EPISODES 



375 



water, being still distant thirty or forty yards from the 

 beach, looks around her, and attentively examines the 

 objects on the shore. Should she observe nothing likely 

 to disturb her intended operations, she emits a loud hiss- 

 ing sound, by which such of her many enemies as are 

 unaccustomed to it are startled, and so are apt to re- 

 move to another place, although unseen by her. Should 

 she hear any noise, or perceive indications of danger, 

 she instantly sinks, and goes off to a considerable dis- 

 tance; but should everything be quiet, she advances 

 slowly towards the beach, crawls over it, her head raised 

 to the full stretch of her neck, and when she has reached 

 a place fitted for her purpose, she gazes all round in 

 silence. Finding " all well/' she proceeds to form a hole 

 in the sand, which she effects by removing it from un- 

 der her body with her hind flippers, scooping it out 

 with so much dexterity that the sides seldom if ever fall 

 in. The sand is raised alternately with each flipper, as 

 with a large ladle, until it has accumulated behind her, 

 when, supporting herself with her head and fore part on 

 the ground fronting her body, she, with a spring from 

 each flipper, sends the sand around her, scattering it to the 

 distance of several feet. In this manner the hole is dug to 

 the depth of eighteen inches, or sometimes more than two 

 feet. This labor I have seen performed in the short 

 period of nine minutes. The eggs are then dropped one 

 by one, and disposed in regular layers, to the number of a 

 hundred and fifty, or sometimes nearly two hundred. The 

 whole time spent in this part of the operation may be 

 about twenty minutes. She now scrapes the loose sand 

 back over the eggs, and so levels and smooths the surface 

 that few persons on seeing the spot could imagine any- 

 thing had been done to it. This accomplished to her 

 mind, she retreats to the water with all possible despatch, 

 leaving the hatching of the eggs to the heat of the sand. 

 When a Turtle, a Logger-head for example, is in the act 



