Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1876 — A Calcutta Story. [ARTICLE]

A Calcutta Story.

There lived in Calcutta a lovely girl of seventeen, who was engaged to a man she was much attached to; her father, however, did not approve of the match, and was anxious that she should marry another man, who had proposed to her some time before. This second lover, backed up by the father, was most in his attentions, and ultimately hoped tp wjn the girl, who, on her part, djsliked' him intensely, and declared she would only marry the man she was engaged to, ana no one else. All of a sudden the girl disappeared, and though every search was made no intelligence could be gained of her, nor was there any apparent reason for her mysterious absence. Suspicion fell on botli her lovers, especially on the one whose suit she had rejected, for it was w’ell known he was highly incensed agaihst her for her indifference toward him. They were botli arrested and imprisoned, albeit they declared their Innocence, and also their sorrow and astonishment at her disappearance. It was ascertained that she was last seen alive going to tlje“t4uk” with her pitcher to draw water, and that she had never been seen since. On this it was decided to have the tank dragged, -which was accordingly done. The first time they found nothing; however, they tried again. On this occasion they feft something veiy heavy in the net; presently they saw the huge head of an alligator, and soon after heard a tremendous splash, which broke the net and allowed the animal to escape. They immediately commenced making another net of extra strength, and one not likely to -be broken by the alligator. When it was finished they dragged the tank, and this time they did so most thoroughly, but to their amazement nothing of the alligator w’asseen. “Where pan it be?” they exclaimed; “ surely we were not deceived, we all saw it; and yet if it was in that tank we must have caught it.” Someone proposed that they should drag the tank from the opposite side. This they did, and their efforts were crowned with success, for they captured the alligator, and brought him safe to land. He was of monstrous size, and a most ferocious monster. Inside of him they found no end of gold

and silver liangles and native ornaments; some of them were rectrffilwffFby the he-' reared father qs belonging to his poor daughter, for fliey wt* tlteMme she worn on.«ie evening she was last seen walking toward the tank. The grief of her friends on this terrible discovery canter better imagined than described. She must Itave put down her pitcher ipto the d-ater, quite unsuspicious of danger when she WU seized by the monster and in a moment dragged down. Not a soul knew the existence *f the alligator in that tank. It was the only one there, and had the habit of hiding under a shelving of rock on one side of the tankr ■ This accounts for its not* being captured when the tank was dragged on so many occasions. Hob' this monster got into that tank’ and where it came from is a question for naturalists alone to answer. I have heard, though I cannot vouch for the truth, that alligators have been known to travel great distances at night. Tills animal must have walked straight through the populous‘City of Calcutta to the tank unobserved. — Calcutta Sporting Magazine. ,