300 DOTTINGS ON THE ROADSIDE. [Chap. XVIII.-B. P. 
Each of these reptilia proyed more than sufficient 
for a hearty meal for the whole ship’s company, and 
therefore four shillings and twopence cannot he called 
an exorbitant outlay to provide a dinner for 150 men. 
After the conclusion of this most satisfactory bar¬ 
gain (less than a farthing a pound for solid meat of 
the most nutritious and delicious description), the 
King allowed his amphibious countrymen to proceed 
on their voyage to Blewfields, and for the remainder 
of the passage off to the ship, amused himself and edi¬ 
fied me, for at the time I had not seen the operation 
myself, by giving a description of the manner in 
which these huge turtle are captured and transferred 
from their native element to the canoes. 
It appears that the Mosquito Indians often go out 
to sea for miles, indeed out of sight of land, to hunt 
for turtle. When their prey is observed, they bring 
their canoe noiselessly up within reach of the animal, 
into which they drive a barbed spear having a 
cotton line and cotton-wood buoy attached to it, so 
that the animal cannot sink to the bottom, is soon 
tired out, and is then easily turned upon its back. 
The fins are tied together, the canoe swamped, and the 
animal floated inside, after which, by a peculiar pro¬ 
cess of rolling and pitching, the canoe is partly freed 
from water, in doing which long practice has given 
these Indians great dexterity. One of them then sits 
astride at the extreme end, while the other prevents the 
frail craft from turning over; next, by means of the 
rapid action of the paddle, and the use of a calabash, the 
canoe is nearly cleared of water, so much so indeed 
