Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1892-04-02
4 BUSINESS m AllIosroaa


The chssf DsGsrrness B~aw@en That
Beast And the Bix crsesdise.
To gain ones daily bread by means Of
alligators must be az all times fairly
precarious method Of existence. and yet
the colorcd man o. Florida does manage
to pick ap many an honest penny by
means Of the American saurian. The
taxidermist hnds. too, IN the alligator
his opportunity: and though a ten foot
gator never can be very desirable even
when stuffed. little gators properly pre-
pared and mounted are In good demand.
and are brought home IN quantity by
the northern tourist.
We need not find fault with nature,
and tax her with having slighted rs in
the crocodileans If In India there Il
the gavial. in Egypt there is the croco-
die. and In America the alligator and
the cayman. II can hardly be questioned
but that we have ON this continent both
the crocodile and the alligator. The
main point OF difference. according to
Mr.. Hornaday. between the crocodile
and the alligator is as follows: "a croco-
die Is distinguished by a triangular
head, OF which the snout Is the apex, a
narrow muzzle and canine teeth In the
lower jaw. which pass freely upward In
the notches In the side OF the upper:
whereas the alligator lalso caymaa or
sacarel has a broad. fat muzzle, and the
canine teeth Of the lower jaw 1T into
sockets In the under surface Of the upper
jaw"
The business Of collecting the skins Of
alligators has already somewhat dimin-
ished the quantity Of these saurians In
certain parts Of Florida. but they are
still to be found in large numbers fur
Their inland. It Is barely supposable that
alligators ever win become extinct in
Florida while those vast interior lakes
and swamps exist A visit paid by q
naturalist to Florida was convincing
that alligators were still very abundant
To kill an alligator, however. is by no
means rs difficult as to secure him.
The gators bask In the sun ON the long
stretches Of sand, but they are never
quite asleep. They always seem to be
on their guard. and repose never very
Tar from the water. with their heads
pointing in the direction Of flight
Gathering eggs requires some skin, be-
cause the saurian mother has a clever
way Of hiding her trail Sometimes as
many as forty eggs are found in a nest
q few inches below the level II Ia not
the invariable habit Of the mother 10
pack into the nest decayed vegetable
matter in order to add to the heat. Gen.
orally the warmth Of the sun In sufii-
cient
The eggs have a slight musky flavor,
and an experiment once made with an
J omelette OF alligator eggs sufiices. To
eat gator is unknown. and endeavors in
this direction have never been repeated.
MIR. Hornaday tells. however, OF having
eaten the South American variety, where
the feed was fish. and declares that the
. hesh was white. feuder, free from all
disagreeable musky odors and toothsome
/ as the incest roast veal /"
1t Is with due consideration Of the
size Of the alligator us to whether you
: will take a seat on him or not. His jaws
: are not so much to be dreaded as lash
, of his tail
Ky, Nasal you no wantee fres' gator
dis mornin?' is about the cry Of the
vcnder of baby alligators in Jacksonville
t as lac plunges his hand into buckei
!, swung on one arm and hauls out a little
} ugly, squirming. swapping monster
{ These little gators may have been found
by their owner just emerging frsm thsil
nests. or he may have secured them a,
eggs and Matched them ont himself. Tn,
infant saurians show their natural in
4 stinct early and will bite at once.
c An alligator is a queer pet. and h
: tame an adult seems 10 be quite impos
e sible. II intelligence is proportioned tC
. bulk Of brain that OF the alligator Is es
: pecially small In dissecting o large sized
! alligator the brain substance will barely
!, fill an egg cup. We are net to lool
4 upon gator as capable OF any attach
! nients When young latter having hat
! some Of their teeth DRAWN they are &C
d casionally seen about houses.