Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1898-03-04
TOLD OF THE ALLIGATOR.
HIS FRUGAL FARE AND LONG SLEEP
IN WINTER QUARTERS.

I New York sun concerning hlbcrnat-
ing animals, an old South Carolina
hunter, and consequently close stu.
dent Of natural history, remarked that
the naturalist who was quoted had
omitted the greatest hibernator Of
them all-the alligator,
"The alligator" he said, sis Ger.
tainly one of the most remarkable Of
all hibernators, in fact, perhaps the
most remarkable, 1t is the only am.
phibious animal | recall belonging to
that class, and IL it is fact, ~ stated
by the naturalist in the Sun, that all
the animals he mentions begin their
long winters sleep on empty stom-
achs, the alligator is the exception to
the rule. With the first black frost
thousands of these hideous creatures,
from the twelve-inch yellow and black
| yearlings of the previous springs
! Matching to the sixteen.foot monsters
that can pull down horse, retire for
the winter. Alligators abound in salt
and fresh water rivers a. far up as
| tide water extends, and in the adj
| jacent inland swamps from North
Carolina to the Gulf. While they may
wander many miles during the sum
mer from the spot of high land where
in the spring the huge nest of the fe.
male was made and the bushel of eggs
laid for the sun to hatch, in the fall
the alligators return thither. Near
their nest is their hole.
"TheSe holes are sometimes, if the
saurian is an inhabitant of an inland
swamp, dug like well in some wood,
but more often the mouth of the hole
is beneath the surface of the water,
the excavation extending under the
bank. With his powerful feet and
claws the alligator digs almost straight
down from eight to twelve feet; he
then makes horizontal passage for
some distance and finally takes an up
ward turn, coming to within short
distance of the surface Of the earth
and above the level of water in the
swamp or marsh where he may be.
He now prepares IA place sufficiently
large for hin to lie ut full length out
of the water. Here it is That he takes
his long winters sleep, and as no mir
can penetrate to that point, he must
do without breathing.
'But the alligator does no. 90 to
bed on an empty stomach. Nature
requires something to be in his stom-
ach, but nothing in the way of ordi-
nary food-not even the leg Of horse
or whole hound would last for many
days. SO for the sake of comfort his
'gatorship swallows piece of wood.
Almost anything of suitable size will
answer the purpose, but the most
palatable tid.bit in this section seems
to be n lightwood knot. Alligators
have been killed in the early spring
with remains of one of these knots in
their stomachs beautifully polished.
The animal probably takes in this
hard substance just to stay his stom-
ach, for it can probably live longer
without food, even in it's active state,
than any other creature. There are
stories, some of them authenticated, |
going to show his remarkable powers
in this direction. A hunter catching
a small one in the woods while the |
alligator was making his way from
one pond to another, cut slit in the
tail, and passing rope through it |
put the other end over limb and |
hauled the alligator mp in lynching
style until his head was several feet |
from the ground. The captor intend
ed to return for his prize the next
day, but something interfered. Sever
al months afterward he passed that
way aud was astonished to find tho |
creature still alive.
''In another case one summer an
alligator about four feet long was |
caught near gentleman house and |
thrown into an empty barrel, whore |
he was forgotten. The next spring, |
or eight months after, the barrel was
overturned and the gator brought to
light. He was not only alive, but had |
grown about six inches. He had |
grown, however, in the curved shape
Of the bottom OF the barrel. His tail
just reached to his mouth, and he
could only run in circle, presenting
the most ludicrous spectacle. In
week or two the back became some
what less rigid, and the gator was set
at liberty.
"While on the subject of allgators
let me contradict u statement | have
seen in print dozens Of times. In
fact, so invariably does it accompany
an alligator story that / am led to
doubt whether the authors have ever
shot one of the creatures. The eye is
not the only vulnerable point. II it
was very few wonld ever be killed.
The eye is small aud presents poor,
indistinct target. 1t is doubtful if,
with the best sporting rife made, with
the usual open sights the finest shot
on earth could hit an alligator's eye
oftener than once in ten times at forty