274 SPORT IN NORTH AMERICA. 



nothing could be seen of tlieni but just the tips of 

 their tails on the surface of the water. When the 

 fight was at its fiercest, it was suddenly interrupted 

 by a double explosion. The eagle fell with one wing 

 wounded, and my companion and myself soon put 

 an end to its misery on the bank. Meanwhile, the 

 alligator and its scaly progeny took advantage of the 

 opportunity to conceal themselves among the reedy 

 margins of the lagoon. 



Since this expedition with Mr. Salters, I have fre- 

 ' quently found myself in the marshes of Louisiana, and 

 have met with alligators by hundreds with no better 

 weapon about me than a stick,* and if by chance I 

 had a gun about me, and, for mere idleness, took a 

 shot at one of the creatures, the others would dive 

 down on the instant and reappear shortly, very little 

 alarmed at the noise. 



The negroes in the Southern States, who are of a 

 very playful disposition, sometimes amuse themselves 

 by inflating pig's bladders, and throwing them into 

 water which is known to be infested by alligators. 

 It is most amusing to witness the attempts of the 

 creatures to seize hold of the light and buoyant 



* Audubon states that an Alligator may be easily met with a stick ; 

 but I must confess, with all clue humility, that I ne^er attempted a 

 duel of this kind. The cattle drivers and muleteers sometimes have to 

 defend their charges in crossing swamps whei-e alligators abound, and 

 seldom need to have recourse to fire-arms. A long stick is usually 

 found sufficient to drive away the most formidable alligator that e>er 

 snapped at a horse or an ox. 



