The Red Cloud chief., 1896-08-21

''' MINK vi uOsS, me nclcnlnE OF nolS'S,
the braying Of mules. and the believing
or cattle. lie opened his front door
ana saw alligators ranging in size from
the gigantic saurlan to the playful lit
tie reptile not more than n foot long
disporting themselves about his yard.
There were two or three big bull ALI
gators on the porch, only a few PAGES
form the farmers bare feet. The
Rounds had chased some of the alliga-
tors into fence orners, and whole
irovcs of ~alligators were prancing
along the walks and chasing each 9th
er under the rose bushes.
Mr.. Perdu rubbed his eyes. aud after
taking a second look he shouted for
his wife and his Winchester.
This is what had happened. Not a
drop of rain has fallen In this section
II country for more than two months,
ana IN consequence of this fact nearly
all creeks, ponds, and bayous are az
dry as the throat of a famous Texas
politician from whom his friends had
to hide the coal oil can. Alligators can
live a long time on dry land. and when
the lake or bayou in which they live
has dried mp they will lie around in
the hot mud or sand for n few days.
looking very disconsolatc. After awhile
hey will give II up and strike straight
across the country toward the nearest
lake or river. They generally travel
At night. Led by an old bull. they will
march straight TO the nearest water.
as II they had been over the road a
hundred times before.
Courtney's lake Is the rayorl,c
haunt of hundreds of ~alligators. and
lcver but once before within the men,
Dry OF the Oldest Texan was IL entirely
Try until a few weeks ago. A dozen or
more young folks wen down there last
Monday on n fishing expedition and
hey were surprised to find that the bed
d the famous lake afforded "A first-rate
place for playing baseball, or running
races on bicycles. and that it was not
much Of a place for fish.
These young people scared the ALI
gators of into the woods, and on that
very night the whole army of saurians
concluded to emigratc To the BrazOs
river. some II miles away. They march
I'd out OF the bottom and struck the prai.
RE not far from the old San Antonio
a Here they found an insurmount-
abe obstacle In the shape Of a hog
proof barbed wire fence.
They followed the line of fence for
three miles, until they came to Farmer
Perdus gate. This gate Is kent closed
by a heavy weight attached to a chain.
me alligators were evidently trying TO
ret through the wire fence at every
STEP II when the big bull that led
the army put his nose against the gate
II found that IL readily yielded. he
was no doubt highly pleased. He crept
INTO Mr.. Perdu's yard, and the nose of
the next gator behind him kept the
gate from closing. In this way the
whole lot, OF more than 100 a~lligators.
soon found themselves inside the ward
The yard Is not large. and the alIiga.
tors were not long in discovering that
while 1t had been an easy matter to
get into the Enclosure, getting out was
altogether another thing.
The dogs were no long in seeming
the saurians, and they went to barking
In a way that Farmer Perdu had never
heard before. The horses. hogs and
cattle in the adjacent lots acted IA
though they were much frightened.
All or this commotion aroused MI. Per-
du' and he says that when he opened
MS door and saw the yard full Of
etrange looking monsters he eXperi-
enced a feeling OF horror no words can
describe. Although he has been living
In TeNas for 10 years, he has never be.
fore seen an alligator.
lie said: Il had no idea what the
awful looking creatures were. | rub
bed my eyes and looked at them and
wondered If ! were not dreaming"
One of the big monsters on the porch
opened Its mouth and snapped It's Jaws
close to Mr.. Perdu's feet. Mr.. Perdu
has some five boys, who are fond of
fishing. Their experience made them
wiser than their father, in natural his.
tory at least. Aroused by tho groans
OF the old man and his wild shouts for
his Winchester, the boys rushed to the
windows, and instantly recognized the
faces of their old enemies, who had Of
ten kept them from swimming in the
cool waters OF Courtney's lake.
They got their guns and went boldly
out into the yard and opened a fusil-
Il d upon the monsters. The old people
in the house were engaged in earnest
prayer, and the boys out in the yard
were having more fun than they ever
had before in their lives. An alligator
Is not easily killed. 1t took a half
dozen shots to lay out n OF the old
bulls.
The funniest part OF the affair was
the excitement that 1t created In the
ne~ighborhood. The rapid firing OF the
guns, accompanied by the shouts of
the boys. aroused the whole neighbor-
hood. Old soldiers around on the prai-