A Logger-head Turtle 



gentleman with very white hair was fishing when 

 he foul-hooked a logger-head turtle. This was 

 on my second visit to Florida, in the spring of 

 1898. I knew this turtle well by sight, for he 

 would come in on almost every flood tide, and 

 often approached close to the boats that were 

 moored in the stream, and was distinguishable 

 by the number of barnacles that grew on the 

 top of his head. On this occasion the large hook 

 caught him under the near fore-flipper. Many 

 of us left off fishing to surround the boat in 

 order to see the finish of the fight. It ended in 

 favour of the old gentleman, who at last managed 

 to draw the unwieldy brute close up to his boat, 

 when it was secured with a rope end ; it was 

 then towed off to a launch that had brought the 

 fishermen to the ground, and hauled on board 

 by the aid of a small davit that was affixed to 

 the side. That turtle must have weighed some- 

 where in the neighbourhood of four hundred 

 pounds, for it was a monster. I cannot imagine 

 what they did with it eventually, as it was useless 

 for food, and the shell was not of any use com- 

 mercially. Had I caught this beast, I should, I 

 think, have allowed him to escape and end his 

 harmless days in peace. 



April and May are the best months in which 

 to visit Florida for tarpon-fishing. It is splendid 

 fun, the only drawback being that the fish are 

 useless for food when caught. For this reason, 



183 



