410 



UKAHLY NAUTfLUS. 



A mate of a wliulerj wlio had been ship- 

 wrecjced iiponj w4 midei wong tlie Bdgi 

 group t£ Maoda in tli^e S6tt<lteni Pit<oifi6> for 



nearly tliree years, says he has seen tlic shell 

 of the Prarii/ A^fftttlhts^ eontLiiniiifi," the living 

 animal, tioatiiig on the water, near one of the 

 islaiiili^ He bad mlf tm^f m they are not 

 eontnionly tie in ^&m^ ti^mgh 



the empty sliells weTe vety ntimetons among that 

 group of iBlantl^. 



He stated, the first time he saw one, was 

 when in a canoe with some other shipwrecked 

 £%Kif<ir^@gti^ I it ten B()ati!ig upon the sur- 

 face 0^ tlbe "Wtlter, the nioutli of the siiell 

 nppermost. It was enveloped in tlie mantle, 

 which extended some distance upwards, and 

 over the wdiole of the shell ; it had $VL^ an 

 appeaisattce as to tBxsm oiie of the thm in the 



canoe to say, Tliere>fc alargo ijieee of blnbber 

 npon the water on ap])roaching it the animal 

 retracting the mantlcj dis[)layed the brantifnl 

 striped shell, and sank before they could cap- 

 ture it 



At Itf^aiiltftj the f&db of tWt $p«asle^ of Nati- 

 tiluS are in great abundance ; they are neatly 

 carved, the whole of tlie eoloni'cd [lart of the 

 nhell being removed, and the portion exjiosed 

 np[)earing of a beautiful nacipet &riiititliei'-of-pearl, 



