Big Game at Sea 



world. The laying time of the turtles was the har- 

 vest, and three islands of the group upon which the 

 animals were found, were patrolled with more or less 

 regularity, and with such success that in three weeks 

 forty or fifty turtles of the green and loggerhead per- 

 suasion were confined in the corral, which was so 

 extensive that they might as well, so far as personal 

 comfort was concerned, have been in the open sea. 

 In walking around the wall they could be seen dot- 

 ting the white sandy bottom, singly and in groups, 

 occasionally rising to the surface to breathe and 

 uttering a loud hiss, then dropping down to the bot- 

 tom to sleep. 



One morning I determined to make the attempt to 

 take a turtle, single handed, and having incautiously 

 given it out to Long John, I found a small but enthu- 

 siastic crowd at the tide gate awaiting me. There 

 was no time lost in hunting; the game was plentiful, 

 and the bottom dotted everywhere with the big black 

 forms; yet as I slipped quietly into the water, near 

 the tide gate, I felt that the most difficult part of my 

 training for the grand prix of the outer reef was yet 

 to come. I had located a large green turtle, which 

 was lying in the center of the " crawl," in about eight 

 ?eet of water, and slowly and carefully swam toward 

 it. When about fifteen feet from it, I dropped under 

 water, sank to the bottom, and swam rapidly toward 

 the animal. The water was very clear, and in a few 

 seconds I sighted the game lying flat, its flippers 



44 



