Arizona weekly citizen., 1882-10-15
IS THE LAGOOyS.
stories rsI5 sy Alligator FIsherS and I'm.
 tle Hanter1.

storiss rSlS sy Alligator FIsherS AndT Inn,
 tle Hanters.
 From the s. Louis Globe -Demor-,,
 In conversation with a reporter NJ. Will Smith, who was for long per;oj keeper at the Ietties when they were ir course of construction, told some cp-; ous stories about alligatOrs, which ws-. very numerous there and about tt- marshes. The men became SO arc-s toned to them that they would bariiy turn aside tO avoid the largest. and o- Sunday 1t was quite c common arnuss ment to shoot them, some times hslf |. dozen or a dozen being secured In ,a afternoon. It is a mistake to sunrosa that a rifle ball will not penetrate s. alhgatnr's hide, as one from A Wi chester striking 1t Tn the head. ina toughest part, will generally take .Io whole top of the skull of. No--hs-r people visiting the jetties were ap,iors to see the alligatOrs, and one imnnsDs. fellow, apparently r feet long v.s encouraged to stay in the river in .Ls vicinity, and was known ss Colonel 4, drew's pet. The Colonel was ouita ,T censed at one time by the fact that o1s of the men fired at his pct with s nal vOlver. and by discovering on aaotbs. occasion that Walker. who was sad to have hooked a whale, had made prerg- rations to capture the alligator by means of Q rope, a huge shark hook snd twelve pounds of beef. Althou,b the bait was showed invitipglv under the reptiles nose as bs lay on the bank in the suD Is was too shrevd or not hupgrv enough to be tempted. "The Bst- remained about a year or two, and nav still be there. One evening, as som. men were unloading barge of rocE huge alligator arose out Ot the wa.a- alongside. and one of the men pitchsj s fifteen pound stone at 1t, which. from height of twelve or fourteen feet. landa1 directly on its head. The head mns. have been smashed, hard as It was. io- the sauriau. after turning half dozen somersaults and going through nun. Der of antics, sank slowly and seemed dead. MT. Smith was coming down tba river one Sunday in a perogue with an. other man, late arrival, when they saw sn enormous alligator asleep on the bank. Smith proposed tO have some fun with him, and without disturbip, his slumbers, pulled up alongside. md crowded the boat ashore, stood up iu i. and began a vigorous attack on the sleeper with paddles. Contrary to their expectations, the sluggard started to- ward them in his hurry to reach the water, and. crawling over the boat. up- set them into mud knee deep and filled the boat with filth and water. Their clothes were ruined. and they We're pretty thoroughly disgusted on sscer- taining that the alligator had lost an eye. They had attacked him from the blind side. and be ran over them before he found out where the trouble started.
 There are numerous individuals in the South who make a living by killing alhgatOrs. The hide of a large one IS worth from s1 to g., but 1t IS very hard work to take 1t of. and IS almost a days task. From the flesh a very strong and quite valuable oil Is made. which IS used for many purposes, but principally as a remedy for rheumatism. It has. however, a most unpleasant smell, uu- less properly treated Many fshermGu have been known tO eat portions Of the meat, that of the tail being said, when cooked, to have much the appearance os veal and taste something like pork. Quite a lucrative business Is that O, capturing alligatOrs alive tO send awav for exhibition. Colonel Williams, when Spanish Fort was made a summer re- sort, made a contract with a fisherman to fill the hole known as the alligator pond for him, and m the course Of a couple of weeks he had 1t stocked with thirty or forty, ranging m length from six inches to seven or eight feet. The man who caught them showed no fear ID handling the huge reptiles, and t0I f5 offered to get into the hole and shove the largest one out over the pallng by which 1t was surrounded. They are said to exhibit wonderful alacrIty ln "golng for" a oOlOre0 person, and dogs are their favOrite diet, while they will, as a general thing. endeavOr to avoid a white man. The man who supplied the pond and his companion have been known to bring into camp ln a small skif an alligator sixteen feet long and furious with rage.
 The manner of accomplishing this feat was, as he explained, quite simple. The old are savage and will fight for their young. and this fact IS taken nd- vantage of. Some of the young are caught out of the spot in which the old one IS lying. and a stout noOsed rope Is then placed where to emerge she must thrust her head through It. When all IS ready the young are allowed to cry put, and the old lady thrusts out her head to have her neck caught in the moose. She Is dragged around in the water until pretty well chOked, when another moose IS secured on her tail and 'he Is firmly strapped, stomach down ward, Ou a wide board, which she cannot break, as her powerful muscles in the all act only m a lateral direction. Her lead IS then fastened to the boat, the loose about her neck is removed. and he IS lowed away after her young have ,een placed ID the skiff Young ones Ire bought by dealers at from g. to Si dozen If not over foot in length When they Sell them they get a much ngher price, as they are hard to pre- erve alive. The large ones are sold Inherently, there being an increase in rice of fifty cents to Sl for every addi- i1ral foot over a certain length. Ali ators sixteen or eighteen inches long re frequently found by the dozens in hallow water and can be handled with ut trouble, providing the old one who generally near, does not take the larm. Most alligator fishers gre turtle unters, also, and search along the pores of bayOus and lagoons for the oles of the animals. When the hole Is iscOVered 1t is explored with long pole ith big hook set in the end, and If le unfortunate resident is at home he
 promptly dragged out in spite of his ruggles and quickly appears m mar t. The eye of a young alligator, when osely examined Tn a strong light, # leer and rather pretty sight, having tha fra and unucb tba ,rraor,,,.