Now, wo thought, tho victory will
surely bo with the bear. Ho certainly
did seem to havo the best of
It. The alligator used what bror.th
had not been squeezed out of him in
bellowing like a bull. The sounds
he uttered wero so full of rage that
the waterfowl and .small animals
near the bayou (led In affright. Tlic
two struggled back and forth. The
water was lashed into foam by
the furious beating of tho alligator's
tall Straining and struggling,
this "way and that, suddenly
the writhing mats of ferocity slipped
01T ilio narrow jtrip of sand and was
in deep w.t'or ii'jain. Now tho
.ar.- i" v 1 svl and the ad vantage
on tho side of the alligator again.
With a snukellko twist of Ills lithe
Ixidy he slipped from the bear's
clutches, and, wheeling around, tho
long, jxiwcrful tail flashed for an Instant
in the uir and descended with,
crushing force full on the back of
tho bear. The thick backbone
snapped like a reed. With th"e cry
of a human being In distress the bear
rolled over, limp und lifeless, and
sank to tho bottom like a stone, and
the light was over.
Tho victor, apparently lifeless,
floated motionless on lie surface of
the water an alligator always floats
when dead so wo were preparing to
leave, when a low moan recalled us
and wo found him in great pain aud
slowly bleeding to death from his
lacerated throat. Tho water for
many yards around was dyed crimson
with his blood and his moaning
was pitiful to hear. We deemed it
nn act of mercy to kill him, and a
well-directed bullet in tho oyc3 soon
put nn end to his sufferings.
