Daily Independent

ALLIGATOR AND CAT FIGHT.
An Exciting Combat in Which Tabby
Comes Off Victorious.

One of the most remarkable combats
ever witnessed in this country occurred
on Holmes river, near Verner, Fla.,
lately. In the battle a cat and an alli-
gator fought for three hours with the
final result in favor of tabby.

A house cat was in the habit of going
to the river and feeding on mussels and
such fish as it could get, and it was no-
ticed several times that when the cat
moved along the bank a ripple in the
water showed that an alligator kept
pace with it in the water. The cat,
however, was aware of the alligator's
presence, but showed no signs of fear.

On the day mentioned the cat ap-
proached too near the water in its eager-
ness to get a fish, and was suddenly
grasped by the hind leg by an alligator
about three feet long:

The cat made a spring and got away,
but the leg was bitten badly and bled
freely. The taste of blood seemed to
put the alligator in a frenzy, for it came
out on the bank and tried to continue
the pursuit.

The cat turned on its enemy and then
began one of the fiercest fights seen in
a long time. The cat was so quick that
it was impossible for the alligator to get
a bite at it, and the result was that the
saurian was soon endeavoring to beat a
retreat to the water.

But the cat now began an offensive
attack and cut off the way, nipping the
alligator in the throat and tender spots
under the arms, until the reptile was
bleeding and almost exhausted.

This fight continued for several hours,
and when at last the alligator gave up
it was bleeding from over one hundred
wounds. The cat was seemingly un-
hurt, except in the wounded leg, which
was injured before the fight began.