Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-01-04
ALLIGATORs AND CROCODlLEs.


ALLIGATORS AND CROCODlLES.
They Are Not Nearly So Big Now as They
Were in Olden Lays.
"Did you ever see an alligator catch
fies?" asked a naturalist of a Star
writer. 81 have watched the perform
ance by the hour. The saurian lies on
a muddy bank in the sun, with It's
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 torrents 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
fact, although it failed to be recog-
nized as oh by science for 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
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 e 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 hove 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 very rare
indeed, and it can only be distinguished
from the latter by difference in the
shape of the head Alligators have
besn 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-
sfstent1y and have slain them SO reclx-
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 sportsman's rife 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 10
the mud of the sha lows, where they
hibernate and lie dormant until
spring. They breed in April and May
when the female seeks a shelter ed spot
on a bank and constructs small mound
of mud and other material, in which
she deposits her eggs, to the number OF
100 or 200. First she lays upon the
ground a stratum of mud and grass, on
which she dep osits layer of eggs; on
this she places another stratum of grass
and mud, then mors 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 infant
alligators scramble for the water.
alligator leather is becoming dearel
nowadays on account of the increasing
rarity of the animals Good hides ar,
worth $40 each. The teeth are of an ex
cellent quality of ivory, from which
trinkets are carved. Of late there has
arrived fashion of making the skin q
the feet, with the claws attached, into
pocketbooks and hand satchels The
leather has the great advantage of be-
ing absolutely waterproof. From glands
in the lower jaw musk is obtained.
1t is not of very good quality, but ii
serves as a basis for certain perfumes
Oil obtained from the fat is supposed tt
have medical qualities. Hundreds O
thousands of years ago there were GRO
coolies which measured as much as ffty
feet in length, but there are no sucl
giants in these days" - Washington
Star.
Miles, Nerve and liver Pills.