14 The Alligator and Its Allies 
are held close against the body in order that they 
may retard the animal’s motion as little as possible. 
While swimming in a leisurely way the top of the 
head is at the surface of the water, perhaps just 
the nostrils and eyes projecting above the surface, 
so that the size of the animal can be estimated by 
the distance between these projecting points. One 
afternoon the writer and a guide, while paddling 
along an old canal that was dug years ago into 
the Okefinokee Swamp, were preceded for perhaps 
half a mile by a large alligator that swam just fast 
enough to keep out of our reach until he came to the 
place where he wanted to turn off into the swamp. 
Although so awkward on land, the alligator is 
said to be able to defend himself very effectively 
with his tail, which he sweeps from side to side 
with sufficient force, in the case of a large specimen, 
to knock a man off his feet. Although the writer 
has seen captured and helped to capture alive 
several alligators up to eight feet in length he has 
never seen this vigorous use of the tail as a weapon 
of defense. 
While the alligator, like most other wild animals, 
will doubtless defend itself when cornered, it will 
always flee from man if possible, and the writer 
has frequently waded and swam in ponds and lakes 
where alligators lived without the least fear of 
attack. This might not have been possible years 
ago when the animals were more numerous and 
had not been intimidated by man and his weapons. 
