Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1896-07-25
HOW GATORS LIVE IN FLORIDA.
They Subslut on the Choicest Morsela
Found in Rivers and Bayous.

HOW GATORS LIVE IN FLORIDA.
they subslst on the Choicest MorseIS
Found in Rivers and Bayous.
One of the sights most eagerly
watched for by the newly-arriVed Flor
ida visitor as he glides over the lakes
and rivers of that genial land, is the
alligator. A few years ago this desire
was easily gratitied, but the great sau-
rian is comparatively rare nowadays
along the older routes of travel. This
is due partly to the bullets of the Wis
itor and partly to the shots and traps
of the more legitimate alligator hunter,
who finds in that pursuit the Chief
means of support for himself and his
family.
1t is the dense fastness Of the in
land swamps and everglades that alli-
gators may be seen in great numbers on
a bright day basking in the sunshine.
They are gregarious, and love to as
semblc in such places, where they bring
two rows of strong teeth together with
a prodigious clatter and roar with u
noise that resembles thunder.
The female makes her nest in the sane
rear the waters edge, scraping a hole
with her paws and dropping the eggs
IN a regular layer. Then she scrapes
grass, leaves, mud and sand over them,
on these places another layer, and so
continues alternate layers until the nest
contains from 80 to 40 eggs. AS the
hole is rarely deep enough to hold all
these, the result is a decided mound,
easily detected by the experienced
hunter, who finds ready sale for the
eggs as curiosities. They are white,
hard-shelled, and rather larger than a
hens egg. If he prefers to await their
Matching he secures a fine lot of little
alligators, for which there is always
II ready sale.
When she thus leaves her prospective
children to the doubtful guardianship
of the earth, the mother does not de-
sert them. Patiently she keeps watch
over the nest in which they lie, never al
lowing that mound of sand to be long
out of her sight. How she knows eX-
actly when the little folks 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, it is a fact that however
far afield her excursions may previous
ly have been, the day and the hour Of
that happy event in her family circle
finds her on the spot ready to gather
the little ones under her wing, as 1t
were, and lead them to their future
home in the water that lies before them.
The watchful care of the mother ION
tinues until her babies are old enough
to forage for themselves and their
scales are firm enough to enable them
to dispense with her protection. The
extent to which the young alligators Or
crocodiles require this watchful care
can hardly be realized by those who
are not familiar with their habits, for
the little ones are terribly prosecuted by
birds and beasts, and even by their
klnsman, the bull alligator, which
sometimes eats IA dozen or two of his
own children at a meal. The moth
cr IN such occasions has been known to
turn and fight the unnatural monsters
with such fury as to put them to flight.
II is not only the bull alligator that she
will attack when alarmed for the safety
Of her young; she often holds the most
experienced hunters at bay until her
little charges have time to flee to safety.
The sight presented by the mother,
surrounded and followed by a whole
brood of her little ones, is u 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 a raging fury, fairly churning the
quiet waters into waves in her mad rush
to do battle with the intruders. With
out this incentive of maternal affection,
however, it is but seldom that an ALI.
gator attacks a human being.
The lower animals are less fortu.
nate. Cattle in the far south, where
the open ranges and shallow water eX-
tend a tempting invitation to roam,
are sometimes seen with shortened
tails, authorizations for which the willy
alligator is responsible. Pigs roofing
too near the waters edge, and unob:
servant of the log-like form lying close
at their side, are often caught by a
lightning-like sweep Of the alligator's
tail.
But the most cherished of all tid-bits
10 an alligator is a nice plump dog.
The saurian's peculiar attraction to-
ward this animal is so well known to
hunters that they frequently initiate
the yelp of a dog to entice their pray
within range, and the call never fails of
its purpose. The squeal of a pig is al
most as effective.
These dainty bits, however, are rath-
er in the way of Injuries; for a steady,
everyday diet, the alligator depends
upon fish, and it haunts those localities
III rivers or lakes where its natural
prey most abounds. 1t catches the fish
by diving swiftly under a passing shoal
and s%natching two or three in its open
jaws as it passes through the shoal
Then, rising to the surface, it losses
them In the air for the purpose of eject
ing the water that has entered its
mouth along with the fish, and adroit-
ly catches them in their descent
Philadelphia Times.
VAST STRENGTH IN HIS ARMS,
New York Cripple Who Has Lost the Uss
of His Logs.