Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-02-06
ALlleAToRs ABOUT EXTINCT.
Wiped Out in Ten Years BY a Whin
of Fashion.

Mich. arrived II. New Orleans recently
) In search of allisators for geological
gardens in The North. He came Il
New Orleans as the headquarters OF
the alligator trade, one house there
; having tho credit of selling 500, 900 ALI
gator Skins a year.
Since his arrival Mr.. Perkins has
awakened to the fact that the alligator
is practically extinct in the South. hav-
ing been killed off in the last ten years
in order to supply shoes, satchels and
pocketbcoks. His commission was for
alligators exceeding IA feet in length
He had been told that alligaiors some
times were 80 and Il feet long, but as
these were probably scarce he had de-
cided to coEfine himself to the shorter
sizes.
After a weary search Mr. Perkins
was convinced that even the 14-foot
alligator was no longer extant. In all
| New Orleans he could find but one live
alligator 10 feet long. He offered 500
for this animal four times what it was
worth a few years ago. but the owner
declined to sell at any price Even the
little alligators from four to eight inch
es long, which formerly sold at from 10
I
market.
| The extinction of an animal so album
Cant as the alligator was in Louisiana
IN so short a time is almost without
parallel. Moreover, the alligator is
\ naturally long lived, its normal age be-
ing estimated at from 100 to 150 years
| When the French settled Louisiana
| they found the alligator, or, as they
4 v,naf x.,n AZ.
almost every stream. Evidence of it's
abundance is found in the fact that it
| figures in the coat-o arms of New
Orleans: only as the city seal was en-
graved in Paris. and as the engravers
there knew nothing about alligators,
but did know about the crocodles of
the Nile, it is crocodile and not an
alligator, that is seen on it.
This mistake has been perpetuated in
spite of attempts to correct it. 1t is
paralleled by a mistake in the state
coat-of-arms. Leaving entirely out of
| consideration the mythical character
of the story about the pelicarl's feeding
her young with her own blood, the
Louisiana seal represents the bird as
feeding five young ones, whereas the
brown pelican which is the Louisiana
bird never lays more than three eggs a
once and the white pelican of Europe
and Asia lays only two.
All through the early French days
marvellous stories were told of the all-
gators and their ravages. They ate
dogs, pigs and negroes. 1t was dan
gerous to go into streams where they
We're known to exist, and usually when
such a stream had to be crossed hours
were wasted by beating it and frighten-
ing off the alligators.
The experience of the last half CEN
fury has proved that there is not a word
of truth in these stories and that the
alligator is about as innocent of human
blood as the lizard, after which it is |
named. The stories of negroes report |
ed to have been devoured by alligators
simply covered up cases of slaves who |
ran away and sought refuge in the
swamps and did not care to be pur-
sued. 1t is probable that most of the |
pigs which the alligators We're sup
posed to have eaten would have been
found slaughtered in the plantation |
quarters had diligent search teeen
made.
There is no record of any person be-
ing hurt by an alligator in historical
times: nor of an alligator having been
seen to eat either a dog or a pig. Alli- |
gators below or bark like a dog with |
bad cold. and as consequence they |
attract wandering dogs. But those
who have seen dogs and alligators
playing together have seen no harm |
come of it to the dogs. Indeed, the
dogs are far too agile to be caught by |
the clumsy saurians.
The alligator is, however, a greedy
eater of fish and to it and the alligator
gar was due the scarcity of fish until
recently in Louisiana streams. The
extinction of the alligator has given
the state good fishing.
While the advance of civilization
kept down the number of alligators in
Louisiana there were countless thous-
ands up to 90 years ago. But some one
in Louisiana 80 years ago tanned an
alligator skin and made a pair of shoes
from It. 1t took some years after tina
for the scanned and knotty leather to
grow into favor. But when it did be-
come popular the slaughter of the alli-
gator began which may wipe it out of
existence.
Alligator hunting originally began as
sport Carried on as 1t must he AZ
night. for the animal sleeps nearly all
day in the mud, the hunt is very pictur-
eSGue. AS Il matter of fact, it is as
safe IS playing billiards, and no one
was ever hurt in it save for a ducking
III the bayou from the overturned piro-
que The animals are attracted by Il
torch or other bright light, and are
easily killed, in spite of their rough
skin.
But although the shooting was easy
and a great many alligators were killed
by sportsmen in the early days of alli-
gator hunts. the slaughter did not be-
gin until the skins became a valuable
commodity. Then the work began in
Florida and Louisiana simultaneously
and kept UP until nearly the last alli-
gator was shot.
| The story that one firm in New Or
leans handled 100000 alligator skins
| annually is entirely apocryphal. 1t is
| doubtful whether at any time more
than 100000 hides reached the city in
| a year, and this was at the height of
i