70 THE ALLIGATOR'S LIFE HISTORY 



was attracted to this fight while paddling a pirogue along 

 a bayou near home, by hearing a great rustling and thrash- 

 ing about in the marsh grass. Leaving my boat and follow- 

 ing the sound, I came to two alligators fighting in the high 

 marsh grass, perhaps one hundred feet back from the bayou. 

 They must have been fighting for some time as a good lot 

 of the grass was mashed down over a space about forty feet 

 square. When I got to them the fight was almost over, for 

 the smaller one had caught the larger one across the body 

 just back of the front legs and had driven his large teeth 

 completely through the heavy bony plates which cover all 

 alligators' backs, and was slowly but surely squeezing the 

 life out of his larger antagonist, who could not reach his 

 opponent with either head or tail. The large alligator was 

 crying in a shrill voice, "umph-umph-umph," exactly as if 

 he was saying: "Enough !" I went back to my pirogue, got 

 an iron-shod pole that I always kept in the boat and some 

 rope, tied the jaws of the big fellow first, and with the pole 

 beat the other over the head until he loosed his hold, then 

 quickly tied his jaws together, and driving the pole deeply 

 into the ground, tied both of them to it. The small alli- 

 gator showed a very great desire to again attack the larger 

 one, and the larger one tried to run away. Having securely 

 fastened them, I went for help and a larger boat, and soon 

 had them safely penned. 



The roar or bellow of the male alligator is a challenge 

 to others of his species, and is not given for the purpose 

 of attracting the opposite sex. The mating season extends 

 from early April into June, and the alligator roars more 

 frequently during that period and less often throughout 

 the Summer, and they also occasionally roar on warm morn- 

 ings or very warm nights during the Winter. Their roar 

 is seldom heard, however, in December, January and Feb- 

 ruary, although I have heard it during these months. 



During the mating season when the male roars the female 

 often gives a rattling sound exactly like a man snoring, 



