Page:Life in Java Volume 1.djvu/211

Rh aught to say in thy defence?' The alligator lowered his head in silence, in acknowledgement of his guilt. 'Samati,' cried Saguntung in a loud voice, 'cut off the fore feet of this vile wretch, and then chop his body into a thousand pieces.' Samati—who appears to have been a sort of Calcraft in his relation to the alligators—immediately obeyed; and when the merciless sentence had been executed, the pieces of the alligator's body were carefully collected, and thrown into the river, to be food for the fishes."

At Woedoesan, the first post after Gratie, we were struck with the size of two very large Verengen trees. Any traveller who happens to take this route will do well to stop and look at them, as it is not very probable that he will see any of much greater magnitude, if so large, during the whole course of his excursion. One of them was above twenty-seven feet in circumference, and the other about five feet less, round the trunk. They VOL. I.