Knowledge yourself The headline in the September 21, 1923 Oakland Tribune reads PICKANINNY BAIT LURES VORACIOUS GATOR TO DEATH. And Mother Gets Her Baby Back in Perfect Condition; Also $2. In the article T.W. Villiers chronicles the entire process of using black babies as bait and how these little black morsels are more than glad to be led to the sacrifice and do their part in lurking the big Florida gators to their fate without suffering so much as a scratch. Villiers is quick to point out that the babies are brought out of the water alive and whole and come out wet and laughing and that there is nothing terrible about it, except that it is spelling death for the alligators. In a strange twist, Villiers reports on the hunters attempts to rationalize the motivation of the alligators to jeopardize every hope of life for a live baby, and in the matter of color, the additional information is vouchsafed that black babies, in the estimation of the alligators, are far more refreshing, as it were, than white ones. Ceylon Bait The article describes the process of placing the babies near the alligators haunts, with the hunters hidden behind the brush with their rifles. When the baby attracts the gator and it exposes his head and forequarters, the hunters shoot the gator and claim their prize. And, just in case someone happens to care about the welfare of the baby, the reader is assured that Florida alligator hunters do not ever miss their targets. After the baby is returned to its mother, she is paid the set price of two dollars (Villiers, 1923). This event was also reported by the Atlanta Independent, Americas Standard Negro Newspaper of Character, Circulation and Opinion, a few weeks later (Babies Used). One of the most disturbing articles about using babies as alligator bait was reprinted in numerous United States papers from 1888 until 1911. This article refers to an advertisement in Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka) newspapers: Babies Wanted for Crocodile Bait. Will be Returned Alive. The whole process is described in detail and painted as a harmless way for Ceylonese mothers to earn a small consideration for the use of their dark brown infants with curling toes to attract crocodiles (Babies for Crocodile). In July 1968, the Los Angeles Times ran an article about the great fireballer Bob Gibson. Gibson talked about the struggle to get respect as a baseball player and as a man. He recounted a story from his rookie year in Columbus, Georgia about a fan who called him alligator bait. Gibson laughed it off, but then he was told by some local folk that Negro youngsters were actually used in baiting alligators. Thats where Negroes stood in Columbus said Gibson, and went on to talk about the struggles he was currently enduring (Chapin). One interesting aspect of Bob Gibsons story is the response from Cecil Darby, the sports editor of the Columbus, Ga. Ledger. Darby dismissed the story of African Americans as alligator bait as tongue-in-cheek and criticized Gibson for being naive enough to fall for such a fantastic tale. Darby dismissed the claim as a complete fabrication (Golden Park, 2007). Alligator Bait While actual incidents likely were rare, images and objects showing caricatured African American children as alligator bait were widespread. An article in the January 28, 1900 issue of the Washington Times reflected on the Phenomenal success of a photograph styled Alligator Bait. It told how the photograph got its name, its popularity from coast to coast, and reported that sales from this one negative have reached nearly $5,000 (Branson, of Knoxville). The term Alligator bait was also used as a slur toward African Americans. Examples are found in a 1908 Los Angeles Herald boxing match recap (Bell Shows Yellow); in a 1905 issue of the Richmond, Virginia Times Dispatch where two African American males are referred to as alligator bait for stealing a chunk of lead (News Gathered); and in an article from the 1898 Richmond Dispatch where the term alligator bait is used to describe the size of a dusky bootblack (Bootblacks Little Deal).
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 11:32:17 +0000