The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-01-10
ALLIGATORS AT HOME.
ne Denver Republican.

ALLIGATORS AT HOME.
From the Denver Republican.
If an alligator meets you on land he
Is at your mercy. If you meet him on
the water the conditions are reversed.
On land he is an awkward fellow. His
6ippers are not made for walking,
and he goes along through persever-
ance and endurance. In moving on
land he lifts his body up, but drags his
tail on the ground. making a trail as
though with a stick. An alligator's
tail is his weapon Of defence, and it is
q good one. If the gator is an old one,
from ten to sixteen feet, his tail will be
from five to eight feet. 1t is nearly as
large as the body back Of the hind legs
and gradually tapering to a point.
This he can bring around with such
force as to break mans legs, He will
lie by the side Of a lake, apparently
asleep, but if calf ventures too near
the gator will switch around his tail
md break the animals legs and dine
On veal at his pleasure.
One singular thing about an alliga-
at what point of the compass the next
lake is located, when he starts he takes
the shortest cut; q surveyor could not
make more direct air line. One night
my dog barked for two hours, and at
times he was very ferocious. The next
morning, on an investigation, found
the trail of large alligator through
my orange grove. He had stopped halt
dozen times and had some sort of dis
cussion with the dog. When he got to
the front fence the boards were so close
together he could not get through, SO
he climbed over, using his big tail as
sort of boost.
In April and May the males make
great noise, believing like bull. In
the latter part of May they make
nest, selecting quiet place on the
banks of a lake or river. 1t will be
two or three feet long. built of sticks,
grass and sand, The female lays from
twenty-six to thirty-two eggs. They
are as big around as hens egg and
nearly twice as long. Boys hunt the
eggs and sell them to the curio stores,
where they are either Matched or blown
out.
While the alligator is clumsy and
awkward on land, he is very graceful
and swift in the water. He is monarch
of the inland waters. Ny house is about
two hundred feet from the lake and
twenty feet above it. From my gallery
with a field glass 1 can watch their
every movement, and it Is very inter
esting to see how gracefully they rise,
sink, turn, or swim at full speed after
q trout.
1 had colored boy about twelve
years old, we call yard boy" He did
all kinds of chores. He would at times
go down to the boat house when there
was not sign Of an alligator on the
lake, and with hoe splash the water
and bark like dog. Presently two or
three pairs of eyes would be seen just
above the water. Their eyes are very
prominent, sitting, or perhaps should
say jutting, out from their heads. As
the boy barked and splashed the water
they would come nearer and nearer,
and show more of their bodies. When
they got within fifteen or twenty feet,
the boy would drop the hoe and run up
hill as though tribe Of Indians were
after him. The negroes have an idea
that an alligator prefers black man
to a white one, and they say gator
will swim all around white men II there
is negro in the crowd. The negroes
took upon the gator as natural enemy.
The alligator is not only graceful
swimmer, but he is powerful and
wicked assailant in water. The great
est danger is from their capsizing the
boat, when they will grasp a person by
the leg and sink Immediately, leaving
no escape from drowning Within a
radius of four miles from Keuka, Fla,
there are forty-one lakes, and this vi
cinity has afforded rare sport for those
who delight to get crack at such
game. They are pretty well thinned
out now and there are not so many
making business Of hunting them fos
their hides. There was time when
pood-sized hide would fetch ten dollars
to fourteen dollars, but now they do not
bring more than one dollar and two
dollars. But some hunters make good