Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1900-02-05

the men making as little noise as posi-
Bile. the location of the animal now be-
ing indicated by a swirl of water not 20
feet away. Whatever il was, II was eyi
IDENTITY feeding in the shallow water" said
the narrator to a CORES pendent OF the
St. Louis Globe Democrat. No a word
was said as the boat slowly drifted up:
the harpooner stood erect and ready,
when suddenly. II feet from the boat. up
came the broad. corrugated back of "A
huge crocodile, and the next moment a
sharp pointed muzzle protruaed from the
water, having In its jaws q ray. which il
tossed from side TO side. endeavoring to
tear the wide body asunder.
1T was a crocodile. there was no doubt
in our minds, and SO bus;ly engaged was
it that it did not see the boat until it had
covered FIVE or six feet more. Then the
harpooner leaned back, and as the big
head turned he threw the iron.
well struck! cried some one as the
iron hit the animal, trembling as it kept
its place. Then the great tail came hiss
ing out of the water, struck the slender
mast. the man dropping into the bottom
of the boat. and broke il off as cleverly as
though it had been done with a knife.
Look out for the incl Jump to wind
ard. Stern all hands," were the orders
that followed as IN those few seconds the
crocodile had made a desperate rush,
jerked the boat 50 rapidly To one side
that she almost tipped over and was now
away like a race horse. headed for the
mainland. with an ominous wave in front
thai threatened now and then to come
aboard and waup the light craft. We
all lay now as far in the stern as we
could get to keep the bow out of the wa
ter while the steed raced on.
Il knew we would have to stop his be
imal would make a rush over some shall
low and break the rope. 50 when we had
gone perhaps half a mile | took the line.
passed il aft. and we all began to haul in
This only excited our racer To more fer
vent efforts. and he turned suddenly.
again almost tipping over tie boat. We
gradually gained 81 him until finally the
boats bow was just over his sIashing tail
that was beating the surface with power
full lateral blows and forcing him along
We had a rifle in the boat. and my man
now took ii and. aiming al the neck. fired
There was little doubt as to its effect.
as the crocodile stopped. plunged head
Town. striking the bottom in the shallow
water and. seemingly standing on its
head. swept the surface with its tail like
a whale. We had the oars ready and
backed. but not before one had been
struck and broken and the boat nearly
filed.
An at once continued the planteI
after a short pause. -our game riEhted
and plunged ahead savagely. then swan
in a circle and finally keeled ever. where
upon we raised Il shout Of triumph and
hauled alongside. He was a beauty-not
20 feet long. by any means. but at leas1
10; q splendid specimen Of a seagoint
crocodile. As he was too large to tow in
IL p-d. .1aeS4.4 - b.-rf hsy, nI,-~I IT.
accomplish this the seats We're lifted or
and q rope made fast to his tail. and b.
was then slowly and carefully hauled in
Finally. when the body was balances
across the boat. ne was swung around
aud DROPPED in iengthwiSe. The seat
were then out on top Of the body, and
flushed with victory. we started 70
camp. now in sight
III was rather difficult to use the oars,
as the animal WAS higher than the gun
vale. but We made fairly satisfactory
progress and we're close enough TO camp
to shout the news when the unexpected
happened. An earthquake would moi
have created greater CONSERVATION The
dead crocodile rose into the air as II i'm
PEELED from below. forming a great hoop
and lifting seats and oarsTnen several
feet. then dropped bach and began a 81
rieS Of struggles that turned the tables
completely. Selling the forward seat in
its jaws. it ground aud twisted the soft
pine. while the powerful tail carried dev
rstatiou wherer n it struck. and pres
entity the water Toured in. sending Us all
overheard. | Jumped just ahead of tie
flying tail that sounded like a vhiplash
when it struck. the ether men either fall
or rolling overheard
Fortunately the water was not over
Unree ur7 II oepTn, SO ve waGeu To 9
safe distance and. poweriess TO Go any
thing. awaited the end II soon came.
The crocodile cleared the decks literally.
regaiaed its upright position and cra wled
over. sinking the boat. which rolled and
dumped him into his natural element
when with q rush he was of As the
boat moved away We aHug ourselves aft
er her. clingiag 10 the rail. and for 9
short distance the sauTiaB towed Us all
But the boat. fGIs OF water. was too much
for q bong tow. and he soon quietej down
and began to swim in a circle while we
towed the boat inshore. We finally