132 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 



among the mangroves. Skimming the surface 

 of the waters, glistening in the moonlight, the 

 broad forms of the turtles are then seen, their 

 anxiety and fear told by their hurried breathing, 

 heard in the silence as they toil along. On 

 nearing the shore the turtle raises her head, 

 looks round and carefully examines the objects 

 on it. Observing anything which seems to 

 measure her proceedings, she utters a loud hiss- 

 ing sound by which to intimidate her enemies, 

 then instantly sets sail and wades to a consider- 

 able distance. On the contrary, should she find 

 everything quiet and propitious she crawls on 

 the beach, and having found a convenient spot, 

 again gazes cautiously round. With the utmost 

 ingenuity she alternately raises and scatters the 

 sand till a hole is dug to the depth of eighteen 

 inches or, sometimes, two feet After depositing 

 her eggs and leaving the hatching of them to the 

 heat of the sun, she launches once more into the 

 deep. Those who search for the eggs are pro- 

 vided with a light stiff cane or ram-rod with 

 which they probe the sands along the shore, 

 endeavouring to keep as near as possible to the 

 tracks of the animal, which, however, it is not 

 always easy to ascertain, often obliterated as 

 they are by winds and heavy rains. The turtlers 

 employ various methods of capture. Sometimes 

 nets are placed across the entrance of streams. 



