The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-12-23
A Nirht with Allignt0rs.

y
dropped in for chat and smoke be-
fore seeking their lodgings, The speaker
leaned back in his chair, gave mighty
pull at his pipe, sighed with the genuine
enjoyment Of relaxation, and throw his
ankles over n noighboring chair-back,
"There is nothing like il on this earth,
II Is the realization, or near IT,, of the
bood-curdlng roars of the monsters of
fairyland that tortured our youthful
imaginations. don't know how better
to describe it than by saying that it is II
loud prolonged, dental below, that
shakes the ground like an earthquake,
and al distance Of three miles il seems
not five hundred yards away"
You have heard them, ! suppose"
said the marine reporter,
"Ycs, have heard them, They are
not heard often in the tempcraeregions
Of northern Florida, but in the tropical
confines Of Lakes Windcr aud Washing
ton, and farther yet, up in Bonnet Lake,
near the Big Cypress, the source Of the
St. Johns River"
"Aboye steamboat nayigationo' sug-
gested smoker,
Yes; and beyond the tourists ever
lasting rifle the great bull alligatorlives,
tlOurishcs and bellows"
Lets all COUP there" exclaimed
the beardless junior reporter.
you would, no doubt, make an alli-
gator very agreeable company" said
the police reporter.
Yes added the news editor, Every
agreeable for the alligator When our
party was over there from Indian Eiv-
err he added, significantly, I'VE lost
our three most valuable pointers
II heard, - rotorted tho discreet Junior
reporter, getting through The door and
nearly closing ii, II heard that your
family were all wearing heavy mourn
ing about that time
Then he slammed the door aud skip.
ped, while the news editor proceeded;
in 1876 Walker LuNd, the elder tried
to get one Of hi, small steamers up into
Lake Washington He did make two
Or three trips TO Turtle Mound, a place
about halfway between the two lakes
(Wudcr and Washington, but above
that point the channel was tui ol ioat-
ing mud islands and smartwecd and
grass. We expected him up one Thurs.
day night, Several teams went over
from Indian River was fifteen miles
from our scttlcment--and Billy ,McCul-
Tough aud ! rode over on our marsh
tackeys. We made camp on the mound.
waited till dark, but no steamer came.
The mound is little hllock of perhaps
ten acres, covered with a dense Jungle
OF palmettos sweet gum trees, and wild
vines, standing out solitary ciump in
the midst Of the low, wet prairie through
which the river runs.
"A runaway British sailor named
Harness was keeping a little store on
Lake Wnder, and among other goods
had a barrel Of pinetop whisky, Some
OF the boys got hungry for u drink,
and made up party to 60 down to
Harness. We had a little red skitf at
the mound, and one after another got
in till ouly | was left They padded
away into the dark, went TO Harnesses
got drunk, came near being drowned,
and did not return till nearly daylight
made my bed and went to sleep ON
the ground.
About one o'clock the gators began
swimming back up stream They 60 in
pairs, and the males COO AS it were,
to their mates, | was sleeping very
peacefully. Suddenly something con-
yuised me. sat up, quaking in every
joint The fire was out, only red cmbers
remaining. The darkness in the dense
mosS-hung hammock that covered the
mound was profound. Bul1ardS rOost.
iug in the dark not far away were
breaking down occasional dry limbs,
and two or three opossum1 were sneak
ing around the dead ember, Of the fire
sat and shivcrcd Suddenly again,
right at the foot OF the mound, not
twenty Yards from me, came that bel
low-yods' can't describe it-a noise
had never heard in my life before
Then another below answered | seem
ed to be surrounded by them Ny first
thought WAS painters, but ! had heard
pauthers enough, and concluded il was
not they got up and CROPPED my way
to one of the wagons my riaewas gone;
IT had been taken by one OF the party
OF whisky hunters without my knowl-
edge or consent
II got up in the wagon aud calmly
waited my fate. Within twenty minutes
form as big as whale was paving
around the fire, Then he beloved |
saw by his movements that it was an
alligator 1t was not possible to see
them, but Il dozen at least must have
come zap thorc, They made away with
every thing they could find, Then |
shouted, yelled, swore and danced in
the Wagon felt about for q wagon
stake, but there was none.
Then through the stiffness Of tho
night heard, alar of, tho prolonged
.ally-whoo Of the cowboy, The crowd
was coming back drunk,
Il think it sobored them upa bit
when they saw that camp
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