ZooL.— Vol. IV] VAN DENBURGH—DERMOCHELYS 53 



"Santa Barbara, Cai.., 

 "Jan. 17, 1905. 



'■'■Dear Sir : — Your note of 13th inst. received .... 

 In regard to the details of the capture I will say that the 

 turtle was first seen swimming on the surface about two miles 

 off shore and to the southwestward of the Santa Barbara 

 whistling buoy. I went after it (accompanied by a boy) in 

 an 18 foot sailboat. I had a gaff with a hook on the end of 

 it and bent about 200 feet of rope onto the handle. I had 

 also prepared a number of other ropes with nooses on them 

 to be read}' for quick work. 



' ' On approaching the turtle it did not hear the wash of the 

 boat until we were within about 25 feet of it, when it made a 

 rush to windward and started to dive, but the momentum of 

 the boat when I luffed into the wind carried her right along 

 side of him and I dropped the tiller and got forward with the 

 gaff-hook and swung over the side in the weather rigging 

 and got the hook fast in the leathery part of his neck. He 

 immediately sounded and run out the full length of the line 

 — about 200 feet — and towed the boat about half a mile fur- 

 ther out to sea. He then came to the surface and we over- 

 handed the line and pulled up close to him again. When he 

 caught sight of the boat he turned and came toward us and 

 threw one of his flippers over the gunwale of the boat, nearly 

 capsizing her.^ I climbed up on the upper side and shoved 

 him off with an oar. He grabbed the end of the oar and bit 

 the end of it off like a piece of cheese. His movements in 

 the water were very swift; using his fore flipper he could 

 turn almost instantly from one side to the other and his head 

 would project about 18 inches from the body. I succeeded 



1 It is interesting to note the similarity of tlie account given by Captain Subritzky of tlie 

 capture of his specimen, which is given by Cheeseman (Trans. New Zealand Inst. v. 25, 1893, 

 p. 109) as follows: "When passing Cape Brett on a voyage from Awanui to Auckland, he 

 noticed a floating object, which he at first took for a boat bottom upwards. The schooner's 

 boat was lowered, and he proceeded to inspect it; when, to his astonishment, it suddenly dis- 

 appeared, shortly afterward reappearing a little distance further away. Returning to his 

 vessel, he secured a harpoon and line, and then pulled cautiously up to the creature, soon 

 recognizing it to be a large turtle-like animal entirely new to him. After a little manoeuvering 

 he succeeded in harpooning it in the neck. According to him, it made a most determined 

 resistance, making for the boat open-mouthed, snapping its jaws violently. It succeeded in 

 getting its flappers over the side of the boat, nearly capsizing it, but was stunned by a blow 

 on the head, towed alongside the schooner, and hoisted on board. " 



