METHODS OP CATCHING TURTLE 347 



vivid manner which has rendered his works so deservedly 

 popular. 



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

 the lagoon," says this 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 liands 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." 



On the coast of Mozambique, a large species of Remora, or 

 sucking-fish, is made use of for turtle- 

 catching. A strong cord of palm 

 fibres is attached to the tail of tjiis 

 singular creature, and serves to drag it ^^ ^"^ ^^^^^' 



out of the water along with its prey, to which it so firmly 

 adheres, by means of the remarkable striated apparatus on its 

 head, that turtles weighing several hundred pounds can in 

 this manner be raised from the bottom. 



The Green turtle {Chelonia 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- 

 lonia imbricata), 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 



-r-, . T T T •• • ■ • 1 • Green Turtle. 



Feejee Islands, where it is preserved m pens 

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

 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 thus formed 

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



