The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-02-22
THEMAJoR's ALLIGATOR STORY.
Perhaps This is IA True Incident of Lif,
in the Far-Down South.

as.I ". P. Cooper, chief of the mis-
cellaheous division of the interior
department, usually entertains his
visitors with stories of life in the far
down south. To a party of friends
who clustered around him recently he
told the following yarn:
''At camp fire in South Florida,
friend of mine, one of the natives, said:
Did you ever hearn tell of how Bill
Sprowles onct ketched a big gator?
said No Well, he continued, when
Bill and | lived in Polk county we lost
lots of hogs by gators, and one time
me and Bill was ridin' through the
woods in our range lookin' up some
meat hogs, when we come to little
lake, about forty acres, reckon, or
about 400 yards wide. Right in the
middle of it big black hog was a
tloatin' dead, and swimmin' near it the
biggest gator l ever seed-he must
have been twenty foot long if err inch
Bill was high-tempered man, and he
got powerful mad and swore and
cussed and said he knowed the hog
was hissen, and though he didn't have
nary gun with him, he'd be blamed
if he didn't get that blasted
gator anyhow. l tried to stop
him, but it warn't no use-he
tuck and cut stick about as big
round as my wrist and about two feet
long and sharpened both ends, then he
tuck the twenty-foot rope he had for a
halter and tied it to the middle of that
stick, he shucked off his clothes, and
just with stick and rope, as naked as
he was born, he commenced to swim
out to that ALFRED gator. At first
the gator didn't pay no 'tention to
him, but kept swimmin' round the
dead hog but when Bill got in about
fifty yards of him, he turned and
headed for Bill. Bill he stopped swim
min and just hit the stick in front and
shuck it from side to side to make a
splashin' sound. Then that gator
| .55-Tairfed for Bill, slow at first, but faster
as he came, till the water fairly billed,
and when he got n about ten foot of
him his jaws flew open and | could see
his tusks shinin' through the fog of
water, and his mouth looked ten foot
wide.
",'Gee WhilliKins" l hollered, Good
by, Bill but no, stree. Bill he Just
kept his place and hilt that stick at
arms length in front of him, and
when the gator got close enough, just
showed it into its mouth. That cussed
gator shet down on it with snap, and
it Just stuck at both ends and propped
his mouth wide. open. The 'gator
Bill, he hilt his holt and looked at the
gator, the gator tried to turn his head
one way and the other, he tried to 90
backward and then to go forer'd, but
it warnt no use. Bill hilt on and a
usin' one arm and hand swan back to
the shore. a bringin' the gator with
him, and tied him to a stump, and then
he said: You burned old amniverous
cuss-which means you eats meat, and
likes hogs best-ru go home and get
an AK and come back here and finish
you
"My friend having concluded this re-
markable nara ton, took a long Whit
at his pipe and regarded me earnestly.
Despite my efforts to be politely credu-
lous, my expression, fear, did not ex-
actly please him, for he said, little
stiffiy: That is a solemn fact, as true
as gospel, and you may believe it just
the same as if you had seen it your
self / expressed my regret that had
not had that privilege. Washington
Post