46 Fishing in North Carolina. 



miles wide. In this swamp the alligator fear- 

 lessly makes his home the year round ; there are 

 probably one hundred and sixty thousand squir- 

 rels, and such a large colony of raccoons that 

 the farmers along the edge have to kill them 

 with strychnine to protect the com. 



There are some deer, which were formerly 

 hunted until it was found that alligators were 

 as fond of dog meat as of hog meat. The alliga- 

 tors are as harmless to man, as the bear, which 

 also dwell there; and will avoid man's acquain- 

 tance if given an opportunity. One day while 

 fishing in the creek in company with two other 

 persons, I saw one coming out of the weedy 

 morass with his mouth ajar; and just as he 

 made clear water I emptied a load of squirrel 

 shot into his head. To my surprise he emptied 

 a big water rattler out of his mouth, and was 

 dead, and about to sink; but we got him into 

 the boat and laid him out, friendly like, on his 

 back in the bottom. In about ten minutes, after 

 we had quietly settled down to fishing, he waked 

 up, waked us up too, and wanted to get out. 

 We could not let him, however, much as we 



