The Alligator's Life History 



CHAPTER I 



INTERESTING FACTS AND MIS-STATEMENTS 

 ABOUT ALLIGATORS 



The alligator with the exception of the crocodile of 

 Southern Florida is by far the largest reptile inhabiting 

 the United States. 



Its general characteristics are too well known to need a 

 detailed description in this book, the object of which is to 

 deal more with its life history; which so far as my reading 

 goes has never been truly told, although much literature 

 has been published that in general is but a poor attempt of 

 the authors to put into words things that if seen were not 

 understood, or to record wild tales of illiterate hunters 

 who were not true observers. I will, however, record for 

 the casual reader, a few of the most interesting things of 

 this great reptile's make-up. 



The name "alligator" is undoubtedly a corruption of the 

 name given it by the early Spanish settlers who were the 

 first white people to visit and establish colonies along the 

 Gulf Coast of North America. They, thinking it a giant 

 lizard, called it "el largato" meaning lizard. This was 

 corrupted by the early settlers speaking English to 

 "lagato" which finally was changed to alligator, by which 

 name it is known. 



An alligator is a reptile having four short, rather weak, 

 legs whose toes, widely spread, are joined almost to their 

 tips by skin, which enables them to move more readily in 

 water than on land, and helps them to walk without sink- 



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