AUGUST 2024

Welcome members! - to the OKEFENOKEE JOE ‘AUGUST 2024’ NEWSLETTER.

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This month's feature is Part I of III interviews of Okefenokee Joe, with the late, Larry Battson, of Battson's Wildlife Educational Services. Recorded in March, 2011, on his podcast, "Blog Talk Radio".

Larry Battson was a wildlife expert, educator, and Bigfoot authority. For 45 years, he and his wife Cheryl brought animals into Midwest classrooms and appeared on numerous national TV shows. He co-starred in "The Escapist" and assisted escape artist Bill Shirk. Larry hosted three national podcasts, including "Blog Talk Radio," and performed his "Rattlesnake Roundup" show for 30 years. He supported various charities and provided educational discussions through Battson's Wildlife Educational Services. 

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Cheers,

David Flood - Partner - Okefenokee Joe Enterprise

***Don't forget to get your FREE SONG!*** DOWNLOAD AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS NEWSLETTER, 'THE HAZARDS OF THE TRADE - SPOKEN WORD' by OKEFENOKEE JOE! 

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~ EARTH DAY EVERY DAY!

THE HAZARDS OF THE TRADE

That big bull gator’s eyes, and his nose is all I see

But I can tell he’s there, and I know he’s watchin’ me

Out here in black water, one slip is all it takes

And the hunter becomes the hunted

That’s the hazards of the trade

Movin’ towards that gator, I’m ready for a fight

I’ll slip this noose around his neck, and hang on for dear life

He’ll jerk, and thrash, and roll, but I’ll play him ’til he’s all played

And if I fall in with him, ha ha ha

That’s the hazards of the trade

The hazards of the trade, the hazards of the trade

No time for mistakes, no time for charades

Survival of the fittest, is the only law obeyed

Expect the unexpected from the hazards of the trade

A gator hunter’s life is full of don’ts and do’s

Don’t surprise a black bear, he’ll jump all over you

And don’t forget your huntin’ knife, sometimes a good sharp blade

Can be you best protection from the hazards of the trade

Don’t step on a moccasin, it’s bite might do you in

Remember where you’re goin’, remember where you’ve been

Don’t ever leave the boat, it just don’t pay to wade

Gator fleas, and leeches are hazards of the trade

The hazards of the trade, the hazards of the trade

Deer flies in the sun, mosquitos in the shade

Out here in this swamp, nobody’s got it made

Don’t ever look for mercy from the hazards of the trade

Don’t misunderstand me, my life ain’t all that bad

My heart is full of mem’ries of the good times that I’ve had

And I’d rather be out here enjoyin’ nature’s ways

A life that’s free is worth all the hazards of the trade

Words & Music by Okefenokee Joe


Purchase "Swampwise Secret, Songs, And Stories from the Land of the Trembling Earth" and other really awesome stuff in the Swamp Store on okefenokeejoe.com.    

THE HAZARDS OF THE TRADE

     Before the American Alligator was placed on the National Endangered Species List, there were certain people in, and around around the Okefenokee, who made a fairly decent living for their families by hunting, and trapping them, and selling their hides and their meat.

    In order to be successful in their chosen trade, they had to learn the habits of their prey. Quite a bit, and in some cases all of their hunting was done at night, when the alligators were usually on the prowl.

   One method was to shine a headlamp on the gator's face, and with a small caliber rifle aim right between its eyes, and shoot it.  Another was to throw a noose around the gator's neck, and pull it to the boat, shoot it in the head and kill it. One shot was usually all it took. Unless the shooter did not hit the exact right spot.  Often, especially when the noosing method was used, the reflex actions in the gator's nervous system would take a good while to cease, before the gator's body would lie still. It was a way of life for those folks back then, and it had it's mishaps, and it's dangers.

    In the dark of the night, even with a flashlight, or a headlamp it was easy to sometimes lose one's way.  A friend of mine's dad spoke of several times, spending the night in his boat, with dead gators tied to it, waiting til daylight so he could see enough landmarks to find his way out of the swamp! Admittedly tho, one of those nights he was hiding from the game warden!

     Once I was given the detail of driving the park truck over to the town of Darien, Georgia, to pick up some animals that someone over near there had donated to the park. As it turned out, among other animals, there  were thirteen alligators of all sizes, that I needed to catch and bundle for the trip back home. It was an exciting day. It was also a terribly indescribably foul smelling day! 

      In the spare bathroom in the house was a bathtub partly filled with water.  There were six young, probably two year old alligators living in it. In the bathtub with them was every bit the rotting food that they had not eaten, and all their excreted matter from the past several months. It was a horrible stench! And all six of those little gators looked terribly undernourished, and unhealthy! I didn't take time to clean out the tub. That was none of my business. The gators were my business!

      I pulled each little gator out one by one, and took it outside to a water faucet, and washed it off as best as I could. I was nipped several times by one of them! And it drew a large amount of blood! Gators that size have razor sharp teeth, and their jaws are pretty powerful! I had to stop, and put some antiseptic, and a bandage on my hand before I tackled the rest of them. I finally got them ready for transport, by putting each one in a holding box.  Then I went after the bigger guys!

     There were seven of them crowded close together in a tank, without enough space for them to even turn around. All of them were at least six feet long. They had been kept in the same outrageous manner as the little ones in the bathtub! And the stench in that room was overwhelming. I had to put a cloth over my nose and mouth! That helped a little, but not enough! I thought to myself, “The things I must put up with, just to work with animals! But, that's the hazards of the trade!”

     Because their coloration was almost as bright as a newborn alligator, it was obvious to me, that, as big as they were, they had never been out in the sun. They must have been in captivity, and kept in the darkness of that house ever since they were born! The people who were keeping those creatures should have been jailed! And most certainly they should be ashamed of themselves for the injustice to, and the maltreatment of their wards.

     When I had the truck loaded with all the alligators, I left for the swamp. Upon reaching the Swamp Park Road, I stopped, and just as fast as I could, I turned all six of those little ones loose into the freedom of the swamp! The Park wouldn't mind. They'd still have all the bigger ones.

     There are many hazards in working with alligators. This incident was an exceedingly unusual one! It would probably never happen again. Thank god! But I added the putting up with that stench to rescue those poor alligators to my list of “The hazards of the trade”! This song can be found in my CD, “My life in the Okefenokee”!

~ Okefenokee Joe Enterprise 2024

Okefenokee Joe aka Dick Flood 1932 - 2023