318 Capture and Death of a large Alligator. 
mouth of the stream, burst through two of the nets ; and I threw 
down my gun in despair, for it looked as though his way at last 
was clear to the wide lake. But the third net stopped him, and 
his teeth and legs had got entangled in all. This gave usa 
chance of closer warfare with lances, such as are used against the 
wild buffalo. We had sent for this weapon at the commencement 
of the attack, and found it much more effectual than guns. En- 
tering a canoe, we plunged lance after lance into the alligator, as he 
was struggling under the water, till a wood seemed growing from 
him, which moved violently above, while his body was concealed 
below. His endeavors to extricate himself, lashed the water into 
foam, mingled with blood; and there seemed no end to his vi- 
tality, or decrease to his resistance, till a lance struck him directly 
through the middle of the back, which an Indian, with a heavy 
piece of wood hammered into him, as he could catch an opportu- 
nity. My companion, on the other side, now tried to haul him 
to the shore, by the nets to which he had fastened himself, but 
had not sufficient assistance with him. - As I had more force with 
me, we managed, with the aid of the women and children, to 
drag his head and part of his body on to the little beach, where 
the river joined the lake, and giving him the “ coup de grace,” 
left him to gasp out the remnant of his life on the sand. 
I regret to say, that the measurement of the length of this anl- 
mal was imperfect. It was night when the struggle ended, and 
our examination of him was made by torch-light. I measured 
the circumference, as did also my companion, and it was over 
eleven feet immediately behind the fore legs. It was thirteen 
feet at the belly, which was distended by the immoderate meal 
made on the horse. As he was only partly out of the water; 1 
stood with a line at his head, giving the other end to an Indian, 
with directions to take it to the extremity of the tail. The 
length so measured, was twenty-two feet; but at the time I 
doubted the good faith of my assistant, from the reluctance he 
manifested to enter the water, and the fears he expressed that the 
mate of the alligator might be in the vicinity. From the diame- 
ter of the animal, and the representations of those who examined 
him afterwards, we believed the length to have been about thirty 
feet. As we intended to preserve the entire skeleton, with the 
skin, we were less particular than we otherwise should have been. 
On him, we found, with other parts of the horse, three 
