THE ALLIGATOR'S LIFE HISTORY 73 



thrown into the water. This leaping and shimmering of 

 the water above the alligator's back as the bellow is given 

 is something that when once seen can never be forgotten, 

 and may be duplicated by a person in a small way, if the 

 hand is placed a couple of inches under water half open, 

 palm up and then closed violently. 



The bellowing of a big alligator may be continued at in- 

 tervals of a couple of minutes until a dozen or more calls 

 have been made, and if there are other large male 'gators 

 in hearing, it is very certain they will raise their voices 

 in answer. When a number of large bulls are roaring at 

 the same time the volume of sound is truly great. During 

 still nights I have heard alligators roaring at least three 

 miles distant. 



In early May, 1895, I was out with a party of alligator 

 hunters who had located a nesting of Roseate Spoonbills 

 for me, near Lake Misere in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. 

 We were camped at the point where Bayou Misere and the 

 lake come together, and had killed a number of alligators 

 that night with the aid of headlights. Just at daylight we 

 heard a chorus of deep alligator voices in the lake not far 

 from us, and each time they roared they seemed to be 

 nearer. As soon as it was light enough, we saw a line of 

 alligators, all big ones, a couple of hundred yards out in 

 the lake, headed for the bayou. Suddenly, the second in 

 line from the front threw his head and tail in the air and 

 roared, seven others that were in line behind him did the 

 same thing, each roaring three times. They were follow- 

 ing about fifty feet behind each other. Once more they all 

 roared when the leader was only about fifty yards from our 

 camp. I got out my rifle prepared to do some shooting 

 as they passed into the bayou, which would bring them in 

 about twenty yards from where we sat. The owner of the 

 boat who was an old-time alligator hunter asked me not to 

 shoot the leader, as it was a female, and said that if I shot 

 her the others would go back. He said he had often seen 



