METHODS OF CATCHING TUETLE. 329 



one to row and gently steer the boat, while the other stands at 

 the end of it with his weapon. The turtles are sometimes dis- 

 covered by their swimming with their head and back out of the 

 water, but they are more often seen lying at the bottom a 

 fathom or more deep. If a turtle perceives he is discovered, he 

 starts up to make his escape ; the men in the boat, pursuing him, 

 endeavour to keep sight of him, which they often lose and 

 recover again by the turtle putting his nose out of the water to 

 breathe. 



On Keeling Island, Mr. Darwin witnessed another highly 

 interesting method of catching turtle. 



' I accompanied Captain Fitzroy to an island at the head of 

 the lagoon,' says the eminent naturalist ; ' the channel was ex- 

 ceedingly intricate, winding through fields of delicately-branched 

 corals. We saw several turtles, and two boats were then employed 

 in catching them. The method is rather curious : the water is 

 so clear and shallow that, although at first a turtle quickly dives 

 out of sight, yet in a canoe, or boat under sail, the pursuers, 

 after no very long chase, come up to it. A man, standing 

 ready in the bows, at this moment dashes through the water 

 upon the turtle's back ; then clinging with both hands by the 

 shell of the neck, he is carried away till the animal becomes 

 exhausted and is secured. It was quite an interesting chase to 

 see the two boats thus doubling about, and the men dashing 

 into the water trying to seize their prey.' 



The Grreen turtle {Ghelonia midas), which has been known 

 to attain a length of seven feet, and a weight of 900 lbs., is 

 most prized for its flesh ; but the Hawksbill {Che- 

 Ionia ir)ibricata), which hardly reaches one-third 

 of the size, is of far greater commercial value, the 

 plates of its shell being stronger, thicker, and 

 clearer than those of any other species. It is 

 caught all over the tropical seas, but principally 

 near the Moluccas, the West Indian, and the 

 Feejee Islands, where it is preserved in pens ^^^^^^ ^^'^^" 

 by the chiefs, who have a barbarous way of removing tiie 

 valuable part of the shell from the living animal. A burning 

 brand is held close to the outer shell, until it curls up and 

 separates a little from that beneath. Into the gap tlms formed 

 a small wooden wedge is then inserted, by which the whole is 



