Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1871-02-02
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, B7L
Alligators.

HOol' liz Heeo q = SiuttOI4OiS iiotD-
it Of eating all the eggs, thus
necessitating her laying more
(which she does not like to do
1So, whenever she catches him in
that neighborhood, she thrashes
him on general principles-he
Ieither has donemischief or in
tends it: at any rate he is med
ding in domestic matters and
deserves snubbing. | am told
THAT it is really amusing to see
the big bully stick his tail be-
tween his legs and sneak off, the
very image of a henpecked hns-
band, afterone of these coniu-
Egal seedlings. He is not by
Iany means a model husband
and although he takes his
lthrashing kindly, lie revenges
himself by watching until the
eggs are really Matched, and
then eats up as many of the
causes Of the family dispute as
he can catch. Young alligator5
tdon't like to know their own fa-
Ither.
Il heard of but few instances
where these creatures have at
tackled grown men: they are
fond Of children, and show their
attachment to the offspring of
other people as they do to their
own. In one instance, where, a
man on horseback was crossing
a ford he was seized by the leg,
bnt when his dog plunged in,
the alligator left his leg to take
the more delicate morSel. IN
another instance, an alligator
struck at a mule pulling a cart,
and bit out two spokes from
one Of the wheels, leaving a
tooth sticking III one as a me-
mento of the visit. lie hurried
off with great speed, on the look
out, | suppose, fora dentist.
Gators like dogs, pigs, and
young darkies. The dog is a
special fayorite. The whine of
an alligator is easily mistaken
for that of a puppy, and may
mislead a young and inexperi-
eneed dog. A wise Florida dog
will not go boldly down to the
water to drink: he learns by ex-
perience by having been eaten
once ortwice. If the shore is
open, he will draw all the alliga-
tors to one place by barking,
and then scamper off to some
other place where the coast is
clear; or he will creep down
to q moist spot, tail7down, body
crouched, eyes skinned and ears
up; pushing his paws before him
slowlyto feel the water. tapping
it without noise, and then
sneaking away again.
The alligator has his uses :
near every house you viii find
more or less swamp. and in every
swamp more or less alligator.
| heard one lady complain very
much because some travellers
had killed her alligator. He
lived near, and killed snakes,
frogs, young wild cats and 9th
er varmints: thus he earned his
board, and was consequently
protected besides this, he was
useful in preventing young chill
dren from straying too far from
home.
! This worthy creature is very
much maligned, however; every
theft of cattle is laid on the sli-
my back, and that even when
the animal is found in the woods
and the entrails carefully taken
out and left behind. His eyes
are on the topof his head, and
it is curious to see the creature
swimming along with only his
eyes floating above the surface.
He comes ashore to sleep in
the sunshine, and paying atten-
ton to his sleep, becomes so
dead to all sound that steam
boat may come alongside: then
his astonishment when a bullet
wakes him up, and the hurried
way in which. he scuffies into
the water, are sometimes very
ludicrous..
Johnny was telling his ma-how
he was going to dress ~ and show
off when he gotto be a man. His
ma asked, Johnny, what DO you
expect to. do for living when yoa
getio be a man ?" "Well, Dreckon
! III get married and board with
lrnv Wile's na preftw poods foTs a