Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-01-20
AlligatoIs.


long, and you have him exactly. 4
dirtler, nastier-looking creature can
be seen noweAre. He is odoritcr-
Gus too-the "rong way. Where
they are often hunted and much
snot at, alligators become very tim
id and Shy, and avoid men instinct
Nely. In wilder parts OF the coun-
try they are sometimes fierce and
troublesome. AS they crowd the
banks OF The rivers, travellers have
inc sport shooting at them, and
even boast Of killing Il great many;
indeed, to hear the account of the
cockneys when they come down the
ST. Johns river, you would expect
to md the stream covered with
floating carcasses OF dead 'lga'tors.
But III truth, the creature is yer.
hard to kill; in three days journe.
Oh the st. Joh..' / saw some three
hundred shots fired, and only one
alligator kllied outright. He was
struck III the eye; his brain was
penetrated, and he lay like log.
Another was made very sick by a
ball in the neck, and has had 4 stiff
neck ever SINCE.
They are not sociible creatures;
| have seen hundreds, and never
two OF them together. Each one OIL
the big Fellows Will have his own
stretcn of the river shore or his own
side OF the pond, or the whole OF 1t,
If small one, and allow no intru-
sion by others OF his kind. l have
often heard the negro steeFsman
call out, "Get your guns; dar's de
place whar d. big gator lives"
and there he would be, sure enough
monarch of ali he surveyed. AL
ligators are tenacious OF their rights
OF ownership. Ii another trespass-
es, there is a big tight, generally
ending by the stronger eating the
weaker.
The female piles up in the swamp
a mass OF mud and leaves for 4 nest,
that the suns heat may hatch her
eggs. She is then peculiarly saw
age and will attack anything. a
friend Of miac found one of these
nests, and standing on it, employed
himself in raking out the eggs and
throwing them against tree, much
to the dctriment OF the young, UNI
hatched alligators, who had not
been consulted. lnere was anoth-
er party, however, who thought that
She had right to an opinion in the
matter, and that was the female al
lirator. 4 rustic III the bushes, .
rush, and then q big pair Of jaws
belonging to an eightcen-footer,
were heard swapping between his
lcps.. She was so mad that she
missed her aim. My friend is a
slow mani never saw him even
walk tast-but on this occasion he
did not wait to apologize; there WAS
then exhibited some OF the tallest
jumping, tumbling and running ever
seen in Florida or anywhere else.
The female will not allow the male
TO approach her nest. lie has a
u!u.innous habit of eating all the
eggs, thus nccessitatins her laying
more, which she does not like to do.
So. whenever she catches him in
that nciyhborhood, she thrashcs
him on general prlnciples-he has
either done mischief or intends il
at any rate, he is meddling in do
mestic matters and deserves snub
binu. am told that it is really
amusing to see the big bully sticl
his tail between his legs and sneal
off, the very image Of a hen-pccke,
husband, after one of these conjuga
seedlings. lie is not by any mean.
a model husband; and, although HI
takes his thrashiny kindly, he re
yenrcs himself by watching unit
the eggs are really hatched, an,
then eats ur AS many Of the causes
Of the family dispute rs he cal
catch. Young alligators don't lik'
to know their own rather.
| heard of but few instance:
where these creatures have attacke,
grown men; they are fond of chill
dren and show their attachment t.
the offspring Of other people as the.
DO TO their own. In one instance
where man on horseback wa'
crossing a ford, he was seized b,
the leg, but when his dog plunged
in, the alligator left his leg to taxi
the more delicate morSel. In anoth
er instance, an alligator struck at ;
mule, pulling at cart, and bit on
two spokes from one of the wheels
leaving n tooth sticking in one as !
memento Of the visit. He hurrie,
off in great speed, on the lookout,
suppose, for dentist.
Alligators like pigs, dogs, an'
Young darkics. The dog is spec
ial favorite. The whine Of an ALI
gator is easily mistaken for that o
a puppy, and may mislead youn!
and inexperienced dog. A wis
Florida don will not 90 boldly dow