Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1872-04-05

The Panama Star and Herald contains
the following cheerful gossip about alliga-
tors The sailor hates a shark and calls
him sea lawyer; in landsman's eye the
alligator is held in similar estimation, and
through some mistake in the natural his
tory of the ancents, womans tears have
been in some cases compared TO those of a
crocodile. The alligator is found in almost
all the rivers that empty into the bay of
Panama, and is the scourge of all the cat
tie farms on their banks. Cattle, horses,
dogs, deer, and all other mammalia which
come to the river TO drink, are liable to be
seized by the nose, dragged below water
and eaten in quiet place among the man
grove swamps. There are certain fording
places in some of the rivers between here
and Chiriqui, where every precaution is
necessary when driving cattle or horses
across, that the alligator does not get his
share. About five years ago there came an
epidemic among the alligator tribe of our
rivers, which carried Off great numbers of
them. They were to be found floating dead
everywhere, from what cause we know not,
unless from the operation Of some Oar
winan claw of selection" However
there are plenty of them at the ford, and
any one fond of trying the penetrating
powers OF rifle on their scales has only to
take boat and enter the Rio Grande, in
the neghborhood of Panama.
We have seen the African species wor
shipped as a god on the west coast of Airi-
ca. The priest fed him every day with
| white chickens, for which he came to the
edge of the little lagoon in which he was
kept with regularity and good temper.
| There was one which lived in the unified
up lagoon of Aspinwall for more than sew
en- years. He kept himself in good condi-
ton with the stray pigs and dogs that ven
| tured near enough for him to seize, so much
so that he let human beings alone, and was
looked on as one of the regular inhabitants
of the place. AT night he would come out
of the water and take short nap on a
small railway bridge, much TO the discom-
fort of "drouthy railway cronie" going
homo by that road to bed. There was one
in particular, who did not see very clear,
who happened to stumble over what he
took to be log lying on the bridge; but
before he could gather himself up, the log
or rather the alligator, lifted his tail and
| ent him whack somewhere about his
| back, and he took to running, and with a
shout Of fear made his landlady quickly
open the door.
One of the engineers on the railroad in
for med us that at night he often meets alli-
gators on the line although the train was
going about ten miles an hour, there was
| thatl mi ah Of | fnr m n N
til he made spring into a swamp, SO that
whoever trusts to the common idea that II
is easy to outrun one of these reptiles if he
took il into his head to give chase, had bet
ter not keep on straight line. The AS
pinwall alligator above mentioned might
have lived to a good old age, but he had
the misfortune to try his teeth on valua'
bile terrier dog, which led TO reprisals anC
the owners revenge, which ended by his
being entrapped and-sent the way of all
flesh.
| As means Of oilense as well as defense
the tail seems to be usiul weapon. Their
was an old colored man washing his clothes
sitting ON the trunk of fallen tree just OF
the edge of n swampy lagoon mt the port o
Chlrlqui an alligator in the muddy strean
swan TO where he was under cover of tn
water, and with a sudden blow OF the tai
knocked the old man into the stream an'
seized him by one knee. He had the pres
ence of mind to insert his thumb into one u
the all igator's eyes, with which, and the as
sistance of neighbors attractedby his cries
the reptile let go and the old man wa
dragged on shore, with row OF ieell
punctures on each side of the knee-jolni
The surgeon who examined him found
tooth had been LETT in each wound. MORT
fcation took place and the old man died.