Butte record., 1855-09-22

coral islets that stud the Antilles. Our
author thus, with pen and pencil, sets
forth the shipwreck
"a sound, hoarse and steady, but loud.
er even than that of the wind, broke on
our ears. 1t was evident that We were
approac ching it, for every instant it be-
came more distinct and ominous. | eazed
ahead into the hopel SIS darkness, when
suddenly broad sheet of lightning re-
vealed immedia tely before us, and not a
c'ble's length distant, what, under the
lurid gleam, appeared to be wall of
white spray, dashing literally hundred
feet in the air-a hell of waters, from
which there was no escape. Gel Ron
cador - shrieked the captain, in a voice
of utter despair, that even then thrilled
like knife in my heart. The fearful
moment of death had come, and | had
barely time to draw full breath of pre-
paration for the struggle, when We were
literally whelmed in the raging waters.
[ felt shock, sharp jerk, and the
hiss and gurgle of the sea, a sensation
of immense pressure, followed by blow
like that of heavy fall. Again | was
lifted up, and again struck down, but
this time with less force. | had just
enough consciousness left to know that
| was striking on the sand, and l made
an inv luntlry effort to rise and escape
from the waves. B fore I could gain
my feet | was again struck down, again
and aga:n, until nearer dead than alive,
[ at last succeeded in crawling to spot
where the water did not reach me.
strove to rise now, but could not , and,
as that is the last thing I remember dis
'inctly of that terrible night, suppose
| must have falen into a swoon."
The captain and his mate were lost
The artist, Antonio, and the sal or ,sorely
bruised, were flung upon the shore.
Fortunately it was the turtle season,
and there was mo danger Of starvation &;
and there was every probability that tur-
tie hunters would soon visit the island
for their annual supply of shell The
survivors of the shipwreck set about
making the best Of their afflirs. BY
night they lay in wait for the turtle as
they came up to deposit their eggs ; tur--
ned the uuwi, Idly creatures on their
backs, so that they were absolutely help
less and by daylight proceeded to tie
operation of divesiing them of the prized
shell. The tortoise shell of commerce
is merely the scales that cover the bony
shield of the turtle. These scales are
thirteen in number, varying from an
eighth to a quarter of an inch in thick
ness. y large turtle will furnish about
eight pounds
To detach this she'll from the living
animal, says our author, ''is cruel pro-
cess which it made my flesh creepto
witness. The fishers do not kill the
turtles f; did they do so, they would in
few years exterminete them. When
the turtle is caught, they fasten him and
cover his back with dry leaves or grass,
to which they set FIRE. The heat causes
the plates to separate at their joints. A
large knife is then carefully inserted
horizontally beneath them, and the la
mina lifted from the back, care being
taken not to injure the shell by too much
heat, nor to force it off, until the heat
has fully prepared it for separation.
Many turtles die under this cruel opera
tion, but instances are numerous in which
they have been caught a second time,
with the outer coating reproduced but,
in such cases, instead Of thirteen pieces,
it is single piece 1 could never bring
myself TO witness this cruelty more than
once, and was glad that the process of
scaling was carried on out of sight of
the hut Had the poor turtles the power
of shrieking, they would have made that
barren island very he'll, with their cnes
of torture.
The vessels of the expected turtle
hunters came in sight at last. They
were not disposed to be ovcr>friendly
After coolly pluudering the wreck OF
whatever they wanted, they ordered their
shipwrecked predecessors to vacate the
hut they had erected. Our artist de-
murred to this order and couple ol
the new corners advancing, knife in hand