S76 Mr Audubon's Observations on the 



together, the men striking the alligators, that would otherwise 

 attack the cattle, of which they are very fond, and those latter 

 hurrying towards the opposite shores, to escape those powerful 

 enemies. They will swim swiftly after a dog, or a deer, or a horse, 

 before attempting the destruction of man, of which I have al- 

 ways remarked they were afraid, if the man feared not them. 



Although I have told you how easily an alligator may be 

 killed with a single rifle ball, if well aimed, that is to say, if it 

 strike either in the eye or very immediately above it, yet they 

 are quite as difficult if not shot properly ; and, to give you an 

 idea of this, I shall mention two striking facts. 



My good friend, Richard Harlan, M. D. of Philadelphia, 

 having intimated a wish to have the heart of one of those ani- 

 mals to study its comparative anatomy, I one afternoon went 

 out about half a mile from the plantation, and seeing an alliga- 

 tor that I thought I could put whole into a hogshead of spirits, 

 I shot it immediately on the skull bone. It tumbled over from 

 the log on which it had been basking into the water, and, with 

 the assistance of two negroes, I had it out in a few minutes, 

 apparently dead. A strong rope was fastened round its neck, 

 and, in this condition, I had it dragged home across logs, thrown 

 over fences, and handled without the least fear. Some young 

 ladies there, anxious to see the inside of its mouth, requested 

 that the mouth should be propped open with a stick put in verti- 

 cally ; this was attempted, but at this instant the first stunning 

 effect of the wound was over, and the animal thrashed and snap- 

 ped its jaws furiously, although it did not advance a foot. The 

 rope being still around the neck, I had it thrown over a strong 

 branch of a tree in the yard, and hauled the poor creature up, 

 swinging free from all about it, and left it twisting itself, and 

 scratching with its fore-feet to disengage the rope. It remained 

 in this condition until the next morning, when finding it still 

 alive, though very weak, the hogshead of spirits vvas put under 

 it, and the alligator fairly lowered into it with a surge. It twist- 

 ed about a little, but the cooper secured the cask, and it was 

 shipped to Philadelphia, where it arrived in course. 



Again, being in company with Augustin Bourgeat, Esq. 

 we met an extraordinary large alligator in the woods whilst 

 hunting ; and, for the sake of destruction I may say, we alight- 



