ALLIGATOR-SIIOOTIXG IX FLORIDA. 559 



'Gator usually sinks as soon as killed, if his lungs are not 

 filled with air, and in case they are so filled, it is likely 

 to escape as soon as the animal is dead. 



When not too wild, they can be approached in a boat 

 even in plain sight; but this depends upon how much they 

 have been shot at. Like all reptiles, they learn quickly, 

 especially when taught in such impressive ways. 



On warm, sunshiny days, they are especially fond of 

 basking on the bank; for even a 'Gator appreciates the 

 hygienic value of a sun-bath. Taking advantage of a cer- 

 tain morning when the wind was blowing parallel with the 

 shore, rigging a skiff with oar-lock in the stern, wrap- 

 ping the oar with cloth so as to make it noiseless, and 

 tying it to the boat so that it could be dropped without 

 losing, I stood, rifle in my right hand and oar in my left, 

 only steering when the wind was in my favor, but sculling 

 when necessary. Thus gliding noiselessly along the edge 

 of the saw-grass, which in places was trampled down by 

 Alligators into beds that grew more and more frequent as 

 I progressed, I "kep' an eye skun/' as the Cracker ex- 

 presses it, for the long game. As I rounded a small point, 

 I heard a splash, and caught sight of a huge serrated tail, 

 as the fast-traveling waves reminded me that the eyes, ears, 

 and nose of even a ' Gator are often too sensitive for us, and 

 that their sluggish muscle is capable of rapid motion when 

 necessary. 



Another and another plunge; but it would not pay to 

 wait for them to come up, for it might not be for half an 

 hour, and then they might be far out in the lake. 



As I rounded another point, straining every nerve of 

 sight and hearing, whack! came a mullet against the boat 

 with such force as to give me a nervous start; but the same 

 noise gave something else a start, for first a rustling in the 

 grass, and then a long, dark head appeared at the edge, 

 and, unfortunately for its owner, cast his first glance down 

 the lake, and before he could turn his head, a ball had 

 crashed through it, and lodged under the touu'h skin on 



o / i -* * > 



the opposite side. The shot aroused three more saurians, 



