Evening star., 1940-05-05
Nassau Turtle Egg
Season Arrives 10
Crafty Gourmet
Hunting on Beoches
And in Water Hos
Distinctive Thrills

NASSAU. Bahamas, May A.
IN Nassau and other parts Of the
Bahamas, where turtles are plenti-
full the year round, epicures are
smacking their lips, for turtle eggs
have brought further delights to
the dinner table. April through
June Is the breeding season.
While he waited for the season
the gourmet appeased his taste for
turtles in other delicious dishes.
Nassau's most famous one, Of
course, is green turtle baked and
served on its own shell. Then there
are turtle croquettes. soups and
stews.
From Bahamian waters, too, come
the amber tortoise shells, 80 highly
priced when made into combs, ar
ticles Of jewelry, cigarette cases and
toilet sets.
The green variety with which the
gourmet is chiefly concerned be-
couse Of its flavor feeds on the
grasses and marine growth which
are to be found in Bahamian wa
tiers. The hawksbill, whose shell is
the source Of many tortoise shell
products, but whose meat Is tough
and unpleasant, feeds on sponges
and pieces of coral.
Few among those who like the
turtle for its delectable culinary
qualities or those who value the
commercial possibilities of its shell
are acquainted with the means by
which these creatures are caught
for market.
Weighty and Powerful.
Capturing green turtle, which
attains weigh of 750 pounds and
is powerful in the bargain, while
the creature is In the water, is q
man-sized job. But even Achilles
had his weak spot and the green
turtle is vulnerable to those who
find it crawling around on the sands.
Once turned over on its back the
largest turtle is at the mercy Of its
captor and we'll on its way toward
being converted into soup or stew.
If turtles made a practice Of
strolling along Nassaus lovely
beaches Gas many American Wis
itors are doing) 1t would obviously
be matter of little prowess to
capture them for the kitchen stove.
But unfortunately for the gourmet
and quite luckily for the turtle
these big marine creatures are
more in the habit of frequenting
the open stretches of water about
the islands and Gays Of the Ba-
hAmas, often swimming hundreds
Of miles of shore.
During the egg-laying season in
the summer, however, the turtles
swim In from their watery haunts
and crawl up on the sands to de-
posit their eggs. burying them Just
above high-water mark in large
holes which they dig with their
fins. The sand is smoothed over
and the eggs left to hatch by them
selves. About $50 or 200 eggs about
m inch In diameter are laid by
each one, the green turtle having
soft shells and the tortoise variety
hard shells. The female lays q
batch Of eggs several times sea-
son, each deposit decreasing In
number. .'-...z-. e. :
Hunt With Pointed Stick.
The eggs are as highly priced as
the turtles themselves by the gour-
met. The good prices offered by
Nassau's markets for either variety,
both said to be equally delicious,
acts as constant inducement to the
turtle hunters to tramp along the
water fronts of the islands, poking
at the sands with their pointed
sticks. When the "turtler" strikes
an egg cache his stick becomes
coated bright yellow with the hid
den eggs.
The easy way to go turtle hunt
ing, Of course. is to lie in wait on
a sandy stretch of beach some
moonlight night during the egg
laying season. When the turtle has
crawled from the water and is pre-
pairing to deposit its eggs, the
hunter can sneak up on his prize,
turn it over and take both turtle
and eggs in one fell swoop.
But this sneak-up, turn-turtle
method is not available to those who
would eat green turtle la Nassau
throughout the year. The profess
sional "turtler" who keeps the mar
ket supplied with this highly cher
ished delicacy has far harder job
on his hands. He spears them with
q harpoon, catches them in a spe-
cially designed net, or. if he is dar-
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