The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-08-05
ALLIaAToRs PLAYING PYRAMID.
Rules of the Game as They Appear to an
Outsider Watching the Sport.
(Erom the Cincinnati Enquirer. }

(Erom the Cincinnati Enquirer.)
Did you ever see the Zoo alligators play
pyramid or any other of their famous
games? They wrestle like old-time
Graeco- Roman boys, and strain and
struggle in all sorts of ways at it. When,
finally, one wins by getting the other on
his back, funnier thing occurs. The
victor makes sound like escaping steam,
then the others make sounds like esoap-
ing steam-alligators' applause if you
please, Then they all become still and
watch the vanquished brother squirm to
eet off of his back and on to his legs
again. If he's longer in doing it than
| the gang think is proper they move up In
single file and give him a jab with their
| law in his upturned belly. When finally
he gets himself righted ali hands again
| set up the steam escaping racket cheering
| him long and as loud as they di d his vic
| tor Their meaning no fight is shown by
their never, hurting each other. Ia
Another of the great 1nidsum mer pas
times of these Zoo alliagtors is playing
pyrarnid several times day. To see it
| done YOU d declare that the ugly things
| had been trained to it. But no. It's just
one of the ways of the sporty side of their
| life. The game comes on Ey one or the
bigger aliiagtors uttering the steam his
| sing noise. This calls the others to at
| tention. Then the big one says line or
| two of alligator talk and stretches him
self fun length in the centre of the pen.
| No sooner is this done than % little bit
smaller alligator craws on top of the 9th.
| er and stretches out lengthwise, but he ad
| to tail with the other The second one
| being settled, he lets off little steam
talk, and third a little smaller all1ga
| tor, climbs up Cd top OF the second ana
settles down as the second did. Iney
keep this up until six or seven have
builded themselves into as strange and
| wonderful a pyramid as ever an eye BE-
hell. After each one has settled on top
| of the other he lies perfectly motlonleSs,
SO that when the pyramid Is oompieted IL
appears as some marvellous carving
| But this effect lasts only about two
minutes after the pyramid is finished.
| Then comes O new chapter OF the act.
| The Sandow gator underneath all starts
| to crawling. He heads for up and down
places in the pen, the game clearly being
to see how long it will take him to jolt
his strange pyramid load to pieces. And
right here develops what appears to be a
strict rule Of the game. Say t.ere are
seven in the pyramid, and the sixth from
the bottom jostles off first. taking of
course the seventh one with him. You'd
| naturally think the game done for that
sixth and seventh alligator But not at
all. 1t seems that the sixth one is in dis
grace for having been shaken eff before
the seventh one, who was top of the heap.
| Therefore. what does the seventh do but
cling to the lack of the sixth after
they'v We fallen off, and proceeds to ride
Mr. Alligator No around the pom until
Mr.. Sandow Alilagtor has succeeded IN
dumping the whole shooting match; IL
the fourth is shaken off before the flfth.
the fifth, like tho seventh, proceeds to rlo
his disgraced NEXT until Sandow gets
rid Of all his load and another game Is
startled