Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-01-21
BIG SAURIANS.
Some Truths About Alligators Which
Grow in the United States.

|
did you ever see an alligator catch
files?" asked q naturalist of Star
writer. 81 have watched the perform
ance by the hour. The saurian lies on n
muddy bank in the sun, with his mouth
wide open. Winged insects, attracted
by the saliva of the beast, gather in
swarms upon its tongue, just as though
it were sheet of fly paper. When a
sufficient number has collected it closes
its jaws suddenly, and with gulp 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 para
sites which the reptiles could not other
wise get rid of. That is fact, although
it failed to be recognized as such by
science for a long time.
''On many occasions have had oppor-
tunities of observing alligators in pur-
suit of prey. They will eat meat in any
shape, from water fowl to fishes. Some
times 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
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 ex-
posing themselves to any extent. A snap,
and all is over with the victim.
perhaps 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
alligator. The former is verv rare. in
deed, and it only can be distinguished
from the latter by differance in the
shape of the head. Alligators have been
found in the rivers and estuaries as far
north as North Carolina, though not
within recent years. For 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 uncxplored Everglades and other
survive in numbers, awaiting the crack
OF the sportsman's rifle TO announce their
demise, preliminarily to sending their
hides and teeth to northern markets.
In times past and to this day, accord
ing to current tradition, alligators have
been credited with being very ferocicus;
but the fact seems to be that they arc
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 approaches, they embed
themselves in the mud of the shadows,
where they hibernate and lie dormant
until spring, They breed in April and
May, when the female socks sheltered
spot on bank and constructs n small
mound of mud and other material, in
which she deposits her eggs, to the num-
Der of 100 or 200. First she laws upon
the ground IL stratum of mud and grass,
on which she deposits a layer of eggs;
on this she places another stratum of
grass and mud, then more eggs, and so
on. The eggs are hatched by the sun,
assisted by the heat which the decom-
posing vegetable material generates. As
soon as hey are Matched the infant alli-
gators scramble for the water.
Alligator leather is becoming dearer
nowadays on account of the increasing
rarity of the animals. Good hides are
worth $40 each. The teeth are of an
excellent quality of ivory, from which
trinkets are carved. OF late there has
arrived fashion of making the skin of
the feet with the claws attached, into
pocket books and hand satchels. The
leather has the great advantage of be-
ing absolutely water proof From glands
in the lower jaw musk is obtained. 1t is
not of very good quality, but it serves as
n basis for certain perfumes. Oil OBJ
tanned from the fat, is supposed to have
medicinal qualities. Hundreds of thou
sands of years ago there were croc@diles
which measured as much as fifty feet
in length, but there are no such giants
in these days.