Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-04-06
BATTERY PARKS ALLIGATOR.
J.'Wi. Alexander, Seeking Visitors,
Finds and Captures Gator.
(Esheville CitiZen.)

After spending several! days in
Florida advertising Asheville among
the tourists who are diverting them
selves there bathing II the surf,
playing golf on eighteen-hole links
and catching the merry tarpoon on
the briny, J. l.. Alexander, Of Bat
terry Park Hotel, returned yesterday.
He did not bring back with him any
great array Of guests for the present.
They will follow later; but he did
bring back small alligator which
W. be added to the Battery Park
I hum. Mr.. Alexander Is now
hunting for tank to accommodate
his pet, ami cannot decide whether
to put 1T in the red room, the log
cabin, the palm room, or just let It
wander around loose for the editica-
tion OF his guests.
incidentally 1T was no easy matter
for him to import the gator into
Buncombe county. There is no duty
on the beasts, but railroad officials
have duty, and while the reguia-
tons in spirit say that no such ami
MAJ shall be carried on Pullmans,
MIR. Alexander brought his through
in his drawing room. The regula-
tons as to dogs are very plain, but
they Go not say a thing about alli-
gators, and therefore NJ. AleXan-
der was strictly within the letter, if
some thousand miles outside the
spirit OF the regulations.
But even with The rules on his side
Mrs'A leNander was kept as busy as
a fhother with ten children by the
alligator all the way from Florida.
He had 1t in box, and before he had
gotten far out Of Jacksonville II
somehow managed to get out, and
While its owner was dilating to a fel-
low passenger upon the beauty of a
sunset over Pisgah, as seen from
Battery Park porch, the gator crept
up to him and ran its snout affec-
tionately up his trousers leg. Where
upon the Battery Park proprietor
OF Pisgah at once and went off to
play nurse to gator.
Again after the sleeper was wrap
ped in slumber, and while Mr.. Alex
ander was dreaming that he was
leading a procession Of guests that
reached from he station to his very
door up Battery Park Hill, the gator
got out. He went mcandcring down
the aisle of the sleeper seeking
whom he might see. A Cincinnati
man who had spent the previous day
ut Moncrief Park races and had but
little luck, called to porter for
water just about the time the gator
was passing his berth. He looked
out and saw something. lie did not
know the beast was on the train. He
looked again and let out yell that
woke every man, woman and child
on that and every other sleeper on
the train; and then tried vainly to
break the glass of his windows so
that he might at once end his dissi-
pated career.
In the midst Of he excitement Mr..
Alexander crept sheepishly from his
drawing room, in his pajamas, and
on his hands and knees chased that
alligator the length Of the car, and
finally caught 1t by the tip Of its
tail just as 1t was rearing up on its
ht1d legs preparatory to swallowing
@Bweet-sixteen-year-old girl who had
looked out of her berth to see what
the cOmmotion was about.
This Is the reason that Mr.. Alex
ander prizes his gator so highly. It
cost him in embarrassment and
nerve-racking experiences more than
money can pay for.
The following notice appeared in
the Jacksonville (l'la.) Times Union:
Among the prominent visitors to
the city Is j. l.. Alexander, mana
ger Of the famous Battery Park Hotel
insAfheville, n. c.. Mr.. Alexander,
wyw>s one Of the best known and
popular hotel men in this section of
the country, is at the Seminole. He
is very enthusiastic in his expressions
OF jacksonville, and, in fact, the
whole State of Flo ida"