Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-03-28

st. Augustine, Fla, March "a
There Is farm here which is stocked
with six thousand alligators. 1t Is
no mere curiosity shop, either. Al
though it has a great many visitors,
it's chief income is derived from the
sale Of alligator leather, young ALI
gators as pets, and old ones as exhib-
its for geological gardens. 1t has put
the alligator on business basis.
The alligator Is in many ways the
easiest creature on earth to raise. A
sort of survival of the buried age
of dinosaurs, he is practically immune
to all the ills and dangers of modern
life. He has no diseases. ana no
natural enemies except man. His
armour-like hide, deadly jaws, trucu-
lent disposition and repellent odor
make the entire animal world go out
of it's way to avoid him. He is about
the only creature in existence that
preys but is not preyed upon.
Furthermore, the alligator is all but
immortal. Men who have observed
alligators all their lives solemnly as
sert the belief that they live to be sew
eral hundred years Of age. At any
rate. an alligator has never been
known to die of old age, and there is
one at the farm near here which must
have required at least four hundred
years, at the usual and well known
rate of growth. to attain his present
leviathan length of fourteen feet.
There are also couple of twelve foot
youngsters that are given credit for
two hundred and three hundred years
of age, respectively.
With no diseases, no natural enc
mics. and life line that trails of
into the mist of ages. the alligator
would seem pretty well fortified
against all the vicissitudes of exist
ence; but there is just one thing that
keeps his tribe from multiplying I'M
duly. That is the tendency of every
alligator to eat every other alligator
For this creature has about the
most vindictive and deadly character
conceivable. He is cann1bal by
choice and murder is his favor1te
sport. His cruelty inspires awe. 1t Is
the deliberate, legarthic, unlimited
cruelty of cold blood. Having chewed
leg off his mate or one Of his chill
dren in a moment OF hunger or irri-
tation. unless removed from the en-
closure he will slowly and enjoyinsly
devour his victim alive, limb by limb,
perhaps taking several days to finish
the feast
Although possessed of amazing pow
er and agility, the alligator is the cpl
tome of laziness. When very young
he displays sort Of sporadic playful
ness, a precocious desire to mutflate
his brothers and sisters; but as soon
as he begins to attain weight and
girth he retires to a large puddle, from
which he repels all intruders and there
he stays so continuously that his back
becomes entirely covered with moss,
and his person indistinguishable
from sunken log-unless something
comes too near.
In his typical posture of meditative
repose, the alligator looks inert, al
most helpless. Yet he can make a
very respectable dash on dry land, in
the water nothing is his superior. and
the stroke of his jaws is like that of
a guillotine. The farm here possesses
one gator of irritable disposition who
can be induced to strike at broom
by little teasing. One stroke of his
jaws might easily sever the body Of a
man.
His long. sinewy tail works in exact
coordination with his mouth, sweep
ing the victim directly into 1t, and
this is always the gators first move
in hunting and battle. Having Sc
cured hold on his victim, he lets go
for an instant to obtain a second and
deeper hold, sinking yard or SO OF
his dentition into the flesh. A Gre.
ature of great agility may escape be.
tween holds; but after the second
stroke Of the jaws, whatever part the
alligator has chosen to seize, belongs
to him. There is no such thing as
escape.
His method OF operating after he
has gained his final grip is absolutely
\ y F..r Is - i . II.