Black Babies used as Gator Bait? History versus Folklore

Black Babies Used as Alligator Bait in Florida insists,

It has been pretty well documented recently that, during slavery and into the 20th Century, black babies were used as alligator bait in North and Central Florida.

The problem with that claim? We have drawings, staged photographs, and songs about “gator babies”, but no evidence that any child was ever used as live bait for alligators.

The strongest evidence for “gator bait baby” stories is a rumor that was covered by several journalists in 1923. Time mentioned it in Oct. 15, 1923:

From Chipley, Fla., it was reported that colored babies were being used for alligator bait. “ The infants are allowed to play in shallow water while expert riflemen watch from concealment nearby. When a saurian approaches his prey, he is shot by the riflemen.”

The Louisville Herald: “Florida alligator hunters do not ever miss their target”

The price reported as being paid colored mothers for the services of their babies as bait was “$2.00 a hunt.”

Time’s Miscellany column of Nov. 12, 1923 has a follow-up article:

On behalf of the town of Chipley, Fla., the Orange County Chamber of Commerce branded as “ a silly lie, false and absurd,” the…