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formed of intricate meshes, into which the poor 

 turtles once entrapped are only the more en- 

 tangled the more they attempt to extricate them- 

 selves. Frequently they are harpooned in the 

 usual way. 



The turtlers, men of humble birth, must ne- 

 cessarily possess energy and enterprise for their 

 vocation. These qualities not unfrequently raise 

 to higher stations, and a naval officer with whom 

 Audubon met had formerly been a turtler. He 

 was accustomed to relate many an exciting ad- 

 venture which gave proof of the perils to which 

 those who engage in such a career are exposed. 

 Among them was the following : — 



In the calm of a fine moonlight night as I 

 was admiring the beauty of the heavens, and the 

 broad glare of light that flamed from the trem- 

 bling surface of the water around, I chanced to 

 be paddling along a sandy shore which I thought 

 well fitted for my repose, being covered with 

 tall grass, and as the sun was not many degrees 

 above the horizon, I felt anxious to pitch my 

 musquito bar or net, and spend the night in the 

 wilderness. The bellowing notes of thousands 

 12 



