Outing . entcroaking, she is generally the first to an- 2l6 OUTING FOR DECEMBER. swer their summons and escort them fromtheir prison. On emerging from this re-treat she leads them to water immedi-ately, and carefully watches over theirwelfare until the following November orDecember, when all separate to hibernateduring the cold weather. As soon as a male alligator hears thecries of the juveniles he becomes exceed-ingly alert, and steals toward the nurserywith all the cautiousness of his nature,for he knows full well what is in store forhim should the female discover him whileon his cannibalist
Outing . entcroaking, she is generally the first to an- 2l6 OUTING FOR DECEMBER. swer their summons and escort them fromtheir prison. On emerging from this re-treat she leads them to water immedi-ately, and carefully watches over theirwelfare until the following November orDecember, when all separate to hibernateduring the cold weather. As soon as a male alligator hears thecries of the juveniles he becomes exceed-ingly alert, and steals toward the nurserywith all the cautiousness of his nature,for he knows full well what is in store forhim should the female discover him whileon his cannibalistic expedition. If hefinds the coast clear he hastily tears openthe nest with jaw and paws, and devoursas he digs ; yet, no matter how thor-oughly he may be enjoying his feast, heretreats in the most ludicrously precipi-tate manner on seeing the female ap-proach. The latter often pursues himuntil he seeks refuge in the water or hishome in the bank of a contiguous pondor stream ; but should she overtake him. alligator to pursue a white hunter overland and through water except when de-fending her young ; in all other instancesthat I recall, the saurian, when broughtto bay, was only too glad to escape, if ithad the opportunity. An acquaintance of mine once fired atan alligator which he saw lying under abush close to the river, and planted hisbullet solidly in its side, but the reptiledid not make the slightest move. He fireda second time with the same result. Think-ing the animal was dead, he advancedrapidly and incautiously toward it withan empty rifle. On approaching to withinfifteen or twenty feet of the saurian, hewas horror stricken to see it charge openmouthed, and at a pace of which hethought it incapable. He had just timeenough to glance at the spot the animalhad quitted and note that it was coveredwith crawling, croaking little gators, beforethe musky hissing of the mother got sostrong as to induce him to face about anddash for his boat, which wasanchored about a hundred y
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade, booksubjectsports, booksubjecttravel
