TYE AND SUALIB. 261 
above time, engaged in taking them. At other seasons turtles are 
occasionally taken in nets, made of cocoanut-husk sennit, among the 
shoals and reefs. 
We have seen that the chiefs keep turtles in pens; and I have been 
informed, by credible witnesses, that when they do not wish to kill 
them, and have an opportunity of disposing of the valuable part of the 
shell, they will remove it from the living animal. They do this by 
holding a burning brand close to the outer shell until it curls up and 
separates a little from that beneath; into the gap thus formed a small 
wooden wedge is inserted, by which the whole is easily removed from 
the back. After they have been thus stripped, they are again put into 
the pens, and although the operation appears to give great pain, it is 
not fatal. 
Each turtle is covered with thirteen pieces, five on the back, and 
four on each side. These together make what is called a head, whose 
average weight is about fourteen pounds. 
Tortoise-shell, I am informed, sometimes sells in Manilla for from 
two to three thousand dollars the picul (one hundred and thirty-three 
English pounds). It constitutes the chief article of trade in these 
islands, and causes them to be visited by traders every season, while 
it is the chief inducement for the residence of whites among them, 
who endeavour to monopolize the trade. 
The visits of the traders in tortoise-shell, who come in small vessels, 
are attended with no little risk, and there are many accounts of 
attempts made by the natives to cut them off. They resort to many 
methods of effecting this purpose; among others, one of the most fre- 
quent is to dive and lay hold of the cable: this, when the wind blows 
fresh towards the shore, is cut, in order that the vessel may drift upon 
it; or, in other cases, a rope is attached to the cable, by which the 
vessel may be dragged ashore. The time chosen for these purposes, is 
just before daylight. ‘The moment a vessel touches the land, she is 
considered and treated as a prize sent by their gods. 
By five o’clock we had anchored under the Vitilevu shore, off the 
point called Viti-rau-rau, where we lay until 2 a. m. Having the . 
advantage of the moon, by whose light we trusted to find our way 
through the reefs, and being favoured by a land-breeze, we then 
weighed anchor, in hopes of reaching Malolo in time for early obser- 
vations. At eight o’clock, a. m. it fell calm, and not wishing to lose 
the day, I determined to land on a small sand-island, a mile and a half 
in circumference, (which I called Linthicum Island, after my cock- 
swain,) that was near us, and afterwards to connect it with that of 
Malolo by triangulation. The anchor of the tender was accordingly 
