The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-07-06
An Alligator Farm.

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eff YOU want to see the alligator q
he is" observed the Colonel, :" Il you
want to talk with a man who hes been
brought up with 'em, if you want q
square view of the reptile in his native
swamps, ride over to Judge Speeds
plantation. The Judge is the only man
In South Carolina who can talk alligator
all day long and not tell a lie."
I did want to see the alligator in his
native Jungle, and 1 rode across the
country and got down in front of an old
time, ~old-fashioned Southern residence,
with its long verandas and beautiful
shade. Half a mile away were the first
signs of the big bayou, and it was in that
bayou that the alligator passed his years
in basking and eating and keeping one
eye out for the flash of a shotgun.
Yes, I own that bayou" said the
Judge, as we got seated, Gown alliga-
tors and all! 1 was figuring up the other
day and I calculated that 1 was the own
err of at least 1000 alligators. Of course.
they come and go, but l calculate on
1000 reptiles which are steady tenants
ANY very big ones in therep"
"a few. There are seven or eight
old seekers which have been there for
thirty years. If 1 was pinched to it I
think 1 could exhibit two or three rep
tiles at least fourteen feet long, and
there is one there which twenty
to an inch?"
How long do they live@"
swell, that's a hard question. The
big one I speak of has been personally
known to us for over forty years, and he
doesn't show any signs of second child
hood yet. 1 reckon the average alligator
puts in from fifty to seventy years in this
world of trouble"
.sWhat do they eatp"
Most everything. An alligator is al
ways hungry. When he can't get food
| he will chew away at a pine log, Just as
a hungry man will chew q tooth-pick.
That big one devoured a steer for me
this spring, and was nosing around after
more meat in half an hour. l had 8 calf
tied up to that tree down there one day
last fall, and a reptile came out of the
bayou and took him off, chain and all,
and if he didn't swallow the chain we
have never been able to find it. Ihaye
seen a niger throw EN- and old plow-
point, and it would be swallowed at a gulp.
"Are they dangerous to human be-
ings?"
"Not if you sit here; but if there is q
man in this country who dares cross that
bayou in a skiff at shutdown he can have
my plantation. As near as I can figure
up those reptiles have got away with fifty
niggers, eight or ten white men, thirty
cattle, five or six mules and no end to
pigs and geese in the last twenty-five
years"
"When are they the liveliest?"
"Early in the morning and after sun
down. Let's see. It's after ten now,
and the sun is pretty hot, but l guess we
can stir up q few"
We walked down to the edge of the
bayou, and the noise we made in the
grass and reeds brought a score of snouts
to the muddy surface. The Judge had
a billet of wood in his hand, and presently
gave it a toss far out IN the water. In
an instant there was a grand rush from
all directions, followed by a %ferociou.
fight over the billet, and his Honor quietly
observed:
"There weren't ove thirty in tina
crowd. Let me call the dog"
He whistled to one of the dogs left be-
hind on the veranda. and when the ami
NAL reached us it was encouraged Il
bark. That fetched 'em. 1 believe tina
at least 800 alligators put in an appear
ance inside of a minute, some conten
to remain stationary-others plunginf
about and blowing and fighting.
Louder, King-louder!' commanded
the Judge, and the dog barked as if b,
had treed a coon. The number of rep
tiles increased by at least a hundred
and the waters were thrashed and pad
died until the odor from them was quit
stiff.
"Can'tfool the old veterans that way
observed the Judge as he turned away
"They are down on the muddy bottom
or lying in the weeds, and they know
that this is only a false pretense. Let
nigger come down with O tish-pole, ant
that would mean business. They'd swim
the bayou and not leave a ripple, anG
crawl through the grass as softly as
snake"
els the alligator possessed of intelli
gence?"
s'You bet!" I regard him as keenel
than the serpent and sharper than tn
fox. Let one start to crawl to the hQus,
and he will take advantage of thu
ground and bushes and grass just as
wolf or tiger would"
"And can't you get rid of them?"
"Good lands! but 1 don't want to
I want to foster them. / want 'et
to thrive and increase and multipl,
until the bayou won't hold 'em. Ten
fifteen or twenty years hence the pric
of alligator hides will be four times wha
it is now, and then Pn turn in on EN-
and make some money. That bayou i
my alligator farm. The seeds are Their
and the plants are growing, and when
oSn 6o,,ro that own 2 NM 6nod size
alligators 1 shall let cotton go for on
season and send alligator hides to mar
ket. Bless you, my boy, but l wouldn'
let a man crack away here with a ril
for a twenty dollar gold-piece. He
get 'em nervous and skeery, and Gk
enough my whole alligator farm woul
sail off down the river in search of a ne,
owner. 1 want to keep EN- right here
There's going to be big money in tina
sort of livestock before WE are ten year
ulder."-Cor. Detroit Free Press.