204 THE GULF COAST OF FLORIDA. 



the opposite shore, perhaps fifty yards from where we sat. I 

 let go at him, and although I scored a palpable hit, did not 

 kill him. 



A 'gator always tells you, unerringly, whether you have 

 killed or only wounded him. If wounded, he plunges and 

 thrashes around at a lively rate for a few seconds, and sinks 

 out of sight ; but if killed dead he performs about the same 

 series of evolutions, turns on his back and dies, remaining on 

 top of the water. This is the time to go for him if you wish 

 to capture him, for he only lays on top of the water fifteen to 

 thirty minutes, when the air escapes from the lungs, and he 

 sinks. It is very difficult indeed to kill them on dry land 

 nowadays, for they are shot at so much that they are exceed- 

 ingly wild. But whenever you flush one from the bank, and 

 he goes into the water, sit down and rest, and you may 

 depend upon it you will have to wait but a few minutes before 

 he will put his large black eyes out of the water and look 

 around to see if you are still there. Then you have a fine 

 target for your rifle. His large, bright, black eye is a decided 

 improvement on any Creedmoor bull's-eye. 



The smoke had scarcely cleared away after my last shot, 

 when a third 'gator looked up near us, and instantly caught a 

 right fielder in his left eye, that turned him over. We then 

 supposed we had made it so warm for them that no others 

 would show themselves for a while, so we started down the 

 stream. The Captain and I had gone a little ahead, when 

 Jack, who had not yet started, called to us, and said : 

 "Here's another 'gator." I went back, and there, sure 

 enough, was an old fellow swimming along down the creek as 

 unconcernedly as though he had never heard the report of a 

 gun in his life. I waited until he came within about fifty 

 feet of me, and then gave him one in the leeward optic. He 

 turned two or three somersaults, and stopped on his back with 



