The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1893-04-22
NARROWING TURTLE.

How tho Work is Done In the Gulf Oh
Mexico.
The turtle is justly considered food
for the gods The way people usually
capture the prize is to wait for MRS
Turtle when she comes ashore to lay
her eggs on the sand beach and to turn
her on her back with a handspike.
There is much more fun with much bet
ter sport in catching turtles by har-
booming, a method followed among the
KEYS and coral banks which fringe the
coast of the Gulf of Mexico The har-
poon consists of a short shaft made OF
iron, which fits loosely into wooden
pole about nine feet long. Around the
shaft a line is fastened, which should
be strong and about sixty fathoms long.
The barb of the harpoon is about an
inch long, having two notches- IL
longer than this it is liable to pierce
deeper than the shell and perhaps Kill
the turtle, which the fisherman has
no wish to do The best sort of boat to
use is fifteen-foot skiff, with simply
slug SAIL" which can be dropped in
hurry. A crew of twois necessary, one
to look after the sail and be handy with
q pair of oars, while the other looks
after the tiller. 1t is of no use to go
after turtles in calm. They sleep In
the shallow water which fringes the
keys, and always sleep with one eye
open, SO that using an oar sends the
animals off like streak OF light long
before one is within striking distance.
1t is when the surface of the water is
rippled by the breeze that one has
chance OF making catch, so that the
fishing has generally to take place in
theafternoon.
The harpooner stands in the bows
with the line carefully rolled between
his feet He hds to keep sharp look
out, and as soon as he espies turtle
resting on the white sandy bottom, sur
rounded with sponges, he directs the
helmsman by hand. As one gets above
the creature, down goes the harpoon,
the striker holding fast to the handle,
for the water is seldom IAore than five
feet deep. If the strike is a successful
one the pole comes away from the har-
poon and is thrown into the boat The
sail must be lowered instantly, the oars
taken out and the boat headed in the
direction the turtle has taken. As
soon as this is done a strain is gradu-
ally put on the line and the turtle is
soon towing the boat This quickly
puts the animal out of breath, and he
has to come to the surface for air. In
about half an hour, as a rule. he is
alongside the boat considerably ex.
hausted. He is not, however, in the
boat yet, and it is now the duty Of the
man who has had charge of the tillel
to jump overheard and turn the turtle
over ON his back. This is no easy task
and the man generally has two or thre'
good duckings before he is successful
Not infrequently the animal makes
final dash for freedom, and the boat ha'
to head for the new direction taken
and the steersman is left in the water
Even when the turtle is turned it is no
easy to haul 40o-pound animal int,
the boat, which usually is half full o
water before the captive is vainly flap
ping fins at the bottom of the boat
Sometimes the turtles head for tn,
deep water, and If so it generally take
from two to three hours to land them
as they will sink to the bottom ant
sulk there, coming up for breath onl.
at long intervals The most successful
days catch the writer ever had wa
three, but there was many blank da.
and many a harpoon with fathoms o
line lost, owing to some mishap. IN. Y
Tribune.