The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-12-30
THE ALLIGATOR AT HOME.
It's Habits, and Which Are the
Choicest Ones as CuriOsities.
Jacksonville Fla.) Citizen.


Alligators are interesting animals, or
birds, or reptiles, whichever you choose TO
call them; A great many tourists who
come to Florida buy live alligatorS FOR pets,
but the best kind for pet. If you want
good one, is stuffed alligator. When alive
they have a habit of growing very rapidly
some fine day. Occasionally other pets.
dogs. rabbits. and the like, have been
known to disappear mysteriously..
i There are several men in Jacksonville
who make a speciality of alligators; there
are lots OF alligators in Florida who make
a speciality of men. This story is about the
One of them is Mr.. Jack Hewitt. He has
probably stuffed more alligators than any
other man in Florida The other year his
1.-THE best way to get young aigators."
he said the other day, sis to get them be-
fore they are Matched. The female alligator,
when she wants to lay her eggs clears out
a place by sweeping her tail around until
she has hole about three or four feet in
depth and some six feet or so in circumfer-
ence. Then she lays her. eggs and goes
around and collects lot of moss and leaves
and all the decayed vegetable matter she
can find. This she piles on top of the eggs
some ten or twelve feet high. The mound
Is built quite near the edge of the river or
the pond in which she lives. After the eggs
have been well covered up, she leaves them
and stays around within easy reach to pro-
tect them. You see, the male alligator gets
hungry sometimes, and when in that con-
eggs. The mother stays around to keep
him from eating them. She lays generally
about thirty eggs, but in one nest little
two eggs. / imagine that this alligator must
have been very large one. The eggs are
laid in June and July, and are Matched dur
ing the latter part Of August or early in
September. As soon as the young ones are
Matched the mother generally leaves them
to provide for themselves, though some
times they keep close TO her for some
months after their birth. The young ones
are about six inches long when just born.
They grow very rapidly.
In taking the eggs from the mounds we
have TO be very careful, as then the female
alligator will often attack us. Alligators
are taken, too, when they are young in
They are always to be found in the winter
time summing themselves on the shores Of
pond or the banks of a river. One has
to be very quick in his actions then to take
them, and the easiest way to capture them
is 70 get them before they are born. We
fetal nest for them. We put a great deal
of decayed vegetable matter on top OF
them. The decayed vegetable matter, you
see. keeps the eggs very warm.
1.-The young alligator Is generally very
hardy. We feed them on raw meat Thou
sands OF the young ones are killed every
year and stuffed. / send them TO curiosity
dealers all over the world They sell any
where from 80 cents TO 81. The young ones
sell for from % to SO cents each. while we
realize very good prices for the larger ones.
The largest one / ever stuffed and sold
was twelve feet eight inches long. The old
alligators are generally from nine TO ten
''Old aIigators are rarely caught alive
They are only good for killing. To kill
bulrs-eye lantern, and flash the light
over the surface of the water. The alI-
gator is attracted by the glare of the light.
all about Then you see his two eyes shin
ing like two little balls of fire and you let
him have some cold lead Just half way be
= f0r I'm
with line, using fish or raw meat for
bait.
his head. The older ne is the thicker and
wider is his head. Alligators live to be
at least one hundred years If we don't catch
him and stun him. The one had that was
twelve feet long must have been at least
three hundred years old. The male ALI
gator has very long head The female
alligator has a stumpier head.
"a great deal has been said about alli-
gators attacking white men while SWIM
ming. l never heard of but one attacking
Palatka some years ago. The story was
that an alligator dragged a little negro who
ward by his leg If you attack an alligator
his first idea seems to be TO get out Of
sight as fast as possible.
tanned. They seem to retain all their vi
ciousness and to repel all the advantages
that Civilization offers them. They don't take
in captivity, though, will live to be quite
ancient The alligator dead and stuffed
seems to be more popular with the collect
ors OF curiosities than his very much alive
brothers and sisters. We ship them all
over the world to circuses and museums.
There is no particular place TO go
fishing or shooting for alligators. Every
pond in Florida either has its alligator or
has had 1t at some time or other. The alli-
gator spends it's nights in a hole IL builds
for itself in the banks along the river or
near its pond. Here you may find the
mother surrounded at times by her off,
spring of many generations and of all ages.
THE only part of the alligator that is fit
TO eat Is it's tail That is made into chow
der boiled. 1t tastes very much like
fresh Goldfish.
1.-The selling of alligators Is quite a good
business. We ship thousands of stuffed
ones every year and the tourists who come
here during the winter generally go away
with a lot OF them. either live ones or dead
and stuffed ones. We have two men out at
present collecting young ones"