1.54 HISTORY OF THE ALLIGATOR. 



their appearance, so as in some of the species to resemble 

 the crocodiles, and in others the gavials. 



The species which, in the written accounts at least, is 

 the most ferocious and formidable to man, is that which 

 inhabits the Mississippi and the other rivers of the southern 

 parts of North America, and the swamps and lagunes 

 which these rivers form when they are swollen by floods. 

 It is the pike-headed alligator (Alligator lucius) of Cuvier, 

 so called because its head, in shape at least, bears some 

 resemblance to that of the common pike. This species 

 has been seen as long as fifteen feet ; with the head two 

 feet long, and the gape nearly the same. The jaws are 

 more elongated than in some other species, the breadth at 

 the articulation not being in those of the size mentioned 

 much more than one foot. The snout is flattened on the 

 upper surface, and slightly turned up at the extremity, 

 which is bluntly pointed ; but the sides of the jaws are, 

 for the greater portion of the length of the gape, nearly 

 parallel. The teeth are large and irregular, with the 

 fourth from the front in each side of the under jaw much 

 larger than the rest, so that they can penetrate through a 

 substance of considerable thickness, and, with their points 

 received into the sockets in the upper jaw, hold on against 

 a very considerable strain. It is by this means that the 

 animal is said to master the larger mammalia, when they 

 come to the shores to quench their thirst. The alligator, 

 having observed its prey, swims slowly toward it, with the 

 snout barely above the water. When within reach, it 

 seizes the upper lip and nose ; and at the same time incur- 

 vating its body with more than ordinary exertion, hits a 

 violent blow on the shoulder with its thick and scaly tail. 

 The bite and the blow together bring the animal to its 

 knees, tumble it headlong and helpless ; and as the alliga- 

 tor does not quit its hold while the animal continues to 

 struggle, and also contrives to keep the head under water, 

 the prey soon expires of pain and suffocation. The smaller 



