News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-09-18
THE ALLIGATOR HUNTERS.
Life Along the Florida Rivers In the Hot
Summer Months.


A Florida letter says: The men who
hunt alligators for their hides and teeth
are now reaping their harvest. The
warm weather induces great numbers OF
alligators to frequent the marshy banks
of the rivers, and the absence of sports
men during this season makes them
comparatively fearless. The most sue
cessful hunters hunt only in dark nights.
A few nights ago had my slumbers bro
ken several times by the discharge of
guns. On repairing to the banks of the
river the next morning to ascertain the
cause of the noises found two young
men occupying a hastily constructed
palmetto fan camp. Six dead alligators
were lying around the camp, varying In
length from four to eight feet. The
hunters had killed them the previous
night. One of the young men was busy
skinning the alligators, while the other,
with the aid Of a single cooking utensil,
which answered the purpose of baking
oven and coffee pot, was preparing fru-
gal morning meal. The skin is removed
from the belly, the under part of the jaws
and the inside of the legs. The skin on
the back is worthless. AS soon rs the
skins are removed they are salted and
packed in barrels, which are shipped
to New York firm. The hunters re-
ceive 81 apiece for all hides four feet
long and upward.
After the skins are removed the hun
ters cut off the heads and place them on
the edge of the river, where they remain
for about q week. At the end OF that
time the teeth become SO loose that they
can be readily pulled out with the I'm
gers. The teeth from half dozen large
alligators weigh about pound and are
worth 81.
The young men killed fifty alligators
in the week that they hunted in this
neighborhood. They begin hunting as
soon as it becomes thoroughly dark.
Their hunting outfit consists of bulls
eve lantern, in camp language called
''look- -'em-up," a double-barrelled shot
gun, or "kill-'em-sure," and a hatchet,
with which they split the alligator
skull. aud to which they have given the
very expressive name of dynamite. y
The man who is to do the shooting tor
the night fastens the lantern to his fore
head and takes his place in the bow of a
small boat. His partner paddles the
boat cautiously along the stream, while
the man in the bow keeps sharp look
out for alligators' eyes, which under ia
yorable circumstances he can 'shine'
at distance of two hundred yards. Al
soon as they discover pair of eyes they
paddle cautiously up to within couple
of feet of the alligator's head and dis
charge load of buckshot into it. A
soon as the shot is fred the paddle
catches the alligator by the jaws, whlcl
he holds together with one hand Will
he cleaves the skull open with nj
3 hatchet.
5 soraetirnea the alligator retain COZ
!, siderable power of action When sue
is the case it is rather exciting work ge
, ting them into the boat. Sometlm'
very large alligators turn the boat owe
|, If an alligator is not handled at on
o after being wounded he sinks to the be
tom and is lost.
4 I asked one of the hunters, who b
killed more than thousand alligator
.. what was the size of the largest one
o ever killed, and he told me l33 feet Ion
He said that his father killed one on t
v st. Johns River 1T feet long, the he
4 of which when placed in flour barr
N projected two inches over the top.
Ia sold it to q museum for $65.