[?]Uge Crocodile

[?]Aken

[?]N Exciting Fight

By K. S. Poole

Honiara, Sept. 30.

HHE capture and killing of one L of the biggest crocodiles ever seen in the Solomons has been »scribed by Mr. Pat Campbell, of faiai, San Cristoval. It happened Dout a mile from Waiai plantation omestead.

One Sunday, in August, planta on boys came rushing in to say ley had seen a large crocodile in small, deep pool in the river earby.

Mr. Campbell called other boys, id the party set out armed with lears, axes and knives. Mr. Camp “ll carried a .22 rifle.

When they arrived at the pool, irious plans for killing the croco ile were rejected as too risky.

The bossboy then suggested that ley should try to rope it and aul it up to the surface where it mid be shot and speared. This lea seemed rather risky, too; but, i the absence of a better one, Dlunteers were called for, to try . Nobody stepped out.

The bossboy then said that as he ad suggested the plan, he would

do the roping himself. Before doing this, he said, he would first dive down and spear it.

He took a spear, and asked another boy to jump into the river with him and hold on to the end of the spear while he himself dived down and placed the spear in posi tion on the crocodile’s neck.

He then dived down and, when he came up, he told the other boy to heave the spear with all his might.

This was done, but nothing happened. When the spear was pulled up (it was made of a kind of palm* used in the old days for making spears) they found that its point was burred.

The spear was re-sharpened, and the bossboy again dived down and placed its point on the crocodile’s neck.

When the boy came to the sur face, the other boy again gave the spear a mighty heave, and then the fun started.

They saw the spear dragged down; and then it went along the surface like the periscope of a sub marine, the end coming to the sur face and disappearing again, till it finally came to a standstill.

THE bossboy dived down again and came up with half the spear. He said the crocodile was now lying under a big rock, with half the spear still in it.

Mr. Campbell told the other boys

to run into the bush and cut several lengths of loia cane. When this was done he made a loop at one end of a length, and gave it to the bossboy who fearlessly dived down again, to the great excite ment of the rest of the party.

When he came up he said he would rope the tail first; and when he gave the loia cane a tug, the

rest were to pull steadily till they could feel the weight of the croco dile. then stand by.

This they did.

The boy came up, asked for another piece of loia. dived down, and put it around the crocodile's neck. The shore party again drew it tight and held on.

When the boy came up again,

Mr. Campbell told him to tome out of the water; and, when he came out. the end of each piece of cane was tied to a small tree nearby.

Once the ends were secured, every one began to heave on the ropes.

They felt the crocodile gradually being pulled out from under the rock; and all of a sudden it began to fight.

On the first lash of the tail, th two boys in front of the ropes wer jerked into the water—and brok all swimming records for the oppc site bank.

Boys and crocodile struggled an fought for nearly an hour; anc when they got the brute to th surface it took another half hou to finish him off with spears, stone and the .22 rifle.

A platform was made, and 2 boys carried him back to Waiai t be measured.

The crocodile was 18 ft. lonj with a girth of 6 ft. When the cut him open, they found bone and eight pieces of turtle shell in side.

Mr. Campbell thinks he know where the three young calves an the yearling lost on the plantatioi in the last twelve months hav gone.

The skin of the crocodile is bein: dried and will be stuffed as i trophy.

Mr. F. M. Campbell, father o Mr. Pat Campbell and well know] in the Solomons for more than 2 years, says he has only once seei a larger one; and that'was stuffec and on the verandah of the Emi Park Hotel, near Rockhampton The head could only just be seei from the bar door—it was a warn ing to gentlemen not to over-in indulge in alcoholic refreshment.