BOOK IX. X. 33-xn. 36 



as its ally although it is in the night and by torchhght. 

 The dolphins also have a form of pubhc aUiance of 

 their own : when one was caught by the King of 

 Caria and kept tied up in the harbour a great multi- 

 tude of the remainder assembled, suing for com- 

 passion with an unmistakable display of grief, until 

 the king ordered it to be released. Moreover small 

 dolphins are always accompanied by a larger one 

 as escort ; and before now dolphins have been seen 

 carrying a dead comrade, to prevent its body being 

 torn in pieces by sea-monsters. 



XI. The creatures called porpoises have a resem- TUe 

 blance to dolphins (at the same time they are dis- ^p°^'"- 

 tinguished from them by a certain gloomy air, as 

 they lack the sportive nature of the dolphin), but 

 in their snouts they have a close resemblance to the 

 maleficence of dogfish. 



XIL The Indian Ocean produces turtles " of TuTiie- 

 such size that the natives roof dwelhng-houses ^''"^- 

 with the expanse of a single shell, and use them as 

 boats in saihng, especially among the islands of the 

 Red Sea. They are caught in a number of ways, but 

 chiefly as they rise to the surface of the sea when 

 the weather in the morning attracts them, and float 

 across the cahn waters with the whole of their backs 

 projecting, and this pleasure of breathing freely 

 cheats them into self-forgetfulness so much that their 

 hide gets dried up by the heat and they are unable 

 to dive, and go on floating against their will, an 

 opportune prey for their hunters. They also say that 

 turtles come ashore at night to graze and after 

 gorging gi-eedily grow languid and when they have 

 gone back in the morning doze off to sleep on the 

 surface of the water ; that this is disclosed by the 



187 



