Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-09-01
A TALK ABOUT ALL1GAToRs.
An Old Lo,tisid,aian Hunter Tells What Il e
KnO,Us about Them.

hnOtDS AOOuC 1NeDl.
A correspondent of the st. Louis Globe
Democrat has conae upon couple of hunts
men down in Texas, one of whom he found
exceedingly communicative upon the sub
ject of alligators. They were returning,
after weeks sport shooting such "prairie
chickens . in the great plain bordering on
Brazos river. One of them was native and
long resident of Louisiana, and proceeded to
give, in detail, what he knew about alligators
in general, and his success in hunting them
on this particular occasion. He had no idea
he was talking to newspaper man, and gave
full vent to his "experience." During the
hunt from which the old Nimrod was just
returning, he and his companion came to q
plantation on the famous Oyster Creek
lands, the place being cul-
tivated by COL Castleton, in Fort Bend
county. On the farm is beautiful lake,
and in this lake the notorious alligator has
made his home from the earliest recollec-
tions. While sitting under the shade of
some trees on its banks the hunters dogs
leaped into the lake and swan to the centre.
Here their presence frightened from
their summer snoozes a school of
alligators- young, old, male and
female. The saurians, with their long,
saw-ike shouts above the surface, beat the
water with their serrated tails, and struck a
Decline for shore. The hunters were i'm
mediately on the alert, and, taking islands, y
awaited the approach. Finally the Nimrods
store loose'' at them with their shot guns,
aiming at the small pig-like eyes of the am
phibians- that being the most vulnerable
part of the alligator. They were successful.
One after another was killed, until five ALI
gators were counted among the trophies.
Generally when one was hit he dived, but
came up again, and lay a floating carcass on
the surface of the lake, his shining belly gilt
tering like FURNISHED gold in the August
sunlight. One old 'sbull'' was
harder dispatched than his brethren.
He was twelve feet long,
his back was rough with the rust of several
decades, and at the first shot his upper Jaw
turned upward on its hinges, displaying q
regular row of formidable teeth. This old
alligator brought down his upper jaw on the
lower with sudden snap # rage, beat the
water with his tail into white foam, and
beloved with a sort of half roar. He then
Owed, but rose again, and, after much
foundering, turned over on his back, dead.
swell, that's pretty good for Texas re-
marked the correspondent.
ooh, we'll, stranger, that's nothin' to what
have seed in Louisiana. In the fust place
you think an alligator twelve feet longs a
mighty big 'un, reckon?''
cts about as long as ever saws
''Ihat's only moderate sized one. I've
seed them in Louisiana all of twenty feet, and
body in proportion. That was in the bayous
near the sea coast
Gt'Thaf9o vorx, 1orro cbo,,11 ;ul~o w.,
ever, I know but very little about your ALI
gator.''
II duz. You can't tell me nuthin' bout
an alligator. In Louisiana they hunts 'em
like any other ANIMAL
"What for? don't see what they could
make out of it except the sport of the
thing.'''
81 can tell you. Thar's the lie. The alli-
gator makes the best lie in the world. I've
known bar'ls an bar'ls made out of 'em.
Then thar's the hide. It makes fust rate
boots and shoes, only trihe leaky, pr'aps.
If man makes dizziness of it, alligator
huntin' will pay. The huntin' is done in
this way: You get into boat-a small skiff
will do. You take torch and gun. The
bright light draws the gators, who flock
around the boat, and you kin jest set in a
shootin' of 'em.
'"Thar's one pecooliarity about 'em l
guess you never dreamed off,
'sWhat's that?''
"They carry in the mouth riglar bag or
little bladder o musk, just the same as rat
hesnake carries bag of poison behind his
fangs.''
GIVE heard they eat lightwood knots
when hard up for NEAL
GIVE never seen 'em do it, but have hearn
they do when travelin' on land in the pine
woods of Florida
'What's their diet, anyhow"
"They like fish, but are death on SIGH
animals as fall in their way, SIGH as hogs and
dogs, of which the 'gater is very fond. When
assaultin' their prey they ginerally do it
with their long tails, which are used to bring
the victim to their mouths. Thar months
and tails meet, maxim circle of thar
bodies.''
"They attack men sometimes?'
ssSeldom ever. The alligator is real
coward and always afeared of man. I've
swan out toward em many a time in the
bayous, and they always got out of the way
'Six days of the week he's invisible and on
the seventh he's ncomprehensible, was the
account which dissatisfied old lady gave of
her pastor and his ministrations.