The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-18
ALLIGATURS AND CROCODlLES.

Some Truths About the Biggest Reptiles
Which Grow in the United States.
ibid you ever soc an alligator catch
fies?" asked a naturalist of a Washington
Star writer. 81 have watched the perform
anoe by the hour. Th saurian lies on a
muddy bank in the sun, with his mouth
wide open. Winged insects, attracted by
the saliva of the beast, gather in swarms
it were a sheet Of fly paper.
When a sufficient number has collected it
closes it's jaws suddenly, and with a Rulp
the little torments have disappeared, afford
ing at once revenge and an agreeable flavor.
You have often heard, ] dare say, of the
little bird that enters the mouth of the
crocodile without fear, in order to pluck
therefrom certain parasites which the rep
tiles could not otherwise get rid of. That
is a fact, although it failed to be recognized
as such by science for a long time.
"On ma occasions | have had oppor-
tunities of observing alligators in pursuit of
prey. They will eat meat in any shape,
from water fowl to fishes. Sometimes they
moor themselves by their tails to the shore,
with mouths agape, and silently absorb
shoals Of mullet and other comparatively
small fry which pass along through the
! shadows. But a ~favorite way of theirs is to
lie upon the surface of the water and
quietly gobble any ducks or other
animals that come within reach.
Their heads are so constructed that
when they are thus floating only their eyes
and the tip end of the nose are above the
surface. Thus they are able to breathe and
to see at the same time, without exposing
themselves to any extent. A snap, and all
is over with the victim.
alligator and the crocodile. In fact. there
are two kinds of crocodiles in the United
States-the true crocodile and the alligator.
The former is very rare, indeed, and it can
only be distinguished from the latter by q
difference in the shape of the head.
Alligators have been found in rivers and
estuaries as far north rs North Carolina,
though not within recent years. For q
long time past hunters have sought them
so peysistently and have slain them SO
recklessly that they are rapidly becoming
extinct. At present their numbers in
Florida and on the gulf coast are few. In
the unexplo1ed Everglades and other great
swamps of those regions they still survive
in numbers, awaiting the crack of tho
sportsman's rifle to announce their domise.
preliminary to sending their hides and
teeth to northern markets.
I'm times past and to this day, according
to current tradition, alligators have been
credited with being very ferocious; but the
fact seems to be that they are sluggish and
timld. In South America the natives often
wade into the water where they arc md
pull them out by the tails. So it is said, at
All events. When winter approaches they
ilnbed themselves III the mud of tho shat
lows, where they hibernate and lie
dormant until spring. They breed
in April and May, when the
female seeks a sheltered spot on a bank
and constructs Il small mound of mu and
other material, in which she deposits hen
eggs, to the number of 100 or 200. First she
lays upon the ground n stratum OF mud and
} grass, on which she deposits u layer of eggs
on this she places another stratum of grass
and mud, then moe eggs and 90 on. Thu
eggs are hatchod by tho sun, assisted by the
} hoat which the accomplishing vegetable ma
to- .ial generates. Assoonn NJ tloy are hntcheC
the infant allisatol 8 scramble for The wa
!, ter.
alligator leather ia becoming dearel
NOWADAYS on account OF tho inoreasln.
rarity of the animals. Good hides arr
worth $40 each. The teeth are of al
' excellent quality of ivory, from which
trinkets arc carved, Or late there has nr
=, rived Il fashion of making tho skin OF th,
1 feat, with tha claws attached, into poke
books and hand satchels. The leathe
has the great advantage Of boinI
absolutely water proof. From glands ii
" the love. jaw musk is obtained. IT Ia no
Z OF Il very good quality, but it serves ns
o basis for certain rerfumes. Oil, obtainci
from tho fat. is supposed to have medioinn
v qualities. Hundreds of thousands of year
. ago there were crocodileB which meaBure
- ms much as fifty feet in length, but thel
are no such CUNTS in these days.