112 DAYS IN THE OPEN 



giant " big-mouth " bass, and the lad's assertion 

 that it weighed twelve pounds seemed quite prob- 

 able. It seems ridiculous to call the handsome 

 speckled denizens of clear, mountain streams, and 

 the brown, ugly frequenter of the muddy St. Johns 

 by the same name, but there is no law forbidding 

 such trespass. When we reach the coast we find 

 the weakfish has also been transformed into a trout. 

 The " dead rivers " that abound along the St. 

 Johns are well named, although they are not rivers 

 at all, but bayous. They have no perceptible 

 current, and the stagnant water furnishes a most 

 satisfactory habitat for alligators. One day, when 

 we had committed ourselves to the care of a negro 

 boatman, we spent a forenoon in one of these dead 

 rivers, catching an occasional bass and shooting 

 curlew and fox squirrels. Passing a tree-top that 

 had fallen into the water, the boatman told us that 

 he had seen a number of little 'gators drop into 

 the water as we approached, and said that he would 

 catch us some if we wished. Rowing quietly up 

 to the tree-top, he watched the surface of the water 

 for a little time and then, making a quick grab, 

 held up a little wriggling alligator some eight or 

 ten inches long. This was repeated until he had 

 captured five, and we informed him that these were 

 all we could use to advantage. It is said that the 

 relentless warfare waged against the alligator by 

 tourists and native hunters who covet his hide has 

 made him a rarity, at least along the lines of travel, 



