The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-06-07
Trapping the Turtle.


dock, as he rearranged piece of scant
ling under the head Of blear-eyed tur
tie that was lying in the sun. ssIt looks
cruel to keep them turned on theil
backs, but water is dashed over ZEN
every hour or so, and I reckon they
have All easy time Of it; but it is rough
to put 'em out in the sun before a res.
taurant, and tack a placard OH the shell
sTo be served this day. That, says L
is takin' an undue advantage, but you
can't expect feelin's in men that deals
in food; all they care for is to fill YOU
up. Pm down on 'em.''
How so?" asked his companion.
1 struck here month ago, - replied
the Skipper, con my smack, from Key
West. The cook and all hands went
hum Mystic, 50 I had to shift-like for
myself.sI signed papers with restaur-
ant man up the street here to provide
three square meals a day, and'one day
l bein' fond of turtle, brought in a
young green that I'd kept, and request
ed to have it made into soup. Wall,
the next day I dropped into the market,
and there was that very turtle for sale.
9 see, had my private mark on him.
L didn't let on, but on the way to dim
ner l picked up an old shipmate o.
mine, now on the police force, and in
vited him to try the soup. Wall, the
waiter brought III some black stuff, and
soon as I'd tasted it. Salt junk season
ed [ says, send the boss Out he
came, a-smilin' all over, but I brought
him up with round turn. Says I.
This 'ere soups kind o. weak, reck,
on, says 1; that turtle kind O. waded
through, and he went so fast he's caught
up with Fulton Market, and says i,
ten dollars down or the TURTLE or
says 1, I go with my friend here, who,'
says I, lis particular friend o. the
WALL" said the old man with
a grin, che '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 am half" was the
reply. eve fish in the Havana trade
all winter, and in the spring, if we
come North, fetch all the turtles we
can. There's always market for 'eln.
Where do we catch 'em? Wall, mostly
'round Markeys (Marquisas). Tugoses
(Tortugas). Then we buy a likely lot
from the Conch crawls at Key West.
Sport? Wall, some thinks it's sport. I
used to think it sport to go crow shoot
in when l was a yonker, but when the
old man sot me out 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 this month
y sHqa ~ t9e e agss MHg9SeS i s98a @e aHz 2na Fa
about six or seven in number; nothin'
OH 'em but sand, prsley, and bay cedar
bushes. On Garden Key there's a big
fort, but there's only two Keys that
turtles comes ashore on, and why that's
so Pm Dlest if I kin tell. On Logger
head Key, to the westward, the logger
heads come up, and 1 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' fino form, delicate
like. The loggerhead is jest like all old
New Bedford whaler, while the green
turtle is a regular clipper ship. Wall,
as to how we catch 'em. We erun down
to the Keys, and lay the smack off, and
late III 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; i'll that
way he strikes the tracks up, at onct
follows 'em up, and so finds the nest.
Eggs goodp Wall, it's 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 I ever saw 'em
eaten, was when they were taken out OF
the turtle half formed, lookin' like yell
low grapes, and dried in the sun until
hard, and eaten like cheese; they kind
O. taste like it.
"Turtles don't generally como ashore
until after dark. Every twenty minutes
or SO one Of the hands takes round,
and when lie 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 il she's. jest through
or about diggin' she'll turn and make
tracks to the water in a way as is q
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 tlippers like MISSISSIPPI
pi stern-wheel steamer, film my eyes
so I jest sot down and yelled while She
slid off into the water. But good
hand will slip up, and with grip jest
behind the fore flippers send big one
over. This done, the tlippers are slit
with knife and made fast by rope
yarn, and she's ready to ship and left
right there. If it's a big turtle the
turner gives sing out, and couple o.
hands 60 on the run to give him lift.
I've been one o. these men, and aint
no babby, a-tryin' to lift big logger
head over, and couldn't. She struck
my mate over the head with her fore
tlipper 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 ofa tread mill-all 'gormed' up.
The next lift she took hold o. my foot;
and talk about bull dogs! she nigh on to
tuck me overheard, the other men beat
in her with scantlins. But, Lord bless
ye! she was a-moyin' for the water all
the time, takin' us right along, and
tm0win' sand like o wind mill. At
last, in she got, and the only satisfac-
ton got was ride. There was
shoal piece that ran off about two hun.
dred yards, and as she hinged off,