January, 1922 
FOREST AND STREAM 
19 
The young are about 8 inches long 
when they hatch, and are fully devel- 
oped. They immediately head for the 
nearest body of water with infallible in- 
stinct, no matter how far or in what 
direction it may lay. Growth is quite 
rapid, although most people believe just 
tbe reverse. Showmen and exhibitors 
usually assert that an alligator grows 
only an inch a year. They do this for 
the purpose of inspiring you with awe 
and wonder upon beholding their “mon- 
strous saurian.” 
But as a mater of fact an alligator 
will easily grow a foot a year during the 
first ten years of its life if conditions 
are favorable, although, of course, there 
are often conditions which tend to retard 
growth. Dr. Wm. T. Hornaday, curator 
of the New York Zoological Park, says: 
“A specimen hatched in our reptile 
house in October, 1900, was in January, 
1911, 8 feet 3 inches long.” And this 
was a captive specimen ! 
But he’s a peculiar cuss, is the alliga- 
tor, and interesting to study. His nos- 
trils, throat and ears are equipped with 
remarkable valves which he can close 
tightly to exclude the water while en- 
gaged in aquatic exploits. It is this valve 
in his throat which enables him to seize 
a dog by the head, at the edge of a 
stream or lake, and then back into the 
water with the unlucky canine, holding 
him under water until drowned. 
Regarding the maximum size attained 
by these reptiles, there seems to be no 
little confusion in the minds of sports- 
men. So, for the sake of accuracy, I 
will discard all the fairy tales and stories 
of doubtful reliance in this article and 
confine myself to strictly proven scien- 
tific facts. Dr. R. L. Ditmars, our fore- 
most scientific authority on reptiles, gives 
the maximum length of the American 
alligator as 16 feet. I have -never seen 
a monster of this size, nor have I ever 
seen, heard or read of anyone who really 
proved that they ever had, and I have 
studied the subject considerably. 
It is quite probable that in the early 
days in Florida, before the white man 
came, 14 or even 15-foot specimens ex- 
isted. But the largest specimen I’ve ever 
seen was a 13-foot monster in the New 
York Zoological Park. Outside of this 
I don’t believe there is another specimen 
in captivity measuring over 12 feet. In 
a wild state they seldom grow over 8 
feet any more. An “eight-footer” is so 
conspicuous, there are so many gunners, 
and his great bulk is so hard to hide that 
he generally falls a prey to the hunter 
ere he has opportunity for much further 
growth. 
^HE alligator is not overparticular as 
to his diet, for fish, birds and mam- 
mals alike fall victims to his rapacity, as 
well as the young of his own species. 
The young feed upon small fish, worms, 
frogs and insects. The beasts’ table 
manners are crude, to say the least. A 
large ’gator will seize a dog between his 
jaws, and with a mighty whip of his body, 
derived from the powerful leverage of 
his tail, he will simply tear the dog to 
pieces, sending the entrails flying in 
all directions. A smaller alligator will 
fiercely seize upon some portion of his 
prey, then fold all four legs close to the 
body and start spinning like the aerial 
teeth artists at the circus, the idea being 
to twist off a piece of meat large enough 
for dinner. I have seen one alligator 
twist the leg off a weaker brother in this 
manner. And if two large, powerful 
alligators seize each other by the jaw 
they seldom quit until one suffers a 
broken jaw; but withall, they are com- 
paratively harmless to humans, in spite 
of the general impression to the con- 
trary. In an official publication of the 
New York Zoological Society, Wm. T. 
Hornaday says : “There is no authentic 
record of the loss of a human life 
through our eommon alligator.” 
In previous articles in this magazine 
writers have frequently referred to the 
“’gator holes.” These holes represent 
the last stand of these reptiles to ward 
off extermination. In the early days 
every swamp, river and lake in the 
Southland was the natural home of the 
alligator. But now the great swamps 
are being drained, the rivers and streams 
have become navigable, and the winter 
resorter has built his bungalow at the 
very edge of the lakes. 
Every gun- toting mem- 
ber of the teeming popu- 
lation seems to feel it his 
bounden duty to take a 
shot at every alligator in 
sight. And so he has 
been driven to the 
most inaccessible 
streams and swamp 
regions, or else he 
has sought 
the false 
security of 
a muddy 
’gator hole. 
The poor 
reptile probably labors under the fond 
delusion that in these holes he has 
found refuge from the aggressions of 
his human enemies. But, on the con- 
trary, the experienced hunter knows just 
where to look for Mr. ’Gator when he’s 
at home. And a long pole, equipped with 
a strong iron hook, will bring the most 
reluctant alligator out of his hole, to re- 
ceive a bullet through the eye the mo- 
ment his ugly head is visible. 1 have 
seen a five-foot specimen killed in this 
manner with a common 22-caliber rifle. 
But, of course, heavier calibers are gen- 
erally used. 
The alligator holes are found in vari- 
ous sizes, some of them being mere “mud 
puddles,” barely large enough to conceal 
the body of the occupant. In fact, they 
are all simply mud holes, but as a rule 
they possess a cave, with the entrance 
under water, and this cave constitute^ 
the reptile’s home. I believe that some 
of the holes also have a subterranean 
cave that is free from water. At the 
edge of the hole there is usually a section 
where the flags and grasses have been 
worn down. This is where the alligator 
basks in the sun, a suspicious sound 
sending him hastily scurrying into the 
hole. 
A nother favorite method of hunt- 
ing is at night with searchlights. 
The equipment for this method depends 
upon the means of the hunter, the lights 
ranging from a 50-cent bicycle oil lamp 
to an expensive electric searchlight. 
The hunters paddle silently up the river 
in a skiff, keenly searching both sides of 
the stream for the sight of an alligator 
lying upon the bank. One is spotted, 
and the rays from the 
light are directed 
straight into his eyes. 
The glare of the light 
seems to exert a 
strange influence upon 
the beast, for he lies 
there as if hypno- 
tized, while the hunters 
stealthily paddle to 
within easy shooting 
distance and then a 
bullet throught the eye, 
throat, or neck dis- 
patches him. 
This method is now 
(Continued on page 41) 
The alligator has been driven to the most inaccessible streams and swamp regions 
