Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-24
KING OF THE SEA TURTLES.
Tussle With Sea Monster in the
Gulf of California.


c. F. Holder, in, San francisco Call:
''Some years ago / was interested in a
schooner that ran from Frisco down the
coast and up the Gulf OF California on a
sort OF general trading business. On one
trip she got into some trouble, a little diff
ference about the matter OF duty or some
thing. Anyway the skipper, who was
third owner, found IL convenient to put
her ashore so that she could not be car
ried off, and | went down the coast to see
if [ could not fix matters up, and it was a
| month before L sailed back to Frisco on
the schooner. Where we were was about
as desolate a place as you could find any
where; almost nothing do, excent to go
fishing and shooting aandathis did every
| afternoon. "9''1s
lone day six orrseven Of the men-in
! fact, about all hands of us-went ashore
and pulled into aslittle bay shat set in
| with very shallow water. l reckon we
mad gone half mile right along shore
within ten feet Oft when | saw OH the
beach what L supposed to be q barrel,
about thirty feet from the water, and |
sang out TO the skipper in the bow:
That's curious place for BARREL
That's no barrel, it's turtle,' he an
swered. So it was, and at that moment
! it turned about and started for the water,
while we went for shore. 1t didn't take
! half dozen strokes, and we all tumbled
out and rushed for the monster that was
! scram bling for the water for all he was
worth. Lay hold OF the flippers, boys
shouted the skipper, and lay hold we did,
two on each fore one and one on each
| hind one. You've seen these tugs of war?
Well, it was like that, only the turtle was
| doing all the tugglng. she walked away
| with us just as il we had been so much
paper, and in about ten seconds knocked
me off my legs, throwing sand like
whrlwind. She took us ten feet toward
the water in this way, and then l sug-
gested turning her. Three of us grabbed
| her by one side, another man put an oar
| under her, while the others pulled on the
other side. l reckon we raised her two
| feet, just enough for her to get o)m to
! swing her fiipper, which was four feet
1 long and armed with regular spiDes; the
moment we lifted her back it came; l
| thought heard it whistle, and it hit one
of the men crack, cutting his arm and
sending him clean off his feet; then down
she went, scrambling on again
Il seized the oar then, and got in front
of her and beat her head; at the same
| time two OF the men hauled the boat along
| and got it broadside on, and in a minute
she was half in II, trying to climb over;
! then we had her. Some one took the
! painter, which happened to be long one,
and fastened 1t by running bow line TO
her hind flipper, then we all took hold and
| held her; but l believe she would have
walked right over the boat il her under
| shell had not caught on the gunwale.
There she was, but how long she was go
ing to stay was a question. The skipper
proposed that we cut slit in her fiippers
| and tie them over her back, but we had
no rope, so there we stood holding on hard
| and looking her over. She was about
seven feet long. Judge. shaped something
like an ordinary turtle, only the shell had
no scales, being made up seemingly of
! longitudinal plates, so that there were
| five prominent ridges, extending. as YOU
said, :" turning to the sailor, fore and aft
! She also was covered with barnacles, and
her eyes were placed almost vertically in
! her head, which certainly had savage
appearance; the upper mandible being a
regular hook, like an eagles Dill. AL
together, she was about as curious q crea-
ture as had ever heard OF, and though
knew what 1t was well enough IL differed
80 from the description that l was
puzzled. She was so heavy we could never
have lifted her and must have weighed
certainly from 1900 to 1000 pounds.
"While we were examining her reckon
she was making up her mind what to do,
for all at once she began TO struggle and
fell down sidewise by the boat, and de-
spite all our efforts rushed along, dragging
us into the water. 1t was a short heat,
can tell you, for as soon as she got where
those four-foot flippers could take hold, it
was like irving TO hold back tug. Toe
skipper yelled Let her 20, boys, and
tumble in; she's fast to the paiDter;' 20
we let her go and rushed for the boat, aud
in a minute we were shooting down that
bay behind the turtle in way that would
have made the natives stare. The painter
was fast to only one clipper, which gave
the boat a Kind OF slue, and soon she be-
gan to yaw from one side 10 another, the
| way boat does just before she thinks OF
swampng; but got in the bow aud the
rest well aft, while The skipper got out an
oar and we kept bead on as well as We
could. The speed was something Dig, l
can tell YOU. If NC could only nave rug