The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1890-02-21

an little niggas. wy on'y las Satd'y B
big gator jis scooped up an swallered
two Nv the ole woman's pigs. An ole
Jake Tonsing los . fine ca'f yest'd'y
mewnin rite up dar." pointing to . small
cabin about 200 yards above.
All OF us caught the excitement, and il
wasn't many minutes before we were
Old Uncle Joe tied up his scow and We
fastened our horses to the trees, knowing
we could not use them in the swamp. A
walk OF o 400 yards over the morass
brought us to an open space where the
creek widened and deepened into q small
Hero we found about a dozen men
and boys surrounding q tremendous alli-
gator, which WIS doing his level best to
get back to the water and to snap up some
OF the more venturesome darkies. He
was fully 100 feet away, however. and the
crowd had surrounded him with long
poles and axes. Whenever an opportunity
presented itself u or the other would
hit him over the nose with his long pole,
while two OF three who had axes were
trying to get in q blow ut his head, but
with poor success. However. they kept
the sanrian from getting away while one
old fellow was trying to slip o moose over
his head. The old darby had the rope
hung over the end of a long pole with
which he tried to slip il overthe allixator's
neck, but the old reptile wat too sma,t,
with all his apparent awkwardness, and
he kept his long snout from Icing caught
by swinging it out of the way or swapping
at the rope.
just rs We came up. q little darby
Of as0 ,se ]. .I III IL yssrt ts old Ct F's, wi, ns.fa reach 81,
gan flew around and struck the boy Just
below the small of the back and knocked
him twenty feet away. landing him in a
big bunch of swamp grass. The boy was
the sou of an old fellow who had been
standing i'll front of the gator, looking
for nh opportunity to fire q load of shot
out of an old Musket into the animals
eyes. lnfuriated ut his h%opeful's mis-.
hap. and perhi ups thinking that he was
badly hurt, the old darky banged away
For all the damage he did the alligator,
he may as we'll have fired ut q sheet of
boiler iron. The shot glanced of the
four of the darkies, and then pnnde-
monium broke loose. They forgot all
about tire gator, and went fol that old.
darby. If it hadn't been for the new ar
rivals the animal would have got away
doubtless, and the old musketeer would
have got a threshing. but we called them
of, and went more systematically TO work
to capture the saurian.
While one stood on each side, poking
their poles at his eyes whenever he tried
to turn or back away, old Joe took the
rope and pole and soon had the moose
over his head. Then, with a yell of sat.
isfaction, the darkies all got hold OF the
heavy rope and pulled it taut.
One end was turned about o tree, and
as fast as a foot was gained the slack was
taken up, until after Il half hour's hard
labor the alligator's nose was pulled close
up to the tree.
During the entire timo taken up in
landing the gator safely the air was in
terlarded with interjections and ejacula-
tions of hatred from the daikies who had
suffered to appease his ravenous appe-
tito:
.swallered my yallor pup las week,
did 20, you formal scoun'el?"
"Chawed up ole Gabe's caf, UNI!
humph! Cess We dun creatin' 'sturbapce
in dis yer n%aborhood?"
Il dun spec youse snme ole gator
what got Cato Shifts boy las summer
Won't have no more good times MASTER
catin little niggas, you ole debbil!"
The alligator made o last struggle to
escape. He snapped his grcnt jaws with
their rows of long, sharp teeth, thrashed
his long, dangerous tail about, but it was
useless; the negroes soon put an end to
his career with an az. After he was
killed they drew him up and skinned him
and knocked out his teeth. The fat was
taken away to DO tried into oil, and the
rest of the carcass left for the buzzards,
which were already sailing overhead,
having scented their prey from afar.
On the way back to the boat, accom-
panied by the crew of 'gator-hunters, we
learned how they had trapped the alli-
gator. The saurian is extremely fond of
dogs, which they often follow into the
fields for quite q distance in hopes,
doubtless, of capturing some unlucky
canine. Fol- some weeks past We learned
an alligator had been creating havoc
among the pigs and calves of the negroes
along tho edge of the swamp and they
had determined to capture or kill it.
knowing its weakness they had tied a
half-grown pup to a small tree about 200
and while Of their number stood on
watch for the first appearance of their
victim the rest of the crowd retired to the
shade, and, negro-like, stretched them
selves out for q nap. It was afternoon.
just before We arrived ut the river bank,
when the boy on watch reported the pres
ence of the gator. The negroes waited
until he was within a few feet of the cry
ing and bowling pup before they broke
cover. Whether they would have sue
ceeded in killing their enemy without
help is q question of serious doubt to my
mind. However, when they did finally
succeed in killing him they were the most
delighted lot of darkies / had seen in
many days.