The Bossier banner., 1892-07-28
ALLIGATORs AND CRoCODILES
They Are Not Nearly So Big Gow as They
Were in Olden Days.

They Are Not Nearly So Big Vow as They
Were in Olden Days.
''Did you ever see an alligator catch
fiies?" asked naturalist of Star
writer. 81 have watched the perform
ance by the hour. The saurian lies on
a muddy bank in the sun, with its
mouth wide open. Winged insects, at
tracted by the saliva of the beast, gather
in swarms upon its tongue, just as
though it were a sheet of fly paper.
When sufficient number has collected !
it closes it's jaws suddenly, and with a
gulp the lit tie torments have disap-
peared, affording at once revenge and
an a greeable flavor. You have often
heard, | dare say, of the little bird that
enters the mouth of the crocodile with
out fear, in order to pluck therefrom
certain parasites which the reptiles
could not otherwise get rid of. This is
a fact, although it failed to be recog-
nized as su ch by science for a long time.
''On many occasions | have had op-
portunities 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, mouths agape,
and silently absorb shoals of mullet and
other comparatively small fry which
pass along thro ugh the shadows. But
a favorite way of theirs is to lie upon
| the surface of the water and quietly
| gobble any ducks or ether 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 nos are above the surface. Thus
| they are able to breathe and to see at
the same time without exposing them
selves to any extent. A snap, and all
is over with the victim.
| perhaps l have seemed to confuse
the alligator and the crocodile. In fact,
there are two kinds of crocodiles in the
| United States-the true crocodile and
the ALI ligator. The former is very rare
indeed, and it can only be distinguished
from the latter by difference in the
shape of the head. Alligators have
! been found in rivers and estuaries as
far north as North Carolina, though not
within recent years. For a long time
past hunters have sought them SO per-
sistently and have slain them so reck-
lessly that they are rapidly becoming
extinct. At present their numbers in
Florida and on the gulf coast are few.
In the unexplored everglades and other
great swamps of those regions they still
survive in numbers, awaiting the crack
of the sportsmans rifle to announce
their demise, preliminary to sending
their hides and teeth to northern mar
ketS.
''In times past and to this day, ac.
cording to current tradition, alligators
have been credited with being very
ferocious, but the fact seems to be that
they are sluggish and timid. In South
America the natives often wade into
the water where they are and pull
them out by the tails. So it is said
at all events When winter ap
proaches they imbed tn .mselves in
the mud of the sha lows, where they
hibernate and lie dormant unit
spring They breed in April and May
when the female seeks shelter ed spot
on bank and constructs small mound
of mud and other material, in which
!; she deposits her eggs, to the number O
100 or 200. First she lays upon the
ground stratum of mud and grass, OF
which she deposits layer of eggs; OF
| this she places another stratum of gras
and mud then more eggs, and so on
The eggs are Matched by the sun, as
, sisted by the. heat, which the decom
, posing vegetables materially generates
, AS soon as they are Matched the infan
, alligators scramble for the water.
alligator leather is becoming deare
' nowadays on account of the increasin,
s rarity of the animals. Good hides ar
3 worth $40 each. The teeth are of an ex
7 cellent quality of ivory, from whicl
trinkets are carved. Of late there ha
arrived fashion of making the skin @
the feet, with the claws attached, int
Q pocketbooks and hand satchels. Th
= leather has the great advantage of be
8 ing absolutely waterproof. From gland
i: in the lower jaw musk is obtained
g 1t is not of very good quality, but
o serves as a basis for certain perfumes
t Oil obtained from the fat is supposed
t have medical qualities. Hundreds {
e thousands of years ago there were ere
codiles which measured as much as fit
feet in length, but there are no sue
Q giants in these days" - Washingto
= Star.