The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1881-03-23
NATURAL HISTORY.
THE -4LLlGATOR.-(C Crocodslus llcslts }
To the Editor of The Morristown Gazette:

x < x 1t should be rep
resented to the average Tennessear
what an alligator really is
When you say" There is a pail
of iaws-and thereby hangs a tale,
you have given the general idea
Fguratively, he isa warehouse with
an Office in front, comprising the
breadth Of the building All busi,
ness is done solely in that front Of
fee. In an artistic Cor geometric)
sense it is a pair Of jaws, introducing
a cylindrical, conical tail-the apex
of the cone being the tip of the tail
! There are two legs mortised into this
tail scale or two abaft of where it
joins the lower jaw, and then, still
further to the rear, two more legs
are attached by mitre jint You
do not see the point Of the tail until
you get to the end of it. The last
brace of legs are intended to steady
the 4" animiIe" when he barls and
Yags. How he manages to bark
with such a mouth is one of natures
unrevealed wonders but he wags
with both ends. In this respect he
is a double entendre The first wag
is vertical and extends to point just
in front of the fore legs. The last
wag is horizontal and, commencing
where the other left off, is continued
indefinitely until the caudal termin-
us is reached. These wags, although
forming a right angle with each 9th
er, are, after a fashion, reciprocal.
Should the horizontal wag involve
in its radius something good to eat,
such as a mule, a COW, a dog or
small American citizen of African
descent-the wag returns to the
place where the teeth are located,
and becomes vertical. The physiog-
nomy Of this child of nature is pc
cuIiarly interesting, a face once seen
never forgotten. The prominent
features are his mouth and eyes.
The mouth wears rather an open
expression, but is exqusitely pattern
ed for utility, The upper and lower
lip prOtrude, but are at times, drawn
back, revealing a set of teeth that
would make a young dentist commit
suicide. At times a smile plays
around that mouth-a winsome
smile, ripping far away through the
vista of the tail. The chin is retreat
-very-while, as for the nose, it
has shared the fate Of Poland, and
the seat Of government removed to
the nostrils, which are prominent
The forehead is not indicative of
either strong perceptiveness or re-
served intellectually, yet possesses |
a mysterious suggestiveness, limiting
at considerable force lying behind it. |
A close examination will reveal that |
this dynamite instinct resides actu-
ally in the tail. K x x Of ears |
he has little. His eyes are his pro-
features. They are situat-
ed about midway Of the nose, and |
rise from it's plane about three inch
es perpendicularly This gives the
'animile' a preeminent power of Sc
curity Gin Observatory as he lies
upon the water, with nothing but
those eyes and the tip of his nose
visible Within easy range these
eyes assume a retrospective express
sion, which is not strange when we
recOllect that, owing to his peculiar
the alligator is located |
somewhere back Of himself The !
question has been raised whether he
to better advantage in full
face or in profile. 1t is difficult to
this aesthetic problem, as
he never can be seen with full face
save when he is eating, for his face
can not be full only when his mouth
is and when his mouth is full he is
sensitive to criticism. His complex
ion is arusty, brindIe- -black-but, in
marked faces, we rarely de-
mand sany deHcacy of complexion.
x x | was fishing one
day in a slziff, in Grand Lake Gin the
regiOn.) An alligator
rose some distance from me and
fioated upon the surface of the wa
ter, putting one eye on guard to
watch my movements. l raised my
rifle and sighted him, at the same
time he sighted me. l fired. He
and missed me. Twelve
times went we through that ceremo-
NY [ rowed to the shore and took
a steady aim until that eye seemed
just at the muzzle Of my gun, and
looking up the barrel at me. l fired.
He winked- missed me again.
This familiarity from an entire
stranger (you see, | had city ways
then,) angered me. [ got into my
boat and rowed out to him. As |
approached he slowly sank, and 1
haven't seen that eye since! Had |
gone home and left that eye in poss-
ession Of the lake, l should never
have enjoyed any peace of mind.
BRIC-A-BRAC.