The Ordway new era., 1909-08-06
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the yelling urchins, the locomotive
at the roundhouse and above all the
whistle OF the ice plant. drove sleep
far from ones pillow. And was par
tcularly anxious to get to sleep, be-
cause at a. m. the chief OF police
was coming round to take our party
on an alligator hunt.
] was Just doing on when there
came loud rapping at the door and
a boy thrust In his head: WAS you
de gemman dat ordahed dc ice-watah ?"
No" said. next room." and com.
posed myself to rest. About two
O'Clock l was meeting with some de-
gree OF success when the same boy
raped again. Did you wish for
ice-watah. suh?"
AT three o'clock he came third
time and said the chief of police was
waiting downstairs. / had not slept
at all. but neither had the chief Of
police.
We drove. with day breaking above
the royal palms and the ceiba trees.
past the Chinese, cemetery and around
Ancon hill to the wharf OF La Boca,
the Pacific terminus OF the canal.
Here there was a 50-foot launch wait
Ing for US: the American engineers
found the launch on the top Of the
hills at Culebra and put 1t together.
With two jamaica natives shoveling
coal In the cockpit and n Spaniard at
the engine. We went up the coast Is
miles through water alive with sharks
chasing the mullet clean out OF the
sea and the pelicans solemnly fishing
from the reefs. At the mouth Of the
Chowera river we turned in. Opposite
a stone dock built by n British trading
company we anchored the launch and
took to four small boats. each boat
rowed by two policemen from the
Panama constabulary. 1t was hard
fighting up that river. The tide was
rushing out nine miles an hour and
after passing a native village OF mis-
cradle shacks matched with palm. we
came to n reef that spanned the river
except at one or two points. where
the water rushed boiling through.
Again and again the oarsmen. yelling,
bent to the paddles and forced the
boats right into the teeth OF the rap
Ids. but the water played with us "as
kitten pats a cork" and drove US
back with our gunwales dipping un-
der.
Capt. Stanton. our chief Of police,
was getting little discouraged, for
he had not seen anything much to
shoot at except a couple of water
dogs, or soras. that ventured too near
the bank. and the captain had given
us to expect happy hunting ground
with whole herd OF alligators. AS we
rounded the corner Just above the
rapids. l nearly fell out of the boat.
There they were on the bank. at least
15 Of them-not 200. as the champion
liar Of the party subsequently stated.
The biggest was not less than 20 feet
long. They shambled very rapidly on
their fat legs to the waters edge and
plopped In. The minute their noses
came to the surface II Marlin AIS
gave them a volley. but Capt. Shan
tons elephant gun was probably the
only weapon that did any damage.
A great hunter was telling me the
other night how you proceed with a
whale. He said:
First you get the whale interested
and then you kick him In the face"
But you can't do that with an alliga.
tor. We probably shouldn't have
landed single one II 1t hadn't been
for the fact that lady gator was
taking a nap in thicket far above
the water line and. hearing the tu-
multi and the shouting. came down the
bank in q hurry toward Capt. Shan.
toms boat. clapping her under Jaw
like the bottom of steam shovel
bucket at Culebra. The captain was
ready and let her have both barrels
of the elephant gun, which would
have wrecked the shoulder of an ordi-
narily strong man. A congressman
from California was peeping between
Capt. Shanton's legs with a Brownie
camera. but he pressed the button
great many tines and forgot to turn
the film, so that the result was decid-
ly composite. The gator keeled over
lust before she got to the water and
when we we're sure she was sufficient
ly dead we cut of her claws for SOU
venirs.