The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-07-08
An Alligator Farm.

| All tAu5h0VA "a me
eff YOU want to see the alligator as
he is" observed the Colonel, 60 if you
want to talk with man who has been
brought up with 'em, if you want a
square view of the reptile in his native
swamps, ride over to Judge Speed S
plantation. The Judge is the only man
in South Carolina who can talk alligator
all day long and not tell lie." -
did want to see the alligator in his
native Jungle, and l 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 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.
60 YesyI own that bayou" said the
Judge, as we got seated, Gown alliga-
tors and all! was figuring up the other
day and calculated that was the own
er 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 there?"
"A few. There are seven or eight
old seekers which have been there for
thirty years. If | was pinched to it 1
think | could exhibit two or three rep
tiles at least fourteen feet long, and
there is one there which measures twenty
| to an inch?'
a" How long do they live?'
"Well, that's a hard question. The
big one | speak of has been personally
known to us for over forty years, and he
doesn't show any signs of second child
hood yet. | reckon the average alligator
puts in from fifty to seventy years in this
world Of trouble"
What do they eat?"
Most everything. An alligator is al
ways hungry. When he can't get food
he will chew away at pine log, just as
a hungry man will chew a tooth-pick.
That big one devoured steer for me
this spring, and was nosing around after
more meat in half an hour. | had calf
tied up to that tree down there one day
last fall, and 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. have
seen niger throw 'em and old plow-
point, and it would be swallowed at a
gulp.
care they dangerous to human be-
ings?"
mot if you sit here; but if there is
man in this country who dares cross that
bayou in skiff at shutdown he can have
my plantation. AS near as l 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 guess we
can stir up few"
| We walked down to the edge of the
bayou, and the noise we made in the
grass and reeds broughta score of shouts
to the muddy surface. The Judge had
a billet of wood in his hand, and presently
gave it toss far out on the water. In
an instant there was grand rush from
all directions, followed by a ferocious
fight over the billet. and his Honor quietly
observed:
There weren't over thirty in that
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 to
bark. That fetched 'em. believe that
at least 300 alligators put in an appear
ance inside of a minute, some content
to remain stationary-others plunging
about and blowing and fighting.
Louder, King-louderr commanded
the Judge, and the dog barked as if he
had freed coon. The number of rep
tiles increased by at least hundred,
and the waters were thrashed and pad
died until the odor from them was quite
stiff. ,a
"Can' fool 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 false pretense Let a
niger come down with a fish-pole, and
that would mean business. They swim
the bayou and not leave ripple, and
crawl through the grass as softly as a
snake"
sis the alligator possessed of inteifi-
gence"' .'a .s.-.lab 81.
"You bet!' l regard him as keener
than the serpent and sharper than the
fox Let one start to crawl to the house
and he will take advantage of the
ground and bushes and grass just as a
wolf or tiger would" -. - .ta.r
"And can't you get rid of them?"
''Good lands! but L don't want to-
want to foster them | want 'erl
to thrive and increase and multiply
until the bayou won't hold 'em. Ten,
fifteen or twenty years hence the price
of alligator hides will be four times what
it is now, and then I'll turn in on 'en,
;, and make some money. That bayou ia
my alligator farm. The seeds are there
and the plants are growing, and when
can figure that / own 5000 good sizet
auigators | shall let cotton go for one
season and send alligator hides to mar,
ket. Bless you, my boy, but wouldn'
let man crack away here with rifle
: for twenty dollar gold-piece. He'C
, get 'em nervous and skeery, and like
: enough my whole alligator farm woulC
sail off down the river in search of new
owner. | want to keep 'em right here
: There's going to be big money in tina
sort of livestock before we are ten year.
Il ~