284 THE CORAL LANDS OF THE PACIFIC. 



If escape by this ruse is evidently impossible, by the advance 

 of one of the lords of the creation, they start for the sea beach 

 at a most astonishing rate, and then they are almost always 

 caught by turning them on their backs. To the uninitiated in 

 this strange business it would appear hardly feasible for a 

 single man running in heavy sand after an animal weighing 

 three or four hundred pounds to turn it over on its back ; yet 

 knack in this matter, like many others, overcomes the ap- 

 parently impossible. 



The manner of a turtle's locomotion on dry land when inter- 

 fered with is to wriggle by sudden jerks from side to side, 

 making short strokes with its flippers. The fisher takes quick 

 notice of the cant, and turns him over at the right moment 

 with ease. There can be no doubt that the most humane way 

 of despatching them is by a sharp axe, but even in that case 

 they will move about for some little time after ; and unless the 

 head is taken off close to the base of the skull, it will not 

 altogether die until decomposition sets in. 



The eggs of the turtle are perfectly round and rather 

 smaller than a billiard ball, and without shell, the outer cover- 

 ing being like parchment. The natives eat them, and I tried 

 on several occasions to follow their example. I have deter- 

 mined never to try again. A turtle killed by my brother in 

 Savu Savu Bay contained more than 300 eggs, but turtles 

 rarely lay more than half they have at a time. When the 

 young are hatched, which takes place in a month, they are 

 about the size of a large crown piece, perfectly formed, and 

 ready to start on their battle of life, many of them being 

 quickly gobbled up by birds of prey, or the great land-crab to 

 which I have referred. 



Among other profitable industries the collection of sponges 

 is not the least important. It is said that the sponges of the 



