this present age and introduce the reign
of righteousness, the Kingdom of God's,
dear Son.

Zionism the First Call.

It is not by accident, but of Divine fore-
knowledge and clearly foretold in the
prophecies that the nation of Israel has
suffered shamefully at the hands of many
Christian nations. And, alas, to our
shame it must be said that many of the
atrocities practiced against them are by
Christians falsely so-called Christians in
name, but not in fact. Note, for instance,
the recent disorder in Roumania, which,
fortunately, did not result to the Jews in
great loss of life. But note its malevolent
misrepresentation of Christ and his teach-
ings; the so-called Greek Catholic Christ-



526



OVERLAND MONTHLY.



ians went to the cemetery ghoulishly, dug
up recently interred Jews, and flung the
corpses on the doorsteps of their relatives.
Alas,, that such things are possible in the
name of Christ ! Alas, too, that there is
no general protest from so-called Christ-
ian 'nations against such disorders, nor
against the pogroms so common of late in
Russia ! But what does this prove ? It
demonstrates what all sensible people
should know, namely, that there are no
Christian Governments in the world
that the name Christendom is a sad mis-
take ! When Christ's Kingdom shall really
be established amongst men no such bru-
talities will be permitted in any name or
under any pretext.

By the permission of these severe trials
upon the Chosen People, God has not
only, we believe, been chastening them,
but, additionally, he has been keeping
them together as a people, separate from
all others. Had they been without perse-
cution, doubtless they would have been
swallowed up like the other peoples of
the world. As it is, they are a living
monument to the truthfulness of God's
Word they are a miracle.

And now when prophecy shows that
God's time has come for remembering
and executing his gracious promises to
Israel, his first move toward their recov-
ery to his favor comes through Zionism.
Not that Zionism was started as a religious
movement; quite the contrary. It is a
spasm of national pride, however com-
mendable such a pride may be. Weary
with the persecutions of centuries, the
Jew hoped that by their re-establishment
as a nation they would command a greater
respect throughout the world and be saved
from racial hatred and persecution. They
hoped, also, that the land of their fathers
would furnish an asylum for the Russian
outcasts of their race. The enthusiasm of
Zionism spread, especially amongst the
poorer Jews. Meantime other hopes and
aims were set forward. Some said that
Mesopotamia was the proper place, and
the British gave rights of colonization;
others urged Argentine Republic, and mil-
lions of dollars were spent in seeking to
place Russian Jews there. Others thought
to make Jewish colonies in. New Jersey,
and still others favored similar schemes in
Texas. But none of these flourished. Col-



onies in Palestine alone seemed to pros-
per even moderately. Meantime other
hopes arose the Russian douma promised
to be favorable to the Jew and to permit
his maintaining his home in Russia, in-
ducing bands of Russian Jews to remain in
the land of their adoption. But this hope
has also failed them. Persecution and
evictions in Russia continue as before.
The Jew is, therefore, more heart-sick than,
ever. His greatest prosperity has been in
London and in New York City. In the
latter place reside twelve hundred thou-
sand of them. Now fear is taking hold up-
on their hearts that even in this land of
liberty and enlightenment they may not
be safe from accusations and persecutions
leveled against them on account of race
prejudices. Alas, poor Jews !

The Voice "Die Stimme"

It is at this juncture and under these
conditions that God's Chosen People to-
day are awakening and listening to the
voice of prophecy, which the writer has
had the privilege of bringing to their at-
tention. Zionism, we believe, is about to
take on a new form. Instead of being
any longer a movement of race pride and
for race protection it seems evident that
it will shortly be a religious movement.
Back to the prophecies ! Back to the Word
of God ! Back to the promise made to
Abraham and repeatedly confirmed! Back
to the oath-bound promise that Abraham's
seed shall yet bless all the families of the
earth ! The tide of Jewish sentiment is
turning, and swiftly, too.

Long centuries of training in religion
have marked the Jew as a religionist as
well as a money-lover. He loved his
money and labored for it, because his
heart had no spiritual ideal for which to
labor. But the message of the prophets
is now ringing in the hearts of many:
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith
your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jeru-
salem and cry unto her that her appointed
time is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned; for she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sins."-
Isa. 40:1-2.

At first, of course, the movement will
only be amongst the poor, those not satu-
rated with unbelief, Higher Criticism,



IN THE REALM OF BOOKLAND.



527



Evolution, etc. Gradually it will take hold
we believe upon those more intelligent
and those of wealth. When that moment
shall arrive, there will be a sufficiency of
funds to forward a great movement Zion-
ward. Not that all Jews, nor that even the
majority of them, will go to Palestine, but
surely the sympathy of all who are Jews
indeed must shortly go thither, and that
will mean the aid and comfort of co-re-
Hgionists who will be seeking an as}dum.
Moreover, the great time of trouble which



is nearin.g will be recognized by the Jews
as soon as by others, and Palestine will be
considered one of the best places of safety
for personal property. Moreover, the
Scriptures indicate that the persecutions
of the Jews are not yet ended. These also
will tend to drive them home. This great
time of trouble will not only prepare Is-
rael, but all the nations, to welcome Mes-
siah's glorious Kingdom of righteousness,
joy and peace.



IN THE REALM OF BOOKLAND



Hunting big game is a popular pastime
these days with those who have the oppor-
tunity to indulge in it, and for those who
cannot, it is a pleasure to read of the ex-
periences in this line of the more fortu-
nate. Africa, South America, Canada
and other familiar regions are the conven-
tional big game fields, but Harry Payne,
in his new book, "Hunting with the Eski-
mos," has given us a view of a big game
region, about which little is known, out-
side of the travel books of noted explor-
ers. In this handsome, well-illustrated
volume, the author describes in most en-
tertaining fashion his travels and hunting
in the bleak Arctic region, in both the
long perpetual daylight of summer and
the solemn, awful pall of the Arctic win-
ter night. The story is well written in
every respect, holds the reader's attention
from start to finish, and gives a new and
convincing idea of conditions in the far
north of our continent.

The Century Company, New York.



* * *



May Sinclair has produced in "The
Creators" the best work of her life. It is
of that intense interest that holds one's at-
tention from the outset. It is a story of



London life, which Miss Sinclair knows
so well, and has the beauty of being not
only perfectly correct j.n its descriptions
and pictures, but eloquent of a phase of
society that is only too often misunder-
stood by Americans.

The Century Co. $1.30 net.



* * *



King Camp Gillette has writtem another
of his socio-political works, under the title
"World Corporation," in which he enun-
ciates many economic principles that ap-
peal to one's reason and many that do not.
It is in, line with his preceding works, and
aims at an overthrow, or at least a radical
modification of existing social conditions.

The New England News Company, Bos-
ton.



* * *



Under the one title, "The Guillotine
Club," Dr. S. Weir Mitchell gives us
really four stories of the mysterious, all
quite up to that excellent writer's stand-
ard. The stories are full of complications ;
they present curious characters, and are
most ingenious in their construction; and
puzzling in their evolution. It is an odd
volume, and the average reader will not
close it until all four stories are read.

The Century Company, $1.50.



528



OVERLAND MONTHLY.



As its title implies, "The History of the
Telephone" is a work in which Herbert N.
Casson, the well known and powerful
magazine writer, gives what is thus far the
best, in fact the only complete, history of
that great invention that has combined
with the printing press and the telegraph
to advance the cause of enlightenment and
civilization, more than any other agencies.
It describes the development of the tele-
phone from its inception, through the
days of its development to its present
stage of well-nigh perfection. It is really
a romance of a seemingly most prosaic
factor of our daily life.

A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago. $1.50.

* * *

In "The New Bible Country/' Thomas
Franklin Day, Professor of Old Testa-
ment Languages and Literature in the
San Francisco Theological Seminary,
makes an analysis of the Bible that
throws new light upon that work, light
that illuminates it for the benefit of both
the skeptic and the dogmatic student who
fears that modern criticism has demol-
ished the old beliefs.

Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York.

* * *

Admirers and collectors of rare bits of
old furniture will enjoy reading "The
Lure of the Antique," by Walter A. Dyer.
The work is actually a handbook and
guidebook for those who are after old fur-
niture, china ware, copper and ironware,



and other things of the kind. It is an
authority upon age, style, period, maker
and genuineness, and is at the same time
a readable book in general respects. It is
well illustrated and certainly convinces
one that there is a decided lure in the an-
tique.

The Century Co., New York.



* * *



The Census Bureau has issued one of
the most interesting of its special reports,
and a particularly timely one in these
days of conservation agitation, in "Central
Electric Light and Power Stations," in
which are given voluminous statistics on
the subject named. Unlike many publi-
cations of the Census Bureau, the book
contains much plain narrative and de-
scription, and is not a mere collection of
dry figures.

Government Printing Office, Washing-
ton.

* * *

We have all long since learned to love
Jennie Allen, the new and quaint charac-
ter of fiction created by Grace Don worth,
who has given the reading public another
treat in "Down Home with Jennie Allen,"
in which that essentially human creature,
her friends and environment, continue to
amuse and entertain us, even more than
in the preceding book by this gifted au-
thoress. Jennie is married now, and
with her "fambly," is even more interest-
ing than before.

Small, Maynard & Co., Boston.




PUPI If

DEC 1 5



DECEMBER 1910



No- 6 (NERLAND

founded UK*




ONTHLY

t Trte



W- LVI



THE CALIFORNIA ALLIGATOR RANCH



BY ARTHUR INKERS.LEY



STORIES HAVE BEEN told of a
Colorado farm on which bears are
raised, of a parrot ranch in Mex-
ico, and of a Canadian who breeds
wolves for their skins. But the oddest
farms of all are the rattlesnake ranch in
Texas, where the deadly serpents are bred
for their venom, and the alligator-breed-
ing establishments in Arkansas and Cali-
fornia, which are maintained partly as
show places, but chiefly for the propaga-
tion and sale of alligators and the produc-
tion of alligator hides for commercial uses.
Alligators are found native in America
only in the Southern States and in the
swamps of Venezuela and Northern
Guiana. They have been killed as far
north as the New Eiver in North Carolina,
but their favorite haunts in the United
States are the everglades of Florida, the
bayous of Louisiana and the swamps of
Texas and Mississippi. The alligator has
five toes, two without claws on his fore-
feet, and four toes, one without a claw, OB
his hind feet. The clawless toes are in-
tended to enable the creature to feel the
bottom of a stream or swamp. In the
Southern States alligators were once ex-
ceedingly plentiful, and were so destruc-
tive to cattle that the farmers organized
parties to hunt and exterminate them.
The hides also became so valuable com-
mercially that bands of professional
hunters were formed. These pursue the
alligators so persistently that they are in
danger of extinction unless the United



States Government intervenes, as it has
done, when almost too late, in the case of
the Bos Americanus, or bison, which once
roamed the prairies in innumerable herds,
but was nearly exterminated by the hunter
with the repeating rifle.

Nowadays, however, the scientific breed-
ing of alligators has become a business.
About seven years ago, H. I. Campbell,
son of a British Colonel, and a well-
known alligator-hunter, established at
Hot Springs, Ark., a farm for the propa-
gation; of alligators for commercial pur-
poses. The strange farm proved success-
ful from the first, and was extended until
it covers several acres, on which there are
from five hundred to eight hundred alli-
gators constantly. The Arkansas farm is
situated on the banks of a small stream,
which forms several ponds and lakelets
that serve as excellent breeding-places for
the "stock." Alligators of all ages and
sizes may be seen there, from babies as
small as lizards to aged monsters from
twelve to fifteen feet in length and from
fifty to two hundred years of age.

The genial climate of Southern Cali-
fornia is just as suitable as that of Ar-
kansas to the breeding of the saurians,
and about three years ago there was estab-
lished near Eastlake Park in Los Angeles,
a second alligator fa.rm, occupying about
two acres on the banks of a little stream,
which has been widened into pools and
ponds for the accommodation of the alli-
gators. The ponds are surrounded by



534



OVERLAND MONTHLY.



fences of woven wires,, so as to keep their
occupants from straying. At the upper
end of the farm is the incubator-house,
sheltering the great incubators in which
the eggs are hatched. It is an odd sight
to see one of the trays of the incubator
filled with eggs and little alligators that
have just emerged into the light of day.
Just below the incubator-house is the first
pond, a very shallow one in which the
smallest alligators are kept; in the next,
those of a larger size are herded together;
and so on until we come to the oldest and
largest, each of which has the honor of
having an enclosure all to himself. The
reason for segregating the animals so
carefully is that the larger ones would eat
the smaller if they were kept in the same
enclosures.

Though alligators in captivity in zoolog-
ical gardens do not reproduce, they find
conditions on the farm so congenial that
they breed well. Once a year, about the
month of June, the males become danger-
ous, bellowing like angry bulls as they
call to their mates. At this period they
fight viciously, and much care has to be
exercised to prevent them from hurting
each other seriously. Soon afterwards the
female begins to nest, selecting a sandy
spot on the bank of the stream or a bit
of dry ground above a pool. This she
clears of grass or weeds with the tail aD.d
claws, and makes a floor of mud mixed
with grass, forming a sort of mat. When
dry, she lays eggs enough to cover the mat,
puts up a little wall round the eggs and
covers them with another mat; when this
is dry, she lays a second batch of eggs
above the first, and so proceeds, building
up tier on tier, the upper ones smaller than
the lower, until they form a cone about
four feet high. Though the shells of the
eggs are thin, they are so strong that
rarely are any in the lowest tier broken.
When alligators are living in a natural
condition out in the open, the cones may
be demolished by a flood or violent rain,
but usually they last very well. The
mother guards the eggs until they are
'hatched by the heat of the sun, and during
^this period, varying according to the
-weather, from two to three months, she is
very savage, attacking everything that
-comes near her nest. An angry alligator
makes an odd, uncanny noise that is a



sort of combination of the snort of a horse
and the hiss of a rattlesnake. When the
young ones come out into the world, the
mother considers her duty done, and leaves
them to shift for themselves ; she will even
allow them to be removed from, the nest
without a protest.

But on the farm, as soon as the female
has done laying, the eggs are taken to the
incubators, which are of wood, standing
on four legs and about three and one-half
feet high. The incubators are protected
by a roofed shed, which can be closed en-
tirely. The eggs are laid on trays, 45 to
i tray, and are moistened daily with water,
the temperature being maintained at 80
degrees. The temperature, however, may
vary considerably without destroying the
fertility of the eggs, few of which are un-
fruitful. In about forty days the shells
break, and the infant alligators, about
seven: inches long, appear on the scene.
Like the young of almost all creatures
(except mankind), they are rather engag-
ing things, scrambling about as actively
as little pigs. Great care is devoted to this
part of the industry, for hundreds of baby
'gators are sold each year to tourists and
sent by express to various parts of the
United States. The .young saurians are
quite unintelligent but very hardy. A
few days after birth they are placed in an
enclosure, in the middle of which is a
round, shallow, concrete trench, filled with
water. A shade of palm leaves is fur-
nished for them, and for a little while they
are fed regularly on chopped meat, but
soon they require no attention. They are
quite lively, and, when one of the attend-
ants walks in the trench, they scuttle away
in all directions. They have tough con-
stitutions, never getting sick, as the fool-
ish human baby does, from unsuitable
food, lack of exercise or badly ventilated
sleeping quarters. They are, however,
sensitive to rough usage, and, if hurt, will
die eventually from the effects of the in-
jury. On one occasion) an alligator of
mature age. fourteen feet in length, was
hired by the proprietor of a circus. The
case in which the animal was conveyed
from the farm to the circus was dropped,
and, though the alligator showed no signs
of injury at the time, it died six months
later. The large animals get pigeons, rab-
bits or chickens to eat occasionallv, but



536



OVERLAND MONTHLY.



these are killed before being thrown to
them. Alligators spend the night in the
water, but come ashore for food in the
morning. If it is sunny, they are content
to bask in the sunshine all day.

All the small alligators seen at the
farms have been bred there from eggs, but
the big ones were caught in swamps and
bayous by skillful and experienced hunt-
ers. With a strong line and a big steel
nook baited with pork, it is as easy to
catch an alligator as to catch a trout with
a minnow, but you must know what to do
with your alligator when you have caught
him. The hunters drag him ashore and
throw a noose over his snout, so as to
fasten the jaws together. Then he is put
into a strong wooden box with air-holes OB
the top and sides. Sometimes alligators
are caught in steel traps with toothed
jaws which are closed with a spring when
a trigger is touched. Another way of
catching the saurians is by "poling." A
long pole, one end of which is wrapped
with carpet or leather, is poked into the
hole which an alligator has been seen to
enter; the 'gator grips the pole in his
jaws, and, tenacity being his chief virtue,
holds on till he is pulled out of the water
by main force. Occasionally they are
caught in strong nets. When, alligators
are hunted at night, a bull's-eye lantern is
worn in the hunter's hat; when the eye of
the prey is "shined," by the beam of the
lantern, it looks like a ball of fire oni the
surface of the water. Having found his
prey, the hunter paddles quietly up, and
blows the head of the 'gator to pieces with
the charge from a shot-gun. Before the
creature sinks, it is seized with a grap-
pling hook and drawn into the boat. A
score or two may be killed in this way in
a right by experienced hunters. Small
ones are picked up by the hands, and are
sent alive to the farm for exhibition. In
dealing with live alligators, it is necessary
to be careful, for one snap of the jaws
of a big one will crush a man's leg, and
a blow from his powerful tail will knock
a man senseless to the ground.

In his native haunts, the alligator, on
the approach of winter, burrows in the
mud, and hibernates until the warmth of
spring awakens him to life again. On the
Arkansas farm in the winter they are kept
in ventilated boxes, which are stored away



in rows in a building in which shallow
pools of water are kept at an even tempera-
ture by steam-pipes passing through them.
The alligators float in the tepid water, and
can be removed as may be necessary. Dur-
ing this time they are dormant and eat
nothing. But in Southern California the
climate is so mild that they show no de-
sire to hibernate, but remain oni view all
through the winter, enjoying the sunshine
but partaking of no food. Large alliga-
tors at the farm in summer eat only once
a week, and in- hot weather take no food at
all. They can go for six months without
nourishment; but, when they do eat, they,
assimilate everything flesh, bone and
hair. J

At the farms, the baby alligators are
kept in one enclosure, small saurians of
two to six years of age rni another; those
from six to fifteen years in another; and
each of the large old fellows in a separate
pen. The stock used for breeding pur-
poses is from twenty to sixty years old.
The fences surrounding the enclosures are
of wire netting fastened to posts about
four feet high. The attendant catches al-
ligators of moderate size by the tail and
holds them by the neck, keeping them
from slashing their tails about by tucking
them under his arm. One of the attend-
ants has a method of mesmerizing the alli-
gators. He lays o'nie on his back, makes
some passes, and, uttering a droning, half-
singing noise, causes the creature to lie
perfectly still. After some minutes, he
returns and finds it on its back in the
spot where he left it. Alligators are
strangely perverse animals; if they are
tied by a rope, they twist and twist, turn-
ing over and over until they cut their
necks, and continue the process until they
either break the rope or kill themselves. It
does not occur to them to let go.

As may be supposed, alligators are not
docile, and do mot show any aptitude for
learning, but at the Arkansas and Los An-
geles farms a few have been taught to per-
form after a fashion. One of the unwieldy
creatures is lassoed with a rope and
dragged reluctantly, emitting a queer,
hissing noise the while, to the bottom of
a flight of wooden steps, covered with car-
pet and having cross-pieces to enable the
animal to get foothold. The alligator
climbs slowly and clumsily up the steps




I



s



538



OVERLAND MONTHLY.



to a small platform, where he waits while
the spectators walk round to the front and
the attendant throws water on the chute,
clown which the saurian; slides into the
pool below. This performance is given
each afternoon at the farm, when there are
enough interested spectators who desire
to witness the exhibition.

The largest, oldest and most' hideous
alligators at the Los Angeles farm are
named Ponchartrain Billy, Louisiana Joe,
El Diablo and Barataria Ben. Ponchar-
train Billy weighs about 220 pounds, was
captured in April, 1907, and is consid-
ered to be eighty years old. Barataria
Ben weighs 265 pounds, was captured on
May 5, 1903, and is about 135 years old.
El Diablo is estimated to have attained
the venerable age of 150 years, and Loui-
siana Joe, the patriarch of the farm, is
said to have about two hundred years to
his credit. There is also a large Floridan
alligator, which was kept formerly in
Westlake Park, Los Angeles, and was pre-
sented to the California Alligator Farm on
November 9. 1908.

Notices posted about the farm read as
follows: "Visitors are requested not to
throw stones at the alligators, spit on,
punch or molest them in any way."

Certainly, spitting, even on an alliga- '
tor's corrugated hide, is not am elegant