TURTLE AND SPONGE FISHING. 281 



of the shell is filled with melted fat or oil which is baled o\*t 

 and taken care of. The meat which is intended to be pre- 

 served is cut into pieces of about the size of a man's fist. 

 These are put into cocoa-nut shells, and the oil poured in until 

 the shell is nearly filled; the mouth is closed, and a green leaf 

 tied over it : it is then put away until wanted, when it is 

 again put into an oven and made hot. In this manner turtle- 

 steaks can be preserved for an indefinite time without fear of 

 spoiling. 



I am afraid I have reversed the wise counsel of Mrs. Glasse, 

 and have been saying how turtles are cooked and preserved 

 before telling my readers how they are caught. I will endea- 

 vour to supply the deficiency. 



The best plan is to watch for turtle at night. If taken 

 during the day, they are generally surprised asleep on the sur- 

 face of the water. On these occasions, when the turtle is 

 discovered, it is usual for a few persons to go out to it in a 

 canoe and paddle noiselessly alongside, when they lift it on 

 board before it is aware what is going on. They very rarely 

 even attempt to bite, and are perfectly harmless except Avhile 

 floundering about, when they can give a severe blow with 

 their flippers. If a turtle is too heavy for the party, they 

 harpoon it. 



During the breeding-season turtles are very careless of their 

 safety, and do not try to escape the presence of man. When 

 several turtles are in this state, a proportionate number of 

 men having approached them from a canoe, will jump over- 

 board and lay hold of them thus : the man gets on the back 

 of the turtle, and takes hold with his hands of the front of 

 the shell just behind the neck. This prevents it from 

 ' sounding,' that is to say, going down headforemost, as a 

 turtle will always do when alarmed if not prevented by the 



