216 



LASSOING AN ALLIGATOR. 



their hats ; this was out of respect for a friend who had been buried 

 there. We passed several of these wooden crosses ; near some of them 

 plantain trees were growing. 



The wind is very light, and generally from the north ; the current 

 of air seems to follow the bed of the river up-stream. The river widens 

 to two hundred and fifty yards. We find the current by holding on to 

 the end of a snag in mid-channel while we heave the current log. We 

 have no anchor and chain. 



The Indians look on with some astonishment at our work ; and as 

 Richards was drawing in his sounding-line, with a two-pound lead upon 

 it, "Padre" very knowingly informed him it was useless to attempt to 

 catch fish in that way in the Chapare ? We were sorry to find the 

 "Padre" was the ill-natured one, and frequently quarrelled with the 

 men during the day. He spoke Spanish, and always addressed us in 

 that language. The schoolmaster said, when an Indian became the 

 leading man in religious pretension, he invariably was quarrelsome and 

 overbearing in his manners towards others, who seem to treat him with 

 contempt, except when called upon for ceremonial formalities. 



We had seen cattle lassoed on the pampas of Buenos Ayres, and boys 

 in Mexico practise the art upon chickens, but to-day "Nig," our bow- 

 man, gave us a treat. 



A good sized alligator lay by the mud beach, with his head just on 

 the surface of the water. The canoe was run into the canebrake some 

 fifty yards below. One man cut a long cane, while " Nig," modestly 

 smiling, with eyes shut and mouth open, drew a hide rope from under 

 part of the baggage. Making a noose in one end, he hung it on the 

 end of the pole, and wound the rope round to the other end, so that he 

 could grasp both pole and rope in one hand. He pulled off his camisa, 

 lowered himself into the river, where he could walk on the bottom with 

 his chin just out of water. The noose was carried by the pole near the 

 surface, and " Nig " slowly moved towards the alligator, who seemed 

 to be somewhat doubtful of results. After watching " Nig's " eye for a 

 while, he disappeared ; by the motion of the water it was evident he 

 was swimming away. The men laughed, but " Nig " stood perfectly 

 still ; the stream rolled on in silence. In a moment the alligator's head 

 appeared again nearly in the same place, only he held it higher, as he 

 attentively looked " Nig" full in the face. He moved slowly and stead- 

 ily towards the monster of the river, and put the noose over the alliga- 

 tor's head ; when he jumped, it looked as though he wanted to jump 

 through the noose. " Nig " let go the pole, and in doing so lost the line 

 also ; and while the alligator swam off with one end of the rope, " Nig" 



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