38 The Alligator and Its Allies 



the dispositions of the Florida alligator and croco- 

 dile. While an alligator may snap its jaws, hiss, 

 and swing its tail from side to side, it is not difficult 

 for a couple of men with ropes and a pole to safely 

 tie up a large specimen. The struggles of a croco- 

 dile are of a more serious nature. Ditmars thus 

 describes an encounter with a captive Florida 

 crocodile: "The writer well remembers his first 

 acquaintance with a big fellow from Florida. 

 Driven out of the crate the crocodile looked the 

 picture of good nature. Standing away from what 

 he thought to be the reach of his tail, the writer 

 prodded the apparently sluggish brute with a 

 stick to start it for the tank. Several things hap- 

 pened in quick order. With a crescentic twist of 

 the bod}^ utterly beyond the power of an alligator, 

 the brute dashed its tail at the writer, landing him 

 such a powerful blow that he was lifted completely 

 from the ground. As he left terra firma, an almost 

 involuntary inclination caused him to hurl his 

 body away from a pair of widely-gaping, tooth- 

 studded jaws swinging perilously near. Landing 

 with a thud on one shoulder, though otherwise 

 unhurt, the writer threw himself over and over, 

 rolHng from the dangerous brute that was actually 

 pursuing him on the run, body raised high from 

 the ground. For an instant it seemed as if the 

 crocodile would win. As the writer sprang to his 

 feet and glanced backward, he beheld the brute 

 throw itself flat on its belly, open the jaws widely. 



