Rock Island Argus., 1896-06-05
'NAYSOF ALLIGATORS
TIE sAuRIAN At CLOSE RANGE IN
HIS FLORIDA HOME.

How the Female Lays Her Eggs and Cares
For Her Ysung-A Mother VIII Fight
Anything That Threatens Her Babies.
Diet And Luxsssss Of Aiiiessoss.
One Of the sights most eagerly watch.
ed for by the newly arrived Florida Wis.
itor. rs he glides over the lakes and
rivers Of that genial land. il the alliga-
tor. A few years ago this desire was
easily grafified, bis the great Rurian 10
comparatively rare nowadays along the
older routes Of travel This is due partly
% the bullets of the visitors and partly
60 the shots and traps Of the more legit.
imatc alligator hunter, who finds in
that pursuit the chief means Of support
for himself and hts family. -afN
II is In the dense fastnesses Of tho 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
noise that resembles thunder.
The female makes her nest in tho sand
near the waters edge. scraping hole
with her paws and dropping the eggs in
q regular layer. Then she scrapes grass,
leaves, mud and sand over them, on
these places another layer. and % con-
tinues alternate layers until the nest
contains fruin so to ~ eggs. As the holo
II rarely deep enough to hold all these.
the result Is decided mound easily de.
fected by the experienced hunter. who
finds ready sale for the eggs as curiosi-
ties. They are white. hard shelled and
rather larger than hens egg. II he
prefers TO await their Matching. he So.
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 out Of their
shells and take their first peep at the
world, who shall say? But, all the same,
il is a fact that, however far afield 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 70 gather the little ones
under her wing, Us Il 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 arc 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-
diles require this wstchful care can
hardly be realized by those that are not
familiar with their habits, for the little
ones are terribly prosecuted by birds and
beasts and even by their kinsmen, the
bull alligators, which sometimes eat o
dozen or two Of their own children at q
meal. The mother on such occasions
has been known to turn and fight the
unnatural monsters with such f,.ry as to
put them to flight. It II not only the
bull alligator that she will attack when
alarmed for the safety Of her young-she
often holds the most experienced hunt.
ers Mt bay until her little charges have
time to fec 20 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 ard
the scene ceases to bo pleasant. In the
twinkliDg of an eye the little ones dash
away into the mysterious shadows, and
the placid mother becomes transformed
into u 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. IL Is but seldom that an ALI.
gator or q crocodile attacks o human be.
ing
The lower animals are less fortunate.
Cattle in the far south. where the open
ranges and shallow waters extend q
tempting invitation to roam, are some-
times seen with shortened tails, an NIB.
brcviation for which the willy alligator
Is responsible. Pigs roofing too near the
waters edge and unobscrvant Of the log.
like form lying close mt their side are
often caught by lightninglike sweep Of
the alligator's formidable tail
But the most cherished Of all tidbits
TO an alligator u n nice, plump dog.
The saurian's peculiar attraction toward
this animal is 50 we'll known to hunters
that they frequently initiate the yelp Of
o dog TO ent;ce their prey within range.
and the call never fails Of its purpose
The squeal Of pig 10 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 IL haunts those localities In
rivers or lakes where its natural prey
most abounds IL catches the fish by
diving swiftly under passing shoal
and snatching two or three in its open
jaws as il passes through the shoal.
Then. rising TO the surface. it tosses
them in the Air. for the purpose Of eject.
ing the water that has entered its mouth
along with the fish. aud adroitly catches
them In their descent. Helen Harcourt
in Philadelphia Times.
Lssitsds oe fiat.
She colored deeply.