The Washington herald., 1911-01-15
DOG AS BAIT IN
NIGHT ALLIGATOR
HUNT IN JAMAICA

The log in the clearinghouse fireplace
fiared up. then died down, leaving only
faint red flicker among the Goals. 4
cat that had been doing in the warmth
uncurled itself and withdrew further into
the darkness. Its eyes glowed green and
phosphorescen,
We'll. now. remarked the man from
the tropics. smiling whimsically. do you
know what that reminds me of? l never
see a cats eye in the dark without think
ing of the alligators.
Why he was asked. A homeIy old
tabby in a New York parlor doesn't bear
much resemblance to an alligator"
You wouldn't put it that way if you'd
ever been in West Indian swamp al
, night with scores of alligators round you.
Their eyes shine exactly like a cats. Just
call up the picture to your mind-twenty
or more pairs of round green globes star
ing at you out of the darkness and all adj
vertisinS the proximity of jaws armed
with twO-inch spikes for teeth. Uh, l can
actually smell the musky alligator odor
when a cat looks at me like that
1t promptly became inevitable that alli-
gator stories should be told. and the man
from the tropic unburdened his mind to
this effect:
There are numerous way of going aft
er this sort of game. but the hunting
party in search Of real sport will plan a
night expedition. About seven miles from
Kingston. Jamaica there is swamp
choked with mangroves. reeds. and wild
water hyacinths. \ sluggish river pro-
vides a means of penetrating it. and it is
probable that more alligators are shot in
this locality than anywhere else in the
world.
Il recall organizing an expedition for
the benefit of five Americans. The party
numbered twelve in all Three boats
were secured and two white men
signed to each boat. together with two
negro oarsmen. The weapons were T.
bore Winchesters. Each sportsman was
provided with bullseye lantern.
Cur YeIped PiteousIy.
AT the last moment one of the negroes
dragged a yellow monsrel cur on board
My young friend from New York opened
his eyes and started to quiz me.
What is he. a setter? he asked.
Bait 1 told him: and as though
yelped lamentably.
After laborious row we reached 4
spot where the mangroves hung down
over the water forming a partly COW
cred lane between the banks and their
dropping boughs. There was no sign of
life. except the hoarse booming of bull
frog
Suddenly the yellow cur in the bottom
of the boat began to whimper. The New
Yorker turned his lantern upon il and
We saw that the dogs hair was standing
straight on end. 1t shifted anxiously. its
limbs shook and presently it threw its
nose into the air and broke into a pro-
lonGed howl.
The negroes understood the signal and
all three boats were at once brought to
a stop There was a swishing sound
among the mangrove roots. and a strong,
musky smell reached noStris. The
dog hOwled in new access of terror.
when the eye became accustomed to
the gloom the banks were seen to he
dotted with globes of phosphoresCent fire.
Set in pairs about three inches apart
they wavered against the impenetrable
darkness behind. The lure of the dog
had drawn the alIigators from their lairs.
Nearly Every Shot Told.
1T was difficult to miss. and nearly
every shot we fired was accurately
placed. The sport. however. was over in
less than ten minutes. The stricken al
ligators thrashed furiously on the banks.
and the survivors plunged into the river
or scurried back to the swamp. A second
and third volley was sent among them,
and when the concentrated light Of the
lanterns was turned first on one bank
and then on the other. it was found that
seven saurians had been killed. That
particular stretch of the river having
been exhausted. we rowed two miles fur
ther up and repeated the performance.
THE dog proved to be a never-failng
lure. You see. there is no meat that an .
alligator prefers to dog meat. and there
is no terror like the terror a dog enter
tains for his natural enemy. The two
things work beautifully together
The dog perceives the presence of al
liEators long before human being could.
and he in his turn draws them to him
a magnet draws steel. No experienced
sportsman starts on such an expedition
without the right kind of living bait.
though he will not use valuable dog
for the purpose. as the animal OCCASION
ally breaks loose and jumps into the
river in an insane attempt to escape.
.'In the early hours of the morning We
returned to Kingston. We had killed in
all twelve alligators and the following
day sent the negroes back to skin the
bodies. Each alligator hide is worth
about s. undressed. and the sport has,
therefore. it's profitable side