Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-06-13
THE ALLIGATOR AT HOME.


PepPered by Tourists for Pleasure and
Hunted TO Death for His Skin and
Teeth.
Among the throng of people travel
ing southwark to escape our Northern
winter may be found many sportsmen,
armed with rifle and revolver and with
plenty Of fixed ammunition, cherishing
one hope above others of shooting an
alligator. Large are the numbers who
go forth to shoot, but few are the alli-
gators slain. The rivers, bayous and
many of the lakes of the Gulf States
are thickly populated with alligators,
or lagartOs, as they are known by the
Spanish-speaking portion of the inhab-
itants. On sunny days they may be
seen stretched upon the sloping banks
of streams or floating idly on the CLASSY
water, nothing visible but the top Of
the head. From the decks of the little
fat-bottomed steamers which carry
many tourists through the weird beauty
Of the upper st. Johns and Ocklawaha
Rivers every winter, the alligator re-
ceives Volley after volley of rifle andre
volYer balls. There are but two places
in an alligator where q shot will prove
fatal-in the eye and directly under
the forearm. The first being very
small and protected by a heavy case
ment surmounted by projecting cap,
can be struck only By the best marks
men. Except when taking sunbath,
the tender spot under the shoulder is
never exposed. The chance of shoot
ing an alligator, especially by novice,
is therefore not alarmingly great.
Although very clumsy, their quick
ness in some cases is remarkable, as
when in the water a speed of from five
TO eight miles an hour is made, and on
land they are able to throw themselves
over half circle, using the fore feet
for a fulcrum, striking an enemy with
their tail with tremendous force. In
getting food the alligator displays q re-
markable degree of cunning. Fish is
acceptable, and to catch, them q num-
Der Of alligators form in line, driving
the fish before them into cove or in
let. Then each gator makes a rush,
catches fish in his open mouth, rises
to the surface, tosses the fish into the
air, at the same time expeling the wa
ter by a current of air drawn through
the nose, and is ready to bolt the fish
when it falls. Owing 70 the formation
of the teeth the. alligator. cannot masi-
cate his food, but bolts it in small
chunks. The gul1et is not large. Prey
of size is concealed until it begins to
putrefy, when it is sought and de-
voired. The largest animals are at
tackled if they get into the water,
dragged down and drowned. Last
spring large OK went into the waters
of Lake Jackson, not far from Talla-
hassee, to drink. An alligator fastened
to the fore leg of the animal, crushing
the bone. The OK struggled to the
shore, dragging his antagonist with
him. At this time the shore was black
with alligstors, attracted by the smell
Of blood, and some crawled upon the
bank The OK fought valiantly, tossing
one of the monsters high in the air,
from which fall he lay on the ground
stunned a considerable time. But the
wounded OK again got in the water, and
a mammoth alligator closed on his nose
and dragged him under.
Not long ago Florida paper told q
story of the charming of an alligator
by q rattlesnake. The latter, upon
discovering the former, attracted at
tention by sounding an alarm. The
alligator turned his head several times
as If he wanted TO get away, but as
often faced the snake again. "Toward
the end of half an hour" says the pa
per, 'with fixed eyes the alligator
moved slowly toward his terrible enc
my, until within striking distance,
when the snake euEled himself more
compaetly and struck the alligator.
For moment the alligator shook tre-
mendously, and then, as if by magic,
made a semi-ci1cle backward and
brought his tail down upon the would
be assassin with fatal result" On sew
eral occasions captured alngatoFs and
rattlesnakes have been put IN an incios-
ure to fight for the benefitof spectators,
and in a majority of cases the snake
has been victorious, having succeeded
in striking his fangs into the alhgator's 8
open mouth.
Aligators are oviparous, the female
laying as many as two hundred eggs,
somewhat larger than goose eggs, in
nest scooped out of the soil near the
water. A thin mating of leaves and
twigs separates the layers of eggs,
which are left to hatch by the SUMS
heat. When theyoung alligator breaks
its shell it is from eight to ten inches
in length, and st once takes to the va
ter and the established ways of getting
food. They may often be seen playing
together like young kittens. At this
age great numbers are captured by ne
gro boys, who sell them in the towns to
Northern visitors to carry home as cue
riosities.
Up to a year or two ago the war on
alligatOrs came near to exterminating
them. The skins and teeth are the
only parts of value. For several years
from twenty to twenty-five Thousand Of
the former were annually taken, the
hunters receiving fifty cents to one dol
lar apiece for them. The greatest
hunter of Florida got 1000 skins in a
fve-months' campaign. The skins
from the sides and belly was stripped
off and shipped North and made into
leather for boots and shoes These
were once quite fashionable, but are
seldom seen now, and in consequence
the alligator lives in greater security.
The demand for jeWelry and orna-
ments made from the teeth seems to
have been pretty thoroughly supplied,
and few are hunted for this purpose.
Occasionally an alligator from ten to
htteen feet in length is wanted for a
museum, and there is no difficulty in
letting the contract to a colored man.
When caught his feet are tied over bis
back, and the powerful jaws fastened
with many wraps of rope. He is then
shipped to destination in a strong box.
Stnffed allipatars are far nftenar CIV hiln-