Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1880-08-07
Adventures with AIIigators.

Judge was wonderful mark sman, as
full of fun as maybe; but he WAS
getting old and his oversight was fall
ing. One day we killeda monster alliga-
tor on the edge of marshy canebrake.
He had splendid teeth, and the Judge
wanted to secure them as mementOes.
The painter of the boat was tied to the
reptile leg, and we towed him across
All arm of the lake to solid ground. A
small AK was borrowed from the house
of "a cracker" near by, and we con-
cluded 20 decapitate the prize, boil the
head, and remove the teeth. The body
was so large that We could not draw it
upon the shore. A stake was cut and
pointed. and driven through the jaws
of the reptile, pinning him into the
mud. The water was probably two
feet deep. The Judge drew ont
sheath knife. and was about TO make an
incision, when he was cautioned by a
bare-footed negro, who stood on the
bank watching the operation with curl
Gus eyes.
BETTER gi. shut o. dat All gatah,
shuah. said he, .'twell he done gone
dead
"Oh. good heaven" exclaimed the
Judge, .he's been dead an hour. IL
he was alive. do you reckon he'd allow
us 20 drive stake through him."
mo gaiah am dead till de sun am
gone down." the darkie observed.
The Judge laughed. and passed me
the knife. l inserted the blade in a
bullet hole near the shoulder, and cut q
cash in the flesh, following the trend of
the diamond shaped scales beneath the
skin Judge EmmDns stood near the
monsters tail. The knife penetrated
the quiyering flesh and was stained
with blood. As quick as a flash the
tail shot from the water and the Judge
was knocked fully ten feet. The rep
tile raised its head, stake and all, and
sailed out into the lake like a submarine
battery. Judge Emmons lost his glasses,
but was fortunately unhurt- The incl
dent. however. convinced him that it
was dangerous TO fool with a dead ALI
gator until after shutdown.
in the winter of 1875 Twas encamped
in the great Turnbull Swamp, ninety
miles south of st. Augustine, hunting
deer, bears. wildcats, cougars and wild
turkeys. There was great drought,
and the savannas end swamps were
dry. Scores of alligators paraded the
dry savannas in search of water. One
day Captain Frank Sans and Tom Muir
ray, two well-known guides. rode past
the eneampment. They were looking
for sour orange stumps. with the inten-
ton of transplanting and grating them.
\ hundred yards from camp they
refined in their horses ON a burnt sa-
wanna and began to shout. Snatching
double-barreled gun, ran out on the
savanna. Their horses were prancing
around an enormou, bull alligator, vi 0
had crawled out of the dry swamp,
and who was headed for the HILLSIDE
rough River. He was confused by the /
shouts of the guides and the prancing
of their horses. and l approached him /
unseen. Stealing behind him, l ran
a long palmetto splinter into his eye.
He turned lumberingly over the black
ened stubble. and the guides struck at
him with COW whips. Driven to wari-
ness, he crouched close to the
ground. pufled out his throat, opened
his cavernous mouth. and made
noise like the rushing of a wind. A
moment afrerward | discharged load
of buckshot into each eve. The mon
ster shuddered. and stretched himself
in the agonies Of death. Captain Sans
dsmounied and buried his AK in the
reptiles tail The vcrtebra WAS sew
cred. and he was no longer dangerous,
although there was still life in the tail
1t moved slowly and uneasily ike the
tail of n wounded snake. and the guides
declared that it would not die until the
setting of the sun. At intervals the
cayman roared ike Central Park
lion, Toward night | went TO the
swamp TO mark the roosts of wild tur-
keys. The day was oppres,irely hot.
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