Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-09-27

correspondent OF the st. Louis
Globe Democrat, writing from Char
lotte Harbor, South Florida, gives an
account of an unusual contest that was
witnessed by two members of a fish,
ing schooner's crew. The schooner
Mabel F., Captain Zeke Dickerson,
came in Saturday with load of huge
loggerhead turtles and fish, writes this
correspondent. The turtles were
monsters. several of them measuring
over nine feet from end to end, over
the shell, and five to seven across.
Such ones will weigh from 700 to L.
COO pounds each, and it is no child's
play to capture them. Several of the
crew had severe wounds on their
hands, caused by the sharp claws with
which the turtles flippers are armed,
and one sailor was mourning the loss
OF his thumb, which he lost by fooling
with one of the captives. He wanted
to see the critters neck, and was try
ing to bait it by holding small stick
in front, but the turtle seemed averse
to putting out its head. The sailor
grew careless. his hand approached
too near, and, quick as flash, the
turtles long neck shot out and the
sailors thumb was caught as by wise.
He yelled and stOrmed. but to no pur-
pose, as the turtle meant to stay. As
a last resort another sailor came up
and with his knife severed the logger
heads head. Even then the firmly
fixed jaws had to be pried open before
the thumb could be released. As it
was bitten nearly off amputation fol-
lowed.
The sailors told many yarns of their
exciting experiences in securing the
big turtles, and say that some of them
fought vigorously before they could be
overturned.
The mate, Jim Wheelan, and a
sailor named Dan Bryan had the I'M
usual luck of witnessing a fight be-
tween a big. black bear and monster
turtle. 1t occurred at Key Nina. The
schooner was at anchor on the inside
shore, while the men went across the
island, half a mile or SO, and secured
turtles on the gulf shore. The sec
ond night. these two. by some chance,
wandered down to the end of the ISL
and. While going along. cautiously,
they heard a confused sound some
way ahead, as if some kind of a fight
was going on. A deal of thrashing
about was audible, and sort of roar
or grunt that sounded like a bear was
heard.
Pushing forward. they soon rounded
a sharp turn that. the beach made,
and the cause of the rumpus was be-
fore them. At first they could not tell
what it was, but saw that two big
forms were struggling together and
fighting furiously. From the grunts
they knew that bear was one of the
combatants.
Cautiously and silently they came
upnearer, and, to their great surprise,
they perceived that the fight was be-
tween huge loggerhead turtle and
a big, shaggy black bear. From their
positions it would seem that the bear
had sprung on the turtle as it was re-
treating toward the water and had
tried to overturn it In some way it
had stepped in front of the turtle, and
the latter thrusting its head out. had
quickly seized one of bruins hind legs
and held it. At this the bear roared
loudly and paved furiously at the
turtles back. trying to force him over
on his back. This the turtle resisted
with all his strength and weight,
settling down close to the ground.
Whenever the bear made an extra eff
fort, and then, as the bear relaxed his
efforts, the turtle would suddenly start
up and endeavor to get nearer the
water, keeping his firm hold on the
bears leg all the while. This move