ST. AUGUSTIN TO BAHAMA ISLANDS 281 



However, even the largest turtles once involved, by 

 the head or only one of their feet, make no effort to 

 break loose, but stay quietly meshed until they are 

 fetched away. 



At other times they are hunted in little open boats, 

 and caught by means of a very simple kedge-iron. An 

 iron punch 4-5 inches long, with a cord attached, is 

 fixed to the end of a wooden staff ; with this, when they 

 swim to the surface of the water the turtles are grap- 

 pled with a peculiar fling, at a good distance even. 

 The iron punch sticks fast in the pliable shell, and the 

 turtle without any resistance is drawn in by the cord. 



When one of these vessels has as many turtles as it 

 can lade, it returns with the cargo to Providence. 

 Here they are kept in special ' Turtle-Crawls,' built of 

 piles of a kind of laurel called stopper-wood (Laurus 

 Borbonia L.), and so placed near the wharves that they 

 can always be supplied with fresh water. The so- 

 called stopperwood is used for this purpose because 

 it is strong and lasts well under water. The turtles 

 to be sent on short voyages are placed on their backs 

 in the ship's hold, and given a bed of reeds or any- 

 thing to keep them from doing each other damage 

 when the ship moves. Arrived in port, they are at 

 once put into great casks and diligently supplied with 

 fresh sea water. On longer voyages, to Europe for 

 example, they must be kept in large hogsheads and 

 new water from the sea must be daily given them. 

 Commonly they eat nothing, at least very little, during 

 their captivity ; hence they are always brought to port 

 much wasted ; and many of them perish on the way, 

 particularly during heavy weather. However, the 

 shipmasters who take them out always carry store of a 

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