Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-12-27
FLORIDA'S PETS.
a FEW ALLIGATOR STORIES.
'"e Tine the Hunters Have In Florida
and Curious Facts About su,v,,o,..

n Live. Oak tFla.) letter in the Phila-
deipnla Times says lie was about as
unconth specimen as could be found
IN ten counties as he leaned I'D against
,ne par and gazed patronizingly around.
ne was about six feet in height, as thin
as a rail, and his legs we're miracles of
length, thinness, and angularity. In
TACT, he looked as if he might be willing
10 swap legs with a whoeping.crane
ana throw in two or three fingers to
boot. His long, coarse black hair WAS
surmounted by dilapidated hat, with
an immense brim. and a little BLACK
stubble emphasized the worn riyulet;
OF tobaccO-julce that stained his chin.
A suit of rusty jeans encased this
odd-looking figure, whose eyes were
wandering, small, and restless.
HOW HE GOT HIS NAME.
They call me Alligator Pete on
account Of my hevin kilt so many
gators. Give me little red Ticker.
and none Of them little, thick glasses.
nuther." About half pint Of liquor
disappeared down his tangled yellox
throat. =" reckon I've kilt over two
thousan gators in my time. One
winter We got over four hundred hide
an about forty bushel Of teeth. an
lie till you couldn't rest. | low
thar Amt man in Floridy bet.
ter posted on gators than what | am.
| knows EN- from the cradle to the
grave as | might say, if the gentlemen
here don't object TO little Joke; haw
haw haw " and he glanced depre-
catingly around the room. II kilt
twenty-five of EN- one afternoon on
Lake George, an hit was a cloudy
afternoon, too. Caters is fond of sun
shine. If they kin git a good muddy
place where the sun beats down onto
them hot and heavy they won't ask for
nuthin' else. They open their mouths
wide an the sun dries their teeth an
keeps the enamel from splitting OIL"
THE 'GAToR-HUNTER's LIFE
did | ever eat alligator steak:
We'll, ! should smile. Lots Of times;
an reckon you would, too, if you
couldn't cit nuthin' else. A steak often
about the third jint of the tail is about
as good eatin' as | want. Jest make
bed Of pine cones, set fire to hit. and
when the Goals is sparklin' lay the
steak on to EN-, an when hits Drilled
nice yer mouth'll run water Just to look
at hit. Then you build big fire of
fat-pine for to keep yarmits away, take
a smoke, roll up in yer blanket, and
sleep like a bald-headed deacon in a
meetin'-house. The wust part Of the
business is tryin' out the lie. It's
nasty. stinkin' stuff. and makes a Teller
all greasy an unpleasant to his neigh
bors like. What do they use hit fur
Make hair lie out'n hit, reckon.
Leastwise we sold all our'n to a drugger
up that way. Mebbe they refine it
some way an you get hit back as cod
liver lie, which is said to cure con-
sumption, though whiskcy is good
enough fer me, an don't want no lie
in mine. Thank YOU. don't keer if do.
Talkin' makes me doG-gonel dry like.
How DO we get the teeth out: Oh, that's
easy enough. specially after YOU knows
how. Jest cut often the head and bury
for week or two an the teeth will al
most come out themselves. We git
about a dollar n hundred for the teeth,
according to size and location. Then
the iewelry iellcrs they iiN 'em up an
sells EN- to the rich lankS what goes
grablin' through the kentry. We dries
the eyes an sells 'em to the Yanks for
sea-shells OF the si.luri-ann period, as
one of them science fellers told me
they was.
- We find some mighty funny things
way down in among the gators in
nards. You know they will swaller
anything they can get to so down their
threats. an hits pretty wide furrer,
an don't you forget it. Light'ud knots,
sawgrass. niger babies, cattle-horns,
an SIGH like. But the funniest thing
ever found. was when | was down on
the Kissiminy.'
CURIOUS CONTENTS or \ 'GATOR'S
STOMACH.
40 use you fellers tryin' fer to
guess what hit was, fer you couldn't do
hit if | was to give you all year to
do hit in. You needn't laugh, nuther,
fer | can prove it by my old pard, Bill
Simmons. Hit was a clock. Yes. sir.
an eigh.-day clock. an hit a-ticking
right along as if hit was just as much at
home there as it would be on shelf in
this here saloon. The hands pinted to
near on the 18th day Of January, 1876,
and I've got that same clock home now,
amt |. Yves? An wouldn't take nc
money for hit, nuther. That clock has
record, hit has, an holds itself above
all the other clocks in the neighbor'
hood. Mother time | found a roll Of
land agents maps in the stomick of a
big bull gator, and blamed if didn''
think at fust the ole Teller had beer
foolin' with town lots, but ! guess he
was too smart for that. Mebbe he hal
swallowed the land agent, too, an d.
cested him, although he'd have a hard
tussle to get away with one Of then
fellcrS.
ut useter puzzle some Of them iei'
lers to know how kilt the critters
fer they couldn't never find nc
mark onto 'em. They'd say Pete,
how in the blame-taked nation do you
Kill SO many gators and we never car
tell where they is shot?' You see
most folks as hunts 'em either shoots
EN- in the eye or about the shoulder
I never told 'em and they never found
out. fer alters hunted alone
I don't mind tcllin' Of you all
though, fer I've ginn up the business
now. Besides, you all look like gen
tlemen -. Thank you, Cap; ] vii
try hit again, seem hits you. Give
me a little glass this time, Yves, fel
these things is a-cOmin' little bit toe
worcestershire for a temperance mar
like | am. Well. | allus useter try
and sneak up on Mister Gator when n
was asleep. The gator allus sleep
stretched out at full length an with hi
mouth wide open, so as to get plenty o
ventilation. Well. Iallus took adyantag