132 Mr. G. C. Taylor on Birds observed 



the fallen limb of a tree ; some of them are of large size, fully 

 eighteen inches long. They are shy, and slip into the water be- 

 fore the boat comes very near them. Alligators of all sizes, from 

 two to twelve feet long, are numerous. They are either floating 

 on the surface of the water, or lying asleep in sunny spots on 

 the bank. Often they let the boat come abreast of them before 

 they will move. Captain Brock, the owner of the ' Darlington,' 

 takes his post on the upper deck with a couple of rifles, and fires 

 at every alligator that afibrds a fair shot. He is a good marks- 

 man, and hits several, which flounder about for a time and then 

 disappear. He fired at one, about seven feet long, swimming 

 ahead of the boat. The first shot struck it, and a second killed 

 it dead. It turned over with its mouth wide open ; the tail sunk, 

 and the head remained on the surface. 



I saw a very large Alligator floating belly upwards, with several 

 Turkey Buzzards perched on it. It is probable that several are 

 killed on every trip of the ^ Darlington,' which passes twice in 

 each week. The skins are of value, when they can be obtained, 

 for making shoe-leather. The skin from the belly and lower 

 part is what is used : that on the back is too hard. Brock 

 said that the Alligators had greatly decreased in number in this 

 part of the river from the constant shooting at them, and that 

 now there was not one where ten might have been seen a few 

 years ago. 



In Lakes Jessup and Harney, higher up the St. John's, where 

 no steamers navigate, they are still as plentiful as ever. They 

 are said to be very destructive to pigs, but cannot do much harm 

 in a country where the population is so scanty as in Florida. 

 We see fovir or five flocks of Wild Turkeys feeding close to the 

 river bank. The passage of the steamer does not appear to alarm 

 them ; but Brock and some of the passengers fire at and, I am 

 happy to say, miss them, for if killed they cannot be recovered. 

 The Turkeys do not attempt to fly, but run ofi" with great speed. 



I heard several passengers regretting that they had not brought 

 guns with them. I observed that I did not care to shoot what 

 I could not get or use when killed. Their reply was that they 

 only shot for the fun of killing. Such people soon destroy all 

 the game in a country, without benefiting any one. The Deer 



