The Oregon daily journal., October 15, 1905, SECTION THREE, Image 36

nn-'orj-GON rj.wAy jouruu pohtlat:
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ONE might journey far. without discov
" ering an occupation as unique as that', ,
in which the talents of H; .' Camp-y
"jell are employed near. Jfot Sp'rings,-Ark. -.
Engaged exclusively in raising-alligators'?
for market,, Mr. Campbell has no knownj
competitor. His "farm" u probably 'the odd-
sst in the, world: .',V ,;v 4
f From five hundred to : seven - hundred
crawling, scaly creatures, of . all " ji'zj, W ;.
usually to be - ipo v A - place. TAtf ;
roprietor employs up-to-date methods lie
"alls hypnotism to'his aid in catching and
'umdling old reptiles, and uses an incubator to ;
hatch the young.. , f - ''-v.u'. i--:
, Ready sale is , oi for ' A . product of
ike farm. Show people are always 'seeking i
additions to thetr menageries;, patent mcdicxnc ,
concerns and other, business houses purchase
the saurians for advertising purposes, and
Ttundreds of the young are Jis posed of to vis
itors at the Hot Springs, who keep them for
pets or ship them to friends. , '; , . '
ALLIGATORS are Canpbcll'i hobby; their :
culture, hia lif ework ; their traffic, hia Ut- .
inff. lie probably baa greater practical
knowledge of their characteristics, habits
and peculiarities than any otLer man in the world.'
lie knows the 'Kfctors' favorite "haunts, how best '
" lure them from their hiding; places, how to trap 1
'hem with least injury, how to hatch their eggs by ,
.he incubator method, and, best of all, how to make .
ja ajligatpr.farm yield a lrge revenue. .
'; This knowledge, has been gained by years of
atient otaerration and study, his experience wit'i
och reptiles having begun long ago during boy
ood days on the Ganges river in India, where he
M born. . , ' :
Throughout all the country around the Hot .
rings Campbell is scarcely ever referred, to by
'.m patronymic, but is known far and wide as "A1-
jator Joe." '
, A mountain stream, winding down Into the' val
, forms chain of small lakes near the Arkansas '
wtt - Two years ago Campbell, then t veteran
igator hunter 'of Florida and Louisiana, con
Ived the idea of inclosing these lakes and raising
Brians for salei " -
Since establishing his farm he has caught over
r large alligators unaided on various hunting
aitionsand hundreds more caught by other
rs have been purchaspd for the place. Hun- '
i of eggs have beenjiatched in the incubator,
. r ;st of the young have arvired. ,.
; "prioing even to the proprietor is the de -J
for alligators. - They are shipped all oyer the -try.
Many, are wanted for display in saloon'
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a a uu a i v a . vuijk k.l'iiii.tv iv ar'iu w as sa una -
TfoVionreiidtoS
. lor aoumur, aid to adopt at peta, Many im- r
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tors buy live. alligators to send to friends at home
for birthday Christmas, graduation and, wedding v
presents. ' ', -" ' '' ''
- One i Western proprietary " company utilixea".
large numbers in advertising a certain kind of
medicine. After indelibly stamping an advertise-,
rneht on the backs, the little 'gators are acnt to
jobbers, and druggists. ; , -'
Managers of shows 'and circuses are the princi
pal purchasers of the larger reptiles ; while a profit
able traffic in stuffed , alligators, 'in hides and in ,
leather souvenirs adds largely. to the revenue of.
the industry. . ,'
. i Covering several acres.1 the lakes on the farm
are divided into number of compartments for the
different "sized alligators. Th!j is to prevent the
smaller ones from falling prey to the cannibalistic
veaueucies oi iuo larger. .
A high board fence surrounds the lakes. - In
the summer the alligators are permitted to enjoy -themselves
in the water or on shore at will.
Rarely .does "an: alligator beepme tame- He
lies for . days sluggish and seemingly docile, but
the sleepy eyes are -ever on the alert to attack the
keeper when his back is turned. ; - ,
During the winter th. reptiles hibernate. As
"soon as they become stiff wit ccld, they are placed
in ventilated wooden boxes and packed away in the
Winter quarters, where thoy are stored like so much
merchandise until spring awakens them - ''
. In the alligator "factory" is seen one .of the
chief atractions of the farm-rthe incubator.; Re- .
sembling an' ordinary poultry incubator in appeal--,
ance, but differing from, it in certain technical de
tails, it is said tv be the only o"e-of its kind in the.,
world. . .. , ..
Here the eggs,' which are capsule-shaped and :
almost two and one-half inches long, are Vaeed in
trays, orty-five eggs' to, the trt, and'eovered with
straw, which must be moistened daily until the .
young alligators crawl from t' e shells'. Other than
this, the incubator requires little attention. ,. ',
t Released from the shells, the little 'gators, re
sembling lizards, are turned into an inolosure, prac
Vim- ,
iilbiii sail a a, iiir l. iiiriisti vsta a i t nnii rr r innt bm
r.j s.. j. v:
'
great exnse u attache to fh mamto-
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,' nance of the farm. 1 The big alligators eat but once
a week; and then a small dog or a piece V noiled
beef of equivalent size, obtained at a trifling cost,.'
will satisfy them. - .- ' . : i ....
, A 'gator can swajlow a dog the size of the aver-
age fox terrier at one gulp, and be satisfied seven
days.- The. smaller alligators eat more frequently,
according to their size.
- - Even if an alliirator aroes without his meals
for a month or two, he doesn't seem to miss them, -, for .them individually. ' - -
very badly. He can- get along, if necessary, six;. , "You can't trust 'ern,' he said recently. "They '
months without food, and can endure a thirst pro--; have, absolutely no intelligence, but are creatures
'tracted six weeks. ; ' ; ; : , guided solely by instinct. - Th.y have no room for
.For Hot Springs the problem of disposing brains in that flat head of theirs. Their only men- -the
dog catcher's prey" has been solved by Camp- ' tal machinery is simply an enlargement of the end '
belTs alligator farm. ; . - : ,-. of their spinal cord. ; :'. v . y ' ('
, . Every Sunday morning, shortly after sunrise,' . " "You might, pass, nesr an apparently dormant
the dog catcher's wagon. may be seen backing up alligator, without his noticing you, ninety-nine,
to the front gate. Several dozen yelping,' snapping, times,' and the hundredth time he would, likely as ,
curs, 'sniffing the air suspiciously and tugging at ;..not, snap at you. v- - -. -- .
their ropes, are unloaded and led into an inclosuro . : "If he does, look out ! When a 'gtor , takes
where the saurians are confined . .-.'hold of : yon he never leU go.'" -The tenacity of
It is said that the victims die painlessly. - One --' bulldeg or a turtle is a joke compared with the way -wift
sweep of the reptile's powerful ' tail, which ', an alligator sticks.-' ; ';
could dash a skiff to pieces, and the dog is knocked; ; Especially dangerous is the' female alligator'
lifeless into the water. The huge jaws close over in June, when she lays her eggs--from twenty to
the .body: and the alligator sinks slowly to the bot-.' . sixty, r . '. . . '. " A, I . i
torn of -the pool to enjoy a submarine canine feast . : "Althouffh a mother alliirator will furht fiercer? '
iom oi ine pooi o eniov a suomarine canine least
z . . . i . t . . , .
. is.suppicmeniea oy anout nve nun-
Jrd r?ound' ?? Kf r Prk -ent rom
af City, packing houaea. . ; .. ... .-
'.-.i at -r. . ff ft. vU
.Especial pride. of the farm is "Big Joe," 14
feet long and weighing "more than eight hundred
pounds He is kept in a pond, to himself. .'M.
v, Campbell goes among the alligators fearlessly.
t although . he always keeps his eyes open for' a 1
' treacherous-snap of powerful jaws. ..He .says he'
' controls tho ugly reptiles by hypnotizing. them
'Although in constant contact with alligators
. and ihakimr them his studv. he haa small, affection
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, lor ner unnatched youna. alter 'the she s are
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'".eked she secm to feel that her dutylis done,
an4 the young 'tor are left to look out for them-,
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"i selves; ''A large percentage of them is eaten by
the older reptiles unless protected. ' 1 f .
' "An alligator is a mighty interesting creaturer
and, with due defereuce to women folk, he is inter-,
' esting for the same reason a woman is. . You can
never tell what he's going to do next. ' i v
"They are rot difficult to raise, if you know
i ( how to go about it. They never get sjck f rorn wrong .
food,' Jack of proper exercise or'poorly ventilated '
sleeping quarters, , t ' ,".' V .
v. "Am I afraid of alligators t r Wel,, not, much.
I can handle old 'Joe' - over there with leas dim-
culty than I could a horse. v. , ' ,' v "
' "I rather startled some old 'gator hunters
down on Lake Ponchartrain l..st summer by pulling
a 'gatpr.out of the water by tho jaws. ;I have a
r strange nower over tho rentiles. which makes them
' .harmless in my. hands, although, I niusf admit,, I
,;never saw another. man that had a similar. power.
By putting them under a hypnotic influence, in a
, manner which I won't discuss, I can handlo them
i about as I please. " . 'J : v ' i "
- "Alligator hunters, capture tbem in several ;
ways. Hooking, a process simikir ,to catching fish,
is one bf the easiest, but, at the same time the
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..most unsatisfactory, method, unless. he is, being-
taken for his hide. . . . ' . d
"It is done by baiting c strong steel hook, usu
ally with pork, and dropping it into the ''gator's re
treat An, old hunter has little trouble in locating'
one of these alligator holes, and his, cast is almost
always rewarded with a bite. . ; :.':,'
"Another method of catching is by means of a
. trap similar to a bear trap, a heavy steel affair,
with toothed jaws, which spring together ..hen a
trigger in the centre is touched. , It is baited with a
piece of beef or pork. ' , ' '
"Alligators 'are also, obtained byT,poling.' A
long pole, one end of which is wrapped with carpet
or leather, is inserted in the IJe where the alliga-
tor. is supposed to be hiding. As a rule, the an-'
gered reptile will grip-the pole in his teeth, and
will not let go until he is pulled bodily out of tho
water. '. 1 ' :
"By, (Still another method the 'gator ,in getting
bait, liberates a net, which, dropping over him. is
Jrawn atyut him by the waiting hunters. .The pole
'and t method, ire the most satisfactory when
- it iished to capture tho allig.t x without harm,-