By Ann Green • Photos by Michael Halminski 



w 



W W hile standing in a rain-soaked yard in the rural community of machete on a tree. When I get in deep, I build a fire if it is cold." 

 Alligator in Tyrrell County, Ray Sykes springs open a rusted trap used by his When hunting deer, Sykes goes with friends and neighbors to the Big 



dad to capture raccoons. Buck Hunting Club that leases property on the Palmetto Peartree Reserve 



"My dad and I would trap 'coons and whatnots," says Sykes. "During from the Conservation Fund, 

 the season, we would trap every day. My old man, daddy could hunt, trap Holding up a steel hunter flag that alerts others when deer hunting, 



and kill 'em. He did not use bait. He just hunted them. Back in the old days, Sykes says that some members also run fox. "We have hunt masters who 

 you'd get three 'coons on a good day. It was best when it was dark, and the have lived and trapped on the land before and tell newcomers what to 



expect about water levels and other things," he adds. 



One of the hunt masters is Chatman Bryant of Goat Neck. "As an old 

 hunter, I love to hear dogs run and bay," says Bryant. 



Bryant also likes to show off a handgun that he uses to kill bear. 

 "I killed many a bear with this gun," says Bryant, who is retired from 

 the N.C. Department of Transportation. "I do bear hunting off at Buffalo. 

 When hunting bear, you get them in the corn field at night." 



STRONG FISHING TRADITION 



Because of Alligator's proximity to the Alligator River and Albemarle 

 Sound, the tiny community has a rich fishing culture. 



In the winter, people would set gill nets in the "little Alligator" — where 

 the mouth of the Alligator River, Alligator Creek and Albemarle Sound join 

 together — when herring were running, says Alligator native Syble Knotts. 



"People would catch herring and then salt them up and can the roe," 

 she adds. 



As the herring began to dwindle, more people turned to crabbing. 

 Wlliam Stott, who is compiling an oral history of crabbers in the 



12 AUTUMN 2004 



moon was not shining." 



Before the fur man came, Syke's late father, Lonnie Frank Sykes, 

 would stretch the hide of a raccoon or muskrat on a long cypress board. 



"You would get $5 or $6 for each coon in the early 1 970s and $35 for 

 otter," says Sykes. "The last few years, there hasn't been much price on fur." 



For many years, trapping thrived in the undeveloped swamps and 

 woodlands of the Alligator community — just off U.S. 64 between Colum- 

 bia and Manteo. 



When the hunting season was over, many residents turned to better- 

 known coastal occupations — fishing, farming and forestry. 



By the 1 980s, trapping for a living began to dwindle in Alligator 

 — which includes the tiny communities of Fort Landing, Pot Licker, Pledger 

 Landing and Goat Neck as well as the Alligator Marina. However, many 

 residents still hunt recreationally for bears, raccoons and deer. 



When 'coon hunting, Sykes carries a lantern, chains, ropes and a 

 machete that he uses to help him mark the trails. 



"I never bum a bright light but just use a lantern," he says. "I don't 

 use a compass. As I go through the woods, I make a glace or mark with a 



