The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-04


1t is the general opinion. however.
that the Drift Period came along. The
thermometer went down to about 100
below zero, icebergs began to sail up
and down, and, of course. the Mary
land peach crop was ruined beyond re-
pair. Reports of its ruin have APP
peared regularly every year since, but
they have generally proved to be With
out foundation. The hippo has got, a
thick hide on him, but he couldn't
stand the temperature that came
along, and no doubt the icebergs ell
bowed him around without regard to
etiquette and the iciCles ratified about
his ears. He hung on as long as he
could and then gave up beaten and
started for Africa. Some did not live
to make the start, but left their bones
to be dug up thousand years later.
1t may be said of the hippopotamus
that he loves peace and his own fire
side. He never journeys far from
home, and he never fights when there
is a chance to run. Owing to the size
of his mouth he can kiss one of his
offspring all over at once, and in
times of danger he will come to their
defense with his jaws SO wide open
that a cider barrel would be lost be-
tween them. He has no enemy but
man. and he has learned to dodge him
so well that a calamity seldom hap
pens.
It is estimated that the hippo, if not
poked in the eye or given plug tobacco
by mean minded men and boys, lives
to be fully 100 years old, and it is said
that when he feels death stealing over
him at last he wanders about on land
and tries to die under a plum tree in
full blossom. 1t has been argued from
this that ugly as he is, the great an
imal has a soul as innocent and beau
tifuI as that of a child, but you'd bet
ter take the plumS instead of the story.
Just how long the alligator has in
habited the southern part of North
America no one seems to know, but
it Is suspected that he got out of the
ark a little ahead of the other animals
and was perfectly at home to all call
ers long before man knew how to
compute time- :
The first aIligators were made on
very liberal scale-from so to 100 feet
long, and as consequence Nature
had to create babies seven and eight
feet long to feed them on. This con-
tinued for hundreds of years, and then
it seemed to strike some one to cut
down the length of both and not have
so much feeding going on.
Along about the year 600 B. G. the
length of the gator had been cut to
80 feet, and of the average baby to
s. and they got along very well inside
and outside of each other for several
hundred years. Then the length was
chopped down again, and both were
shortened UP, as you see them today.
The alligator, no matter in what
country you find him, has no particular
hurry. If needs be, he will lie on the
shore for twenty-four hours at a time
with his mouth open waiting for
likely negro child to come along and
be taken care Of. and If there is no
better food at hand he will fill up on
pine knots and stones to stay his
stomach and preserve his good nature.
It is seldom that the alligator ex-
hibits temper. Had he been born a
gazelle he would have gamboled DER
the green and been called an emblem
of innocence. AS he wasn't. he has
to do the best he can. No doubt. he
after having devoured a widow who
had six children dependent on her for
support, or the only child of a doting
couple whose love must wiring their
the widow or the child hadn't appeared
just as his dinner bell was ringing
The alligator has always loved the
companiOnShip of human beings, but
he has always loved them inside of
him, and he has got too old to change
now If fed on poodles and sky-ter-
riers he would be content to let folks
alone, but when driven by hunger he
cannot be held responsible.
The gator used to be hunted for his
hide and tallow-the one making the
incest kind Of pocketbook and the
other being a sovereign remedy for
corns and b.s4lions-but of late years
they have learned how to make alIiga-
tor skin out of sheep pelts and dogs
hides, and to use goose grease to cure
any foot ailment. and the saurian has
reIapsed into his old contented state.
It has not been ascertained whether
the reptile has an affectionate DISPOSE
ton or not, but as he has been seen
to swallow three or four of his own
progeny at one gulp it may be taken
for granted that he had their welfare
at heart.
An alligator in the Royal Geological
Gardens of London lived to be SO
years old, but the average lifetime is
supposed to be about IS. BY that
time his teeth have become worn
down, his eyesight is on the wane and
he feels that he has done his fair share
towards thinning out the population.
There is nothing left for him to do but
to die as gracefully as he can, and
some morning he is found cold and
stiff. but with a resigned look on his
face.