26 
THE GREEN TURTLE. 
“Their tenacity of life was remarkable ; they remained on board ship during upwards of 
three weeks without any food, and their only refresher was a cold bath, derived from the 
before-mentioned pail of water, which they usually received with a dreamy lengthy sort of 
hiss. Even after their three weeks’ starvation, they died very hard. One, whose throat was 
cut in the morning, and from whose body numerous eggs had been extracted, was giving an 
^occasional flap with her fins late in the afternoon ; the fact of her throat having been cut and 
her body otherwise mutilated appeared merely to produce the effect of ultimately damaging her 
constitution, and I have grave doubts whether the fact of her ceasing to move was not as much 
due to the destruction of the various membranes as to the extinction of her reptilian life.” 
As these animals are large and very powerful, it is not a very easy task to secure and bring 
them on board. The usual plan is to intercept them as they are traversing the sands, and to 
turn them over on their backs, where they lie until they can be removed. Many of the 
tortoise tribe can recover their position when thus overturned, but the Green Turtle is quite 
unable to restore itself to its proper attitude, and lies helplessly sprawling until it is lifted 
into the boat and taken on boad. In many cases the creature is so enormously heavy that the 
united strength of the pursuers is inadequate to the task, and they are consequently forced to 
employ levers and so to tilt it over. 
Sometimes the Turtle is fairly chased in the water and struck with a curious kind of 
harpoon, consisting of an iron head about ten inches in length, and a staff nearly twelve 
feet long. The head is only loosely slipped into a socket on the staff and the two are 
connected with a cord. Two men generally unite in this chase, one paddling the canoe 
and the other wielding the harpoon. They start towards the most likely spots, and look 
carefully at the bottom of the sea, where it is about six or ten feet in depth, to see whether 
the expected prey is lying at its ease and does not perceive them. 
Sometimes they are forced to give chase to a Turtle on the surface, and sometimes the 
individual on which they had fixed, takes the alarm, and swims away. In either case they 
continually pursue the single swimming reptile, until it is fatigued with constant irritation, 
and sinks to the bottom to rest. No sooner has the Turtle assumed this position than the 
harpooner lowers his weapon into the water, takes an accurate aim, and then drives the steel 
spike deep into the shell. Off dashes the Turtle, carrying with it the harpoon. Were it not 
for the peculiar construction of the harpoon, the weapon would soon be shaken off, and the 
Turtle escape, but as the shaft slips readily off the head, there is no leverage and the steel 
head remains fixed, towing after it the long wooden shaft, which soon tires out the poor 
victim. When thoroughly fatigued, it is drawn to the surface, a rope put around it, and 
either taken into the boat or hauled ashore. 
The food of this Turtle consists of vegetable substances, mostly algge, which is found in 
great abundance in those warm climates. This animal grows to a very great size, as may be 
imagined from the fact that it often requires the united aid of three men to turn it over. 
A very pure limpid oil is obtained from these species, useful for burning in lamps and other 
similar purposes. A fat full-grown specimen will sometimes furnish thirty pints of this 
substance. 
The eggs of the Turtle are thought as great delicacies as its flesh, and it is rather a remark- 
able fact, that although the flesh of the hawk’s-bill Turtle is distasteful to all palates and 
hurtful to many constitutions, the eggs are both agreeable in flavor and perfectly harmless. 
It is while the female Turtle is visiting shore for the purpose of depositing her eggs that she is 
usually captured, as these sea-loving reptiles care little for the shore except for this purpose. 
So admirable an account of the manner in which the Turtle behaves when laying her eggs 
is written by Audubon, that the description must be given in his own words : — 
“On nearing the shore, and mostly on fine, calm moonlight nights, the Turtle raises her 
head above the water, being still distant thirty or forty yards from the beach, looks around 
her, and attentively examines the objects on shore. Should she observe nothing likely to dis- 
turb her intended operations, she emits a loud, hissing sound, by which such of her enemies 
as are unaccustomed to it are startled, and apt to remove to another place, although unseen 
by her. 
