals with his breath. These, however, are but the natural imagery of an Oriental poet, and, considering the subject, we may rather wonder that the writer has not introduced even more fanciful metaphors.

Description of the Crocodile.

There are several species of Crocodile in different parts of the world, ten species at least being known to science.

Some inhabit India, some tropical America, some Asia, and some Africa, so that the genus is represented in nearly all the warmer parts of the world.

They are all known by the formation of the teeth, the lower canines fitting each into a notch on the side of the upper jaw. The feet are webbed to the tips, and though the reptile mostly propels itself through the water by means of its tail, it can also paddle itself gently along by means of its feet.

The teeth are all made for snatching and tearing, but not for masticating, the Crocodile swallowing its prey entire when possible; and when the animal is too large to be eaten entire, the reptile tears it to pieces, and swallows the fragments without attempting to masticate them.

In order to enable it to open its mouth under water, the back of its throat is furnished with a very simple but beautiful contrivance, whereby the water is received on a membranous valve and, in proportion to its pressure, closes the orifice of the throat. As the Crocodiles mostly seize their prey in their open jaws and hold it under water until drowned, it is evident that without such a structure as has been described the Crocodile would be as likely to drown itself as its prey. But the throat-valve enables it to keep its mouth open while the water is effectually prevented from running down its throat, and the nostrils, placed at the end of the snout, enable it to breathe at its ease, while the unfortunate animal which it has captured is being drowned beneath the surface of the water.

This position of the nostrils serves another purpose, and enables the Crocodile to breathe while the whole of its body is under the water, and only an inch or two of the very end of the snout is above the surface. As, moreover, the Crocodile, as is the case with most reptiles, is able to exist for a considerable time without breathing, it only needs to protrude its nostrils for a few moments, and can then sink entirely beneath the water. In this way the reptile is able to conceal itself in case it should suspect danger; and as, in such instances, it dives under the herbage of the river, and merely thrusts its nose into the air among the reeds and rushes, it is evident that, in spite of its enormous size, it baffles the observation of almost every foe.

Among reptiles, the mailed Crocodiles may be mentioned as most formidable foes to man. Vast in bulk, yet grovelling with the belly on the earth; clad in bony plates with sharp ridges; green eyes with a peculiar fiery stare, gleaming out from below projecting orbits; lips altogether wanting, displaying the long rows of interlocking teeth even when the mouth is closed, so that, even when quiet, the monster seems to be grinning with rage,—it is no wonder that the Crocodile should be, in all the countries which it inhabits, viewed with dread.

Nor is this terror groundless. The Crocodiles, both of the Nile and of the Indian rivers, are well known to make man their victim, and scarcely can a more terrible fate be imagined than that of falling into the jaws of this gigantic reptile. Strange as it may appear, the Crocodile is one of the many animals to which divine honours were paid by the ancient Egyptians. This we learn from several sources. Herodotus, for example, in "Euterpe," chapter 69, writes as follows: "Those who dwell about Thebes and Lake Moeris, consider them to be very sacred; and they each of them train up a Crocodile, which is taught to be quite tame; and they put crystal and gold ear-rings into their ears, and bracelets on their fore-paws; and they give them appointed and sacred food, and treat them as well as possible while alive and when dead, they embalm them, and bury them in sacred vaults."

The reasons for this worship are several. At the root of them all lies the tendency of man to respect that which he fears rather than that which he loves; and the nearer the man approaches the savage state, the more is this feeling developed. By this tendency his worship is regulated, and it will be found that when man is sufficiently advanced to be capable of worship at all, his reverence is invariably paid to the object which has the greatest terrors for him. The Crocodile, therefore, being the animal that was most dreaded by the ancient Egyptians, was accepted as the natural type of divinity.

Owing to the accuracy of the description in the Book of Job, which is evidently written by one who was personally acquainted with the Crocodile, it is thought by many commentators that the writer must have been acquainted with the Nile, in which river both the Crocodile and hippopotamus are found at the present day.

It is possible, however, that the hippopotamus and the Crocodile have had at one time a much wider range than they at present enjoy. Even within the memory of man the hippopotamus has been driven further and further up the Nile by the encroachments of man. It has long been said that even at the present day the Crocodile exists in Palestine in the river which is called "Nhar Zurka," which flows from Samaria through the plains of Sharon. Several of the older writers have mentioned its existence in this river, and, since this work was commenced, the long-vexed question has been set at rest; a Crocodile, eight feet in length, having been captured in the Nhar Zurka.

No description of the Crocodile would be complete without allusion to the mode in which it seizes its prey. It does not attack it openly, neither, as some have said, does it go on shore for that purpose. It watches to see whether any animal comes to drink, and then, sinking beneath the surface of the water, dives rapidly, rises unexpectedly beneath the unsuspecting victim, seizes it with a sudden snap of its huge jaws, and drags it beneath the water. Should the intended prey be too far from the water to be reached by the mouth, or so large that it may offer a successful resistance, the Crocodile strikes it a tremendous blow with its tail, and knocks it into the water. The dwellers on the Nile bank say that a large Crocodile will with a single blow of its tail break all the four legs of an ox or a horse.

These cunning reptiles even contrive to catch birds as they come for water. On the banks of the Nile the smaller birds drink in a very peculiar manner. They settle in numbers on the flexible branches that overhang the stream, and when, by their weight, the branch bends downwards, they dip their beaks in the water. The Crocodile sees afar off a branch thus loaded, swims as near as possible, and then dives until it can see the birds immediately above it, when it rises suddenly, and with a snap of its jaws secures a whole mouthful of the unsuspecting birds.

Sir S. Baker, in his travels on the Nile, gave much attention to the Crocodile, and has collected a great amount of interesting information about the reptile, much of which is peculiarly valuable, inasmuch as it illustrates the Scriptural notices of the creature. He states that it is a very crafty animal, and that its usual mode of attack is by first showing itself, then swimming slowly away to a considerable distance, so as to make its intended victim think that danger is over, and then returning under water. It is by means of this manoeuvre that it captures the little birds. It first makes a dash at them, open-mouthed, causing them to take to flight in terror. It then sails slowly away as if it were so baffled that it did not intend to renew the attack. When it is at a considerable distance, the birds think that their enemy has departed, and return to the branch, which they crowd more than ever, and in a minute or two several dozen of them are engulfed in the mouth of the Crocodile, which has swiftly dived under them.

On one occasion, Sir S. Baker was walking near the edge of the river, when he heard a great shrieking of women on the opposite bank. It turned out that a number of women had been filling their "gerbas" (water-skins), when one of them was suddenly attacked by a large Crocodile. She sprang back, and the reptile, mistaking the filled gerba for a woman, seized it, and gave the owner time to escape. It then dashed at the rest of the women, but only succeeded in seizing another gerba.

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.

"A young fellow was the first to discover the enemy. He had accompanied several wise and experienced old hands to the extremity of a bough that at a considerable height overhung the river; from this post they had a bird's eye view, and reconnoitred before one of the numerous party descended to drink. The sharp eyes of the young one at once detected the Crocodile, who matched in colour so well with the rocks that most probably a man would not have noticed it until too late.

"At once the young one commenced shaking the bough and screaming with all his might, to attract the attention of the Crocodile and to induce it to move. In this he was immediately joined by the whole party, who yelled in chorus, while the large old males bellowed defiance, and descended to the lowest branches within eight or ten feet of the Crocodile. It was of no use—the pretender never stirred, and I watched it until dark. It remained still in the same place, waiting for some unfortunate baboon whose thirst might provoke his fate, but not one was sufficiently foolish, although the perpendicular bank prevented them from drinking except at that particular spot."

It may be imagined that if the Crocodile were to depend entirely for its food upon the animals that it catches on the bank or in the river, it would run a risk of starving. The fact is, that its principal food consists of fish, which it can chase in the water. The great speed at which the Crocodile darts through the water is not owing to its webbed feet, but to its powerful tail, which is swept from side to side, and thus propels the reptile after the manner of a man "sculling" a boat with a single oar in the stern. The whales and the fishes have a similar mode of propulsion.

On land, the tail is the Crocodile's most formidable weapon. It is one mass of muscle and sinew, and the force of its lateral stroke is terrible, sweeping away every living thing that it may meet. Fortunately for its antagonists, the Crocodile can turn but very slowly, so that, although it can scramble along at a much faster pace than its appearance indicates, there is no great difficulty in escaping, provided that the sweep of its tail be avoided. As the Crocodile of the Nile attains when adult a length of thirty feet, one moiety of which is taken up by the tail, it may easily be imagined that the power of this weapon can scarcely be exaggerated.

As if to add to the terrors of the animal, its head, back, and tail are shielded by a series of horny scales, which are set so closely together that the sharpest spear can seldom find its way through them, and even the rifle ball glances off, if it strikes them obliquely. Like many other reptiles, the Crocodile is hatched from eggs which are laid on shore and vivified by the warmth of the sun.

These eggs are exceedingly small when compared with the gigantic lizard which deposited them, scarcely equalling in dimensions those of the goose. There is now before me an egg of the cayman of South America, a fresh-water lizard but little smaller than the Crocodile of the Nile, and this is barely equal in size to an ordinary hen's egg. It is longer in proportion to its width, but the contents of the two eggs would be as nearly as possible of the same bulk. On the exterior it is very rough, having a granulated appearance, not unlike that of dried sharkskin, and the shell is exceedingly thin and brittle. The lining membrane, however, is singularly thick and tough, so that the egg is tolerably well defended against fracture.

When first hatched, the young Crocodile is scarcely larger than a common newt, but it attains most formidable dimensions in a very short time. Twenty or thirty eggs are laid in one spot, and, were they not destroyed by sundry enemies, the Crocodiles would destroy every living creature in the rivers. Fortunately, the eggs and young have many enemies, chiefly among which is the well-known ichneumon, which discovers the place where the eggs are laid and destroys them, and eats any young Crocodiles that it can catch before they succeed in making their way to the water.

The old writers were aware of the services rendered by the ichneumon, but, after their wont, exaggerated them by additions of their own, saying that the ichneumon enters into the mouth of the Crocodile as it lies asleep, and eats its way through the body, "putting the Crocodile to exquisite and intolerable torment, while the Crocodile tumbleth to and fro, sighing and weeping, now in the depth of water, now on the land, never resting till strength of nature faileth. For the incessant gnawing of the ichneumon so provoketh her to seek her rest in the unrest of every part, herb, element, throws, throbs, rollings, but all in vain, for the enemy within her breatheth through her breath, and sporteth herself in the consumption of those vital parts which waste and wear away by yielding to unpacificable teeth, one after another, till she that crept in by stealth at the mouth, like a puny thief, comes out at the belly like a conqueror, through a passage opened by her own labour and industry."

The author has in the long passage, a part of which is here quoted, mentioned that the ichneumon takes its opportunity of entering the jaws of the Crocodile as it lies with its mouth open against the beams of the sun. It is very true that the Crocodile does sleep with its mouth open; and, in all probability, the older observers, knowing that the ichneumon did really destroy the eggs and young of the Crocodile, only added a little amplification, and made up their minds that it also destroyed the parents. The same writer who has lately been quoted ranks the ibis among the enemies of the Crocodile, and says that the bird affects the reptile with such terror that, if but an ibis's feather be laid on its back, the Crocodile becomes rigid and unable to[597]
[598] move. The Arabs of the present time say that the water-tortoises are enemies to the eggs, scratching them out of the sand and eating them.

As this reptile is so dangerous a neighbour to the inhabitants of the river-banks, many means have been adopted for its destruction.

One such method, where a kind of harpoon is employed, is described by a traveller in the East as follows:—

"The most favourable season for thus hunting the Crocodile is either the winter, when the animal usually sleeps on sand-banks, luxuriating in the rays of the sun, or the spring, after the pairing time, when the female regularly watches the sand islands where she has buried her eggs.

"The native hunter finds out the place and conceals himself by digging a hole in the sand near the spot where the animal usually lies. On its arrival at the accustomed spot the hunter darts his harpoon or spear with all his force, for, in order that its stroke may be successful, the iron should penetrate to a depth of at least four inches, in order that the barb may be fixed firmly in the flesh.

"The Crocodile, on being wounded, rushes into the water, and the huntsman retreats into a canoe, with which a companion has hastened to his assistance.

"A piece of wood attached to the harpoon by a long cord swims on the water and shows the direction in which the Crocodile is moving. The hunters pull on this rope and drag the beast to the surface of the water, where it is again pierced by a second harpoon.

"When the animal is struck it by no means remains inactive; on the contrary, it lashes instantly with its tail, and endeavours to bite the rope asunder. To prevent this, the rope is made of about thirty separate slender lines, not twisted together, but merely placed in juxtaposition, and bound around at intervals of every two feet. The thin strands get between the Crocodile's teeth, and it is unable to sever them.

"In spite of the great strength of the reptile, two men can drag a tolerably large one out of the water, tie up his mouth, twist his legs over his back, and kill him by driving a sharp steel spike into the spinal cord just at the back of the skull.

"There are many other modes of capturing the Crocodile, one of which is the snare portrayed in the illustration.

"Two elastic saplings are bent down and kept in position by stout cords, one of which, bears a baited hook, while the other is fashioned into a noose. These cords are so arranged as to release the bent saplings as soon as the Crocodile pulls upon the baited hook. If all works properly, the animal suddenly finds himself suspended in the air, where he remains helpless and at the mercy of the hunter, who soon arrives and despatches him.

"The extreme tenacity of life possessed by the Crocodile is well exemplified by an incident which occurred in Ceylon. A fine specimen had been caught, and to all appearance killed, its interior parts removed, and the aperture kept open by a stick placed across it. A few hours afterwards the captors returned to their victim with the intention of cutting off the head, but were surprised to find the spot vacant. On examining the locality it was evident that the creature had retained sufficient life to crawl back into the water. From this it may be imagined that it is no easy matter to drive the breath out of a Crocodile. Its life seems to take a separate hold of every fibre in the creature's body, and though pierced through and through with bullets, crushed by heavy blows, and its body converted into a very pincushion for spears, it writhes and twists and struggles with wondrous strength, snapping savagely with its huge jaws, and lashing its muscular tail from side to side with such vigour that it requires a bold man to venture within range of that terrible weapon."

Sometimes combats occur between this creature and the tiger, one of the fiercest and most terrible of all quadrupeds. Tigers frequently go down to the rivers to drink, and, upon these occasions, the Crocodile, if near, may attempt to seize them. The ferocious beast, however, seldom falls unrevenged; for the instant he finds himself seized, he turns with great agility and fierceness on his enemy, and endeavours to strike his claws into the Crocodile's eyes, while the latter drags him into the water, where they continue to struggle until the tiger be drowned, and his triumphant antagonist feasts upon his carcass. Such a combat is depicted in the illustration which appears on an accompanying page.