20 CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS 



ficiently to permit the owner to turn around. Usually the 

 banks are so low that the top of a burrow is only about two 

 feet below the surface. 



This burrowing habit of the Florida Crocodile has led to 

 a very droll and uncommon industry. A man named "Alli- 

 gator Joe," of Palm Beach and Miami, knows his game so 

 thoroughly that he has become very expert in making cap- 

 tures. For fifty dollars he will at any time take out a party 

 of "tourists," go to a crocodile's burrow, and with a noose 

 capture the reptile alive and unhurt. In each case he guar- 

 antees that the crocodile shall exceed 9 feet in length. He 

 locates the burrows in advance, by probing for them in the 

 sand with a sharp-pointed iron rod. With this iron rod the 

 reptile is driven out of its lair, and rarely does Joe fail to 

 make a capture "as advertised." 



Many other persons in Florida have captured crocodiles 

 and alligators in their burrows, by means of a long pole of 

 tough wood with a strong and very sharp iron hook lashed 

 on one end. When this pole is thrust into a burrow the rep- 

 tile bites it viciously, and holds on stubbornly. But even 

 if inclined to let go the sharp hook engages the tongue or 

 other portions of the mouth, and thus the creature is dragged 

 by sheer force into the hands of his captors, and bound with 

 ropes. 



The Cuban Crocodile^ has a narrower head than the 

 preceding, and two more rows (six in all) of bony plates along 

 its back. For a long time this has been regarded as one 

 of the smallest species of crocodiles, but now it is reported 



' Croc-o-di'lus rhom'bi-Jer. 



