The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-19
KEW!SAIDTHEA ALLIGATOR
EXPERIM EMIT IN EMBALMING AZ
THE IND X Err RELATES IE

Hnprcn Tint Won believe Possible, W l,rrc
ptorsr- go on siiiir. snurinns saw " oou.
and Truthful Wen sorrow FULLY Emigrntr.
"a most remarkable thing happened shortly
aftcr | started business In De Land county, Flor.
ida said the undertaken, as he began to shine
up his funeral hat with the horse brush, NV
stable wasn't like this one, y he continued. for
only had one horse. He was an oldtimcr-a
hcarsc horse that knew every cemetery around
Now York. Well, after ! took him down 10
Florida he began 10 worry, and got to be sad
oven when returning from funerals. lilo
worried so | was afraid I'd lose him, so 10 cheer
him up n little ! used to drive him around thu
only graveyard there twice a day. One
afternoon while I was giving him one ~
these cheerful drives | lost my way in
the rear Of the cemetery, which opened
into II swamp. l had to climb out OF the wagon
and put stills on Jim so that he could get back
out OF the swamp. While looking around for
some saplings suitable TO make stills u. | ran
across nm alligator that lay wcdgcd beneath a
fallen tree. lie was n little fellow. about tour
feet long. He lay on his back and had probably
been there a week, for il was evident that tbe
tree that rested on him had been blown down
n week before during the big storm. We'll, 20
cut the story short, ! found the gator mighty
near deaths door. When | proddcd him wi,ha
stick he Just opened his jaws lazily and nur.
INJURED: '~Skew-w-w!' Then he opened his biz
eyes and looked at me pitcously.
After l had tied the stills on Jim led 'le
horse over to where the gator rested. Jim
looked ct the gator and then at, me, u'y.ns
like, Rs if TO say Save him.. so. taking ms en-.
banning sat- hel from the wagon, ! Opened H.,
filled my emb lining syringe. and, prodting tbs
couple of quarts OF the fluid down hi. throat.
Being satisfied that ! had put him out y us
down under him until / got him VIZ u,a ~,
fallen tree. Thon ! lifted his hoGy INFO NY
wagOn-it was an NV III job and | troy" jim
with the stills on through the SWAMP anti
hot back into the graveyard; Then ! found my
way out and went, home. When | got here I
called TO my stableinan, Nclse Baker, who was
a big broad. shouldered negro.
Here. Nelsc.' | said. I got Il corpse cfa
gator in the wagon. and I want YOU to lit him
into the harness room ""
".Nelsc climbed up on the whcc!, and taking q
sake. Masss. dat ere 'gator IS u hfca,hlnn?, ~"
told Nelse that he couldn't breathe with hHnf a
E 9oj5 me Of ,o e tnss n 1sof tg ;n ,b IN him him; hIt Eg,sf
in. Sure enough, there was the gator sitting
up on his hind legs like q kangaroo. lie htG hs
to Nelse to get the cmbalming fluid out " lie
office; He brought ont a ive.galIoq ~dclnt;ohn
tion pump. and the next time the gator sud
skew, | gave him a gallon. He licked III hons
and said Skew again. as II he Ike. It, Noise,
who had climbed on a step ladder. shouted:
70, de Laws sake; ne 5 a-waitin' 10 M!
! So I s ON H;cI / s" TO work %i' Il the KiV enm MN and aG" We i ,E@f;
another gallon of the fluid into him. He ,gst
gobbled it up and then lay down in the bottom
VERY funny gator said Nelse. He takes
ter that ies' like ! take ter watermelon
However, the gator went 10 sleep and We
got "a ropc around him and dragged h!m out u
the wagon int !, the harness room. Nclsc usually
iosieepinr in the stable that night. j said Tjhers
was enough fluid in the gator to kill ten ot
them but Nelse didn't think so: He was shaky.
the night IL he slept in the stable. So he locked
the gator up in the harness room and barred np
. IA lanr - from thn .naEh. kn,,4. .. IL
office. Then he tnrned in on his cot after sun.
Der and I went home. About = o'clock the next
morning Nelsc came TO my house and reused ne
out Of bed. He was III most hadly scared negro
in Florida.
liga,or done got outcn de harness room, Shawed
dc glass door of dc Office an is G.Gr.lkin' 81! te
emba!In.n' fluid in de place
Il hurriedly dressed myself and rushed down
to the stable, armed with a Nincheeter. Neise
fetched up in the rear with the stable lan,Sgn.
pcrchcd on my patent ice box drinking the nTid
from the demijohn, having bitten the neck of
the demijohn so MS to get NJ it
And what did you ana Nclse dor asked one
OF the stable sittcrs who was listening 10 the
oh" SAID tho undertaken. I'VE Just peeped
through the window and waited until the gator
the office. Finally, he climbed up, on Ne-es
cot and went to sleep there. l reached through
ter. but he never bHdsed." We Mere nov sure
that he vas dead and cmbalmcG. Ncl>c went
/" n" cIoSk T IN thc me mo4 aha ihi be Visited ii III th S'; oiT:a. md
coming back to my house. said:
Mass. he's dead. sure enough
Later | went around. and We found tho
gator stiff. so we lifted his body out to ,Ar aoor
of the cookhouse. ! had n fuu'nr1l ioN the nrNt
day. and had 10 send for the cHl n:L,n- Hui!
salesman. He left ten K gallons o. ACil. i! ,tCr
tn, funeral job was over l went . i..c2 look
lies still dead said Nc,-c. a.,I.uc lie
gator in the Jaw. So said we'd keep him q .
66ii m nn 10 sN NsM Y OK III N Nn2 s,y siy,e' t G%4 1Ge
else TO do that afternoon We laid The '-t'oTLp
on the cmoalming board and getting "1t N,
his veins after a to.gh job Of s.w;'& ,3r9r-i
his skin with an iron workers SAW. Wei. "7
then tied them up, Then we la.d him oF' n
the corner Of the o:fcG. That nigh NJ ~:
about / o'clock the following morning be 20. me-
out OF bed again an! shouted:
"'Good law, on ma honor as ] hope TO dc ~
yS,re minute II dat Csc 'cator amt alive ch'>'n'
II thought Nel,c had turned again on n,SsEr
gin; but TO satisfy hin, ! went Gown TO ,he
stable. and sure enough there WAS that ~a'.t'i6r
as i've as any gator as ever IrroarncI swami.
stable sittcrs.
Doing. said the undertaken, "Go:nE-why
he, was doing his old act swigginG tha; re EN-.
balming. fluid .ram the new Gcmiiohu. Well 70
cut y short we saw II was no usc in trying 70
cmbalm him; SO We kept him Tor a pct after tha:
and he used to saw wood with his tail IN mo
winter time for Nc!s' 3. whenever \cl>c 90 'aAt
tired feeling; However. hid 20 xiv up o.',,
big 10 pay. NclSc and the gator gave rir en-
balming fluid habit TO old Jim. the hclIsa luFrr;
and ] Just made up my mind 10 come North .ni!
leave them the business, includiuS " s:ork "
collins
What became Of them after you left. asked
one Of the stable ~sittcrs.
a." forgot TO tell you that. answered Tie an,
dertaker. ."Nclsc continued at TIE old stand nni
the gator helped business along by Going round
the town chewing the legs off the natives Now
the caskct company down there is working iNy
and night turning out short sizes. nnd = new
explaining fluid distilicry has sprung up IN mo
old swamp
Tho undertaken put on his funeral hat and
went out.
"Skcw.ew.ew!" exclaimed one of the sirlrrs,