ORDER I. CHELONIA.— TORTOISES AND TURTLES. LL9 
required. During our loud deliberations on her future fate she gave no 
other signs of uneasiness than a blowing sound, and continued to work 
slowly with her hind fins, throwing up the earth at regular intervals. 
“One of the soldiers stretched himself out at full Jeneth on the ground, 
near the purveyor of our kitchen, inserted his arm into the earth-hole, and 
threw out the eggs as they were laid by the turtle. In this manner above 
a hundred were collected in about ten minutes. A council was now held as 
to the means of adding the beast to our collection, but, as it would have 
required an additional mule for the transport, we gave it its life. These colos- 
sal turtles — Midas, Coriacea, and Caretta — especially choose these desert 
coasts for the laying of their eggs. They emerge from the sea in the dusk 
of evening, and then crawl back again into the water, one or two hours 
after the setting of the sun. Thus also the friendly turtle, which had so 
abundantly provided for our wants, disappeared after a short time ; we found 
the large hole filled up, and a broad trace in the sand showed that the ani- 
mal had again retreated to its favorite element. The Midas is said to lay 
from ten to twelve dozen, and the Coriacea from eighteen to twenty dozen 
egos at once.” 
C. Imbricata. — This turtle is not so large as the Green, but has a more 
lengthened muzzle, and the scales, of which there are thirteen, yellowish 
and brown, cover each other in the manner of tiles. The flesh is not edi- 
ble, but the eggs are delicate, and the shell is the finest employed in manu- 
factures. It inhabits the seas of all hot climates. The Imbricated Turtle is 
hunted for its shell, and the Green for its flesh, on which account immense 
numbers, of both species, are destroyed yearly in various quarters of the 
globe. The South American shores, those of the West Indies, and of the 
islands of the Indian seas are visited for this purpose. The gifted author of 
“Paul and Virginia” draws the following graphic and interesting picture 
of a turtle hunt on Ascension Island ; — 
“ Fire-wood, kettle, and the neat boat sail were landed, and the sailors 
lay down to sleep, as the turtles do not emerge from the sea before night- 
fall. The moon rose above the horizon, and illumined the solitude, but her 
light, which adds new charms to a friendly prospect, rendered this desolate 
scene more dreary still. We were at the foot of a black hillock, on whose 
summit mariners had planted a great cross. Before us lay the plain, cov- 
ered with innumerable blocks of black lava, whose crests, whitened by the 
drippings of the sea-birds, glistened in the moonbeam. These pallid heads 
on dark bodies, some of which were upright, and others reclined, appeared 
to us like phantoms hovering over tombs. The greatest stillness reigned 
over this desolate earth, interrupted only from time to time by the breaking 
of a wave, or the shriek of a sea-bird. We went to the great bay to await 
