Diving for Turtles 



as ever came under my observation in many later 

 experiences. Its enormous head had a particularly 

 ugly expression; its large eyes were sunken, watery 

 and bloodshot, and when turned slightly in the direc- 

 tion of its captors had a disagreeable menace. As 

 I looked it over I came to the conclusion that an 

 attempt to hold an animal of that size in the open 

 water must fail. 



In the course of the night, seven or eight other 

 turtles were taken. I had a hand in three of these 

 turns, losing one turtle, which I ran across about five 

 feet from the water. It turned with remarkable 

 celerity, and though I lifted and threw myself upon 

 its back, holding tight, it carried me down to the 

 water's edge and into it, where I was forced to 

 release it, to the amusement of the boys who came up 

 in time to witness my discomfiture. In the morning 

 the boat was rowed round and loaded with the spoils. 



Turtle turning, except when the animal is a very 

 large one, is a clever trick. Some of the men could 

 topple one over with ease, completely escaping the 

 flying flippers. What was known as the turtle cor- 

 ral, or " crawl," as the boys termed it, was an inclos- 

 ure nearly half a mile long and about sixty feet wide, 

 varying in depth from four to eight feet; the tide 

 rising and falling through a gate which led to the 

 open sea. Into this the turtles were liberated to 

 fatten and await execution; turtle meat being the 

 beef of this remote and out-of-the-way corner of the 



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