Xo. .1— No. S3. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



263 



From the Turf Register. 

 BEAR AND ALLIGATOR. 



St. Martinsville, May 4, 1831. 

 On a scorching day in the middle of June, 

 1330, whilst I was seated under a venerable 

 live oak, on the ever green banks of the 

 Teche, waiting for the fish to bite I was 

 startled by the roarings of some animal, in 

 the cane brake, a short distance below me, 

 apparently getting ready for action. These 

 notes of preparation were quickly succeeded 

 iiy the sound of feet, tramping down the 

 cane, and scattering the shells. As soon as 

 I recovered from my surprise, I resolved to 

 take a view, of what I supposed to be two 

 prairie bulls mixing impetuously in battle, 

 an occurrence so common in this country 

 and season, when, as Thompson says, 



" Through all his lusty veins 



The bull, deep-scorched, the raging passion feels." 



When I reached the scene of action, how 

 great was my astonishment, instead of bulls 

 to behold a large black bear reared upon his 

 hind legs, with his fore paws raised aloft, as 

 if to make a plunge. His face was besmear- 

 ed with white foam sprinkled with red, 

 which dropping from his mouth rolled down 

 his shaggy breast. Frantic from the suiart- 

 of his wounds, he stood gnashing his teeth 

 and growling at his enemy. A few paces 

 in his rear was the cane brake from which 

 he had issued. On a bank of snow white 

 shells, spotted with blood, in battle array, 

 stood bruin's foe, in shape an alligator, fif- 

 teen feet long! He looked as if he had just 

 been dipped in the Teche, and had emerged 

 like Achilles, from the Styx, with an invul- 

 nerable coat of mail. He was standing on 

 tip-toe. his back turned upwards, and his 

 tongueless mouth thrown open, displayed in 

 his wide jaws, two large tusks, and rows of 

 teeth. His tail six feet long raised from the 

 ground was constantly waving, like a boxer's 

 arm, to gather force. His big eyes starting 

 from his head, glared upon bruin, whilst 

 sometimes uttering hissing - cries, then roar- 

 ing like a bull. 



The combatants were a few paces apart 

 when I stole upon them, the " first round" 

 being over. They remained in the ntti- 

 udes described for about a minute swelling 

 themselves as large as possible, but marking 

 the slightest motions with attention, and 

 great caution, as f each felt confident he 

 had met his match. During this pause I 

 was concealed behind a tree, watching their 

 manaeuvre in silence. I could scarcely be- 

 lieve my eye sight. What, thought I, can 

 these two beasts have to fight about? Some 

 readers may doubt the tale on this account, 

 but if it had been a bulf fight, no one would 

 have doubted it, because every one knows 

 what they are fighting for. 



The same reasoning will not always ap- 

 ply to a man fight. Men frequently fight 

 when they are sober, for no purpose, except 

 to ascertain which is the better man. We 

 must then believe ihat beasts will do the 

 same, unless we admit that the instinct of 

 beasts is snperior to the boasted reason of 

 man. Whether they did fight on the pres- 

 ent occasion without cause I cannot say, as 

 I was not present when the affray began. A 

 bear and a ram have been known to fight, 

 and so did the bear and alligator, whilst I 

 prudently kept in the back ground, preserv- 

 ing the strictest neutrality hetwixt the belli- 

 gerents. And now, if the reader is satisfied 

 that such a battle as this might have taken 



placs,in the absence of any known cause, 

 I will goon to tell what I saw of it as a wit- 

 ness. 



Bruin, though evidently baffled, had a 

 firm look, which showed he had not lost con- 

 fidence in himself. If the difficulty of the 

 undertaking had once deceived him, he was 

 preparing to go it again. Accoidingly let- 

 ting himself down upon all fours, he ran fu- 

 riously at the alligator. The alligator was 

 ready for him, and throwing his head and 

 body partly around to avoid the onset, met 

 bruin halfway, with a blow of his tail, thai 

 rolled him on the shells. Old bruin was not 

 to be put off by one hint, three times in rap- 

 id succession he rushed at the alligator, and 

 was as often repulsed in the same manner, 

 being knocked back by each blow just far 

 enough to give the alligator time to recover 

 the swing of his tail before he returned. — 

 The tail of the alligator sounded like a flail 

 against the coat of hair on bruin's head and 

 shoulders, but he bore it without flinching, 

 still pushing on to come to close hold with 

 his scaly foe. Pie made his fourth charge 

 with a degree of dexterity, which those who 

 have never seen this clumsy animal exercis- 

 ing, would suppose him incapable of. This 

 time he got so close to the alligator before 

 his tail struck him, that the blow came with 

 half its usual effect. The. alligator was up- 

 set by the charge, and before he could re- 

 cover his feet, bruin grasped him round the 

 body before the fore legs, and holding him 

 down on his back, seized one of his legs in 

 his mouth. 



The alligator was now in a desperate situ- 

 ation, notwithstanding his coat of mail, 

 which is softer on his belly than his back 

 from which 



•' The darted steel with idle shivers flies." 

 As a Kentuck would say, " he was getting 

 used up fast." Here if I had dared to speak 

 and had supposed he could understand 

 English, I should have uttered the encoura- 

 ging exportation of the poet : 



" Now gallant knight, now hold thy own, 



No maiden's arms are round thee thrown." 



The alligator, attempted in vain to bite, 

 pressed down as he was, he could not open 

 his mouth, the upper jaw of which only 

 moves, and his neck was so stiff he could not 

 turn his head short round. The amphibi- 

 ous beast fetched a scream in despair, but 

 being a warrior " by flood and by field," he 

 was not yet entirely overcome. Wreathing 

 his tail with agony, he happened to strike it 

 against a small tree that stood next to the 

 bayou; aided by this purchase, he made a 

 convuls ve flounder, which precipitated him- 

 self and bruin, locked together, into the riv- 

 er. 



The bank from which they fell was four 

 f'cei: high, and the water below seven feet 

 deep. The tranquil stream received the 

 combatants wjth a loud splash, then closed 

 over them in silence — A volley of ascend 

 ing bubbles announced their arrival at the 

 bottom, where the battle ended. — Presently 

 bruin rose again, scrambled up the bank, 

 cast a hasty glance bark at the river, and 

 madeolf, dripping to the cane brake. I nev- 

 saw the alligator afterwards, to know him, 

 no doubt he escaped in the water, which he 

 certainly would not have done, if he had re- 

 mained a few minutes longer on land. Bru- 

 in was forced by nature to let go his grip un- 

 der water to save his own life, I therefore 

 think he is entitled to the credit of the vic- 

 tory, besides, by implied consent, the parties 



were bound to finish the fight on land, where 

 it began, and so bruin understood it. If this 

 record should be carried up to the Supreme 

 Court of the United States, I think the judg- 

 es would decide in bruin's favor, by this 

 modern principle of the law, one thing is 

 certain, viz. they would decide that they 

 had jurisdiction by implication, per force 

 of which, what is it that cannot be nullified. 



S. H. 



Concentrated Liquor of Milk. — We 

 are informed through the Journal of 

 ealth, that M. Braconnot, a French 

 Chemist, has concentrated milk into a li- 

 quor which promises to be of use to the 

 world, or partictlarly that part of it 

 " whose home is on the deep," where 

 that delightful aid to the aromatic bever- 

 age, tea, is often wanted, and "wished 

 for in vain." M. Aracannot took two 

 pints and a half of milk, and exposed it 

 to a heat of about 113 Fahr. ; to this he 

 added, from time to time, small portions 

 of diluted hydrochloric or muriatic 'acid, 

 or spirit of sea salt, which produced a 

 separation of the butyraceous and gas- 

 eous parts from the serous portion or 

 whey. With the curd thus obtained, he 

 mixe 75 grains of the crystalized sub 

 carbonate of soda, which by the applica- 

 tion of a mild heat soon dissolved. This 

 furnishes about a pint of cream, to which 

 add a small quantity of water and sugar, 

 and heat it, when an excellent syrup, su- 

 perior.in every respect to ordinary cream, 

 is obtained. When in the cream a cheese 

 cai-.e form, it may be kept any length of 

 time, and is always fresh when diluted 

 and sweetened as above. 



Federal Cake. — Mix together one pound 

 of sifted flour, half a pound of butter, 

 half a pound of powdered sugar, two eggs 

 well beaten, half a glass rose water, and 

 a teaspoonful of mixed spice. Make 

 these ingredients into a dough, with a lit- 

 tle cold water. When thoroughly mix- 

 ed, spread it out on your pasteboard,and 

 cut it into cakes, with diamond or heart 

 shaped tins. Lay them in buttered pans, 

 and bake them a few minutes in a mode- 

 rate oven. 



A Gourmand at an ordinary had eaten 

 so enormously, that the company were as- 

 tonished and disgusted at his gluttony. — 

 The gentleman at the head of the table iron- 

 ically pressed him to -take another plateful, 

 observing he had actnally eaten nothing. — 

 The gourmand declined taking any more, 

 observing that his stomach was quite gone. 

 Upon which an Irish gentleman opposite ex- 

 claimed, 'Is it your stomach that's gone, my 

 honey ? you mean the bottom part of it. 



Sailor's Veracity. — A son of Neptune said 

 the other day to a brother tar, Jack, you 

 never caught me in a lie in your life. Very 

 true, replied Jack, but, blast you, I have 

 chased you from one lie to another all 

 day. 



Why is the life of an Editor like the Book 

 of Revelations? Because it is full of'types, 

 and shadows,' and ' a mighty voice, like the 

 sound of many waters, ever saying unto biro 

 —mite." 



