The St. Johns herald., 1893-09-21
SPORTS ON THE GULF.
Earpooning Big Turtles Which Sleep
 with One Eye Open.

The turtle is justly considered feast for the gods. The way people usually capture the prize is to wait for Mrs. her eggs. on the sand beach and to turn her on her back with handspike; but, according to the New York Tribune, there is much moro fun with much bet ter sport in catching turtles by har- booming, method followed among the keys and coral banks which fringe the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The har- poon consists of 8 short shaft made of iron, which fits loosely into a wooden pole about nine feet long. Around the shaft line is fastened, which should be strong and about sixty fathoms long. The barb of the harpoon is about an inch long, having two notch es. If longer than this it is liable to pierce deeper than the shell and per haps kill the turtle, which the fisher man has no wish to do. The best sort of boat to use is a fifteen-foot sliff, with simply Hug sail" which can be dropped in a hurry. A crew of two is necessary, one to look after the sails and be handy with Q pair of oars, while the other looks after the tiller. It is of no use to go after turtles in a calm. They sleep in the shallow water which fringes the keys, and always sleep with one eye open, so that using the oars sends the animals off like streak of light long before one is within striking distance. It is when the surface of the water is rippled by the breeze that one has chance of making catch, so that the fishing generally has to take place in the afternoon.
 The harpooner stands in the bows with the line carefully rolled between his feet. He has to keep a sharp look out, and as soon as he espies turtle resting on the white sandy bottom, surrounded by. sponges, he directs the helmsman by hand. As one gets above the crea ture down goes the harpoon, the striker holding fast to the handle, for the water is seldom more than five feet deep. If the strike is a successful one the pole comes from the harpoon and is thrown into the boat. The sail must be lowered instantly, the oars lesiASI OlAO CbtINI C41O OOSlU 4OSLOOO III C1AC direction the turtle has taken. As soon as this is done a strain is gener- ally put on the line and the tur- tie 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 exhausted He is not, however, in the boat yet, and it is now the duty of the man who has charge of the tiller to jump overheard and turn the turtle over on his back. This is no easy task, and the man generally has two or three good duckings before he is successful. Not infrequently the animal makes a final dash for fredon, and the boat has to head for the new direction taken, and the steersman is left in the water.
 Even when it is turned it is not so easy to haul a four hundred-pound ani- nal into the boat, which usually is half full of water before the captive is vainly Tapping fins at the bot tom of the boat. Sometimes the tur- tie heads for the deep water, and if so it generally takes from two to three hours to land them, as they will sink to the bottom and sulz there, coming up for breath only at long intervals.