The Lamar register., 1896-03-14

"h ise I'VE oahE ana tnaae tho eontort-
cd trunks Of ,he paimsttos assume more
fantastic shapes against the back
ground OF darkness behind them. Ths
silence Of the night, which in those dis
fnai solitudes Il almost oppressive. was
broken only at rars intervals By the dig
tant hoo, OF an ovi or the weird cry o.
some Ersst nisht heron a. 20 winged Its
lonely, uasssu hlght TO q iayorits Ia
Eoou. had fallen into 4 train OF re-
hscsioL whsn wss suddenly awakened
BY my ooiiesxus whispering for me 10
throw the beams Of the lantern 70 the
right When ths belt Of light was
moved 70 ths desired point two balls
OF soft light shone = iow inches above
,hs surface Of The water. was abou,
to shoot. when my movement was ar
rested By the hurried exclamation,
Tender Don't" OF my guide. who. with
few s,ieat sweeps o, the paddle on the
part side Of the boat. swung II around
TO the right o, the reptile. The ma
neuysr, ! later learned. was TO obtain
FOR me hde shot. because a bullet
striking obliqasly always glsnees 90
thick are the scales that cover the en-
tire body Of the animal From his prev
lous Conversation assumed that he
would aequAint me when TO shoot. and
was not mistaken 10 this belief. as he
presently whispered IN creole French.
Don lui- give Il to him).
At this moment Ne were 90 close
upon our intended victim that the con-
,rneted beam Of Hight caused its eve 10
shine as ~ the great kohinoor was there
itself Placing the rife held at its
head, pulled the trigger. The light
Immediately disappeared. reappearlng
a few seconds later In a new direction,
and aa quickly sank a second time.
During this time the huge saurian
lAshsd It's tail from side TO side with
such yiKnr that had my guide been less
Skiliful tn handling a paddle We wonld
have been certainly svHmped- These
struggles Of the wounded saurian.
though vioisn, while they lasted. were
OF short duration. and Il at las, hoated,
iifelrSs. on the surface.
Ny guide. who carried a rope for the
purpose. Immediately fastened It about
the neck Of our quarry. and towing II
ashore. allowed Il to remain until the
following morning. when he returned to
remove It's hide. The preceding sum
m.r. he Informed me. he shipped over
twenty OF these hides TO the fur mar
kets Notwithstanding the high price
at which alligator skins sell when man
ufzctured into shoes. poekethooks and
ether small articles generally made OF
leather. he received only about.si apiece
for his pslts. The alligator Is impatient
of cold and at fall Of temperature bur
les itself In the mud. where II remains
until the return Of warmth Though IL
ia stated that the alligator Is especial
~ fond OF human flesh and frequently
solEes human being and drags II to
its sabAquatie haunts 10 de devoured at
leisure, the charge cannot be wholly
substRntiated Tha; Il Is very often
detected in the act OF stealing pig
from the pen. 10 reach which II has
been obliged to make long journey
over dry land, can be well attested. its
movements on land are slow and awk-
ward, and. through two long bones
raising alongside OF It's head. prevent
ing any mobility of that member. any
body with ordinary agility can avoid its
huge jaws by jumping nimbiy to one
side. Woe to anyone, however. that
thoughtlessly approaches TO within
reach OF It's long. sturdy tall with
which. in its fayorite element, # propels
Itself with admirable sviftness and pre-
cislon-