The Forrest City times., 1891-03-20
AFTER BIG SHELL FISH.
PEOOING TURTLES DOWN IN
 FLORIDA WATERS.
A Sport That is Both Exciting and Profit able-They arc Plentiful and Some arc Enormous Specl-
 mens of Shellhsh.

thing is that of begging" turtles as they swim close to the surface or rest in their "sets" or "harbors" in shallow
 water. This sport is particularly in- :eresting to persons who have not physical strength enough to harpoon a gigantic jewish, tarpum. sea-devil. or
 saw-fish, as a light thrust will put the
 peg into turtle weighing q ton.
 especially if it 1t 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 holding tur-
 ties. as they rarely injure the shell,
 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 turtle is struck. The penetration part is peg about | two and half inches long. four square. l and tapers gradually to sharp point. 1 have known men to throw twelve l foot begging pole. which is usually
 made of yellow pine. says Nor timer, a distance of forty feet and strike small object, although they had to give a l para bolic curve to send 1t that distance.
 The species usually begged is green l turtle. whose flesh is worth from 25
 cents to g q 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. hawlSsbill, and even the gigantic trunk back.
 A general idea of the sport of peg ging may be obtained from my own | experience in cruise lasting forty eight hours. l was the guest of a "turtl;ng" 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 a supernumerary in the captains dinkey. and while he stood in the bow,
 ready to pick up anything that came
 in his way. l took a position amidships to try and secure whatever he missed. The sea was as smooth as the tra- | dltional mill pond, and so clear that we could see the beautiful marine | flora, six fathoms down. as clearly as
 ii it were in our hands After pro-
 ceeding about half mile from the
 sloop. the captain called my attention
 to huge object lying on the water
 about POO yards ahead.
 That's leatheroack turtle" he | observed in q 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 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 carapace.
 ''Sit down." he shouted to me, 'or you'll be 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 by q quick change of direction.
 | "Tll look out for that" the sculler replied, just as he was thrown on the stern sheets by the sudden forward l 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 q surprise to me, for never ex- pected to see q turtle travel so rapidly That fellow weighs ton if he
 weighs pound," the captain observ- | ed to me. but we'll fetch him. His
 words proved true. for after pulling us for a mile or more our marine | steed slackened it's pace so much that
 we were able to scull alongside it by hauling in the line as we advanced. It proved to be a 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 it's mouth,
 and the creature seized it with the ferocity of q bull dog and held 1t so | tightly that we had to shoot the
 creature in order to secure the line
 and oar. Having released these, we
 started away in a hurry. for the
 moment the blood of the turtle tinged
 the water a shoal of leopard and nurse | sharks appeared as if py magic and
 began tearing the animal to pieces
 with fury worthy of their charac- ter. As we retired, the water seemed to be one mass of fns. and so great
 were the numbers around the dead
 animal that the huge carcass was
 kept bobbing up and down like the ''bob' on fishing line when fish | bite freely.
 | We started for the set" or 'har- bor." which green turtles were known
 to frequent It may not be generally
 known that shoals of turtles have their | own special ''harbors" to which they | return every night as regularly as hens
 to their roosts. and that each turtle | has it's own wallow, or burrow. where