The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-03-12
AFTER BIG SHELL FISH.
PEGGlNG TURTLES DOWN IN
FLORIDA WATERS.
A Sport That is Both Exciting and Profit
able-They are Plentiful and
Some are Enormous Speci-
mems of Shellfish.

~e"So ~
in their "sets" or "harbors" in shallow
water. This sport is particularly in
teresting to persons who have not
physical strength enough to harpoon
gigantic Jewish, tarpum, sea-devil, or
saw-hsh, as a light thrust will put the
peg" into a turtle weighing a ton,
especially if it it inserted in the chimes
Of the carapace, that being the par
ticular spot for which all expert ''peg-
gers" aim when they have the oppor-
tunity.
The small weapons known as "pegs"
are probably the best implements
known for catching and holdi1g tur-
ties, as they rarely injure the she'll,
and can be handled readily. Pegs are
attached to handles by lines from 60
to 100 feet in length, to prevent their
being lost when a turtle is struck.
The penetration part is peg about
two and half inches long. four square,,
and tapers gradually to q sharp point.
have known men to throw a twelve
foot pegging pole, which is usually
made Of yellow pine, says Mortimer, a
distance of forty feet and strike small
object, although they had to give a
parabolic curve to send it that distance.
The species usually pegged is green
turtle, whose flesh is worth from %
cents to 50 pound in New York, and
from five to eight cents in Florida, but
those who wish to enjoy the sport for
itself can harpoon the ridley, logger
head, hawksbill, and even the gigantic
trunkback.
A general idea of the sport Of peg
ging may be obtained from my own
experience in a cruise lasting forty
eight hours. I was the guest of q
''turtling" captain, and he concluded
to let me use peg, Just to get my
hand in,'' as he said We had two
boats and two men in each boat
was supernumerary in the captains
dinkey, and while he stood in the bow,
ready to pick up anything that came
in his way, took position amidships
to try and secure whatever he missed.
The sea was as smooth as the ira
dltional mill pond, and 50 clear that
we could see the beautiful marine
flora, six fatboms down, as clearly as
ii it were in our hands. After pro-
ceeding about half Il mile from the
sloop, the captain called my attention
to huge object lying ON the water
about 200 yards ahead.
'That's a leatherback turtle" he
observed in a whisper. ""See me peg
him."
Reckoning to the sculler to move
cautiously, he stood erect on the for
ward thwart with his miniature har-
poon poised for prompt, throw at the
right moment. When we were within
thirty feet of the gigantic creature it
awoke with a loud snort and attempt.
ed to sink to the bottom, but it had
scarcely moved ere the captain
buried the peg in the forward chimes
OF the oarapace.
'+Sit down." he shouted to me, 'sor
you'll 'ne knocked overheard by this
fellows sudden movements"
Then turning to the sculler, he
ordered him to keep in the wake of
The turtle and not :let.it upset US bv a
quick change of direction.
'NIll look out for that" the sculler
replied, just as he was thrown on the
stern sheets by the sudden forward
movement of the boat. Recovering
himself promptly, he gave the craft a
Jerk that made it almost turn on a
pivot, and AWAY it went directly be-
hind our marine tug at pace that
was surprise ito me, for never ex-
peeted to see a turtle travel so rapidly.
THAT fellow weighs ton if he
weighs pound,7' the captain ,observ-
ed to me, hut We'll fetch him. His
words proved true, for after pulling
us for a mdle or more our marine
steed slackened it's pace so much that
we were able to seull alongside it by
hauling in the line Us we advanced.
It proved to be d genuine monster,
being about twelve feet long, eight
feet wide, five feet thick, and weigh
ing nearly, if not all. of 1000 pounds.
The captain said it was the largest
he had seen in many day. He
placed broken oar over its mouth.
and the creature seized it with the
'ferocity OF a bull dog aud held it 40
tightly that we had to shoot the
creature in order to secure the lime
and oar Having released these, we
started away in a hurry, for the
moment the blood of the turtle tinged
the water shoal of leopard and nurse
sharks appeared as if Dy magic and
began touring the animal ito pieces
with fury worthy of their charac-
ter. AS we retired, the water seemed
to be one mass of fins. and SO grea,
were the numbers around the dead
animal that the huge carcass was
kept bobbing up and down like the
'|bob' On 1ishing line when fish
bite freely. ~ ~.
w G started for thu .Iao+,, Nv s.ho.,