Fiji's Lone Crocodile

A Tale From the Past Re-told by R. C. Macpherson

I¥7HILE crocodiles are common enough ff in the northern part of Australia, and, to an extent, in the Solomon Islands, Fiji and other Central Pacific island groups are singularly free from these dangerous reptiles.

However, there is at least one recorded case of what appears to have been a crocodile straying to the shores of Fiji, when it played havoc with the residents of an island off Vanualevu.

This instance is recorded in that in teresting classic of the islands, Mariner’s “Tonga”—or, to give it its correct title, “An Account of the Tonga Islands,” as related by Mr. William Mariner to John Martin, MD.

Will Mariner had many stories of the islands to tell when he returned to Eng land after his years in Tonga. One of the tales he told Dr. Martin was that related to him by a young Tongan sub chief, whom he calls Cow Moala. Cow Moala, like many of'his fellows, visited Fiji in search of adventure by joining in the wars which occurred there, evidently with much more frequency than they did in Tonga—though the so-called Friendly Islands were by no means free of strife, judging by Mariner’s account.

Mariner says that the* people of “Pau” (a name which Mariner uses incorrectly for Vanualevu, according to Sir Everard im Thurn) gave Cow Moala an account of an enormous lizard, which they sup posed must have been sent by the gods.

Late one evening a canoe put in at a neighbouring small island, and as the weather was very hot, and the crew much fatigued, they decided to sleep on the open beach. After they had been asleep some time they were suddenly wakened by the loud cries of one of their com panions, and saw by the light of the moon a prodigious lizard plunge into the water.

At this they were greatly alarmed, and, with one man missing, they went further up country for safety.

Early in the morning one of them wen* into the sea to bathe, and was also snatched away by the monster. The whole island was soon in a state of alarm, and everybody flocked to the beach. How ever, no lizard was seen, and in the course of the day those who belonged to the canoe left the island.

Some days elapsed without any sign of the lizard, and the people of the island quickly supposed that it had gone, and were convinced that it was the visita tion of a god for some crime they had committed,.

One day, however, while a woman was washing some dalo roots in a salt-water lake about a quarter of a mile from the beach and surrounded by thick rushes, the monster suddenly appeared, seized the unfortunate woman, and plunged with her into the lake.

People in neighbouring houses having given the alarm, all the inhabitants of the island were soon uo in arms, and rushing to the spot, uttered loud ex clamations and threw stones and various other missiles into the lake. Evidently their efforts disturbed the reptile, which rushed out and made towards the sea, pursued by some of the men, who threw spears at it, without effect, for the rep tile’s hard scales proved impenetrable to

such weapons.

According to Cow Moala’s tale, this circumstance gave rise to increased alarm and wonder, and confirmed the previously held view that their enemy must be a god, for they saw him escape into the sea unhurt.

IN this manner the reptile took nine people at different places, and then, what must be considered the Fijian prototype of St. George came forward This warrior, an old man, observed that the reptile came ashore every morning at one particular place near the lake, where he afterwards concealed himself.

Setting out to destroy the monster the old man prepared a long rope with a running noose at one end. The rope was passed over the thick branch of a tree that stood between the beach and the

lake, while the end containing the noose was on the ground in the supposed path of the invader.

At the other end he stationed 14 or 15 strong men, concealed in the high grass.

Then, to quote Mariner’s words, “hav ing obtained the solemn promise of his confederates to act their parts with steadiness and fidelity, he undertook to walk about on the beach at the time the monster was expected, and at his ap proach to recede behind the noose through which the animal must necessarily pass his head to lay hold of him. Matters being thus adjusted, the expected enemy made his appearance and ran towards the old man, who took his station behind the noose, and the moment the animal

put his jaws through it, he sprang erect and gave an appointed signal. Instantly the cord was drawn tight, and their prey was caught with his head and one paw through the noose.”

The account states that the men soon secured the rope and running up, beat the reptile about the head and pierced him wherever they could, until at length, after much hard work, they killed him.

The Fijians’ interest in edibles is well illustrated in the next paragraph in Mariner’s story, when he goes on to say that when their toil was over the first thing they thought of was to ascertain if their victim was good to eat, and, “accordingly, selecting parts which they thought the tenderest, they baked a suffi cient quantity, and finding is very good, made a hearty meal.” Such was the fall of one of the gods of old Fiji, withal a god with but a very temporary reign.

Mariner said that Cow Moala saw the bones, and from the description of these, as well as from what he heard regard ing the living animal, he (Mariner) con cluded that it must have been a croco dile which by some accident had made its way from the East Indies.

To this Dr. Martin adds: “And as it was the first of the kind the natives had ever seen or heard of, we need not wonder that they supposed it to be a super natural lizard sent by the gods from Bolotoo as punishment for their sins.’

In the light *of present knowledge, it seems more likely that this crocodile, as it seems to have been, was a stray from the Solomons or the Queensland coast, rather than from the East Indies. It would be interesting to know if there are any other recorded cases of crocodiles having been found in Fiji.