Giant Fish of Florida 
A ’gator hunt is not bad fun on an off day, even though 
the twelve-foot veterans are now few and far between. If 
pursued on the shore, the alligator will almost certainly make 
good its escape into the sea, though how it fares with the 
ever-attendant sharks has not yet been determined. The first 
requisite for an alligator hunt inland is to enlist the services of 
a professional hunter, which your guide can easily do, though 
the only obvious qualification of that official seems to lie in the 
sanguine but unrealisable assurance that he gives, that every 
submerged cave contains a quarry. The only equipment for 
this “sport” is a strong gaff and a fourteen-foot sprit from the 
boat. You then pick your way through tangled undergrowth, 
disturbing many a mocassin snake that glides away on your 
approach. | 
At every likely puddle the professional one holds his nose 
and emits a series of fearful grunts, with the object of 
attracting the wayward reptile. As this expert trick usually 
fails, the only plan is to make fast the gaff to the sprit, 
and carefully probe every hole and cave, exploring crevices 
in the dry earth that look no bigger than large rabbit earths. 
At length, if success is to be yours, the gaff will be seized in 
the jaws of the infuriated sleeper, which may [then be gaffed 
anywhere near the head and hauled from his lair. On being 
brought forth into the daylight, he opens his jaws to their full 
extent and grunts loudly, but seems a harmless, torpid creature 
enough, though it is prudent to keep clear of his tail, which 
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