A HUNGRY SHARK. 
301 
Chap. XVIII.-B. P.J 
that both men can now enter it, and complete the 
work of baling out. In the event of capturing a 
second turtle, this process is repeated; and although 
the sea swarms with sharks his Majesty assured me 
that he had never known a case in which the canoe- 
men had been molested by them. Indeed I after¬ 
wards knew an instance of a shark biting off a con¬ 
siderable portion of the turtle, after its flappers had 
been secured, and when it was in process of trans¬ 
shipment to the canoe, the Indians manifesting a total 
indifference to the presence of an enemy so much 
dreaded by every other class of seafaring men. 
It is needless to say that these men are very nearly 
amphibious, and most wonderful stories are told of 
their endurance. The rain and spray seem to run off 
their thick skins like water off a duck’s back, and 
they will remain exposed to the weather for days, 
without appearing to care for it in the least. 
There are three species of turtle found on the coast, 
the green, the hawksbill, and the loggerhead; they 
frequent the cays and beaches from March to the mid¬ 
dle of June, and again from August to September. 
On reaching the ship, the King was received with a 
royal salute of twenty-one guns, much to the astonish¬ 
ment of the before-mentioned canoe-men, who had fol¬ 
lowed us alongside to dispose of their turtle,—one of 
the guns, under which they had placed their canoe, 
being fired in somewhat startling proximity to their 
heads. 
Before I proceed to describe our cruise, I will just 
mention a brief conversation I had with his Majesty 
before leaving Blewfields. 
