Weekly Trinity journal., 1871-10-28
AN ALLIGATOR STORY.

An Engishmnn, who had been travelling in
America, tells the following story:
A few miles more, and we at Frijoli sta
ton, where the natural wonders of the region we
are travelling most abound. The flowers on our
left are passion flowers the birds flying around
are orioles or hanging birds. liere-abouts are
boa oaconsrictors and tarantulas, monkeys, op-
possums, ant-eaters, lguanas, cougars and tiger
cats. Again the Chagres river. The bridge by
which we are whisked over it is OF wrought IRON
525 feet long. Our conversation in the railway
carriage turns on the subject of aligotors. We
have at least sixty travellers in the carriage,
of them is lady who is anxious to know if the
natives catch the algators and, if so, by what
process they are caught. gentleman seated
in front of us volunteers some information on
the subject.
"They are generally caught, madam, by tick
ling them, " said he.
How very extraordinary ~ exclaims the lady.
" Pray explain how the nasty creatures cap
tured. 1t must be singular operation"
" Very singular, indeed madam" replies the
gentlemen, closing one of his eyes as he speaks.
/" Them alligators are queerly-made critturs,
and they have queer fancies. If you look at
one of them you will see that he has hard spnes
upon his tail Examine them spines, and you
will see that the last one at the end of the tail to
be the largest, to be very sharp and strong, and
curved back toward the head of the critter like
hook. Now, alligators, madam, are very
sleepy things. Always going to sleep in the
mud The brown-skned gentlemen who live
here-abouts 90 out to catch them with a cane
and a long pole When they see one asleep,
they tickle the point of his tail very gently with
the cane so as not to wake him. The alligator
feels it, and turns his tail away from the tickle.
Then they tickle it little more, and it turns
it further away curving it sorter round, as you
see They 60 on tickling, and the critter goes
on bending round his tail till he gets it right
opposite his mouth. Then they give it tickle.
The crtter wakes, opens his mouth, snaps at
his own tail, gets the point OF it between his
Jaws, and the hooked spine driven clean into
his palate. 1t has just made itself into ring,
you see and can't jerk its tail out again. The
natives have tckled it enough. All they've got
to do is to put the long pole through the ring
the critter has made itself into, hoist the two
ends of the pole their shoulders, take the
critter home and kill it quietly. It's scientific
sort of way of catching them, madam, but it's
very satisfactory"
We accepted the explanation with some al
lowance. The lady looked little skeptical
THE following is the latest programme issued
for the observance of wedding anniversaries, viz:
First anniversary, iron ; fifth anniversary, wood
en- tenth anniversary, tin fifteenth anniversary,
crystal; twentieth anniversary, china twenty
fifth anniversary silver; thirtieth anniversary,
cotton thirty fifth anniversary, linen; fortieth
anniversary, woolen; forty fifth anniversary, silk,
Gfeth anniversary, golden seventy-ffth ami
versary, diamond.
THEY have a rich joke on DR.. Egan, a great
land operator as well as most successful ply
siciau. The Doctor prescribed some pills for
lady. He was asked how they were to be taken.
ga quarter down. said the Doctor, and the
balance in one, two and three years"
LOVE letter picked up in Springfield H..
had the following paragraph My best loved
one, chawed the postage stamp on your last
letter all to thunder, because knew you licked
it or"
walk unattended in Memp after nire o'clock
debt.