THE SOURCES OF MUSK. 147 



glands, and under the jaw of the alligator, which might be used as a sub- 

 stitute for musk, and thereby become a valuable article of commerce. In 

 going up or down the rivers of Honduras, you are always warned of the 

 presence of an alligator by a strong, and sometimes almost overpowering, 

 smell of musk. 



" Two hundred years ago the musk of the alligator of Yucatan and 

 Honduras was extracted from that animal. Captain Dampier says, ' The 

 flesh smells very strong of musk, especially four kernels, which are always 

 found about them, two of which grow in the groin, near each thigh, the 

 other two at the breast, one under each fore leg, and about the bigness of 

 a pullet's egg ; therefore, when we kill an alligator, we take out these, and 

 having dried them, wear them in our hats for a perfume.' 



" An extract from the ' Official and Descriptive Report of the Madras 

 Exhibition of 1855,' shows that the musk of the alligator is known and 

 appreciated in the East Indies. It is as follows : ' The largest animal 

 found in the backwaters is the alligator. This vicious animal is sometimes 

 very destructive to those who travel in common canoes, and are found in 

 the northern districts (of Travancore) measuring from twenty to thirty feet 

 in length, and from five to eight feet in girth, and ten feet in circumference. 

 Musk is taken from the glands of the jaw, which is very fine if well pre- 

 pared and separated from the flesh, otherwise it will give a very bad 

 smell.' " 



But the presence of this famous perfume does not alone constitute 

 the value of the alligator. The skin has been tanned. The teeth of the 

 reptile are from four to six inches in length, and are very white and hard. 

 There is no doubt that they might be applied to many useful and ornamen- 

 tal purposes. But there is still another article, of no slight importance, 

 which may be extracted from that amphibious brute. The tail of an alli- 

 gator, measuring twelve feet in length, when boiled down, gives from sixty 

 to eighty pounds of excellent oil. 



In a late Texas paper, it is stated that Mr. J. W. Benedict, of Galveston, 

 has manufactured some of the most beautiful boots and shoes ever seen 

 with leather made of alligator skins. These skins are tanned and prepared 

 so that they resemble the finest calfskin in pliability, and are beautifully 

 mottled like tortoise-shell. He certainly merits a premium for changing 

 the skins of these huge ugly monsters to forms of beauty and usefulness. 

 Here is something really new under the sun. Alligator boots ! What 

 next, in the name of wonder ? How are their hides tanned ? Will the 

 Texas editor explain the modus operandi ? The back of the alligator is pro- 

 tected by regular transverse rows of bony plates, raised into keel-shaped 

 ridges, of which there are several hundred reaching to the extremity of the 

 tail. Alligators are killed in numbers in South American lakes and parts 

 of the river Amazon for their fat, which is made into oil. The large eggs, 

 as big as those of a goose, are eaten by the natives, but they have a strong 

 musky odour. The flesh and fat are occasionally eaten by the natives in 

 South America, Africa, and Australia. Both, however, have a smell of 



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