Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1893-02-11
The Size Of AlliRators.

our saurIan no longer than an ordinary
lead pencil, says writer in the C.,,-
inrV; this was in the season of their
Matching. have also seen a few liv.
ing specimens about sixteen feet in
length. In the summer of 1875 | oh.
tanned from the late Effingham Law.
renee, Member Of Congress AMI com.
missioner from Louisiana to the Cen
tenni,l exhibition, the dried skin of al
alligator which, after at least fifteen
inches had been cut from the end OF
the tail, still measured seventeen feet
ten inches in length. Allowing more
than six inches for shrinkage in drying.
this monster of his kind, alive, must
have measured more than twenty feet.
He was killed in the lower part OF
Bayou Lafourche.
Probably the largest alligator ever
seen in Louisiana was killed in a small
lake on the plantation Of H. J. Feltus,
in Concordia Parish. According to the
statement of Mrs. Feltus, now of Baton
Rouge, this specimen measured twenty
two feet in length. The great reptile
had long been famous for miles around,
having destroyed numbers of hogs and
hounds owned in the neighborhood of
his retreat. He had become so wary,
from the number of Intellectual shots
fired at him, as to be almost unap.
proachable. Finally he fell victim to
q long shot fired from q Mississippi
rife in the hands OF Mr.. Feltus, who
had persevered in hunting him, having
been the greatest loser by his depreda-
tions. The huge carcass of this reptile
was towed to the bank by a boat. 1t
required the strength of pair of mules
and a stout rope to haul it ashore,
where the measurement was made with
the resn above nosed.
Stilt Walking.
Locomotion on stills is evidently cal.
culatcd to suggest peril to persons who
are accustomed to walking only ON the
iert We estimate the po Sibe DANCE,
OF Il fall from the height Of these inplc.
mrnts from our experience of ordinary
pedestrians falls; but the Landais. h:l
3ltuate,l from infancy to- this sort of cx
rrriSe. acquire extraordinary ease and
skill III it, The tchangue is pcrfc tly
thl" to preserve his cluiibi I'M: he
inlr''hes with long stri,ic~, h,lts in y
standing position. runs with agility. or
executes an "ccasj nal arroba ic turn,
picking up a stone from, the ground,
pluckins a flower, pretending to fall
and rise quickly, or running i'll lock
step, etc.
The speed attained by stiltsmen is
easily explained. when Ne regard fin.
super NJ I"A2gth OF the stride W gich ,,,r>
:',it mitae wiih"uF ,Hlai@ing th a.,,.n.
N >''pAr1i N If Tia. I,:>.
" n"n l,:r l,n. rr ' Jo>,p i &C. .,,,i
t" m'"i M "t""n ~; ,';.,',. it i ~,
the IN ,n;'i j,!ity .,ut ii ,..ll, .t.,, -,
v"i;n i."''.l i, ,ji;,snl'n +" r....,.. II r.
Turning; hr,.',. lhey very r;,,ii> it. ii an
vi il i ~ car,i@ Is. although ttl., hor,,.>
iroited rapllly. During her sojonln at
b'HoAn", the shepherds on their .tiits
ave much amusement to the Iu,ii,.> oi
the coirt They ran races, threw
money On the ground an,i all tried to
lirk 1t up at once. aud perforu.l many
eNerci, e> of cunning and skid. accom-.
panied vita frequent falls. The prizes
usually consi,te of a gun, shrrn. a
rooster, or something of the hinl and
Young women sometimes took part III
the eAerci .es.