The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1896-06-03
WAYSOF ALLIGATORS
The SAURlAN AT CLOSE RANGE in
HIS FLORIDA HOME.

How the Female Lays Her Eggs and Cares
For Her Youns-A Mother Will Fight
Anything That Threatens Her Babies.
Diet and Luxuries of A1ligators.
One of the sights most eagerly watch
ed for By the newly arrived Florida Wis
itor, as he glides over the lakes and
rive~s Of that genial land, is the alliga-
tor. A few years ago this desire was
easily gratifed, but the great saur,an IS
comparatively rare nowadays along the
older routes of travel. This is due partly
to the bullets of the visitors and partly
to the shots and traps Of the more leg1t-
innate alligator hunter, who finds IN
that pursuit the chief means OF support
for himself and his family.
It is in the dense fastnesses Of the IN
land swamps and everglades that ALI
gators may be seen in great numbers on
q bright day, basking In the sunshine.
They are gregarious and love to assem-
Bile in such places, where they bring
their two rows of strong teeth together
with prodigious clatter and roar with
a noise that resembles thunder.
The female makes her nest il the SAND
near the waters edge, scraping q hole
with her paws and dropping the eggs Ill
a regular layer. Then she scrapes grass,
leaves, mud and sand over them, On
these places another layer, and SO cen
tinues alternate layers until the nest
contains from 80 to 40 eggs. AS the hole
is rarely Geep enough to hold all these,
the result is q decided mound easily de-
tected by the experienced hunter, who
finds ready sale for the eggs as curlosl-
ties. They are white, hard shelled and
rather larger than hens egg. II he
prefers to await their Matching, he Sc
cures fine lot Of little alligators, for
which also there is always ready sale.
While she thus leaves her prospective
children to the doubtful guardianship
of the earth, the mother does not desert
them. Patiently she keeps watch over
the nest in which they lie, never allow
ing that mound of sand to be long out
of her sight. How she knows exactly
when the little folk are ready, like the
emancipated chicken, to step cut OF their
shells and take their first peep at the
world, who shall say? But, all the same,
tits fact that, however far afeld her
excursions may previously have been,
the day and the hour Of that happy
event in her family circle find her on
the spot ready to gather the little ones
under her wing, as it were, and lead
them to their future home in the water
that lies before them.
This watchful care the mother con-
tinues until her babies are old enough to
forage for themselves and their scales
are firm enough to enable them to dis
pense with her protection The extent
to which the young alligators or croco-
dies require this watchful care can
hardly be realized by those that are not
familiar with their habits, for the little
ones are terribly persecuted by birds and
beasts and even by their kinsmen, the
bull alligators, which sometimes eat q
dozen or two Ct their own children at a
meal. The mother on such occasions
has been known to turn and fight the
unnatural monsters with s,lch f'.ry as to
put them to flight IT is not only the
bull alligator that she will attack when
alarmed for the safety ct her young
often holds the most experienced hunt
ers at bay until her little charges have
time to fee to q place of safety.
The sight presented by the mother,
surrounded and followed by whole
brood of her little ones, IS q pleasing
one, but let an enemy come in view and
the scene ceases to be pleasant. In the
twinkling of an eye the little ones dash
away into the mysterious shadows, and
the placid mother becomes transformed
into raging fury, fairly churning the
quiet waters into waves in her mad rush
to do battle with the intruders. Without
this incentive of maternal affection,
however, it is but seldom that an alll-
gator or crocodile attacks human be-
ing.
The lower animals are Less fortunate
Cattle in the far south, where the open
ranges and shallow waters extend a
tempting invitation to roam, are some
times seen with shortened tails, an abb
breyiation for Which the willy alligator
is responsible. Pigs roofing too near tie
waters edge and unobservant of the log
like form lying close at their side are
often caught by a lightninglike sweep Of
the alligator's formidabR tail.
But the most cherished Of all tidbits
to an alligator is nice, plump dog.
The sauriar' peculiar attraction toward
this animal is so we'll known to hunters
that they frequently initiate the yelp of
dog to e1ltice their prey within range,
and the call never fails Of its purpose.
The squeal Of pig is almost as effec-
tive.
These dainty bits, however, are rath-
er in the line of luxuries. For steady,
everyday diet the alligator depends up
on fish, and it haunts those localities III
rivers or lakes where itc :tural prey
most abounds. It catchr., the fish by
diving swiftly under passing shoal