Alligators rh 
tied up the horse and walked about a mile over the sand- 
bank that extends down to the mouth of the river. A long, 
deep branch forms a favourite resort for alligators. At the 
far end of a sand-spit, near where some low trees grew, I saw 
several dark objects lying close to the water on the shelving 
banks. They were alligators basking in the sun. As I 
approached, most of them crawled into the water. Mr. 
Hollenbeak had been down a few days before shooting at 
them with a rifle, to try to get a skull of one of the monsters, 
and I passed a dead one that he had shot. As I walked up 
the beach, I saw many that were not less than fifteen feet in 
length. One lay motionless, and thinking it was another 
dead one, I was walking up to it, and had got within three 
yards, when I saw the film over its eye moving; otherwise 
it was quite still, and its teeth projecting beyond its lips 
added to its intense ugliness and appearance of death. 
There was no doubt, however, about the movement of the 
eye-covers, and I went back a short distance to look for a 
stick to throw at it; but when I turned again, the creature 
was just disappearing into the water. It is their habit to lie 
quite still, and catch animals that come near them. Whether 
or not it was waiting until I came within the swoop of its 
mighty tail I know not, but I had the feeling that I had 
escaped a great danger. It was curious that it should have 
been so bold only a few days after Mr. Hollenbeck had been 
down shooting at them. There were not less than twenty 
altogether, and they swam out into the middle of the inlet 
and floated about, looking like logs in the water, excepting 
that one stretched up its head and gave a bellow like a bull. 
They sometimes kill calves and young horses, and I was told 
of one that had seized a full-grown horse, but its struggles 
being observed, some natives ran down and saved it from 
being pulled into the water and drowned. I heard several 
stories of people being killed by them, but only one was well 
authenticated. This was told me by the head of the ex- 
cellent Moravian Mission at Blewfields, who was a witness of 
the occurrence. He said that one Sunday, after service at 
-their chapel at Blewfields, several of the youths went to 
bathe in the river, which was rather muddy at the time; 
the first to plunge in was a boy of twelve years of age, and 
he was immediately seized by a large alligator, and carried 
