ALLIGATOR FISHING.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1088, 1 October 1869, Page 1

ALLIGATOR FISHING.

AN ADVENTUKE IN NICARAGUA.

(From '• CassolTs Magazine," for June.) Many years ago I was stationed for some months at Saint Juan de Nicaragua, one of the most unpleasant parts of the world it has ever been my fate to sojourn in. At the time I speak of, the Americans were just thinking of opening a route to the Pacific, via the Saint Juan; and H.M.S. H , in which I was then serving, was sent to the river to look after " British interests," whatever that may mean.

We had been there for some weeks, and had killed the time as well as we could, by shooting snipe and pigeons, and catching sharks, or occasionally going a few miles up the river and getting pot-shots at the alligators, when intelligence was brought one morning that a native woman had been seized and devoured by one of these monters, at a point close to the back of the town. Directly I heard this, I determined to put in execution a plan I had been revolving in my brain for some time, which was, " to catch an alligator alive."

To enable me to do this, I had caused the ship's armourer to weld the shanks of throe large shark-hooks together, so as to form a triangle similar to, but of course much larger than, those used for pike-fish-ing, and to add an additional length of strong iron chain ; this, with a coil of inch and a half Manilla rope, constituted our tackle. Having obtained the requisite leave, a party of us left the ship early one afternoon, and paddled in a " bungay," or large canoe, to the scene of our intended operations. In addition to half-a-dozen Indians, we were accompanied by "Yankee Harry," a cast away American seaman, who had established himself at Saint Juan as pilot of the port, and hanger-on in general to everybody and everything there ; and who, I must confess, was the most unmitigated " yarnspinner " I had ever the luck to meet —in which I have no doubt my readers will concur, before I have finished.

Arrived at our place of action, which I found to be a small creek, our first care was to prepare a place in which we could

comfortably pass the time before our sport commenced; so the Indians at once set about building a stage or platform amidst the branches of a large tree, growing close to the water's edge. Knowing the epicurean taste of our intended prey, the Indians had procured for us, as a bait, the more than half decomposed body of a kid ; and Harry had also brought a wretched dog, whose cries were to lure the scaly monster to his fate.

By the time our preparations were complete, the sun had set, and it was time to prepare our fishing-tackle. The kid was accordingly lashed securely to the chain, just above the triangle of hooks. A stake was then driven into the mud, and hooks and bait secured to it by a split-yarn, the coil of rope being brought up to out platform. This done, we climbed to our rest-ing-place, and lighting our pipes, made ourselves as comfortable as we could.

As the evening came on, the usual nocturnal concert of insects and reptiles commenced, and all kinds of horrid noises assailed our ears : one moment it would be the deep boom of the bull-frog, and then the peculiarly harsh rasping noise of innumerable cicadas. The sky was cloudless, and the moon shone beautifully bright. Not a breath of wind was moving, and the river glistened as it flowed noiselessly on, as bright a? glass. Every now and then some large fish would rise with a plunge, and that was the only break to the noises of the forest. Even these would occasionally die away, and for a few moments all would be silent; then the owls and goatsuckers would recommence their lamentations, and the tree-frogs and other insects strike up their concert afresh. After we had been perched in our tree for some time, Harry said to me —

"Guess, mate, you've seen some tall sharks in your day ; but I guess I saw a lark once that whips any you ever heard of." "Let's have it, Harry," said I. "Wall," began he, "I was mate of a turtling schooner knocking about the Bahamas for shell. Our old man (captain) was a regular old salt, and was the only one-legged shipmate I ever had ; he'd lost

, his leg on the coast of Africa, Pve heard, , but as he used to wear a cork leg, nobody could see anything strange about him, except that he walked stiffly. Wall, we. was at anchor one evening off Cay Sal, and skipper and I were sitting on the taffrail trying to catch a few fish for supper, when all of a sudden the old man lost his balance, and souse overboard he goes. The instant he reached the water, I saw a bright line flash from under our counter towards him, and knew it were a shark. To rush forward and jump into the boat, which was fortunately alongside, and shove her astern, was but the work of a few moments. When I got there, I could not distinguish any thing, for the commotion in the water, but it was evident the old man was fighting hard, and singing out all the time for help. At last I was able to catch hold of him by the collar of his coat, but he was jerked away ftom me in a moment. All this time he and the shark were rolling over each other like mad. So I made a running bowline in the boat's painter, and watching a good opportunity, hove it over the old man's head and shoulders, and directly I saw it under his arms, hauled it taut, and then getting the oars out, backed the boat as hard as I could towards the schooner, singing out to the lads on board to heave me a line, which they did, and then I cut the painter, and binding the line on to it, told the boys to haul in like mad. Jumping on board, I lent them a hand, and we soon roused the old man and the shark close alongside, and then we seed that the darned shark was fast to his leg. We drove a harpoon through the shark, and then got 'em both on board, when we found that the crittur had seized the old man by his cork leg, and his teeth had got fixed so fast that he couldn't get 'em out again! That shark measured twelve feet long, and seven round his shoulders, and I guess he was the first ever caught in that queer way." "And you saw that?" said I. " I did, sir, and guess I shall never forget it. The old man kept that leg, with the shark's jaw on it, hung up in his cabin for a curiosity all the time I was with him, and I expect he has it still." The above, although a very mild specimen, will give my readers a small idea of [ Harry's inventive powers. The alligators were now upon the stir, and at intervals we could hear their peculiar noise, which is a singular and awful sound, something like a suppressed sigh, but so loud that it can be heard at a distance of nearly a mile. First one would make this horrid noise, and then others in all directions would answer him; while the wretched cur, which Harry had tied to the foot of the tree, added his yells to the dismal concert. My readers, perhaps, are not aware that the barking of a dog is a certain lure to alligators. Presently one of the Indians pointed to Our bait, and I saw a long object, like a black log of wood, slowly floating towards it. In a little time we saw the stake tremble and bend over, and our line began to tauten. We gave him a few moments to gorge the bait, and then with a vigorous jerk we fixed the triangle of hooks fast in his gullet. In an instant he started off like mad, but after he had run out some twenty or thirty fathoms of line, we brought him up. Descending from our platform, the whole party (eleven in all) manned the line, and endeavoured to drag the scaly monster from the water. But our efforts were in vain ; so after repeated trials and failures, we gave it up for the time being, and contented ourselves with making the line fast to our tree, feeling certain that no struggle on the brute's part could break it.

This done, we once more climbed to our resting-place, and lighting our pipes and mixing a horn of grog all round, passed the time till daylight, listening to our Yankee friend's well-told " twisters."

Daylight at length broke, and then to our surprise we saw that our captive had left the water and was lying on the bank. To drop to the ground and man the rope was but the work of a moment ; and with a " one, two, three," we fairly walked away with him, and, taking the slack round the trunk of the tree, soon had him safely moored. But the fight waa by no meana out of him, and he kept lashing his tail about so viciously that it was impossible to approach near enough to cut his throat, as we intended to put an end to him in that way to avoid spoiling his head by putting a ball through it. Under these circumstances there was nothing to be done but "moor him head and stern"— -z.e., get a rope fast to his tail. This, after several ineffectual attempts, we succeeded in doing, and in a few seconds had his hinder quarters securely lashed to an adjacent tree.

He was now powerless, and we were able to view his vast proportions with safety ; and as he was utterly helpless, I took advantage of his state to verify Waterton's account of "riding an alligator with his fore-paws twisted over his back." This I found to be possible, but I should say highly improbable. Having amused ourselves for some time with watching his vain attempts to escape, I gave the word, and one of the Indians cut his throat, and in a very short time he was dead, and we then measured him. His length was thirteen feet nine inches, and girth round, just behind his fore-paws, six feet five inches and a half. On opening him, we had the satisfaction of finding that justice had overtaken the right one, for in him we found the halfdigested leg and foot of a female — no doubt of the unfortunate girl whose horrid fate had led to our expedition. We caught several more during our stay in the Saint Juan, but none of them were nearly so large as our woman-eater.

Flax.— This article is now regularly quoted in the London produce markets. At auction on the 12th July, 988 bales were submitted to the hammer, and were chiefly sold, realizing the following prices —good and fine clean, £37 to £40 10s. ; middling to fair, £30 10a. to £36 55.; ordinary, with more or less straw, £25 to £28 ; tow, £6 ss. to £13 55. ; chiefly £10 per ton. Delicacy.— Young Swell—" We won't go down Conduit street, for I haven't sent my tailor his Christmas bill yet, and if he should see me he might feel embarrassed.,' — Punch.

Tbied and Acquitted : A person, looking over the catalogue of professional gentlemen of the bar, with his pencil wrote against the name of one who was of a bustling order, "Has been accused of possessing talents." Another seeing it, immediately wrote under, "Has Been tried and acquitted."