NLY the belated tour- 

 ist, or one who lin- 

 gers long after the 

 tide of travel has 

 set Northward, can 

 hope to experience 

 the excitements of a 

 turtle hunt on the 

 coast of Florida. March and April with 

 their balmy airs and glorious sunshine 

 which remind one that even in the 

 Northland the chains of winter are 

 loosened, are too early for the logger- 

 head to appear. But with the first 

 moon-lit nights of May, if you happen 

 to be in an East coast settlement you 

 will probably hear much of loggerheads, 

 turtle eggs, and perhaps of bears ; for 

 it is during this month that the female 

 loggerhead turtle (Thalassochelys car- 

 retta) comes up, like Neptune out of the 

 sea, and seeks the sandy beach where 

 she may deposit her eggs, leaving them 

 to be hatched out by the hot rays of the 

 summer sun. Coming ashore at night, 

 and with wonderful instinct, digging 

 with her flippers a hole of some two 

 feet in depth and so round and smooth 

 that it might have been fashioned by 

 the hand of man, she leaves her possi- 

 ble offspring to the tender mercies of 

 two enemies — man, who seeks her eggs 

 as well as her flesh, and the bear to 

 whom the discovery of her nest assures 

 a toothsome repast which is only * to be 

 had at one season of the year. 



To the inhabitants of this country the 

 annual turtling season partakes much 

 of the picnic flavor. It comes at the 

 end of winter, which is the period of 

 hard work ; all hands have been busy 

 with the various tasks connected with 

 the gathering and shipment of the 

 orange crop ; the early vegetables have 

 been marketed in the North ; and sum- 

 mer, the time of comparative leisure, is 

 at hand. The sail to the beach, the 

 camping out on the sands, the plunge 

 in the surf, together with the excite- 

 ments of the hunt are all to be looked 

 forward to, and long to be remembered. 



It was for the purpose of entering 

 into this sport that I had remained 

 South later than usual and had waited 

 with some impatience for the coming of 

 the full moon which would complete 

 the favorable conditions. 



The day finally came when my old 

 friend Bill Carter imparted to me the 

 information that he believed it would 

 be a good night for "turtlin'." 



Bill's opinion on this, or on any other 

 subject relating to Florida, I had long 

 since learned to value, for I had been 

 taught by a host of experiences that he 

 was just the man to have along on such 

 an expedition. Long of limb, and large 

 of bone, his muscles were hardened by 

 constant use even to the degree neces- 

 sary for turning loggerheads with ease. 

 I had counted on his assistance and, of 

 course, accepted it gladly. 



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