St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-08-30
Fight With an Alligator.

III " I'LL tIl <AlllSdJOl
y few Years since. circumstances
over which had no contIol' this. |
believe is Il popular way of putting it -
had reduced me from atfiucncc to poN-
cItN. | Wa> hut tWcmtN-tnur Years of
age. >tr"n" of heart and of limb: and
81. instead of idlin" away my life at
home | IrSol\ eel tu cmiwratr tu South
America. where an old friend of my
fathers was likely I" aid me in he res
turIti"n of my fallen fortunes. reach
cd Bucnu> .ANIc> in due season. and
soon attrl found my self at the ,.rhn-id
of Don Miguel Ramon. of Ccrradn. near
the city OF st. Jdgo de los CahalIo>.
Don Miguel WAS Il very Wealthy man.
wrowin" cotton and coffee. tobacco and
corn. ~ we'll ~ other South American
productions hut deriving. III IatIiarchil
fashion. the greater part of his income.
from his h"ck> and herds. nt"rtu-
matclN. he Wa> i WidnWrr. with only
one child. Il boy. NOW of some five Nc;II>
of age. and of " l"n his t;ilhrI WAS dot
In"lN fond. Here | Wa> frankly and
generously welcomed. and. What with
riding my host : horses. >hnotimg among
his rice fields. aidin" him in his ar-
counts. and giving little Charlie lessons
III French and English. passed my
time most a"rrcihlN.
| WIS returning from u half built ~u-
glr mill one day: perhaps Il month al
ter my iiI~t arrival 1T the, hacienda. at
about four n'cl"ck in the attcrmunm. |
had left the dimgN r"mplrNi"nrd ma
SONS slipping their ch"colatr and had
1
alirr that = fresh c"Il>, of blocks pIop
rIlN crmcntcd should hr Laid before h,,
permitted his gang Ia give over work.
| Wa> riding hnurWard. then. thinking
of many things "f the old days at
home: of friends and >ch""lf,ll"W> hat
should prIlIap> never see again in the.
flesh of
Nv hat Was that \ cIN of pain -
Yes. Il cry. certainly at pain ur terror
the >hrill. appealing cry "i Il rhild'> az
oui/"d voice and | started and heel
ed my horst, towards the quarter from
" hiclI the sounds seemed /" come. The
cry WH> repeated. more trchlN than Il"
fore: and ~ | had NOW un doubt - I"
the direction " hence the call ion help
proceeded. dashed acr">> i r.iN inc.
and >rramhIu" up the steep bank "p-
p">itc. came Ia sight of the chain al la
gn"lr~. connected with tlr mighty III"
Plata h> Il small river. which ~hlrtcd
the plantations "t Iicc and tobacco. and
OH the banks of ~ hich had shot many
i ~uiIc and tlamiu2u. Here. at the
rd.r ot Il c.iuc- huIdrIrd CIrck that TIIi
up from tl, nearest lagoon int" the
broken ground. " hcIr The hilI"ck> were
gtN With purple lii"d"dcndr"u> and The
Wild @rramium>. hchrld a sight that
chilled my blood with horror.
Clu>c I" the margin of the WItcI.
kmc,-drcp in the flowers and tall Pam
pas gI.r>>. Just W here the white and yell
low pond lilies mingled with the rich
cululrd hl">>"mr> at the tl"Wcrrd piai-
RE. Wa> Il child little Charlie Don
Migucr> hope and h'.iI riIc one tie t"
life and H. affections. | knew the bare
little golden head at once. Bul the h"l
stood. rooted tu the ground. tI.Ir~tI\cd
hN terror. crnachimg down. hi> blue
eyes. dilarrd h} mnlral tr.u. fixed on
>omrthju" huge. >haprlc>>. uuclcal,.
that drew nearer and nearer vet. Il grim
and uoI>truuI> thing. that had more the
ASPECT of Il large log. Hll>lcniu" with
>linN mud. than "f amy thing else. W hat
j. the ugly thin" that has cIHWlrd out
from the creek. tliugcd with bushes ot
the laurel lost. and that i> clum>ilN
climbing" the bank With awkward hur-
~ of liz umgaiulN claw tipped feet An
alligator. hN lIcaN en- tuI- sec the slant
ing sunlight gli~tcm ON its Sc;lN back
and the formidable Jaws open and dis
play the curved row of cleaning White
teeth. a.. with it> cruel red eye fixed
upon lis prey. il approached the spot
where stood ihc fItcd child, frozen h\ a
terror that denied him the power tu
flee.
Kun. Charlie. run rum towards me :"
| called aluud. at the same time urging
my horse down the bank. The little
fellow turned his pale face wards me.
and recognized me: hut tc;lr WAS still
/ too potent with him. and he remained
/ where he WAS. crying out to "MirrN
/ Warhultom to save him. dashed in
/ the spurs rowcl deep. and at one bound
came crashing through the rhododcn-
douS to within some three or four feet
of the place where the child stood. The
alligator wheeled angIill round. to con
front the intruder who dared to com,
/ between him and his touthSonIr sup
per: and my horse. driven Wild with
terror at the sight and smell of tn,
nIon>trouS reptile. reared. >wcI.Ncd. and
threw me. gallopimg oil like IL mad
creature. | was on my feet in Il mo
mcnt. and had just time to throw my,
self between the alligator and the boy
before the hlnodthir>tA jaws could clos,
in the first fatal snap. The brute lr-
roilcd Il little. iol :lligatnrs aIe coward
/ " H. we'll a> fierce. and they have been
known to watch for hours in their reed\
injured. until they could pouucr secure
" ON Il WOMAN or Il child. But the rep
tiles SLOW blood had been too mucI
stirred 10y the expectation of an easy
triumph to permit him to decline tn,
fight. and he crawlrd III upon me. ut
tcrimg the hoaI>c cry. half roar. hal
whimpcrng moan. that Il c;ymaS give,
under the sting of pain and fury.
had my sheath knife ont. Il >trom.
douhlr-edgcd blade of Barcelona steel
with IL cross handle and huckthurl
haft but this seemed Il poor weapon
against such Il foe BY haSty mpuls,
one of those life saving thoughts that
come upon us at moment of extreme
peril. as if they were the whiSperlngS q
inspiration tore the blue woulen pom
cho from my shoulders happily. ha'
adopted the new Spanish style Of dres