The Republican., 1896-06-11
TERRAPIN IN CAPE GOD.
Discovered by Southern Negro, who
Kept His Secret,


1t will be great shock to the pride of
Maryland and Pennsylvania to learn
that terrapin are caught on the coast
OF Massachusetts and that they COM
mand higher price in the New York
market than those from anywhere else.
Where the Massachusetts diamond
backs come from or when they come
or whether they are natives of these
waters are questions that have never
been answered. Indeed, naturalists
seem to have entirely overlooked. I'M
til very recently, the fact that the ter
rapin was to be found ON the Massa-
chusetts coast.
When the presence of terrapin was
brought to the attention of few men
who were interested in natural history
it was thought at first that the reptiles
had migrated from the south But many
OF the terrapin were fully grown, and
as a full-grOwn terrapin is believed to
be not less than so years old it was con-
cluded that they were probably natives
of Massachusetts. If this conclusion is
the correct one it is the more remark
able that the fashionable turtle man
aged to keep himself out of textbooks
on natural history.
Terrapin were first discovered in Mas
sachusetts by a southern negro, Demp-
ster Hill, who happened to see several
of the diamond backs summing them
selves on a sandbar He had not lived
in the south for nothing, and, recogniz-
ing the value of his find, he said not a
word to anybody, but suddenly devel-
oped remarkable energy.
Like most of his race he did not worry
about the future, and, when he had
caught dozen or two terrapin, he sold
them and lived on the proceeds until
his funds needed repletion, when he be-
came again energetic.
Hill made very comfortable living
in this way for several years before his
white neighbors awoke to their oppor-
tunities.
This was number of years ago, and
when Hill died his mantle fell on a
white man, who is now the principal
terrapin fisher on Buzzard's bay.
Terrapin are to be found all along the
Cape Cod coast as we'll as III Buzzard's s
bay. This year both the ''diamond'
and smooth back terrapin have been
very scarce in these waters or else the
fishermen have not had their usual sue
cess in finding them.
Twelve years ago terrapin were
caught in great quantities in Barnsta-
BILE, South Wellfeet and other points
on Buzzard's bay. but most of the fish
ing is now done in East Wareham and
vicinity, where the most expert 'dia-
mond back" hunter on the coast lives.
Terrapin are known on Cape Cod as
"turpin" and the visitor from the city
who gives the word three syllables Is
regarded as hopelessly ignorant. The
native of Maryland prefers to speak of
this delectable inhabitant of a shell as
bird, possibly because its flavor has
something of suggestion of the salt
marsh in the ear y morning.
1t is in the salt marshes bordering
the creeks which have their outlet in
Buzzard's bay that the choicest "tur-
PIN find their homes in the winter
months. To protect themselves from
the cold they dig down in the sand,
sometimes to a depth of five feet, and lie
dormant until spring. In the interval
they go without food. With the APP
proach of warm weather appetite re-
turns, they resurrect themselves from
their sandy graves and until winter
comes again they swim about in the
water, catching the oysters, crabs and
fish on which they subsist or lie summing
themselves on sandbars for hours
Boston Herald.