Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1893-02-25
CATCHING TERRAPIN.
How 1t Is Done by Connecticut River
Fishermen.

Up the Connecticut River, about six
miles from its mouth, is strip of marsh
land across which swing the tides as
the ebb and flow. The land is famous
hunting grounds for the hunters OF ter
rapin OF blue turtles.
The terrapin is a delicacy and com
mands an extraordinary high price IN the
markets of New York. The average
blue turtle is about the size of mans
hand. The shell is of dark brown
color. but the flesh has blush tint. In
general appearance it resembles the
rough back mud turtle, that is found in
the ponds and streams in all parts of the
United States, but its flesh has delicate
flavor that appeals very forcibly to the
most fastidious taste.
Three methods are employed in catch
ing the terrapin. The one followed by
most hunters is the raking process. A
rake three feet wide, with curved teeth
of flexible steel eighteen inches long, is
attached to handle of spruce or pine
from eighteen to twenty feet long.
When the tide is about three-quarters
full, the hunter, armed with his rake,
rows to the flats, and anchoring his boat
at each end so that it will remain station
ary, he throws the rake overheard. With
| the end of the rake handle resting on his
shoulder the hunter presses the rake into
| the mud and then hauls it toward the
boat as rapidly as he can. When the
rake reaches the boat it is lifted quickly
out of the mud, turned over and brought
| to the boats rail. The soft mud drips
slowly through the teeth of the rake
while the hunter runs his hand around IN
it in search of terrapin. A rakeful OF
mud seldom holds more than one turtle,
and it not infrequently happens that the
hunter rakes through an entire tide with
out catching one.
Another way of catching terrapin is
with wire baskets. These baskets are
made of wire netting, with meshes an
inch square. They are from eight to ten
feet long and from two and half to
three feet deep. The baskets are set in
the mud and held stationery by iron
weights attached to the corners. Into
the basket are thrown chopped clans
and fragments of fish, snails, ETC., OF
which the terrapin is fond.
At slack water or thigh water slack, "
as the fishermen say, which means at that
point of high tide when the water be-
| gins to ebb, the hunters lift these bas-
kets. Sometimes two turtles are taken
in this way at a haul, and oftener the
basket is empty, but when hunter has
dozen or more baskets set he is quite
sure of getting enough game to pay him
we'll for his labor. There is no danger
of terrapin that may be in the basket
escaping, for they always dive to the
bottom and dig into the mud when
alarmed.
The terrapin takes special delight in
floating about with an inch of its head
and neck thrust out of water. Some
times at full tide dozens of these black
noses are seen dotting the water. The
hunter who adopts the third method
rows out to the fiat with an assistant
When the ground is reached, the clutch
er,n as he is called, lies along athwart
resting the upper part of his body on thu
gunwale. In his right hand he carries
stiff iron rod about eight feet long. Th,
assistant sits in the middle of the boat
with a pole twelve feet long restin!
, across his knees At each end of thi
pole scoop net is attached.
, The boat is allowed to drift. The oc
cupants remain perfectly quiet. If ther
are terrapin in the water their noses will
soon appear, and if one comes withi
reach of the iron rod there is a quicl
and unerring blow, the senseless turtl
, sinks, but before it reaches the bottom
: the scoop net is under it, and it is lande
in the boat