AFTER THE ALLIGATORS

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12621, 4 December 1926, Page 11

AFTER THE ALLIGATORS

Bags for the Ladies : Trapping the Saurian

The desire of the public for alligator bags and baggage next .year seems doomed to disappointment, says a correspondent who writes from Orange, Texas. Orders for 100,000 alligator hides said to have been received by hunters in this section, generally conceded to be the centre of the industry cannot be filled because of the lateness of the season, they say. Alligators hibernate early in the autumn, remaining in their dens until late spring, making it virtually impossible to secure more than a nominal number of hides this winter. Valiant attempts, however, are being made by the hairy denizens of the deep marshes to care for the manufacturers* requirements. “Poling’ *isto be resorted to, a method involving hard work and no little amount of danger. ...

The Texas and Louisiana sea marsh, stretching over a tremendous are* from the Mississippi to the Mexican border and ranging in width from five to fifty miles, is the natural home of the saurian. In dry weather the marshes are easily traversed on foot, ; sometimes ponyback; in wet weather travel resolves itself into part i swimming and part crawling. It is [ in these trackless and unmarked marshes that alligator hunters snare their prey. In dry, warm weather, high-powered rifles crack constantly, marking an end to a reptile whose chief characteristic is lack of intelligence. However, the marksman does not always succeed, inasmuch as the alligator must be hit “just so. 5 * A hulls-eye in the transverse slot where the reptile’s eye appears to be always turns the trick, hut an elephant gun has been known to fail in its purpose even though fired at close range. BULLET-PROOF HIDE The reason for this remarkable invulnerability lies in the fact that the alligator’s hide is as armour-plated as an African rhino’s the steel-jacketed bullet slides off without even inflicting a headache. The hibernating season puts an end to rifle hunting, and therein lies the reason for the possible shortage of pelts for 1927. Winter hunting must be done with a pike pole, a tedious, dangerous method involving the half-walking, halfswimming of countless miles of marsh in search of small pools in which the saurian. sleeps. These pools arc not a natural feature of the marsh. They are dug by the reptiles themselves. Locating a clear, reedy spot, the alligator uses its head as a pivot, moves around and around leisurely, stirring up the sediment and removing all plant growth until a sufficient depth is attained, that depth, in effect, being sea-level. This, the alligator seems to know instinctively, insures him a constant covering under which to lie for his approximate half-year’s nap. Were each pool inhabited by an overgrown polliwog, the trappers would have it soft. But, like last year’s bird nests, there are last year’s alligator holes. And it is only by prodding with the pike pole that the hunter can determine the presence of his prey. Once the saurian is found in its pool

ianiiniimit3iii:!iii!H!iunNiiiimiHiHiiiiiiiiiC3Hiiiiiiinic3iimiiimouni the hunter’s task really begins. Standing on the edge of the pool, ofttimes in mire to his middle, the hunter prods the bottom of the pool. The reptile, sleeping soundly, moves about a bit in the apparent hopes that its tormentor will be gone. Further prodding causes the alligator to bite the sharp, unbarbed hook at the end of the pole. This bite is transmitted up the pole to the hunter in the same manner as a fish biting a hook on the end of a line. The hunter, loosening a hatchet in his belt, hauls in, ban dover hand, the alligator following the pull without resistance. When within striking distance, the trapper strikes a sharp blow at the base of the reptile’s skull, momentarily stunning it. A quick pullround enables the hunter to reach the animal’s tail near the end, where his hatchet once again comes into play to cut the spinal column. Then, witn spinal column visible, the trapper jabs a short length of wire into the grey matter, paralysing his prey. It is no

easy matter even then to skin the catch. A 12ft to 15ft alligator on land is hard to handle; it’s sheer, heart-breaking labour to handle one standing in mire and water from a foot to five feet deep. .

It happens quite often that the trapper misses his hatchet blow. Excitement at the presence of a big reptile has been known to unnerve oldtimers at the game; youthful apprentices have been known to drop everything and flee. A foot may slip at the moment of the impact; the alligator may decide that things are due to happen to him and object. When such slips occur,, the hunter’s life- is in the lap of the gods. A big alligator, using his tail .as a weapon, can play havoc with most animate objects; the hunter whom it strikes seldom hunts again. NO EXCITEMENT OVER RISKS These risks, however, are minimised by the hunters. Mostly of French descent, they seldom talk of their peculiar avocation, although when among their fellows shop talk is indulged in. Technique is “played

down” as of no moment; a large catch is rarely mentioned. Refusai of “Americans” to pay what they consider decent prices tor pelts seems to bear the brunt of their conversations. An accident in the marshes, however, a report that ’te Jean or Victor has not returned, although long overdue ; an overturned bateau used on the small streams that penetrate and wind in and out through the marsh with its resultant loss of cargo and financial stress, cause typical Gallicshrugs—a heritage of Basque and Norman ancestry not yet eradicated through 200 years of North American residence. Speculations as to what happened to Jean or Victor are indulged in with excited gestures. Did an alligator get him? Heavily laden with accoutrements of the marshy trail, did he como to a quick marsh, disappearing until the God of all good trappers calls the roll?

Perhaps there was a marsh fire that sometimes springs up from nowhere and ends at the same place, searing the unfortunate one’s lungs or parboiling his body with steam. Who knows? Madame must have her bag; m’sieu his baggage. WRESTLING WITH ALLIGATORS The thrilling spectacle of a man wrestling with a sixteen-foot alligator is witnessed daily by large crowds at Miami, Florida. The man is Henry Coppinger, who owns a thriving alligator farm. Every day a large alligator is brought in a crate to the pool where these wrestling matches take place. It is allowed to enter the water and “take cover.” Then Mr Coppinger sets out in a canoe. As soon as he locates its position he dives and seizes the alligator’s jaws. A mighty struggle follows, in which Mr Coppinger is faced with a horrible death should he lose his grip of his savage adversary. However, his knowledge of “rasslin* ’gators,'” as he calls them, stands him in good stead, and in a remarkably short time he is able to drag the exhausted alligator ashore.