The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-03
SHOOTING GATORS.
LIVELY SPORT CONTAINING A DASH
OF GENUINE ADVENTURE.

sport Is tn Go After the Saurians In u
Dugout, but 1t Has Elements of Danger,
A few years ago alligator hunting was
80 popular In Florida that hundreds Of
sportsmen won't south to got q shot Mt q
fow of tho largo saurians, but when the
natives found that thoro was a commercial
value in their hides and teeth, the work Of
determination began with great zeal.
Tho alligators arc hunted by the Indians
and white men. These great saurians
have learned to avoid mankind and boats
of any kind, and oven in the faroff wilder
ness of south Florida thoy steal away from
tho noisy paddler While many are still
along tho rivor st. Johns, it is rarely that
passengers get glimpse of ono from tho
decks of tho steamboats,. They slide off
the logs or mud banks long before they arc
sighted by tho keen eyed visitors.
Tho old way Of hunting alligators by
night Is still carried on with moro or loss
success in parts Of south Florida Tho
hunters equip themselves with knives,
rifles and bullsoyo lanterns and then seek.
tho track of tho alligators near tho lagoon
as soon us it is dark The alligator leaves
u deep, plain rut in the sand as he travels
from ono pond to another, and it Is an
easy matter to discover such trail and
follow 1t.
Tho same track is used night after night
and by any number of tho saurians. They
like to take tho old beaten track and
rarely attempt to make new one unless
frightened away. They waddlo along at
nighttime and mako such noise that tho
hunters can hear them u long distance off.
Tho hunters remain quiet concealed in
tho darkness, until several largo fellows
are close to thom; then tho light Of the
lantern Is turned full upon them Tho
bright rays of tho light fairly paralyze the
creatures, and they remain perfectly quiet,
staring at tho light with bullying eyes
The eyes are tho targets for the hunters
1t Is useless to attempt to puncture their
tough skins with rifle bullet Tho ball
would only glance off and the creatures
escape. But if one is keen marksman
he can send n ball straight at the target
and strike tho brain Of the crawling rep
tile. If he misses his mark, tho alligator
will turn tail and retreat.
1t is no easy matter to capture the crca-
ture after he has finally turned to fee
Tho heavy tail could knock tho life out of
man or break his log. Clubbing over
tho head would do little good, and besides
the animal might take a savage bite at
you that would cause q serious miShap.
Although quiet, slothful and cownrdly on
the land in tho daytime the saurians are
savage and active enough at nighttime.
They love the darkness and can SEQ much
better than the hunter.
The alligators are very migratory in
their habits and love to travel from one
pond of water to another. Formerly they
did this in the daytime rs we'll as at night,
but they now rarely show themselves out
of the water except after dark. In the
winter they become more restless than in
the summer, and they frequently travel
long distances in large tlocks. If one is
fortunate enough to strike their trail, he
can Ito great amount of slaughter.
1t takes some time for the creatures TO
get it into their heads that danger is ahead,
and the flock will not change its course
until dozen or more have been killed on
the bloody trail.
The size of Florida alligators has been
variously estimated and reported, but it il
rare that "a very old fellow is found in the
south today. An old one will measure
from 10 to 10 feet in length and his tail
will consequently DO u formidable weapon,
measuring about half the length of his
whole carcass.
When lying in the mud apparently
asleep, the approach of q small darby or a
calf is noted by the saurian, and when
within reaching distance the tail will fly
around with the rapidity of lightning,
breaking the legs of tho prey and knock.
ing him over The reptile will then pounco
upon his victim and devour bones, haii
and everything. If help should appear
upon the scene in the shape of man or an
angry bull or mother COW, the great reptile
will crawl toward tho water, dragging his
victim with him. In the water tho ALI
gator Is king of all he surveys and it Is
risky work TO attempt to follow an enrag
cd ono there.
The true sport in the Everglades is shoot
ing alligators from the small dugout. The
great saurians can often be found in con
siderable numbers on the logs or mud
banks in some sunny cove. A good padtllel
will force the boat up close to tho creature.
The eyes Of the animal arc small, and il
takes SOME time to locate them There il
slight CLEAN In the sunlight and this
forms the marksman's only target. 1t re.
quircs a steady hand to send the ball home
true. If it hits tho eye, tho alligator slides
of the log into tho water and thrashcs
around for few moments in great style,
ending up usually by turning over upon
his back and kicking his last in this posi-
ton
Naturally the c0mmOtion startles the
rest of tho inhabitants Of the quiet cove.
Scores of frightened birds shoot up into
the air with wild screams, and numerous
splashos in the wator show you how many
other reptiles were sleeping on logs.
II by chance tho creature is only injured
and not killed by the rifle bullet, he is just
as apt to turn upon tho boat rs no Is to
slido to tho bottom of the pond An en-
ragged wounded alligator in tho water is u
formidable zoo to encounter. His power
for OWL is tremendous. While no may be
at your mercy on land, the conditions are
now just reversed. Now York World.