New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1853-05-18
NUMBER 81
CATCHING AN ALLIGATOR.

IN farls IHost exciting personal narrative,
which is having a large run. We select from it
the following description Of an alligator hunt;
From my window daily saw them gambling
in the water, and waylaying and swapping at
the dogs that ventured too near to the brink.
One day female servant Of my wife's having
been 50 imprudent as to bathe at the edge Of
the lake, was surprised by one Of them, mon
ster of enormous size. One Of my guards came
up at the very moment she was being carried |
off lie fired his carbine at the brute, and hit it
under the fore-leg-the arm -pit-which is the |
only vulnerable place. But the wound was in
sufficient to check the cayman's progress, and |
it disappeared with its prey. Nevertheless, this
little bullet hole was the cause Of its death and
here it is to be noted that the slightest wound
received by the cayman is incurable. The |
shrimps, which abound in the lake, get into the
hurt little by little their number increases,
till at last they penetrate deep into the solid |
flesh, and into the very interior Of the body. |
This is what happened to the one which devoured |
my wfe's maid A month after that accident |
the monster was found dead upon the bank five
| or six leagues from my house. Indians brought
| me back the unfortunate woman's earrings,
which they had found in its stomach.
Upon another occasion, Chinese was riding
| before me We reached n river, and ] let him
20 on alone in order to ascertain whether the
| river was very deep or not. On sudden, three
or four caymans, which lay in waiting under
the water, threw themselves upon him borse
and Chinese disappeared, and for some minutes
the water was tinged with blood.
Out one morning with my shepherds, at few
leagues from my house, came to a river which
must be swum across. One Of the shepherds
| advised me to ascend it to a shallow place, for
| that it was full Of caymans and the advice was
about to be followed when another man, rasher
than myself, spurred his horse into the stream.
Midway a monstrous cayman advanced to meet
| - ra1 abo,1t
the Indian himself perceived the danger, threw
himself from his horse, and made for the bank.
On reaching it he Immediately paused behind
fallen tree trunk, where he had water to his
knees, and where, believing himself in perfect
safety, he drew his cutlass and waited. Mean
while the cayman reared his enormous head out
Of the water, threw himself upon the horse, and
seized him by the saddle. The horse made an
effort the girths broke, and while the sayman
| crushed the leather, the steed reached dry land
/ | Perceiying that the saddle was not what he
wanted, the cayman dropped it and advanced
upon the Indian, whose master and comrades
shouted to him to run The poor fellow would
D not stir, but waited calmly, cutlass in hand,
and on the aligator's near approach, dealt him
: a blow upon the head. He might as we'll have
r tapped upon an anvil, The next instant he was
e | writhing in the monsters jaws. For more than
= q minute we beheld our poor shepherd, his body
: erect above the surface of the water-the cay
man nau SelZeu MIN nY Tue tnlgn-illS
. | ioined his eyes turned TO heaven, in the atti-
t tude of a man imploring divine mercy, dragged
!, | in the direction Of the lake. Soon he disap.
y peared The drama was over, the cayman'
stomach was his tomb.
d Unable to save the Indian, the spectators o
" his horrible end swore at least to ayenge him.
/. had made three nets of strong cords, eac
e, of which was strong enough to form a complet
y barrier across the river. | also had hut built
l and put an Indian to live in it. whose duty wa
to keep constant watch, and let me know a
n ! soon as the cavman returned to the river. Ii
ok watched in vain for upward Of two months bl
re at the end of that time he came and told II
GU that the monster had seized horse, and ht
yer dragged it into the river to devour it at lesur
go | Immediately repaired to the spot, accomp
if MED by my guards by my priest, who positiyel
we would see caynan- hunt and by an america
'e friend ofmine, Mr.. Russell Of the house of Ru.
tie sell s. Sturges, who was then staying with ms
u, | had the nets spread at intervals, SO that til
cayman could not escape back into the lak
ot This operation was NOT effected without SON
to acts Of imprudence; thus for instance, whe
Ike the nets were arranged, an Indian diyed
rs make sure that they reached the bottom, an
a that our enemy could not escape by passing bt
ny low them. But it might very well have haI
ID pened that the cayman was in the interval bC
| tween the nets, and SO have gobbled up my Ii
e !; dian, Fortunately every thing passed as "
wished When all was ready, launched thr'
it pirogues, strongly fastened together, side
do side, with some indians in the centre, arm'
Of with lanees, and with tall bamboos with whi'
they could touch the bottom, At last, al me
is sures having been taken to attain my end, wit
to ut risk of accident, my Indians began to ezplo
the river with their long bamboos.
m An animal of such formidable size as the O.
n we sought, cannot very easily hide himself, al
nd so IN we behed him upon the surface of the rive
e. las hing the water with his long tail, snappil
in and Gathering with his jaws and endeavoring
TO get at those who dared disturb him in his r.
id trea.t \ universal shout of joy greeted his a
peal ance the Indians in the pirogues hurl,
e. their lances at him, while we, upon ither sho
v, of til river, fired volley. The bullets +
re boun ded from the monsters scales, which tn
u were unable to penetrate; the keener lane
made their way between the scales, and enter
N, the cayman's body some eight o. ten inch'
ad Their, .upon he disappeared, swimming with
es credi ole rapidity, and reached the first nj
rs The esistance it opposed turned him back;
ch re asc ended the river, and again appeared
a the top, of the water The violent moveme
er broke The slaves of the lances which the India
M had stu ok into him, and the iron alone remain
" in the Wounds Each tine he re-appeared,
w. firing ,-e-commenced, and fresh lances w
ra plunged into his enormous body. Perceivi
tai however, how Intellectual firearms were
pierce l,is cuirass of invulnerable scales,
the excited him by my shouts and gestures,
when he came to the edge OF the water, open
na- his enorm Gus jaws already to devour me,
preached the muzzle of my gun to within a
la- inces, and fred both barrels, in the hope
ess the bullets would find something softer I
hts scales in the interior of that formidable cav
m and that they would penetrate to his brain.
i'd was in va in. The jaws closed with teri
mt noise, sezipg only the fire and smoke that Isl
aw- from my GU n, and the balls hattened agaiEs
If bones withe ut injuring them The animal, "
-ay, had now become furious, made inconceivabl
-hts forts to seize one Of his enemies his stre
hen seemed to in. crease instead of diminishing,
iple our resourc IS were nearly exhausted. Al
ler all our lance were sticking in his body, anC
ton ammunition drew to an end
thy The fight had lasted naore than six h
ha- without any result that could make us hop
en- speedy termip alton, when an Indian struei
cayman, while at the bottom OF the water,
The a lance of unusual length and size. Ana
=. n Indian, at his comrades request, struck
lie y vigorous blows with mace upon the but ell
,trv the lance; the iron entered deep into.he a
ais body, and Immediately, with a mogei
ome as swift as Ii gh htning, he darted towards the
fard and disappea red. The lanee-pole, detached
The the iron heac, came to the surface of the ws
the for some min, ties we waited in vain for the
III | ctar,s reanne, france. we thought that his