The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-25
OF THE SEA TURTLE.
TURTLE HUNTING A FAvORITE
SPORT ON THE BEACHES.

The Season will Last About Three
Making the Most of It-How the
Turtle Lays Her Eggs and Protects
Them-Stories of TurtIe Hunts at
warsaw and Tybee.
One Of the favorite summer sports of
me fishermen and marooners of Savan-
nah is turtle hunting on the sandy beaches
of the neighboring islands where from
May to August the turtles come out to
lay their eggs.
on the long fiat stretches of sand the
mother turtle erawls about hundred
feet or more from the water line and
there with her flippers scooping out
round hole from two feet to three feet
deep, deposits her eggs, often three hun
drsd or more, covering every fifty or so
with thin layer of sand and putting a
final layer of considerable thickness over
the top of the nest after her maternal du-
the nest she smoothes off even with the
beach and after making the surroundings
as near as possible like the remainder of
the beach, if undisturbed, crawls back
TO the water with the pleasing conscious
ness of duty we'll performed and the con-
fdent conviction that in a short time her
maternal heart will be gladdened with a
numerous progeny.
Even when she escapes with her life,
however, her hopes of a family are Of
ten disappointed, for turtle eggs are con-
coded TO be a delcacy by nearly every
body who has tried them, from the green
EST cracker whose only conception of
turtle is the pound and half terrapin of
the inland swamps and ponds, to the most
accomplished epicure familiar with the
celebrated dishes of every land; and it is
this toothsomeness of her product that
leads to the undoing of the turtles hopes
for during the season of her laying, the
nests are sought for continuously and
many of them found and robbed of their
contents. The method of search is very
simple; where the tracks of the turtle are
found leading up the beach they are fol-
lowed, and the ground at various points
along the trail tested by me ans of stick
ing into the sand slender rod or walk
ing cane. The nest is distinguished when
reached by the ready yielding of the sand
ana then the hunters, with their hands,
eggs.
But it is In finding and securing the
tur lie itself that the hunter finds the
greatest pleasure. The hunt is almost al
ways made at night and Preferably during
moonlight. The conditions are best about
the middle of May, during a full moon,
ard in the early morning hours. Then
skirting the water line, the hunters walk
along he beach, keeping sharp look out
for tracks as they pass along, and an even
sharper look out ahead, for the creature
itself. On a clear night the great lum-
bering animal can be distinguished long
way off. When one is sighted the hunters
oefermine their further procee dings in ac-
cordance with the position of the crea-
ture in respect to the nearness of the wa
ter line and its evident int entions.
If on its way to make a nest
which is known by its crawling up the
sand and away from the water there is no
particular need to hurry as unless dis
turbed the turtle will not return TO the
water unti) she has deposited her eggs.
SO usually the hunters are content to wait
4 safe distance away until the nest has
been completed and the actual laying of
the eggs begun, then they may approach
with impunity for the turtle once on the
nest will not move until she has completed
her task. Then and not till then will she
"
she commences her retreat to the water
that the hunters secure her by catching
the side of the shell and turning her over
on her back when she lies helpless and
can only fan her mighty and powerful
fippers in wrathy impotence.
The turtle Is a firm believer that dis
erection is the better part of valor hence
she shows fight only when cornered and
has no way of escape; should she catch
iCh - hn-
before she has begun to lay she will
at once beat a hasty retreat toward
the water, scaling the hard beach and
throwing back quantities of sand in her
haste. But when she is brought to bay
she will both bite and strike heavy blows
with her fippers, and these must be care
fully avoided while she is being turned
CT her back.
1t is owing 20 her efforts to injure her
enemies that her final undoing is accom-
plished for. like most of the family, Tes-
tudinata, the turtle. can draw it's head into
the shell and close its hippers close TO
Its sides, making itself practically i'm
pervious to attacks. This its captor
knows, and so when ready to slaughter
tpokes its head with stick until, 40 seize
the annoyance, the animal extends It's
head when it is cut off by a well directed
blow with Ratchet or AK
SNHic PEI SOliS calm tndI tHeTe Chi NC
found in the turtle portions that taste
Ike and resemble in appearance chicken
meat, veal, and beefsteak, but the aver
age marooner finds in the turtle only tur-
tie. which both in texture and tasteJ
closely resembles beefsteak
Turtles are still quite numerous on War
saw, though not nearly so plentiful as
they were several years ago, when as
many as nine have been turned in one
night They average in size from the
comparative small one of one hundred
pounds to five hundred pounds, and in ex-
ceptional cases, six hundred. One caught
seven years ago, weighed fifty pounds
more than the last number, and establish
ed record for large turtles that has since
remained unbroken A few have been
caught during the present season, but
no very large one. Only last week one
was caught under exceptional conditions;
II crawled out on the beach of Cabbage
island during the broad daylight Its
lie paid for It's temerity. however, for
II was seen by a negro fisherman who
1orsook his lines for the bigger game and
succeeded in baggng It..
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