A.—3b

52

washed in hot fresh water, which had been previously strongly impregnated with the alkali of wood ashes. I have had occasion, in a former paper, to mention turtle-shell as one of the valuable products of the coral isles. It is commonly spoken of as tortoise-shell, which, in the case of the hawksbill turtle, is no great misnomer, as there is but little difference between the animals, except in so far that tho latter has flippers instead of paws. On the Gallapagos is a gigantic species of tortoise, of which the shell is of no use, though the flesh is very good eating. This creature, which is, I believe, found nowhere else on the face of the earth, grows to so great a bulk as to weigh half a ton, and it is said even more ; he is quite harmless. A seaman of a New Bedford whale-ship, a few years ago, was supposed by his companions to have lost himself on one of the Gallapagos. They sought him for a week without success, when to their astonishment he made his appearance driving one of these immense brutes with a club. It was the largest they had ever seen or heard of, and he had spent several days and nights in getting it dovfh. from the mountains to the sea beach. This monster might probably have been several centuries old, for, like all the tortoise tribe, they are of very slow growth. 1 believe that it is admitted by men of science that there is strong presumptive evidence of land tortoises of the old world, in a domesticated state, having lived for more than 200 years. Twenty years ago two young tortoises of the Gallapagos were brought to Aitutake by a whale-fisher, who had a wife and family on that island. He took them on shore in his pockets, and let them go adrift in the bush. Eight years afterwards the natives found one of them dead after a bush fire, and they say it was no larger than the blade of a paddle, which would be of an oval shape, and about a foot in diameter. The Gallapagos Islands, which are a horrible congeries of extinct volcanic craters, seem to be inhabited by no living creatures but these great tortoises, and vast multitudes of hideous iguanas, which also are very good eating. Among the natives of the coral isles there are certain laws with respect to catching turtle. Whosoever sees the turtle first (be it man or woman) claims the shell. Be it remembered the shell is valuable to them for many purposes. Not only do they make of it many articles of domestic use, but among the more savage tribes it is carved into grotesque ornaments, which they attach to their heads and bodies ; also they cut it into long strips, with which they cover the seams of their canoes, and of tho thickest portion they make ear-rings, finger-rings, bracelets, and fish-hooks. In fact, it would be difficult to enumerato the multitude of uses to which the "una home," as it is called, is devoted by barbarians. Some of the bones also of the turtle are made to serve many useful purposes—such as bodkins, fish-hooks, spoons, and especially knives.) Civilized men will be apt to smile at the idea of a bone knife ! But I have seen many knives made from the blade bones of the turtle, which, although clumsy in form, were quite as effective for any ordinary purpose as steel knives could have been; one which I had in my own possession was very old, having been made in a former generation. It required to be very seldom sharpened, and then took such an edge as no man would liko to run his finger carelessly along. When a turtle is caught, be it large or small, the flesh is divided among the whole of the inhabitants of the village to which the captors belong, so that in many cases a very small piece comes to the share of each individual. The weight of a full-grown turtle is usually about 4 cwts. in the Pacific, but sometimes they are found as much as G cwts. They are profitable to fish for, not only on account of the shell, but for the oil which they contain, of which a good-sized one will yield ten gallons. The trade price is usually one dollar per gallon. Among savages they are sought after chiefly for the flesh, which they eat either cooked or raw. It is like beef, and is no great delicacy. Turtle soup, as far as I can understand it, resembles the broth which a cobbler is said to have made of his lapstone ; he was supplied with a variety of excellent ingredients to boil with it, and it turned out very good indeed. The creature is killed by striking it on the back of tho head with a club ; a bundle of dry leaves is then ignited and passed over the shell, so as to loosen the plates, which are pulled off; the under part of the shell is then split from the upper, and the meat is cut up. On some lands all turtles are claimed by the King; in that case, the plates being removed from the back, the animal is put whole in an oven of hot stones, and baked. AVhen there are not sufficient in the company to consume the whole carcase at one meal, the residue is preserved in a very ingenious manner. Tho turtle being baked with his back down, the hollow of the shell is full of melted fat or oil; this is baled out and taken care of; the meat which is intended to be preserved is cut into junks, each about the size of a man's fist. One or more of these is put into a cocoa-nut shell, and the oil poured upon it till the shell is nearly filled; the mouth is then closed, with a green leaf tied over it; it is then put away until wanted, when it is again put into the oven and made hot. In this manner the meat can be preserved for an indefinite time without spoiling. There are several ways of catching turtle, but the most usual is to watch for them at night. When they are taken during the day, it is generally by surprising them while they are asleep on the surface of the water. On those occasions the practice is, as soon as the turtle is discovered, for several persons to go out to him in a canoe, and paddle silently alongside, when they seize him and lift him on board before he knows what is going on. They are quite harmless, except in the mere matter of floundering and striking out with their flippers, with which they can deliver a severe blow. It is very rare for them to attempt to bite. When a turtle is found sleeping, and he be of great size, and but few men to seize him, it is usual to harpoon him. During the breeding season these creatures are very careless of their safety ; they are found in congeries, and, under certain circumstances, exhibit no sense of danger, or desire to escape from the presence of man. AVhen several turtles are in this state, a like number of men, having approached them in a canoe, will jump overboard and lay hold of them thus : the man gets on the back of the turtle, and takes hold with his hands of the front of the shell, just behind the neck. This prevents him from " sounding," that is to say, going down head foremost, as a turtle will always do when alarmed, if not prevented, as in this case he is effectually by the weight of the man on his back. He is thus quite helpless, for he has no idea of getting rid of his rider, except by diving head first, and allows himself to be steered in any direction his captors may choose. Thus he is brought up alongside of the canoe, and hoisted into it without resistance. But in playing this little game, which seems so simple, there are several things which it is necessary to know. One of them is, that a turtle in the water can cut a naked man very dangerously with his flippers; another thing to be avoided is to catch the turtle by the tail. God help the man that knows no better than to do so, for the reptile will in that case instantly shut his tail close up to his body, whereby he will hold the man's