A Day After The Indian Crocodile

Due to the avid enthusiasm on the subject shown by my respected forum members Ridge Walker , Wyatt Smith , Mark Hunter and a few other gentlemen , today l have decided to provide my dear readers with an account of going after the Indian crocodile .As the account will progress , dear readers will have an idea of exactly how much of a menace these saurian brutes were ( and still are ) to Indian villagers. Without further delay , let us begin
It was 1965 and Shikar season was almost coming to a close for the year.
Karim was guiding a Canadian client for a leopard Shikar in Tamil Nadu and l had just finished guiding a wonderful Spanish client for a successful boar Shikar. I thought that l was finished for the year and was rather bored. My parents had gone on a vacation to Belgium and Antara was giving her exams in Buet University . If l was not hunting , l wanted to be among my loved ones. And if l was not among my loved ones , then l wanted to be hunting. I decided to spend this time honing my skills at oil painting ( another favorite hobby of mine ) . While l was at my house , our family telephone began ringing. In those days , our telephone used to have a large rotary dial. It was a telephone call from Sundar Raj Shikar . There was a new client at the last moment and a Shikari was needed to guide him. My heart pounded with excitement . Painting is beautiful , but hunting is divine.
The next day , l met Sundar Raj sir at our office alongside my respected client . He was an American gentleman and he wanted to partake in two Shikars . Firstly , he desired a nice , simple Shikar for jungle fowl. This was a very simple and enjoyable affair. Secondly , he wanted an Indian crocodile . This request from our respected clients always unnerved me , due to the way these terrifying devil lizards always intimidated me. However , Sundar Raj sir had given a direct order and Client is King . As imposing as those creatures are , l would rather spend a day in the jungles than home painting.
The client brought two fire arms . Oddly enough , both of these fire arms were smooth bore weapons.
The first was an auto loader of 12 bore , made by the excellent American firm , Remington . It was calibrated for the 70 millimeter cartridge and had a quarter choke in the muzzle.
For this weapon , our respected client had brought boxes of Remington cartridges of sizes number 4 and number 5.
The second was a large single barrel smooth bore breech loader of 10 bore . I am afraid that l never asked the client which firm it was from . It had a back sight like a rifle and with this , our client had brought around two dozen brass 10 bore cartridge cases loaded with Spherical lead ball type bullets.
His wife had come with him for the Shikar and we were all to set off after birds two days later.
And so began another adventure , as the next of this three part article shall relate.

Two days later , Rishi ( our loyal Gurkha coolie ) and l set off with our respected client and his wife towards the the horel fields near the Kudai kills where excellent bird shooting could be had.With us were three other coolies to carry the equipment and refreshments for our client and madame . Rishi carried our client’s Remington 12 bore auto loader. I carried my own Ishapore 12 bore shot-gun loaded with SG cartridge in each barrel , in case an ill tempered boar should rush out of the bushes to do harm to our client. We reached the field and in fifteen minutes gun shots rang out , one after the other.

Our client getting ready to open fire

It is wrong and unethical and shallow to label people , however back when l was young , l used to try to predict what kind of shot-gun a client would bring by seeing their nationality. An English gentle man should bring a side by side shot-gun. An European gentle man should bring an over-under shot-gun. An American gentle man should bring a pump operation shot-gun or an auto loader. Please forgive me for my shallow attitude at that time , dear readers. I was merely a young man trying to see if certain nationalities had a preference for certain types of fire arms.
At any rate , our client laid waste to 19 horels using 24 cartridges of number 6 shot .

That magnificent Remington 12 bore auto loader


In the mean time , Gautam was busy boiling water over a fire for madame . Madame was an avid coffee drinker and she had brought her own coffee for us to make for her. They came in packets from the firm , Nestle . As Gautam prepared the madame’s coffee , Rishi used a Haat Pakha ( hand fan ) to keep the madame cool , as she sat on a folding chair and complimented her husband’s excellent shooting . Madame however seemed to constantly look at her feet in apprehensive way. I asked her “ Mem Shahib , is everything alright ? “ . Madame asked nervously “ Are there any snakes in these areas “ . I immaturely , but truthfully told her “ Some times , madame . But not very big . Do not worry . Maybe five or six feet size “ . Madame was terrified . As an older man now , l realize what it was that l said , which had unsettled madame. Rishi ( who understood English ) told me “ Bhai , Mem Shahib ke bolen je shaap ashle ami kheye nibo “. ( Brother , tell madame to not worry. If any snake comes , l will eat it ) . I told this to madame , but rather than comfort her , it increased her terror even more.

An excellent photographic capture of our client shooting one of the last horels . By this time , my skills at photography were also improving somewhat



Eventually, l had the coolies collect the horels and we then drove our client and madame back to Darjeeling Circuit House. Madame and sir were very kind . They let us take ten birds home to our families. The flesh of the horel is most succulent when marinated with yogurt and tandoori spices and roasted over red coals. However , this is a Shikar forum and not a cooking forum , and thus , let us proceed to the titular climax of this account : The crocodile Shikar

Another enjoyable story, Sir!

As an ethical hunter , it is our commandment that we must have utmost respect for the animal which we are hunting. And l have always upheld this philosophy since the day l had first picked up a gun in my life. However , l would be lying if l said that l upheld this philosophy for crocodile . I absolutely had nothing but utter contempt for these devil lizards . I will not belabor the sadistic method used by these reptilian brutes to drown their poor victims to death. Every year , at least four dozen human beings ( especially children ) on average are killed by these beasts in India near the Buri Ganga river. It must be remembered that a considerable amount of poor villagers wash their clothes in river water in India and that makes them hapless prey for these monsters. Of the forty or so , of these creatures which l have cut open after l had shot them , at least 17 of them had human remains in their stomachs. That was how much of a problem these creatures were ( and still are ) in India to the common people. For dispatching these devil lizards , l completely discarded any ethics and killed them with any means at my disposal.
Four days later , we set off towards the banks of the Buri Ganga river . It was just four people : Rishi , myself , my fellow Shikari and good friend , Clayton and our respected client. I carried my 12 bore Ishapore Arms Factory side by side shot-gun , loaded with Kynoch lethal ball in each barrel. Clayton carried his Ishapore Arms Factory .315 bore bolt operation rifle with him , loaded with 244 grain soft head cartridges . Rishi carried our client's 10 bore smooth bore breech loader along with spare brass cartridges.
Our respected client walked with us , as we got near the edge of the Tripani forests which connected with the banks of the Buri Ganga river . This was a particular spot where these large , ugly beasts would bask in the sun light. As we got near them , indeed , we saw not one , but four of these large ugly lizards there on the muddy banks of the Buri Ganga. If the client was using a rifle , he could shoot the crocodile from a distance . However , to my great misfortune , our respected client was using a smoothbore which was not very accurate with large charges of powder at distances greater than thirty yards . This , we had to get closer. But how could we possibly move closer to our quarry , while he had three of his beastly companions nearby ?
After racking my brains , l came up with a devilish but unethical scheme.
Dear forum members , please forgive me for the next part of this account , as l will be detailing something very unethical which l did. Please remember that l was a young man who loathed crocodiles to an extreme degree . Even though l still hate crocodiles today , l would never do what l did , that day .
I ordered Clayton ( who was my Junior Shikari ) to shoot at the other crocodiles , so that they would retreat into the water , long enough for our client to shoot the desired crocodile. Clayton was an honest fellow and he asked me " Kawshik Bhai , Sundar Raj sir ki bolbe ? Amra toh shudhu ektar upor guli chalanor onumoti paisi ." ( Brother Kawshik , what will Sundar Raj sir say ? We only have permission to shoot one ).
I then replied greedily " Areh gadha , Sundar Raj sir toh teen mile dure. Ami kaoke chini na jara durbin diyeo ato doore dekhte pare " . ( You simpleton , Sundar Raj sir is three miles away from this forest . I do not know even one person who can see that far , even with binocular ). I further went on to say , that if any crocodile died as a result of Clayton's shooting , we would simply push their corpses back into the Buri Ganga river , so that the Nilgiri Wildlife Association would not find out about our misdeeds.
I can proudly say that l have never had such an unethical philosophy towards any of the other creatures which l have had to shoot , but of course , this does not absolve me of my other sins.
Just as we were getting ready to shoot , an unexpected surprise presented itself . A fifth crocodile , even larger than the first four submerged from the water and began to make it's way towards the bank. Our client immediately decided that he wanted that one. Rishi handed the client his 10 bore smooth bore and a spare cartridge . Clayton stayed back with his rifle while the Client , Rishi and l began to move closer towards those crocodiles.
At a distance of twenty feet , our client took the gun , raised it to his shoulder and carefully took aim . He fired and his bullet has fairly placed . As the cloud of smoke from the black powder began to clear , we saw that the injured crocodile began to make it's way back towards the water. Clayton , that brave , dutiful Shikari began to do his part . He opened fire at the other crocodiles , with his .315 bore rifle . The client broke open the breech of his smooth bore and tried to remove the empty cartridge case , but good heavens ! The cartridge case had expanded and was stuck inside the breech ! Rishi immediately took the gun from the client and desperately tried to get that empty cartridge case out , using his teeth . In the mean time , the wounded crocodile was already partially in the water . I asked my client " Shahib , may l finish it ? " . Knowing that his shot was well placed , but that the crocodile would be lost if it died in the river , my client ( being a sensible gentleman with good ethics ) immediately nodded in approval. I rushed after the wounded crocodile .
Now , l would like to give my dear readers a word about the Kynoch lethal ball cartridges which l praised the power of , in a previous article. Powerful , they were , indeed . However , accurate they were not . This is because they were a 16 bore ball inside a 12 bore cartridge and beyond thirteen feet , accuracy was erratic , at best. I got to within eight feet of the wounded beast and fired my left barely at the back of it's head. And thus , another Shikar was successful and another trophy was secured. Rishi also succeeded in getting the empty cartridge case out of the gun eventually by using the tip of my Imperial pocket knife ( which unfortunately broke and needed to be reground with a file )



He was a large fellow , at least a dozen deer in length .

The creature's corpse was brought to the village , where a large crowd had gathered . Our client declared that the villagers could keep the meat of the crocodile and everyone had cheered for him . In those days , before Indira Gandhi's propaganda filth took over India , the death of a crocodile was celebrated by the whole village. Upon cutting the creature's body open , we discovered that the client's bullet indeed was fatal . However , had l not fired , the animal might have made it into the water before it expired and thus recovering the trophy creature would be close to impossible due to the extreme currents in the Buri Ganga river ( to say nothing of other crocodiles).
The epilogue will follow.

Our client and madame would treat Clayton and me dinner at Imperial Restora for our fine services . And could we refuse ? The mutton chops of Imperial Restora were divine . They were excellent people and our client even taught me how to reload cartridges , a skill which has benefitted me greatly in the last five decades . For sheer entertainment , a week before they left , my client and l decided to fire that old 10 bore at some empty bottles of gool ( local palm wine ). We observed that some of those old brass cartridge cases had a terrible propensity to split at the neck .
Clayton and l remained close friends , even after the Liberation War . And he would often come to visit me in Bangladesh. He and his family moved to the United States of America in 1988 and he lived in New York. This brave person was killed during the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attack upon the twin towers .
I would like to dedicate this article to my good friend , Clayton Quiah . A good Shikari and a greater friend who was killed in an act by swines trying to justify killing innocents in the name of religion. He is survived by his wife and two daughters who still live in New York , today . Never did a friendlier hunter exist .

Thanks Mr. Rahman! Another exciting tale of old India. These prehistoric lizards fascinate me and I love hearing about them. I wonder if your client had tested his weapon at home and if so, if the cartridges had stuck like that?

BenKK said:

Another enjoyable story, Sir!

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Ben KK
Thank you so much for your appreciation.

Wyatt Smith said:

Thanks Mr. Rahman! Another exciting tale of old India. These prehistoric lizards fascinate me and I love hearing about them. I wonder if your client had tested his weapon at home and if so, if the cartridges had stuck like that?

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Wyatt Smith
Thank you so much for your appreciation.
I had never asked the client that , much to my regret . They were certainly sticking in the gun's breech when we were trying them out after the Shikar in the lawn of Darjeeling Circuit House. It is my speculation that those brass cases must have been quite old , as it was a gun built for black gun powder . Perhaps their age had been a factor ?

Again your humanity and humility come through your writing. Very impressive. Thank you.

gesch said:

Again your humanity and humility come through your writing. Very impressive. Thank you.

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Gesch
Thank you so much for your appreciation. I was worried under the impression that this account might anger some ethical forum members about how l decided to go after those crocodiles.

Thank you so much for your appreciation. I was worried under the impression that this account might anger some ethical forum members about how l decided to go after those crocodiles.[/QUOTE]

It was a different time and place. Perhaps now you would consider another way to get your desired outcome. I suspect that we , as other members of this forum, are enjoying your stories of times past. In fact I for one wish I could of gone with you after a Royal Bengal tiger. What an experience that would of been.
Thanks for telling us these tales of the past. Please continue to do so. Thanks
Bruce

Dear mr rahman, thank you for this fantastic experinece!

Dear Mr Rahman, thanks again for your account of a bygone time. When you talk about the regrets you have about the common hunting practices of the day, I wonder what future generations may think of some of our hunting practices we use today and are common and accepted.

K-man said:

Dear Mr Rahman, thanks again for your account of a bygone time. When you talk about the regrets you have about the common hunting practices of the day, I wonder what future generations may think of some of our hunting practices we use today and are common and accepted.

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K-man
Thank you so much for your appreciation. I certainly hope that hunting remains popular and not prohibited for our future generations.

mark-hunter said:

Dear mr rahman, thank you for this fantastic experinece!

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Mark Hunter
I am glad that you enjoyed the account. Thank you

gillettehunter said:

Thank you so much for your appreciation. I was worried under the impression that this account might anger some ethical forum members about how l decided to go after those crocodiles.

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It was a different time and place. Perhaps now you would consider another way to get your desired outcome. I suspect that we , as other members of this forum, are enjoying your stories of times past. In fact I for one wish I could of gone with you after a Royal Bengal tiger. What an experience that would of been.
Thanks for telling us these tales of the past. Please continue to do so. Thanks
Bruce[/QUOTE]
Bruce
Thank you so much for understanding and being so considerate. I do think that you would enjoy hunting a Royal Bengal tiger .

Kawshik, thanks for another exciting episode of your previous hunting experiences. I share your dislike of crocodiles even though I've never seen one in the wild. Knowing how much the local villagers suffered from their existence, killing all of them would have been foremost on my mind. I would consider your action as one that simply assisted the Forrest Ranger(s) in the disposition of a menace.

How old was Clayton Quiah when he hunted with you in 1965?

Sh

Shootist43 said:

Kawshik, thanks for another exciting episode of your previous hunting experiences. I share your dislike of crocodiles even though I've never seen one in the wild. Knowing how much the local villagers suffered from their existence, killing all of them would have been foremost on my mind. I would consider your action as one that simply assisted the Forrest Ranger(s) in the disposition of a menace.

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Shootist43
My mother used to call them devil lizards and that nick name remains.
In my six decades as a hunter , l have seen many dangerous animals. A Royal Bengal tiger or a leopard will bite and claw you to death . A bear will try to bite you to death. A Gaur will try to engage you with it's horns. A boar will try to engage you with it's tusks. But the crocodile has the most malicious method of killing it's prey. They will drag their hapless victim into the water and drown them . After that , they will take the body to a hole and eat it. This is very cold blooded . I also had a very terrifying experience in 1968 when l accidentally almost mistook one of these beasts for a rock and nearly let the client sit on it . Disaster was narrowly averted ( perhaps the topic of another story ? ) .
Thank you so much for you support and kind words. I have seen some internet videos than crocodiles are also hunted in the United States of America. Most fascinating. I believe your local species are called gators ?

IvW said:

How old was Clayton Quiah when he hunted with you in 1965?

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IvW
I was 23 years of age . He was 21 or 22 years of age , l believe. But he was our junior shikari