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KILLING AN ALLIGATOR A friend and myself were walking along the edge of a hummock which bordered on a sawgrass swamp It was a hot day in March and the birds Were singing full blast My friend looked out into one of the mud holes and there with his body half up on a tussock was one of the largest alli fcators I have seen in Florida We made our plans to come back the next day at noon and cook that bid hogeaters hash hashThe The next day we sailed forth or rather waded to the gators hiding place He was lying in the same position as the day before My partner was to attack him from a little tussock arid I was to coyer his attack with my 38 After sliding over bonnet roots and stepping into bog holes my friend arrived at the first line trench He was armed with a 12guage pump gun loaded with buckshot I took up my position in water knee deep and at signal we both opened fire What a noise the boom boom of the shotgun and the pow pow of my pistol The gator made straight for me Why he should pick on me is more than I can tell but he was coming on Was I scared Oh no not a bit I will leave that for you to guess guessI I fired four shots into his mouth which seemed to have no more effect on him than water but the fifth shot went through his right eye and lodged in the back of his head This one stopped him lie lurried over and showed the white of his belly and we knew we had him After much pulling and hauling to say nothing of cussing we got him to shore He measured 9 feet 11 34 inches inchesHis His stomach contained a hog that must have weighed thirty pounds a snake three bass and some feathers The flesh of a gator is white and is sometimes eaten
