ENTERTAINMENTS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XI, Issue 242, 17 October 1921, Page 2

ENTERTAINMENTS.

ALLIGATORS AND CROCODILES. Visitors to the show on Wednesday and Thursday next will have a grand opportunity of viewing something out of the ordinary in tho side-show exhibits.. There will bo on exhibition a huge man-eating alligator, and according to extracts from the Brisbane “Daily Mail” this particular reptile has had at least five human lives to its account. The North Australian country, both in the North West of Western Australia and Queensland, also the British Solomon Islands, may truthfully Tie declared to be alive with alligators, the hunting of which is extremely dangerous sport, their capture is a very infrequent occurrence, rifle bullets having .little effect on their iron-Jike hide and many gruesome tales often come south of the fierce and develish peregrinations of these huge monsters. The management last week-end in Auckland were caused great anxiety on arrival in that port, when told by the customs authorities that on no account would the alligator be allowed to land. However, after much controversy with the authorities permission was obtained from the Minister of Internal Affairs to exhibit it throughout New Zealand on putting up a bond of £5OO that jt would he re-exported to their own country three months hence. THE PETRIFIED WOMAN. A wonderful exhibit at the coming show is the petrified body of a young aborigin woman. It Was found in tho lime-stone caves near Narracoorte, South Australia, and is in a perfect state of preservation. When found it was in a mould, and so well was it preserved that the wounds which originally caused death are still plainly visible. On the right side of the head is a depressed fracture which looks as though it had been caused by a blunt instument. Tho left leg is swollen as though it had been broken below the knee. Medical men are of the opinion that the girl’s leg was broken and that, in accordance with prehistoric custom, the remainder of the tribe killed the girl to avoid carrying her with them in their wanderings. Tho petrification of the bodies of animals and human beings is not uncommon, but is is unusual to secure such a perfect specimen. Exhibited with it are the petrified bodies of a Nautilus and a Scallop, showing that the process is not even confined to the animal kingdom.