The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-10
TURTLES AND TURTLE HUNTS.
me Way They Are Hunted and Cap
tured on the Beaches.

tured on the Beaches.
Turtle hunting and hunting turtle eggs
on the beach is favorite moonlight pastime
with Narrowing parties, and as profitable
sometimes as it is pleasant. for turtles COM
mand ready sale in the northern markets.
and during the season are shipped largely
oy the steamship lines to New York and
other northern cities. The eggs are an
epicurean dish and much sought after.
Mr.. K. w. Buntz, an engineer of the
Central railroad, came up from Tybee last
night with b. N. Elkins, Joseph Heintz and
A. w. Clark, from a maroon on Warsaw.
and brought 50O-pound turtle, one of four
which they "turnedn on Warsaw beach last
Friday night. Ia addition, the hunters had
l5O eggs. Two Of the turtles were sent to
Ihunderbolt, one was butchered on the
island, and the other was brought to the
city and taken to Mr.. Buntz's residence on
York street, where, to crafty the curious,
ne Will keep it to-day and tomorrow. Its
happers were securely bound with ropes.
On the way over from Warsaw to the
south end Of Tybse island, it required five
men to carry it from the landing and put
1T on board the train.
The turtles lay three nests of eggs in a
season, depositing the eggs in the sand care
fully covering them up, and skillfully try
ing to hide all trace of the crawl when they
leave the nest The turtles come out by
daylight and moonlight when the tide is
about three-fourths ebb and SCOOP out the
nest just above high water mark. The eggs,
which are the sizs of a hens egg, are
Matched by the heat of the sun and sand in
nlteen days. when the young turtles scratch
their way through the sand and make for
the sea. No matter which direction the
little turtle is turned, if it is not in the
direction of the beach it faces about and
makes for the deep.
The first nest of eggs is laid during the
full moon Of May and the first full moon of
June, and the two successive nests in the
full moon of July and August This is the
last seen of the turtle on the beach. A nest
ranges from 125 to It's eggs and as all of
them hatch that are not discovered and
destroyed 500 young turtles is the annual
progeny of u single turtle.
There are three species of deep sea turtle.
The loggerhead, which weighs from 800 to
400 pounds An expert can turn the iarg-
est sized turtle on his back by a dexterous
Zip, catching it by the shell aft, and over
turning it lengthwise. Once on its back.
the amphibian is helpless. The desire to
escape predominates in the turtle, and he
never SHOWS fight.
Col. K. d. Walker tells of a turtle hunt
last season where his party, having caught
all they wanted one night. found a
very large turtle, and two men steadied the
colonel on its back and he rode in triumph
to the waters edge, where he jumped off
and gave the turtle its freedom for the ride.
The green turtle is another species rarely
exceeding fifty pounds in weight. They
are principally taken ON the Gulf coast. 1t
IS principally hunted on account of the ex-
cellence of the soup for which it is used in
hotels and restaurants, whereas the steaks
from loggerhead are considered to surpass
choice northern beef in esculence and flavor.
The soft she'll turtle does not attain a
weight greater than twenty-five pounds,
but it is even more sought after than the
green turtle, and is considered quite deli
cacY by epicures