a prey to man. The fishers wait for them on shore, especially on a
moonlight night, and following them in one of their journeys, either
coming or returning, they turn them quickly over on their backs, before
they have time to defend themselves, or to blind their assailants by
throwing up the sand with their fins.

When very large, for I should tell you that the usual weight of the
turtle is from four to six hundred pounds, it requires the efforts of
several men to turn them over, and for this purpose they often employ
levers: the back shell of the turtle is so flat that when once over it
is impossible for them to right themselves, so there the poor creatures
lie in this helpless condition, till they are either taken away in the
manner you see in the picture, or deposited by their captors in a crawl,
which is a kind of enclosure surrounded by stakes, and so situated as to
admit the influx of the sea.

The inhabitants of the Bahama Isles, catch many turtles at a
considerable distance from the shore; they strike them with a spear, the
head of which slips off when it has entered the body of the turtle, but
it is fastened by a string to the pole, and by means of this apparatus
they are able to secure them, and either take them into the boat or haul
them on shore. The length of the green turtle frequently exceeds six
feet. A boy ten years old, a son of Captain Roche, once made use of a
very large shell as a boat, and ventured in it from the shore to his
father's ship which lay about a quarter of a mile off. It was in the
bay of Campeachy, off Port Royal, where the rightful occupant of this
shell was caught.

[Illustration: WRECK OF THE STEAMBOAT.]