CRUISING FOR CROCODILE 



35 



not tempt the reptile to exploits by land, monster measuring- thirteen feet. He 

 Otherwise there would be no safety for stretched the skin to eighteen and 

 hands on plantations bordering the cy- mounted it with a group of young- ones, 



press swamps of the Mississippi and its 

 bayou-outlets. Of all good things, the 

 dog is his favorite morsel, this fact be- 

 ing fully realized by the latter. If there 

 be a dangerous stream to cross, 

 the clever cur will call up the 

 enemy by barking, then run up 

 stream and swim for life. I 

 have never witnessed this oc- 

 currence, but have seen coons 

 catch crawfish, using their tails 

 for line and bait ; so why not 

 believe the other story? 



There is no close season , 

 on crocodiles, and the hunter 

 gets after his victim in sum- 

 mer with shotgun, besides 

 baiting a hook with a black- 

 bird, or with alligator flesh. 

 When hooked in this manner 

 he lands his fish with the aid 

 of a horse. 



A few animals are kept alive 

 in a corral to serve as bait in crab-fish- 

 ing, as their musky odor is pervasive 

 and attractive to fish as well as to 



which he sold for one thousand dollars. 

 I heard twenty-one feet mentioned as 

 the record. Stretch it to thirty and be- 

 hold a terrible man-eater, fit for a show! 



THE DAZZLING BULL S EYE 



On arriving at "the temple/' an In- 

 dian shell mound with oak trees and a 

 shanty growing out of the weeds, we set 

 negroes, who also relish the tail as food, up our close-meshed mosquito-net over 

 The largest animal John killed was a a bed of moss, laid upon an upturned 



HE., ALSO, IS A PROFESSIONAL HUNTER 



