According to legend, there was a German mining engineer on a nearby island who was swept up by a 200 ft. tidal wave. He found a 10 ft. crocodile that he managed to straddle. His only way to hang on was to pierce the crocs eyes with his thumbs which he rode to a more outward island and he lived to tell the tale.

''In Riding the Wave of Krakatoa (1883), Tom Schneider depicts the eruption of Krakatoa
volcano in 1883, one of the deadliest and the most destructive natural disasters in the
history of humankind. The eruption lasted over six months, causing numerous tsunamis
and resulting in over 36,000 deaths. However, the focus of the artist lies not with the
momentous calamity but with a tiny human figure swimming to safety on a crocodile. This
unimaginable story is the official account of a German quarry manager who saved himself
by putting his thumbs into the eye sockets of the beast and holding on for several miles.
Here Schneider reminds the viewer of the magnitude of human strength and dexterity in
the face of misfortune.''
- text by Bella Kesoyan