CULTURE OF PEOPLE OF SOUTHEASTERN PANAMA 53 



feather. It seemed to bound from one wave to another like a cork. 

 It was made of cedar and had a six-foot beam. 



" We sailed on this tack until 3 o'clock in the morning. He then 

 awoke his wife and she took the wheel or paddle used as a rudder. 

 She brought the boat to the wind and Jake changed the sail. We 

 went over on the other keel and when he again took the rudder his 

 wife laid down again and dropped into a sound sleep. Just be- 

 fore we made these different tacks, I would ask him to guess the 

 time and he came within three minutes of the actual time by my 

 watch. At half past 5 in the morning I felt the bottom of the 

 cayuca grinding the sand. He had hit the landing place on the 

 island as well as he could have done in the day time. An 18-mile trip 

 had been completed without the aid of compass, lights, or any help 

 whatever, several tacks had been taken, the cayuka had been safely 

 steered past several submerged reefs in total darkness, and a land- 

 ing had been effected in the exact spot desired." 



In fishing for lobsters, a long shafted spear is used. The fishing 

 is undertaken just at sunrise before the lobsters crawl under the 

 rocks. A like knowledge of the life habits of game fauna is mani- 

 fested in the hunt for turtle. When the turtle comes out of the 

 water, it removes leaves and driftwood from the surface of the 

 ground by means of its flippers, digs a hole, deposits its eggs, and 

 then puts the leaves and driftwood back again in such a manner 

 as to prevent detection. The Indians are expert in locating the 

 nests and remove the eggs which they eat. 



The meat of the conch is removed from its shell by the applica- 

 tion of a hot coal to the tip of the shell which heats the shell and 

 compels the conch to come out. It is then seasoned and boiled in 

 water. 



Turtle nets are constructed from heavy native cord and reach 

 dimensions of 50 feet in length and 10 feet in width. The net is 

 anchored at the bottom and floated with buoys or floats placed along 

 the upper margin of the net. A decoy turtle is fashioned out of 

 cedar and attached to one of the buoy floats. During the mating 

 season there are many turtle swimming about; the presence of the 

 decoy attracts them toward the net in which they become entangled. 

 The Tule Indian then ties the front flippers together over its back. 

 As the turtle weighs several hundred pounds it would seem beyond 

 the ability of one fisherman to place the turtle in the small cayuca 

 that is used for turtle fishing. This, however, is not the case, as the 

 Indian now stands on the edge of the boat, tips it until the water 

 rushes in turtle and all. The boat is then righted, water is bailed 

 out with a calabash bail, the sail is raised and the homeward jour- 

 ney is begun. 



