Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-03-30

aS protection IN case OF attack by
other animals.
Inc task of getting them out of their
Island home is an arduous one Most
OF them are found several miles from
the coast. and they have to be brought
out strapped to the middle of a pole
winch is carried by two men. The is
lahas are of volcanic nature. and the
rough lava under foot makes walking
ulillcult, while cacti and thorn bushes
Oh many kinds are extremely thick in
some places. These journeys are hard
! on the tortoise also. but in their own
climate they seem to have a splendid
! vitality. and they make little objection
to these forced journeys. Although
| capable of doing considerable injury
with their sharp. parrotlke bill there
Is no known record of their ever hav-
ing attacked a human being
In their own country they feed prn-
clpally on cacti and on the hanging
moss. or orchilla, which is very abund-
ant there. The cactus has large per-
centage of water in its makeup, and
the orchilla contains considerable in
the morning, which it absorbs from
the heavy night dews. Upon these two
sources the tortoise depends during the
dry season. In captivity. like the tur-
ties, they eat almost anything of a
vegetable nature. Watermelons, GU
eumbers. apples, grapes. cabbages,
grass and many other varieties of veg
etable food have been tried. and all
seem to be palatable to this curious
animal.
Drink Quantities of Water
They drink water in large quantities,
frequently taking several quarts at a
time. 1t is related by Darwin that in
their natural habitat they would drink
great deal Of water in the wet sea-
son and retain it for considerable
period, and that the natives when
thirsty would sometimes kill a tortoise
and drink the water found inside.
which had not at all unpleasant taste.
The tortoise lay their eggs in holes
in tue ground the number laid varying
from eight to seventeen. The eggs are
laid several in q layer, with packing
or dirt between the individual eggs
and between the layers, the whole be-
ing covered with dirt so carefully as to
obiterate almost all trace of the work
They resemble billiard balls in shape
AID size. and are white in color with
hard shells
These tortoise should not be confused
with the sea turtle, the hawksbill
which produces the valuable tortoise
shell of commerce. The Galapagos
tortoise is of no value whatever, eX-
cept AS a scientific specimen or as food
They are SO nearly extinct NOW that Il
good specimen will bring several hun
dred dollars, while a giant one would
realize much more.
Their flesh tastes a good deal like
beef, makes excellent soup and would
no doubt be favorite dish among
epieures, as is the terrapin, il the ami
mails We're more common. Tortoise
liver is especially fine. Darwin. who
visited these islands in 1858 while ON
his voyage around the world in the
ship Beagle. says the breaStplate
roasted with the flesh on it is Very
good and the Young tortoise makes ex-
cellent soup" The eggs make very
good omtlttS.
Can Stand Much travelling.
Like the green turtle. the tortoise.
whom properly handled, is able to
stand lot of moving around. Many
have been brought alive from the is
lands, slowed below a VcsseTs decks
until San Francisco was reached, a
voyage which sometimes takes three
months with n sailing vessel. They
move around but little in the dark.
hence the ease with which they are
accommodated in ships hold. If
laid on their backs care must be taken
To ,,la hl1rlyc llan,y pna1l cid,
So rs to keep the animal on an even
keel. as it We're. AS the animal has no
internal skeleton to support it's vital
organs. these would all mass together
on the lower side if the shell soped
and the crowding would kill it. From
San Francisco they have been shipped
by rail to all parts of the East and
from the eastern ports to Europe.
But though able to endure so much
hardship in the way of travel. they
are very susceptible to cold, and Il
quick change in the temperature, a
frequent occurrence in this climate
soon kills them. So that unless they
are very carefully protected most Of
those brought to this climate live only
u comparatively short time.
The largest number taken in recent
years from the islands was the herd Of
more than seventy secured by the
Webster Rothschild expedition in 1897
'9S
The tortoise has long been figured as
type of sluggishness, and correctly
SO. But what it lacks in speed it
makes up to considerable extent in
steadfast effort. They have been OBJ
served to walk seven miles in some
two or three DAYS over the rough
ground Of their native islands When
journeying in search of water they
travel night and day. They have been
observed to work for some hours try
ing to accomplish some impossible feat
Never Dies Natural Death.
IT is not known to what age one of
these tortoise will live, but it is GER
tain they live to be very old. The ma
tives of the islands say the tortoise
never dies a natural death. Their al
lotted life is good many times that
of a human being. and enormous speci-
mems sometimes captured must have
a record beside which that of Methu-
Selah would seem small.
It was David Porter. the Well known
commodore of the Essex. who pointed
4.