The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-08-23
THE ALLIGAToR HUNTERS.
Life Among the Florida Rivers In the Hot
Summer Months

summer Months.
Gulf Hammock Letter
The men who hunt alligatOrs for their hides
and teeth are now reaping their harvest The
warm weather induces great numbers of alliga-
tors to frequent the marshy banks of the rivers
and the absence of spertsmen during this season
makes them comparatively fearless. The most
successful hunters hunt only in dark nights "A
few nights ago had my siumbers broken sew,
eral times by the discharge of guns. On repair
ing to the banks OF the river the next morning
to ascertain the cause of the noises found two
young men occupying hastily constructed
palmetto-fan camp. Six dead alligators
were lying around the camp varying in
length from four to eightfeet The hunters had
killed them the previous night. One Of the
young men was busy skinning the afligators
while the other, with the aid of a single cooking
utensi, which answered the purpose Of baking
oven and coffee pot, was preparing a frugal
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 as the skins are removed they are sailed
and packed in barrels. which are shipped to a
New York firm. The hunters receive ST. apiece
for al hides four feet long and upward
After the skins are removed the hunters cut
off the heads and place them Oh the edge of the
river where they remain for about week. At
the end of that time the teeth become so loose
that they can be readily pulled out with the fla
gers The teeth from half dozen large alliga-
tors weigh about pound, and arc worth S.
the week that they hunted in this neighborhond
They begin hunting as soon as it becomes thor
ougfly dark Their hunting outfit consists Of .
bulls eye lantern, IN camp language called
look 'ena up double harreled shotgun, or
skill ern sure" and a Ratchet, with which they
split the alligators skull, and to which they have
given the very expressive name of dynamite
The man who is to dc the shooting for the night
fastens the lantern to his forehead and takes his
place in the how Of n small boat His partner
paddles the boat cautiously along the stream
while the man in the bow keeps a sharp lookout
for aihgatorss eyes, which, under favorable cir
cumstances, he,can shine with his lantern at a
distance two hundred yards As soon as they
discover a pair Of eyes they paddle cautiously up
to within couple of feet of the alligators head
and discharge a load of baekshot into it. AS
soon as the shot is fred the paadlef catches the
alligator by the jaws which he holds together
with one hand while he eleayes the skull open
with Ratchet
Sometimes the alligatofs retain considerable
power of actien- When such is the case, it is
rather exciting work getting them into the boat
| Sometimes very large alligators turn the boat
over. If an alligator is not banded at once after
being wounded he sinks to the bottom and is
| lost.
| / asked one of the hunters who has killed
more than a thousand alligators. what was the
size of the largest one he ever killed, and he told
me thirteen and one half feet long He said that
his father killed one on the ST Johns river sew
enteen and one-haf feet long. the head of which
when placed in a flour barrel projected two
inches over the top He sold it to Museum for
g63