The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1898-12-08
TALES OF PLUCK
And ADVENTURE.
A Terrific Fight With Alligators

Perhaps the most exciting alligator
hunt ever known is the one in which
the attacking force were party of
English officers OF Her Maiesty's ship
Pelican and two other young English
men, Henry Forbes and Frank Win
ters. The latter are authority for the
story as it is now being told in Pana-
ma, near which place the hunt for
the saurians took place.
The party left the bay of Panama
in the Pelican's launch, accompanied
by native guides. They were armed
with Remington rifles and with re-
volvers. The launch made run of
twenty miles to the south of the Rio
Sucio without incident.
The hunters presently reached a
kind of open pool, with small streams
and back waters radiating in every
direction. The air was heavy with
the sickening, heavy smell of musk,
which indicated the proximity of the
haunts of the saurian. Guided by q
peon tie boats turned up small
creek, and upon rounding a sharp
bend the hunters were greeted with a
wonderful spectacle. A vast stretch
of mud was entirely covered with a
living mass of basking alligators.
There were hundreds of the repulsive
reptiles. The place was literally paved
with scaly saurians, big and little. A
person could have walked all over the
island without once touching the mud
itself.
In attempting to get close to the
vast herds both boats grounded. The
occupants were so excited that the
grounding was considered small
thing. With one accord the men
stood up and began pumping lead into
the. unconscious gators. The scene
that ensued is beyond the power of
words to describe.
sUp to this time the hunters had not
realized the gravity of their predicas
-ment in being aground. The un-
pleasant fact dawned upon them that
the boats were between the hundreds
of angry alligators and the river be-
hind, so that in order to escape the
reptiles were compelled to pass them
by some means. No sooner had every
rifle been discharged than the whole
hideous herd made dash for safety,
which was right over the boats. It
was a question of courage and prompt
ness then.
Death stared them in the face.
The barking guns poured a deadly
hail of lead into the advancing
saurians. To the horror of the hun
ters the brutes did not seem to care
for the hot fire, Notwithstanding that
numbers of them were already dead
on the river bank. Hundreds and
hundreds of the repulsive creatures
were crawling down upon the boats,
their long tails trailing in the mud as
they advanced.
On the right hand side OF the boats
nine or ten of the largest gators lay
in their death throes, lashing the
reeking mud with their tails and
hurting the sinking filth high into
the air. The monsters crawled over
one another in their hurry to escape.
There was a wilderness of swapping
Jaws and catapultic tails before the
hunted hunters. The revolvers came
into active play. and the spiteful
barks of the weapons were mixed with
the hoarse roars of the maddened
brutes. It was perfect avalanche Of
alligators.
At the critical moment an accident
occurred which for time palsied the
nerves and froze the very blood Of the
men, whose eyes shone with the light
of battle. Several of the brutes dived
into the mire under the canoe, which
had the effect of heeling the little craft
over. The sudden movement threw
Winters, whowas standing in the bow,
into the semi liquid mud with a tremen-
dous splash. The gators snapped at
him from all sides, and he was rescued
only after terrific and well-directed
fire had created diversion in the un-
happy mans favor.
Presently the saurians began to whip
the mire with their tails. There was
a general tattoo, and as result of the
tremendous blows it raised foul-smell-
ing, green and black mud. In minute
or two the boats were nearly half filled
with blood and water, and the mems
clothes we're covered with the loath-
some mixture. Apeon was in stoop-
ing posture slashing at the brutes
with his machete, when his arm was
nearly broken by blow from swing
ing tail.
There were numerous accidents that
heightened the excitement of the
struggle. The greater number of the
reptiles had got past the crafts. As
a result of the unprecedented battle
there were about 80 dead reptiles.
1t was q hunt that will never be for
gotten by those who participated in it.
The boats started back for Panama
the next morning, night being spent
on the bank upon which they were
around. After an absence of thirty
five hours the young men got back to
II L., l.