222 
THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
a volcanic formation but now little more tban a waste of sand, is tbe greatest 
breeding place of green turtles , on which account it is visited by many ships 
and large parties of men, who spend the spring and a part of the summer 
season catching the animals and despoiling their nests. The industry is also 
carried on successfully on the Alligator Islands of the West Indies, Gallipagos 
of the Pacific, the Tortngas off Key West, and the northern shores of Australia, 
all of which places are both dreary and barren. 
Of the breeding habits of these reptiles and their allies, and the methods 
employed for their capture, Audubon says : “ The green turtle approaches the 
shores and enters the bays and inlets early in April, after having spent the 
winter in deep waters. It deposits its eggs in convenient places at two different 
times in May, and once again in June. The first deposit is the largest, and the 
last the least, the total quantity being at an average about two hundred and 
forty. The hawk’s bill deposits also its eggs in two sets, once in July and again 
in August, though it crawls the beaches much earlier as if to look for a safe 
place. The average number of eggs which it lays is three hundred. The log¬ 
gerheads visit the Tortugas in April and lay, from that period until late in June, 
three sets of eggs, each set averaging one hundred and seventy. The trunk 
turtle , which is sometimes of an enormous size, and which has a pouch like a 
pelican, reaches the shores latest. The shell and flesh are so soft that one may 
push his finger into them, almost as into a lump of butter. This species is the 
least valuable and is seldom eaten. The average number of eggs which it lays 
in a season, in two sets, is three hundred and fifty. 
“ The loggerhead and the trunk turtles are the least cautious in choosing 
the places in which to deposit their eggs, whereas the two other species select 
the wildest and most secluded spots. The green turtle resorts either to the 
shores of the main, between Cape Sable and Cape Florida, or enters Indian, 
Halifax, and other large rivers or inlets, from which it makes its retreat as 
speedily as possible, and betakes itself to the open sea. Great numbers, how¬ 
ever, are killed by the tnrtlers and Indians, as well as by various species of 
carnivorous animals, as cougars, lynxes, bears, and wolves. The hawk’s bill, 
which is still more wary, and is always the most difficult to surprise, keeps to 
the sea islands. All the species employ nearly the same method in depositing 
their eggs in the sand, and as I have several times observed them in the act, I am 
enabled to present you with a circumstantial account of it. 
“ On first nearing the shores, 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 the shore. Should she observe nothing likely to disturb her intended opera¬ 
tions, she emits a loud hissing sound, by which such of her many enemies as 
are unaccustomed to it are startled, and so are apt to remove to another place, 
although unseen by her. Should she hear any noise, or perceive indications of 
danger, she instantly sinks and goes off to a considerable distance; but should 
everything be quiet, she advances slowly towards the beach, crawls over it, her 
head raised to the full stretch of her neck; and when she has reached a place 
fitted for her purpose, she gazes all around in silence. Finding ‘ all well,’ she 
proceeds to form a hole in the sand, which she effects by removing it from 
under her body with her hind flippers, scooping it out with so much dexterity 
that the sides seldom, if ever, fall in. The sand is raised alternately with each 
