MODE OF SHOOTING AND NETTING TL'RTLE. 



621 



to the spot in liis canoe, 

 sends another arrow into 

 the turtle, and then liuniour- 

 ing it by means of the two 

 cords, quickly gets it on 

 boai'd. It is extraordinary, 

 the skill the Indians will 

 display on these occasions. 

 They do not even wait for 

 the turtle coniino* to the 

 surface, hut watch for the 

 tracks which it makes in 

 the water when swimminir - 





beneath it, and shoot with ^ 



unerring aim. 



-At certain * 



c 



seasons turtle in vast shoals 

 wend their way up the % 

 Orinoco, when, as they h 

 come to the surface to 

 breathe, the Indians — -who 

 are on the watch — shoot 

 them with heavy arrows, 

 which, falling perpendicu- 

 larly, pierce their thick 

 coats ; and they drift on 

 shore, or are picked up by 

 the canoes kc[jt in ivadi- 

 ness for that [)urpo,^e. Nets 

 also are employed : the 

 depth is about e([ual to 

 that of the watei- ; while 



