as to the time it takes for the eggs to 

 hatch, as much depends on the construc- 

 tion of the nest, and also on the heat of 

 the sun. So, also, many differ as to 

 the number of eggs a female will lay in 

 one season. Some aver that eighty is 

 the average number, but the writer has 

 nver found more than forty in one nest. 



Alligator eggs are white, oblong in 

 shape, about three inches and a half in 

 length, and have a ring around the mid- 

 dle. When first hatched the little fel- 

 lows are red and black spotted and 

 striped. They are exceedingly lively, 

 and, as soon as hatched, make straight 

 for the water — apparently in search of 

 the protecting care of their mammy — but 

 they often come back to sun themselves 

 about the old nest. 



The male alligator is a cannibal, and 

 will eat his own young if he finds them. 

 For this reason the female selects a 

 place far from the usual haunts of her 

 spouse when she prepares for maternal 

 cares by building her nest. And she 

 stays with her babies until she thinks 

 they are capable of wiggling away from 

 dangers themselves. 



When in Florida many of the winter 

 tourists secure these little alligators and 

 take them North to keep them as pets. 

 As they are exceedingly slow in growing, 

 they make ''little" and "cunning" pets for 

 m.any years. When they get to be "big 

 fellows," they had best be dispensed with. 



Although the alligator has long been 

 considered one of the despised species 

 of^ animals, or reptiles, it is far from 

 being a useless one — though its use is 

 only practical after it has been killed. 

 One may say that there is no good alli- 

 gator but a dead one, but one may qualify 

 the remark by adding that the dead one 

 is very good, indeed, for commercial pur- 

 poses. , 



There is a great demand for alligator 

 hides, and good prices are being paid 

 for them. Consequently the hunting of 

 alligators for the sake of their hides, and 

 the preparing of them for shipment is a 

 profitable industry. Then the tanning of 

 these hides and, finally, the making of th^ 

 leatiier into trunks, valises, purses, etc.. 

 rn^kes tlirec distinct industries due to the 

 alligators. 



Those making a business of hunting 

 alligators generally take the night time 

 for it, and the darker the night, the bet- 

 ter. 



Two men, provided with a light, easy- 

 going skiff, a good rifle, an ax, and a 

 bull's eye lantern fastened to the fore- 

 head of one of the hunters, start out to- 

 gether. One man — the one with the lan- 

 tern — sits in the bow of the boat; it is 

 his business to "shine the eyes" of any al- 

 ligator who might come within the radius 

 of the light. The eyes of the game will 

 shine like two balls of fire, and if the 

 man is careful to make no unnecessary 

 movements, and his partner is careful 

 to scull the boat steadily and silently, thev 

 can get so near the game as to almost 

 touch it. 



The man in the bow holds, from the 

 very start, the rifle ready for a quick shot. 

 This shot comes so suddenly and so un- 

 expectedly to the alligator, that, quick 

 as he generally is, he falls a prey to his 

 prolonged curiosity as to the nature of 

 that approaching light. 



The hunters must be so expert at their 

 trade that as soon as the shot has been 

 fired the man who did the shooting must 

 lean over and grasp the alligator by the 

 tail, pull him half way over the gunnel 

 of the boat and hold him there for the 

 quick cut with the ax in the back, which 

 his partner must be, by this time, pre- 

 pared to strike. All this is done far 

 quicker than it can be told; so quicklv 

 is it done that often the alligator is 

 killed by the ax only, and it is found that 

 the bullet had never struck him, and he 

 had only been either stunned, or so de- 

 moralized as to forget his own power. 



This cut in the back, severing the ver- 

 tebrae, places the alligator entirely hors 

 de combat. There is even no flopping 

 about in the bottom of the boat where he 

 is then thrown. Now the hunters are 

 ready to proceed on to their next cap- 

 ture. 



The morning generally finds the hunt- 

 ers with their boat loaded, and they are 

 glad of a short rest and — breakfast. 

 There then remains but the task of skin- 

 ning their game and salting the hides 

 down in barrels, ready for shipment. 

 Leo L. Stratner. 



282 



