The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-03-03

zorDack, though, VIII fade and get to
be rusty yellow.
After dinner I said to Capt. Dave
that / guessed would go over to the
bayou and bag an alligator or two, but
he said that the razorbacks were div
ing in the bayous at that time of day
after marsh grass roots, and that
when the razorbacks were diving the
alligators laid mighty low. l hadn't
seen any Caloosxhatchee razorbacks
yet, SO gave little thought to this
intelligence about them, and took my
rife and Strolled over to the bayou, a
mile distant.
Il sat down on log to watch for an
alligator TO come out and sun himself.
BY and by l saw something rising to
the surface, and at last long upper
jaw appeared. 1t was of tremendous
length, and thought / was soon to
capture prize alligator. But greater
exposure of the supposed prize showed
me not an alligator at all, but a great.
gaunt beast. and needed no one to
tell me was Caloosahatchee razor
back. He gave a couple of snorts, and
then went down out of sight again as
handy as a turtle.
He was down at least ten minutes.
Then he came up and swan ashore. He
landed about so yards from where 1
sat.
Thinking that here would be
trophy better yet than an alligator, /
took good aim and fired at him. I
heard my bullet strike the hog like
chucdng stone against fence. He
raised his head and looked up as il he
thought he might have felt something.
but wasn't quite sure.
i banged away again. heard the
second bullet pink against that razor
back as plain as anything, but he didn't
seem to be bit more Disconnected
than he was before. ! was on the
point Of sending another bullet against
him, when Capt. Dave came out of the
reeds off to my left.
Eff we're practicin' for a target.
sah,' said he. 'yo' better pink yore bull
lets ag'in the yon side of the hog, sab,
so they'll shy off into the river, kaze
I'm workin' on this side, sab, and
they're shyin' mighty close to me, sab
MY bullets had been caroming off
that razorback's hide like billiard balls
off cushion, and one of them had
SHE'D through the crown of Capt.
Dawes hat
Yo' see them creetur's is powerful
stubborn on the outside. rah,' said he,
and yo' waste yore powder tryin' to
kill 'em; yo' must fire squar' in their
head by way of the openin' of their
ear. sab. Then they yield. They don't
argy the pint long after that, sah.'
Then the captain told me that the
razorback had been practicing on was
prime, and bound to be fast color, and
that he would be at his plantation the
next morning. 'sholy, sab, watchin'
out for eggs and that If 1 wanted
TO / could bag him.
Sure enough. next morning the
razorback was hanging around the hay
shed watching out so he might get up
into the NOW the first one when hen
cackled out that she had just done
successful stunt in egg laying. and
Capt. Dave told me to go out and pass
bullet into his head. by way of the
inside of his ear, sah'
Il went out, showed my rifle in the
razorback's ear and fired. He lifted
his head and cooked one eve up as
if he was bordering about something.
Maybe he stood that way quarter of
a minute. Then he sat down on his
launches, still maintaining his medi-
tative mood.
After thinking the matter over in
that position awhile he seemed to
make up his mind that something had
happened, and he stretched himself
out on the ground at full length. just
then the hen cackled. The razorback's
eye frightened. He rose and started
for the hay shed to see about that egg.
He got as far as the door, glanced
up at the ladder that led to the NOV
and then changed his mind. He
stretched himself out again, gave a
contented grunt or two and died.
This was the razorback that had
fallen through the four-inch crack in
the NOV few days before while after
eggs. He was the fat hog that weighed
AZ pounds and three ounces. His flesh
was as blue as indigo. and Capt. Dave
said he was prime. But the next day
his flesh was as yellow as the ochre
paint on Capt. Dawes barn.
That pig. sah,' said Capt. Dave.
when he got his breath after gazing
at the fading of the razorbaek. either
went chasin' wildcats yesterday, or he
rastled with bari He done one or
t'other, sab, and het himself up so
that he unsot his color, sab, and start
ed it to runnin"'
II went out after that quite often
and hunted razorbacks under the wild
orange trees. had some exciting
chases, and was freed three times.
And now maybe you can see why
you don't bag your razorback in the
Caloosahatchee country when he APP
pears first on the scene, and why YOU
have to go back and deal with him is he
feeds. OF course. If you come upon
one while he is feeding on the wild
oranges you can get him right away.
But there's no sport in that. Make
'em chase you away from the tree. and
hear 'em snort and grunt and scatter