Ray: If you are the long retired oil geologist I met who's ancestor was a Biloxi ship's pilot--we met decades ago. The obit or funeral home card (?) of my Capt. Harry Copp James , d Sept 9, 1923, said he took the biggist ship into Biloxi (Ship Island?), my guess was the light cruiser USS Chester, New Years Day, 1914? A Freemason as was his father and grandfather, he was born New Orleans Aug 7, 1848, and a Pvt. in Co. G, Capt. John A. Hall's New Orleans Zoavue Fire Brigade Militia (24th Fire Eng. Co., Light Inf.?)(Blue Zoavue uniforms?). After the fall of New Orleans I do not knowwhat he did the rest of the war? His Battle of New Orleans, Biloxi lawyer grandfather, Adj. Lt. John Nixon, DeJean's 1st La. Militia, owned the Nixon House Hotel, Biloxi; Did Katrina wipe out his tomb at the front of the cemetery near the water? If so I can get him a War of1812 tombstone?

P.S. Been almost cold last three days. I live on 15-bluff overlooking "Dutchmans Creek", Southport, above N.C. State Boat Ramp, Below the bluff, about 50 yards from the salt water, I have a long, very narrow lake less than 5-feed deep. As I walked the path inn the summer, beneath the bank's tall bushes, I'd hear "splash" on my approach--assumed it was big pond turtle I'd found and put in there. Two days ago, I rounded the path, six feet from me was a six-foot black alligator. As I had a fake three-piece baby alligator in the pond, I thought it an incrediable fake alligator joke on me; but grabbed a log and ran towards it. "Splash"-it was a real alligator. Indians trapped alligators by a path of slightly "S"-shaped stakes in the ground with bait at the narrow end. Bait eaten, the alligator could not turn around so backed out, their tail wedging; captured between the stakes.