Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-05-23
Trapping the Turtle.

ling under the head of blear-eyed tur-
tie that was lying in the sun. lit looks
cruel to keep them turned on then
backs, but water is dashed over 'em
every hour or SO, and | reckon they
have an easy time of it; but it is rough
to put 'em out in the sun before res
taurant, and tack placard on the shell.
To be served this day. That, says |,
is takin' an undue advantage, but you
can't expect feelin's in men that deals
i'll food; all they care for is TO fill you
up. I'm down on EN-"
" How So?r asked his companion.
" / struck here a month ago" replied
the Skipper, ION my smack, from Key
West. The cook and all hands went
hum Mystic, so L had to shift-like for
myself. signed papers with restaur-
ant man up the street here to provide
three square meals a day, and one day
| bein' fond of turtle, | brought i'll a
young green that I'd kept, and request
ed to have it made into soup. Wall,
the next day dropped into the market,
and there was that very turtle for sale.
Ye see, had my private mark on him.
| didn't let on, but on the way to din
ner | picked up an old Shipmate o.
mine, now on the police force, and in
vited him to try the soup. Wall, the
waiter brought in some black stuff, and
soon us I'd tasted it. Salt junk seasen-
ed | says, send the boss Out he
came, a-smilin' all over, but | brought
him up with a round turn. Says l..
This 'ere soups kind o. weak, ] reck
on says L; that turtle kind o. waded
through, and he went so fast he's caught
up with Fulton Market, and, says l.,
ten dollars down or the turtle or,
says l, L go with my friend here, who,
says |, lis a particular friend % the
Mayor Wall, - said the old man with
a grin, she planked down the ten dol
dollars and we walked out. It's windy
when they get the bilge on old sam. No
salt hoSs mock turtle for me-"
Then you are in the turtling bust
neSS?" asked his companion.
"Wall, sort O. half an half, =" was the
reply. I'VE fish in the Havana trade
all winter, and in the spring, if we
come North, fetch all the turtles we
can. There's always Il market for 'em.
| Where do we catch 'em? Wall, mostly
round Markeys (Marquisas). TugoseS
(Tortugas). Then we buy likely lot
from the Conch crawls at Key West.
Sport? Wall, some thinks it's sport. |
used to think it sport to 90 crow shoot
in when | was yonker, but when the
old man Sot me ont in the cornfield to
shoot crows all day, it didn't seem so
funny. So it's with turtlin'. Ye git
surfitted with it. About tins month
around the TugoSes is a good time, and
so on up to midsummer. The Keys are
about six or seven in number; nOthin'
on 'em but sand, puSley, and bay cedar
bushes. On Garden Key there's big
| fort, but there's only two Keys that
turtles comes ashore on, and why that S
so I'm blest if | kin tell. On Logger
head Key, to the westward, the logger
heads come up, and | never see a green
turtle there yet, but Oh East Key, about
five miles off, there you git all the green
turtles We want.
"What's the difference? Wall, if
YOU had the two made into steak, you'd
tell like enough. The loggerhead is
bigger, tougher, and uglier, and brings
about one-third what the green turtles
do. the latter bein' fine form, delicate
like. The loggerhead is jest like an old
New Bedford whaler, while the green
turtle is regular clipper ship. Wall,
as to how we catch EN-. We run down
to the Keys, and lay the smack off, and
late in the afternoon put ashore in
the dingies and make camp in the BUSH
es. Then one hand takes walk round
the beach cloSt to the water; in that
way he strikes the tracks up, at Onct
follows 'em up, and so finds the nest.
/ Eggs good? Wall, its a matter o. taste.
I've seen turtle eggs on the galley stove
forty-eight hours, and they never
changed bit; cookin' don't affect 'em
a mite, and the only way ever saw 'em
eaten. was when they were taken out of
the turtle half formed, lookin' like yel-
low grapes, and dried in the sun until
hard. and eaten like cheese; they kind
o. taste like it.
Turtles don't generally come ashore
until after dark. Every twenty minutes
or SO one of the hands takes a round,
and when he comes to a track easy to
see by moonlight or stars up he rushes,
and if the turtle is layin' she won't
move, and you've got to wait till she
gifts through; but if she's jest through
or about diggin' she'll turn and make
tracks to the water i'll way as is a
caution to sinners. The first time |
tackled one she got the start on me,
and | ran up behind jest in time to
catch about barrel of sand. She threw
it with all four flippers like MisSissip-
ri stern-wheel steamer, film my eyes
| \ =, ar.I Vailed x-hfln lhA
slid off into the water. But good
hand will slip up, and with grip jest
behind the fore ilippers send big one
over. This done, the flippers are slit
with a knife and made fast by rope
warn, and she's ready to ship and left
right there. If it's big turtle the
turner gives sing out, and couple o.
hands go on the run to give him lift.
I've been one o these men, and | aint
no babby, a-tryin' to lift a big logger
head over, and couldn't. She struck
lmy mate over the head with her fore
lflipper the first time | raised her, and
he went down just as if he'd been sent
for. and his Jaw looked like the gang
plank of a tread mill-all 'gormed' up.
The next lift she took hold o. my foot;
land talk about bull dogs, she nigh on tO
tuck me overheard, the other men beat
in her with scantlins. But, Lord bless
vel she was a-movin' for the water all
the time, takin' us right along, and
, tbrowin' sand like wind mill. AT
last, III she got, and the only satisfac-
, ton L got was a ride. There was a
shoal piece that ran off about two hun.
dred yards, and as she hinged off,
, grabbed her by the back of the neck.
, and she towed me to the edge of the
channel quicker than | ever went
. through the water afore.
Turtles amt SO stupid as people
, thinks. I've often watched them, a:
. sometimes they come up i'll front of thu
/, camp. First you hear kind o. sigh
kind o. asthma-like; then in the moon
; light you'll see "A black head a-lookin
! round. Up she comes, little at ;
time, but afore she leaves the water SIN
/ makes sure there amt no one around
then goes for the beach, crawls righ
nm cIoSa tn the bush where the Wate