ABSTRACT
Since I have spoken of these two animals, I want to satisfy any who are curious about them by giving brief and authentic particulars. The crocodile is an ugly animal, disproportionately wide for its length, with short, thick front and back feet, its tail similarly short and thick, dark brown in colour, its body armed all over with scales, an extremely ugly head because of the scales it has on it, making it look like a rough rock; large, fiery, frightful eyes, an enormous mouth and teeth in two rows like sharp, cutting saws. With the hardness of the scales it has as armour all over its body it can resist any musket ball. The ease with which they cut with their teeth is remarkable, for they either carry off their prey whole or instantly take in their mouths the part they have seized, be it a foot, arm o~ leg; in which latter case, a person is relatively fortunate if, in his misfortune, he feels himself missing that part which the crocodile has seized. Its vision is so acute that it sees from a great distance anything entering the water and moves up to it with remarkable swiftness, and a man's or animal's hand or foot, if incautiously put in the water to be cooled or to get water to drink, does not escape them, for they swim extremely vigilantly in search of prey, especially in a place where people cross. As for the commonly alleged artful practice of simulating the weeping of a child so that they may, by this deception, make a better and surer catch among those who, moved by natural compassion and curiosity, wish to investigate, to their detriment, and come to the aid of the weeping person, I say that, although I saw some and was in a place where there were many, both in and out of the water, I never heard such weeping nor do the inhabitants of that land have any report of this. 1
its colour dark brown, almost without any hair, a very small tail with few bristles on it, an enormous mouth, teeth more than a span in size with sockets for them inside the lips. Two tusks protrude from its mouth, curved like those of the wild boar but larger and as thick as a man's arm; its feet are short and almost round with four toes with hoofs. From this description of its composition, one can see how dissimilar it is to the horse and how inappropriately the name and shape of the horse is attributed to it, except for its ears because they are pricked up and small and much like those of a horse, and also in its way of neighing, not as free and continuous as that of the horse; also, like the horse, it expels air forcefully from time to time, especially when it becomes furious or it comes out of the water, clearing its head of water. It finds its food on land where it ordinarily lives, and it cannot stay under water for a long time. Its hide is so thick and hard that in many parts it is impervious to a one-ounce musket ball. It runs little and in a straight line without turning to one side or the other no matter how much people pursue it. It is very true that it tears to pieces any people it may meet in its path, so that when one seeks safety, no matter how fierce it may appear, to avoid danger it is enough to move, even slightly, to either side of its path. I had occasion to experience this when I met two of them in a certain place where many people were coming to kill them. No matter how many musket shots were fired at them, they made only a slight scratch in the hide. One musket ball did pierce and kill only one of them, which was hit in a vulnerable place. The other, which was seeking safety in the water, happened to come where I was. I followed it at the same speed with which it was moving and at a distance of three or four paces from it. A young man was going along on its other side striking it with his spear with all his strength with me urging him on to greater efforts. None of his spear thrusts could penetrate the animal's hide, the spear being bent and twisted as if it were made of wax, and although we kept so close to it, pursuing it closely with shouts and wounds, and by turning it could have quickly seized either one of us, it neither did it nor attempted it. The meat of these animals is very coarse and in no way different from that of a cow except that it is darker and bloodier and therefore quite indigestible and bad for the health.
