Story, photos, and video by Rick Duet
The men who fish alligators in southern Louisiana are probably the most "romantic" characters still alive in Cajun society today- romantic in the sense that they are reminders of a simpler way of life. Alligator hunters, such as 71-year-old Sidney Matherne (see video below), remind us of when Cajun men and women made their livelihoods, and fed their families, totally through their cooperation with nature.
Illustrating that point eloquently was the widow of one alligator fisherman who told of her husband's feeling that his greatest accomplishment in life was his ability to raise and feed a family of five through trapping and alligator fishing only, never needing to work at any other job. His other great joy was that he was able to impart to his sons the love and respect for the swamps and nature that his father had passed on to him.
Alligator fishing hasn't changed very much since the "old days." Initially men went out in the swamps and found alligator "holes" where the alligators hibernated through the winter. The fishermen shoved poles with a large hook on the end into these holes and tried to hook the alligator. As the fishermen pulled the alligator out of the hole, they would use a hatchet to kill the alligator with a blow to the head. Today, the fishermen literally "fish" for the alligators using a pole stuck into the swamp mud. The fishermen attach a string with a hook and bait (such as chicken), and dangle the bait about twelve to eighteen inches off the water's surface. Raising the bait will usually attract bigger alligators because of the strength needed to jump out of the water to catch the bait.
The tragedy of the alligator fisherman is that he is no longer able to earn his living in the way he knows and loves best- through a cooperation with nature. Animal rights activities of the past decade have driven down the price of alligator skins. Most of the swampy land where alligators live is controlled by huge corporations. These large corporations lease out the rights to hunt alligator only to a few lucky hunters, and the corporations may charge the hunter as much as 60% of what he catches as payment for the lease. Also, state and federal regulations limit the number of alligators which may be hunted each year.
The men who fish alligators and trap in the swamps love the independence, challenge and danger of working with nature. The respect these men have for the dangers of the alligators and the swamp is clear and deep. It is a respect for nature's forces that has been passed down from generation to generation to generation.