Big Game at Sea 



erratic turns that were necessary to keep up with it, 

 reminding me of a game of polo ; and, finally, just as 

 I would stoop to strike the creature, it would dash 

 into its hole. 



4 The agility of the crabs was marvelous, and it 

 was soon evident that to run them down was an impos- 

 sibility ; so the running was sport, and every morning 

 a race with the crabs was had in the saddle as exercise. 

 I believe I should not be overstepping the bounds of 

 truth if I should say that the crabs entered into the 

 spirit of the thing, and gave us a race as though 

 they enjoyed it. We finally captured one by dig- 

 ging it out an arduous operation under a tropical 



sun." 



The land crabs, especially those known as Ocypoda, 

 on our own shores, are remarkable for their agility. 

 In Florida they are called spirit crabs, because of their 

 ability to avoid the hunter and their resemblance to 

 the white sand. They have a peculiar method of 

 running, scampering away over the beach, then when 

 almost caught turning quickly and running in a 

 directly opposite direction, then zig-zagging so rap- 

 idly that in attempting to catch them I have often 

 been completely nonplussed and obliged to acknowl- 

 edge that they could not be taken on the open beach. 



On rocky places another very rapid crab, the Grap- 

 sus, is found; a bright-red fellow, watchful and 

 equally difficult to capture, often giving the pursuer 

 a hard run before overtaken. These crabs at the 



310 



