A Sea-Going Crocodile 



up within rifle-shot, and distinctly saw the animal 

 swimming away. According to the Indian, they swam 

 out to the reef to go fishing catching birds, fish, and 

 anything else ; and later on I found them on an island 

 off shore to which they must have swam ; so the Flor- 

 ida crocodile is to no little extent a marine reptile like 

 some of its ancestors in the early geological days. 



" My old guide daily regaled me with stories of 

 the * sharp-nosed 'gator,' and I finally made up my 

 mind that I must have one as a trophy; so prepara- 

 tions for a crocodile hunt were forthwith made. Old 

 Bob told me that he knew a little swamp-like place, 

 on a key about ten miles down, where he was confident 

 I could get one of the 'gators, and one morning found 

 us going down the coast in a flat-bottomed cat-boat 

 which I used for coasting purposes, and towing a 

 small dinghy, provided with rifle, harpoon and shark- 

 hook three weapons that were used in the capture 

 of the reptiles. 



' We landed on the key and made our camp, 

 anchoring the cat-boat, and the next day started on 

 the hunt Bob, rowing the dinghy up the beach, 

 recalling stories of the crocodiles he had seen in his 

 youth, and allowing his imagination full play. We 

 pulled a mile or more, and then came to a bend 

 beyond which was a small creek, into which the boat 

 was headed. 



'* What appeared to be a creek gradually enlarged, 

 and we soon emerged into an enclosed bay of some 



295 



