Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1884 — KILLING AN ALLIGATOR. [ARTICLE]

KILLING AN ALLIGATOR.

The Adventure ot a Pennsylvania I'ouii® Lady in an Arkansas Swamp. [Little Rock telegram to Chicago Times.} The monster alligator which has inhabited the swamps near Tucker’s Lake, Jefferson County, is no more. For many years it ruled supreme for a radius as several miles around its marshy home. The community avoided the swampy lair, and terror and dismay overcame those that were compelled to venture near. It remained for Miss Dottie L. Steck, of Bellwood, Pa., to remove this incumbrance, which she did with a dexterity that would cause the ordinary female heart to shudder. The young lady, who is visiting relatives in that county, whose residence is near the lake, upon hearing the alligator story, determines! to capture the thing. Being accustomed to adventures at her home in the Alleghenies, she laughed at the idea of serious results, and, in company with two young ladies and several gentlemen, set out to accomplish her purpose. The party soon struck the trail and tracked the alligator to his den. A hole in the sandy bank indicated the locotion, and a few minutes’ digging revealed the object of the search, ana the ominous growls and furious lashings that arose from the spot informed the adventurers that the king of reptiles was within. The egress from the den to the lake having been securely stopped up, the enraged beast found its avenue of escape cut off, and rushed up and down its bed uttering wicked growls, furiously lashing the mud, and scattering the water in all directions. Pieces of timber and fence-rails were pushed into its mouth, only to be crushed and snapped off by its ponderous jaws. A rope and chain, made into a lasso, was thrown over the brute's head. Then he was suddenly jerked to the bank. The appearance of the monster in the midst of the venturesome party created a panic, and all save the heroine beat a hasty retreat,selecting the further side of an oak as a place of safety. With gun in hand, the young lady stood within a few feet of the now thoroughly enraged beast, which was growling, struggling, and slashing its tail on the ground in a frightful manner, and when the opportunity presented itself she fired both barrels in rapid succession. The aim did its work. The alligator gave tremendous lurches and roars, and expired. Both shots had entered one of the few penetratable places, at the base of the jaw. It measured a fraction over ten feet in length. The hide was removed and is in the possession of Miss Steck.