Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1904-12-08

: HAU HNCu BUN HihyC0 e6OSN -
life, and when he got to be about l;
years old his father had made for hin
and gave to him boat for his own. /;
ut was a nice little. light skin
about ~ feet long and not drawing
much water. a boat that boy OF BIZ
age who was strong and hardy IS h'
was, could pull very handily; End h'
used to have great fun in 1t.
THE fishermen used to set theil
nets at different times OF year for dit
ferent hsh. You know. some hsf
come on the coast at one season and
some at another: but still at all times
they'd catch some variety OF fish. and
sometimes they'd catch hsh that thej
didn't want ut all, like sharks. 3
big sharks would follow the ashes
into the nets, to get some to eat, and
Let caught themselves. And then. they
would make a lot OF trouble for the
fishermen. They'd tear the nets all tc
pieces trying to get out, and so let all
the fishes out; and so the fishermen
would lose all the fishes they'd caught
and have to 60 to the expense OF fixing
up their nets besides. The fishermen
never like to catch sharks.
"And then sometimes they used to
get turtles in their nets, various kinds
OF sea turtles. including ioggerheads.
The loggerhesd turtles you know,
grow to be very big; some very big
ones weigh as much as thousand
I.ounds, tremendous big turtles, and
then they come smaller; but the log
gerhead is big turtle anyway. and
they used to get some pretty big ones
in their nets.
And one day when they'd got one
that the boys father thought would do
he gave 1t to him for a horse-a kind
OF a sea horse. wasn't it?-for his
boat.
This loggerhead bad a shell about
two feet and half long, and then
It's head and its tail stuck out at the
ends beyond this. so that altogether
It was about three feet and half long.
1t weighed something between $50 and
200 pounds; so you see 1t was about as
big as 4 handicapped table and It
weighed about as much as man. A
powerful turtle; and It could tow that
boat easily.
"The boys father rugged 1t up for
him all right. He bored small hole
through the back end of the turtles
upper shell where 1t was the best place
Tor It, and where 1t wouldn't hurt the
turtle. and through this hole he drew
one end OF small stout line, and when
he'd get 1t through he made knot
on that end so the line wouldn't draw
out again through the hole when the
turtle began to pull on It; and then
he put tho turtle back into the water
and gave the free end Of the line. the
reins. as you might call It, to the boJ
In ais boat. And then hs says to The
boy:
"'Now don't let him tow you out to
sea. and when he sounds give him line,
and then let the turtle go.
What he meant by when ne
sounds was. when the turtle sounded
the depths Of the water; when he went
down to the bottom; for you see the
water in this bay was in some places
rs much as twenty-elght feet deep and
II the the boy had only short line
on the turtle and the turtle had sound.
ed IN deep water and the boy had hung
on to the line, the weight OF the turtle
might have upset the boat and
thrown the boy into the water. But the
father knew the boy and had conf.
dence In him and knew ne would un.
derstand, and do as he told him:
Don't let him tow you out to sea and
when he sounds give him line. AID
then turned the turtle loose, and the
boy gave him a little slack at FIRST so
as not TO bring him up too suddenly.
and then he held on gently but firmly
and then OF they started with the
DO. sitting In the boat and the turtle
towing MIN.
"And then the turtle took the boy all
ground the bay. trying Of course. to
get away. That string didn't hur. him
but the turtle didn't Just like It. But
II couldn't shake It on. and So when.
ever II went II towed the boat after It
with the boy In the boat.
Sometimes the turtle would sound
rnd then the boy would pay out line.
And after the turtle had got down to
the bottom the boy would let him rest
for while. and ihen when he wanted
him to draw the boat again he would
ru;l on the line little. softly, and the
turtle would come up and start going