Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-04-21
GATORS AND PoRPoIsEs
Sir Charles LyeII Described Some En-
counte .'ed on Carolina Coast.

Sir Charles LyelI Described Some En-
counte led on Carolina Coast.
In 1S45 Sir Charles Lyell, the faith
er of modern geology" visited, Ameri-
ca for the second time and as on the
| occasion Of his first visit made an ex-
tensive survey of the coast country of
South Carolina and Georgia. The al
Hgators which he saw In great num-
bers, interested him very much and
he set down many stories which he
heard about them. On the last day of
December 1S45, he went by steamer
from Savannah to aDarien, Georgia,
staying with Mr.. Hamilton Couper,
with whom he had corresponded on
| geological matters. The following
pcssage tells of one of his adventures
while guest of Mr.. Couper: when
our canoe had proceeded into the
brackish water, where the river banks
consisted of marsh land covered with
tall red-like grass. we came close
up to an alligator, about nine feet long,
basking in the sun. Had the day been
warmer, he would not have allowed us
to approach so near to him; for these
reptiles are much shyer than formerly,
since they have learned to dread the
avenging rifle of the planter, whose
stray hogs and sporting dogs they Of
ten devour. About ten days ago, Mr..
taI1 hot hn
them together in st. Marys river, in
Florida, extremely fearless. The old
est and largest individuals. on the AL
tcmaha have been killed, and they
are now rarely tweiSe feet long, and
never exceed sixteen and a half feet.
AS almost all Of them have been in
their winter retreats, ever since the
frost Of last month, / was glad that
we had surprised one in his native
haunts and seen hin1t plunge into the
water by the side Of our boat.
when 1 first read Bartram's ac-
count of alligators more than, TWEEN
ty feet long, and how they attacked
his boat and beloved like bulls, and
made o sound like distant thunder, I
suspected him of exaggeration; but all
my inquiries here and in Louisiana
convinced me that he may be depend
ed up. His account of the nests
which they built in the marshes Is
perfectly correct. They resemble hay
cocks. about four feet high, and five
feet in diameter at their bases, being
constructed with mud, grass. and her
bage. First they deposit one layer of
eggs on a floor of mortar, and having
covered this with second stratum Of
mud and herbage eight inches thick,
ley another set of eggs upon that, and
so on to the, top, there being common
ly from one hundred to two hundred
eggs in a nest. With their tails they
then beat down round the nest the
dense grass and reeds, five feet high,
to prevent the approach of unseen
enemies. The female watches her
eggs until they are all hatched by the
heat Of the sun, and then takes her
and providing for their subsistence.
DIR. Luzenbergcr, Of New Orleans,
told me that he once packed up one
of these nests, but was recommended,
before he closed it., to see that there
was no danger of any of the eggs be-
ing Matched on the voyage. On OPEN
ing one, a young alligator walked out,
and was soon followed by all the rest,
about a hundred, which he fed in his
house, where they went up md down
the stairs, whining and barking like
young puppies. They ate voraciously,
yet their growth was go slow, as to
confirm him in the common opinion,
that individuals. which have attained
tie largest size are Of very great age;
though whether they live for three
centuries, 9s come pretend, must be
decided by future observations.
"Nfr. Couper told me that in the
summer of 1S45, he saw shoal of
porpoises coming up to that part Of
the Altamaha where the fresh and salt
water meet, Il space about n mile in
length, the favorite fishing ground or
the alligators. where there is brackish
water, which shifts its place accord
ing to the varying strength Of the
river and the tide. Here were seen
about fifty allgators. each with head
and neck raised above water. looking
down the stream at their enemies,
before whom they had fed, terror
stricken, and expecting an attack. The
porpoises. no more than a dozen in
number, moved on in two ranks, and
were evidently complete masters Of
the field. So powerful, indeed, are
they that they have been known to
chase q large alligator to the bank
and putting their snouts under his
belly, toss him ashore"