Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1873-07-02

'sss~elng 70 my neck the little pouch
containing the cartridges, l sally forth
IN the water. IN
Ihero are rarely less than four alli.
gatoP in sight, and others arc fire.
queqtly attracted 10 the scene of &C.
tion'by the noise. Selecting one which
WITH to shoot, / wade out up to my
shoulders and commence operations.
At BE distance l am generally able
70 pIace tho alligator between me and
the bore, and then, with as little
nois> ps possible, make my approach.
Wh& from fifteen to twenty yards
on ~ generally goes under. This is
the most favorable time to advance,
and I hasten TO the spot whero saw
him saat, Onco in position, ! brace
n3 s@4 fcs the slot; and Just here !
wish TO say TO those who have never
shot rife when breast high in tidal
water, that extreme accuracy is next
to impossible, as the water sways you
10 and fro and forces the shot TO be
made with what old hunters call the
"double wobbls.' Rarely more than
two minutes expire before the eyes
frat, and then the whole head, become
visible, as his alligatorship comes up
to reconnoitro the surrounding water.
The distance now is seldom more than
twelve yards, and, with two barrels
to rely on, rarely fail to kill. et
One afternoon, later than l usually
went bathing, had waded out and
unsuccessfhlly fred at two small ALI
gators quite distance off, and was
returning to place my rife nshore,
preparatory to enjoying a swim, when
l espied the largest alligator it has
ever been my fortune to see. l can
didly admit l wished myself in shal.
lower water. Except to pass near
him, there was no way out, anless |
swan across the lake, an impossibility,
for he was directly between mo and
the shore. / would have fred from
where stood, but, not expecting to
see any others, l had unfortunately
wasted oil but the two cartridges then
in The rife in previous shots. was
moreover unoomfortably deep in the
water, 80 retrograde movement was
out of the question, and the only
course left me to pursue was direct
advance.
The shooting had probably brought
him from his summing place among the
reeds and marsh grasses some fifty
odd yards below, and the rays of tho
now fast setting sun shining from
that direction had prevented either
Y. or myself from seeing him as he
quietly approached until quite near.
l involuntarily glanced around as
men are prone 20 do when in situa-
tion somewhat dangerous. The sun,
not set, was nevertheless below the
cypree swamp that borders the further
side ST the lake, yet his rays still lin.
gered, touching beautifully the light
clouds that high above our head
basked in bis last smile, and took,
under his magic light, all the varied
forms of an escaping Proteus. Far
10 the North the bright red had faded
to a pale yellow, while the darker
stratus had piled themselves into IN.
couth shapes ofsuch creatures as might
have had existence in the pre-. Adamic
or Triassic period. I did not in i'm
agination see the great Nothosaurus
in the clouds, but in reality saw his
possibly lineal descendant in the wa.
ter turn slowly his huge form and
swim towards me. shouted and
splashed the water. This unusual
proceeding had the effect desired,
for he stopped. l seized the oppor.
tunity TO hurriedly advance, and was
soon sufficiently out Of the water TO
allow mo to fire with something like
accuracy. / now paused, and cooking
The rife initiated as best l could the
whining of a dog. On he then came,
until could plainly see bis ugly eyes
watching me intently as he swami
Almost imperceptibly j raised the rife
TO my shoulder, awaiting for him TO
stop q moment. At last IL came, and
tho distance was certainly not over
ten yards. A quick sight, q steady
pressure on the trigger and the loud
report rang out on the lake, the wa.
tors we're stained with blood and con-
vulsed for moment with his strug-
giles. Soon foot and then part Of
the body appeared at the surface
This was tho sign Of death oil was
over, so we dragged him out, and he
measured almost fourteen feet.
BARRING Blot.