24 THE GREEN TURTLE. 



to the surface to take breath, and will splash about at times quite merrily, as though 

 ignorant that their destiny tended towards conversion into soup and cutlets. At the best, 

 however, they are lethargic, awkward creatures. 



About half a dozen fine Turtle were conveyed on board our ship during my stay at 

 the Island of Ascension ; they were unwieldy monsters, measuring rather more than 

 four feet six inches in length, and about three feet in breadth. They were allowed to lie 

 either in the boats, or on the after-part of the poop, and seldom disturbed themselves 

 unless the vessel gave an extra roll, or they were stirred up by a pail of water being 

 thrown over them or a wet swab rubbed over their hooked beaks. 



Their tenacity of life was remarkable ; they remained on board ship during upwards of 

 three weeks without any food, and their only refresher was a cold bath, derived from the 

 before-mentioned pail of water, which they usually received with a dreamy lengthy sort 

 of hiss. Even after their three weeks' starvation, they died very hard. One, whose 

 throat was cut in the morning, and from whose body numerous eggs had been extracted, 

 was giving an occasional flap with her fins late in the afternoon ; the fact of her throat 

 having been cut and her body otherwise mutilated appeared merely to produce the effect 

 of ultimately damaging her constitution, and I have grave doubts whether the fact of her 

 ceasing to move was not as much due to the destruction of the various membranes as to 

 the extinction of her reptilian life." 



As these animals are large and very powerful, it is not a very easy task to secure and 

 bring them on board. The usual plan is to intercept them as they are traversing the 

 sands, and to turn them over on their backs, where they lie until they can be removed. 

 Many of the tortoise tribe can recover their position when thus overturned, but the 

 Green Turtle is quite unable to restore itself to its proper attitude, and lies helplessly 

 sprawling until it is lifted into the boat and taken on board. In many cases the creature 

 is so enormously heavy that the united strength of the pursuers is inadequate to the task, 

 and they are consequently forced to employ levers and so to tilt it over. 



Sometimes the Turtle is fairly chased in the water and struck with a curious kind of 

 harpoon, consisting of an iron head about ten inches in length, and a staff nearly twelve 

 feet long. The head is only loosely slipped into a socket on the staff, and the two are 

 connected with a cord. Two men generally unite in this chase, one paddling the canoe 

 and the other wielding the harpoon. They start towards the most likely spots, and look 

 carefully at the bottom of the sea, where it is about six or ten feet in depth, to see whether 

 the expected prey is lying at its ease and does not perceive them. 



Sometimes they are forced to give chase to a Turtle on the surface, and sometimes the 

 individual on which they had fixed, takes the alarm, and swims away. In either case 

 they continually pursue the single swimming reptile, until it is fatigued with constant 

 irritation, and sinks to the bottom to rest. No sooner has the Turtle assumed this position 

 than the harpooner lowers his weapon into the water, takes an accurate aim, and then 

 drives the steel spike deep into the shell Off dashes the Turtle, carrying with it the 

 harpoon. Were it not for the peculiar construction of the harpoon, the weapon would 

 soon be shaken off, and the Turtle escape, but as the shaft slips readily off the head, there 

 is no leverage and the steel head remains fixed, towing after it the long wooden shaft, 

 which soon tires out the poor victim. When thoroughly fatigued, it is drawn to the 

 surface, a rope put round it, and either taken into the boat or hauled ashore. 



The food of this Turtle consists of vegetable substances, mostly algae, which is 

 found in great abundance in those warm climates. This animal grows to a very great size, 

 as may be imagined from the fact that it often requires the united aid of three men to 

 turn it over. A very pure limpid oil is obtained from these species, useful for burning in 

 lamps and other similar purposes. A fat full-grown specimen will sometimes furnish 

 thirty pints of this substance. 



The eggs of the Turtle are thought as great delicacies as its flesh, and it is rather 

 a remarkable fact, that although the flesh of the hawksbill Turtle is distasteful to all 

 palates and hurtful to many constitutions, the eggs are both agreeable in flavour and 

 perfectly harmless. It is while the female Turtle is visiting shore for the purpose of 

 depositing her eggs that she is usually captured, as these sea-loving reptiles care little for 



