File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17973629320).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo17amer (find matches)
Year: [1918 c1900-[1918]] (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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484 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL when excited to rage and exertion while in his under-water den, will soon seek the entrance for a breath of fresh air, sometimes slipping away through the
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A tish hawk has built his nest in the top of this moss-draped cypress tree in Great Lake muddied water outside if the entrance is not closely watched. I once had a specimen crawl over my feet while I was standing in the water opposite his hole. It gives one rather a creepy feel- ing to stand perfectly motionless while an alligator of unknown size and un- judged disposition has one at such short range of jaws and tail. But this one evidently judged my feet and legs to be a part of the landscape and was as gen- tle with me as I with him. To sit on the bank above the entrance to an occupied alligator hole, with one foot in the water on each side, and with body bent forward and hands open to grasp the animal's jaws when the tip of the snout slowly and cautiously breaks the surface for a breath of air—gives a rather thrilling period of expectancy. I tried it once, and it worked success- fully. The burrow was a comparatively new one, which implies that it was of smaller diameter inside than a longer used one would have been. The mo- ment the tip of the nose appeared at the surface just outside the entrance, and before it had time for the intake of breath that might carry with it the tell- tale scent of danger, I had the animal with both hands, holding his mouth tightly closed. The battle was over: his tail was harmlessly out of the way back in the hole, and his other weapons of offense, his jaws, were out of commis- sion as long as I could hold my grip. This specimen was a little less than eight feet in length. The largest alligator I ever collected was secured in a somewhat unusual manner. It was in October, and I was wading across Lake Ellis, returning to camp after a long and unsuccessful prowl after deer in the big swamps on the other side. The water in this lake averaged less than a foot in depth, mak- ing wading across less tiring than walk- ing around the lake through the heavily timbered swamp. I was carrying my 7mm Mauser rifle, and I stopped near some holes that usu-

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