The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1883-07-19

beauty
The ordinary time Of incubation is
about two months, anu then the newly
hatchcd brood may be heard yelping and
snarllng for their mother to contintle her
work by releasing them from their pris-
on-nest. On the second or third day ar!ri
the first noise has been heard, the female
bites hole in the silc of the mom,., out
Oh winch the young ones, barely more
IMAM eleven inches long, come tumbling
IN the most vigorous manner, crawling
directly toward the water Until the
young nrc three years old the mother OK
crciscS n parental care over Them always
remaining within sound of their voices.
not so much to protect them from their
i'"tural enemy, man, as from their ln-
natural enemy their father, who has an
especial fondncSs for his own children in
the way Of food.
when the hunter finds a nest, he car
res the eggs home to hatch them. whcrc
he can easily capture the brood if thc
eggs arc fresh or if the young in them
arc not moro than five inches lonp. ot
any other stage they will not hatch if 1c-
moved, and are of no value cXccpt for
he shell. The captured eggs are then
packed Ill straw as nearly as possible in
the natural way, and the vounr may hc
thus Matched out very successfully. One
farmer reared sixteen hundred and an
other thousand last season. The voung
will eat Immediately after coming ont H}
the shell, but thcT thrive best if given
| no food for Mt least three months.
The cry of full-grown gator is not
unlike the believing of q bull, cxccpt
that 1t IS of moro volume, since the voice
OF male can, on II calm day, he heard n
distance of five miles; and they NAV be
siud to be sum worShipcrs, since they sell
| dom ''rcsuvc themselves into song"
save at the rising of the SIN; in fact the
only exception to this morning melody is
, when Il storm is approaching. The aver
age Florida "cractcr" needs no other
barometer than the alligator in the neigh
boring creek or swamp.
One ceases to he aStonished ut the vol
ume of sound which comes from these
monsters when he secs Il full grown one
put forth al. his strength to produce the
effect. He stretches his body to its full
length, inhaling sufficient air topulr him
up nearly twice his natural sizn; then,
holding his breath, as it were for an in
slant, no raises both head and tail until
lie forms the segment of n circle. When
all IS thus complete, the "rOar" comes
with sufficient force to Startle one, even
though he be prepared for it.
: Since, III ordcr to guard his head, the
alligator is obliged to turn his body
somewhat, and since, when his Jaws arc
once closed he is unable to Opc,: ;i.cm if
only moderate amount of strength on
the part of man is used, the hunter Sc
lects this point for attack when it is pos
siblc for him to steal upon his game un-
awares.
/ If the intending captor gets II firm hold
! upon the jaws of his game III this way,
the mOnstc' becomes reasonably easy
prey; one rope soon secures his jaws an
other IS tied aronnd his neck and faS:
cned to tree, while third secures his
. tail in the same way, thus stretching the
: captive in a straight line; his fore paws
. are tied over his back, n stoIt pole is
. laShed from the end of his Snout to the
! tip of his tail. and the alligator is help,
, less.
| Jt is seldom, however, that the hunter
gets his game at disadvantage, and to
! secure him alive he must set about the
work mucii aS boys do when they snare
! rabbits. \ tall, stout Sapling near the
waters edge is the first requisite, and
! directly in front of that, in the water, IL
! narrow lane or pen is made with stakes,
the two outer ones being n0tchC0, aS is
the spindle of q bOX-trap. At the end of
! this pen, and nearer the shore, 4 stake is
! driven into the mud, and on the top of it
! is fastened a piece of tainted beef. y
! stout rope, ut one end Of which is Il large
! moose, is fastened to the top of the sap
! ling, and to the upper part of the moose
| Is attached acrOSS-har or trigger, which,
when the tree Is bent, catches in the
notchcs on the outer stakes just below
| the surface of the water, the moose hang
| ing around the entire opening. TO get
ut the meat Tho alligator attempts to
! swim under the bar, but his back dis
! places the trigger, and he is n captive,
/ with the rope fastened just back Of his
! fore legs.
! 1t is necessary TO bind the captive
: while he is in the water, and chen to
, carry him to the shore in hont for.
/ nmphibious as he iH, he can be drowncd
. if ragged even a short distance through
/ the water When once properly secured
! and on land, the alligator can do nothing
! in the hope of cficctinS release, save to
! roll over, md this he does by mighty
effort with his shoulders, frequently
working himself over n quarter of mile
! in distance i'll a single night.
Those who arc most familiar with The
habits of the alligator, as seen in the
! Southern States, believe his parlnlitv
for dccaycd food does not arise from any
particular flavor it may possess, but sim
ply because in putrid state any large
! amount Of flesh is more easily lprn apart
and musticntcd than when fresh. Al
though the posscssOr Of SO much ivory IN
the shape of teeth, and able to use his
jaws with so much power, it is an cx-
trcmcly difficult matter for an alligator
TO dismembcr pig. even after the flesh
is dccaycd.
While the meat is yet firm and the
muscles intact, it is m impossibility for
him to do other than swallow it nearly
whole. as he sometimes does when inter
cuptcd shortly after he has killed his
prey. That NlliGatOrs do like fresh CooJ
when it is possible for them to eat it is
| shown by the fact tbat fresh fish and
| small turtles are their Iavorito diet In
| the stomach Of twcIvc-foot alligator
| there have been found six catfish, none
of them mutiatcd, weighing altogether