Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1888-11-17
MONEY IN THE ALLIGATOR.
SEEKING THE sAURIAN FOE ITS
= HIDE AND TEETH.
A Saurian Hunter Tells How He
Makes Living by Gator Hunt
inc and VDayacam tFfahfun

A Saurian Hunter Tells How He
Makes a Living BY Gator Hunt
ing and Pelican Fishing
''Seyen barrels Of hides, about forty
punches of feathers, dozen hams,
eleven pounds Of teeth and one eight
foot gator. How does that strike you,
Sonny, for two-months' take on the
coasts Pretty large and luminous, eh2"
He stood on the wharf at Baton Rouge
with his hides and feathers and teeth
piled around him.
"Of course had half-br helping
me most of the time; in fact he caught
the big gator all by himself. He saw
her;youHg ones first, caught one of them
and then tolled her into the moose. Bat
as he was working for board wages his
work don't count, and the whole take is
mine.
"How much is it wortha Well, ycu
can figure it up for yourself. The hides
will run about ten to barrel and will
average 81 apiece; that's $40, amt itS
The feathers run about two punches for
81, which makes $13 more. The hams
are worth $25, and alligator teeth
market in the rough at 81 pound. ! un-
derstand there IL standing order down
here from a New York dealer for big
gator, and il there is, mine will bring
$40 in the local market. nthere b NOT,
/ may sell her for $40, and I may have
to kill her for hide. That makes $40,
and $1S, and $25, and $11, which is
$110 sure, and maybe $50 more. Every
dollar made in two months time BY just
padding around with gun and arope
on the lower Bayou Ia Fcurche. There
is another big industry down there that
did not touch at all this year land that
is oyster shoveling. The whole coast
line is bed of oysters and the New
Orleans market is always hungry for the
bayou oysters. But gator and pelican
fishing is good enough FOR me-"
He moved the muscles Of his face into
o smile of simian content, while he
leaned against barrel and scratched his
bare ankle with one of his big sun-baked
big toes. He was member of the army
of nomads who pepper the Mississippi
and its tributaries with their floating
homes, locally known as ''shanty boats.
July and August invariably find them
above Cairo, and as the weather moder-
atcs they follow the summer south,
spending the winter and spring In the;
bayous or on one of the southern lakes
which TEEN with every species OF wild
fowl, game and vegetation, taking their
ease in their castle. AS rule, they toll
not, neither do they spin, and IL Is an
undisputed fact that Solomon was never
arrayed like one ofthem.
'sFire hunting at night is the best
plan, and the one most followed when
hides arc the object. The fire IN the
bow of the canoe lights up the shores
and blinds the eyes of the gators 50
that we can paddle close to them and
put ball into one eye without trouble.
The big beast always throws himself
ashore and lashes about among the reeds
with his tail, after an eye shot, dying In I
about five minutes. We never stop to
pick them up, but keep on down the
BAYOU until we have killed half dozen
or more, and the next day we hunt them
up, strip off the skins, cut out the jaw
bones and sometimes part Of the tail,
which is as good eating as pork. After
being buried week or so the teeth DROP
out Of the jaws, and are ready for
market.
"Now about the feathers. You want
to know what they are. They ere peli-
can feathers. Every pelican has bunch
of these fine, hair-like feathers in each
wing, and each bunch is worth about
thirty-fve cents. The simplest way of
catching them is with hook and lineI
bsited with minnow, which is kept onI
top of .the water by means Of float.
The pei IlcAn sails close to the water, seesI
the minnow, swoops down and isI
hooked. It wants to be o stout hook
and strong line, or the big bird will
break it away, and you will not only
lose your seventy cents worth of feathers,
but your tackle as well. Detroit FFeeI
Press.