ALLIGATOR-SHOOTING IN FLORIDA. < 553 



Where the death-dealing hand of man has not set 

 the seal of fear upon the ' Gator, you can approach, even 

 in open water, to within a few yards of him without attract- 

 ing any more attention than a wide-opened mouth and 

 an aspirated hiss; but after a few days' shooting, their 

 noses, ears, and eyes all detect your presence, and their 

 fast-disappearing forms suggest an unsuspected aptness in 

 receiving object-lessons. On the whole, he is a sluggish, 

 very sluggish, animal, not even being an active hunter; but 

 loafs around in hope that something may turn up — that 

 probably a fish may unwittingly swim near enough to be 

 snapped up by a quick motion of his long jaws. But lazy 

 and sluggish as he is, and cold as is his blood, there are 

 times when it must course swiftly through his veins; for on 

 a little island of muck, in the center of a pond, a female is 

 heaping up a pile of saw-grass and dirt for a nest, while 

 upon opposite sides of the pond, and just upon the edge of 

 the saw-grass, eying her with warm glances of admiration, 

 and each other with the sullen glare of hatred, lie two old 

 males, whose scarred and bleeding bodies testify that even 

 a ' Gator' s cold blood is thicker than water. The smaller 

 one moves painfully, for his right fore foot is missing — 

 the larger one got his jaws upon it, a few rapid turns, and 

 the foot was gone, probably soon buried in the stomach 

 of the victor. This loss of a foot in fighting is quite com- 

 mon, for I have taken three thus maimed and heard of 

 others. Again, they may fight for no apparent reason, as 

 a reliable witness tells me of a severe and, on the part of 

 both, voluntary fight between a large ' Gator and a Shark 

 of equal length, in which the former came off victor. 



While the ' Gator has been known to make an unpro- 

 voked attack on a man, and while in isolated regions, when 

 not acquainted with fire-arms, it would not be wise to vent- 

 ure into water near large ones or the nests of females, still, 

 as a rule, they are only too glad to make good their 

 escape. 



To those who anticipate sport with the ' Gator, the ques- 

 tion naturally arises as to what is the best fire-arm for the 



