the most wanton manner.

The seashore is littered with half

eaten turtle; fins, heads, and chunks of meat are everywhere. Often the Indians kill a turtle, and, finding it not so fat as they expected, throw it into the sea.

• In the morning all set out for the turtle-banks, which are 8 to 10 miles off, and it is a beautiful sight to see them returning in the evening. The sea to windward is covered with sails winding in and out among the coral banks. Every now and then they seem engulfed among the snow-white breakers, then appear in the deep blue of the channels. On reaching the banks, which are discovered by the number of turtle rising to blow, the sail is taken down, and they keep a lookout for blowing turtle. A stormy day is preferred, as the noise of the waves drowns that which may be made by the paddles. The turtle rising to blow generally floats on the surface for a few minutes, and the Indians endeavour to approach either behind or directly in front of it, as the turtle does not see well straight ahead. When within 20 or 30 yards, the man in the bow rises cautiously, and throws his long heavy staff, so that it falls nearly vertically on the turtle's back; the little bulbed weapon sinks into the shell, and the turtle dives to the bottom, dragging out the long line to which the staff and a bob of light wood is attached. It must rise to blow every twenty minutes, and is soon exhausted, and hauled into the canoe. Often the Indians so overload the canoe with turtle that it is unseaworthy, and is swamped by the waves time after time; but the turtle are tied by the fins to the canoe, and by constant baling the Indians at last reach the keys with their loads. The harpoon is so short that the turtle is not injured by the wound, but it takes great violence to pull it out of the shell, as the middle is swelled like a boy's tip-cat.

The Indians also fish by night, when they resort to the shoals among the coral reefs, where the turtle are seen by the line of phosphorescent light they make in the water; but

there are disadvantages about night-fishing, as they often harpoon a shark or a sawfish, which gives much trouble.

Schooners from the Cayman Islands come regularly to the coast to buy or net the turtle. The nets for this purpose are 80 to 100 fathoms long, and 6 feet wide; the lower edge weighted with lead, and the upper floated with corks. Near the nets decoys are placed, which are great pieces of wood, shaped like a turtle in the act of blowing. The turtle when they rise to blow always look about over the surface, and seeing the decoys, they approach and get entangled in the net.

Large enclosures, called kraals, are made in the shallow water, and the turtle are kept in them until a shipload is secured. The hawksbill turtle, which furnishes the shell of commerce, is much smaller than the green turtle. None of them are found about these coral banks; they frequent the southern coasts. These are never netted or captured by any but the Indians and Creoles, who spear them or take them when laying their eggs on the beach. Tortoise-shell is worth 6 dollars a pound, and a good shell weighs 4 pounds. The shell adheres to the bony calipash in large plates or scales.

The Indians dig up great quantities of the eggs of both green and hawksbill turtle, and nothing has ever been done to stop this ruinous practice. Turtle never lay on the coral islands, but always on the beach of the mainland; also it is observed that not every beach pleases them, but certain tracts of beach are selected on which they always return to lay. The she-turtle select the darkest nights to come on shore and lay their eggs in June and July.

I have spent many pleasant hours on these pretty coral keys, where, after a weary sail in a cramped canoe, one jumps ashore on the glittering sand to stretch one's legs and enjoy the rising sun. While the Indians are cooking breakfast under the grape-trees, I wander round to the windward side. of the island to study the life of the keys. Far to windward the swell of the sea roars and boils on the reefs, inside of

LIFE ON THE KEYS

277 which it is smooth as a millpond. Walls of dead coral enclose large basins of blue water, in which multitudes of fish seek shelter from the restless sea; 'shoals of sprats, chased by barracouta, every now and then leap out of water, and fall again like a cartload of pebbles; porpoises puff and blow, sending up tall jets of steam and spray, sometimes jumping out of water bellowing like calves. Now and then the fin of a ground shark is seen slowly making the round of the bay. Flocks of pelicans, with their great bills resting on their breasts, as if in grave meditation, swim in stately procession, while every now and then one rises on the wing a short distance and dives head - foremost into a school of sprats. Clamouring flocks of snow-white kricums (kittiwakes) line the walls of coral, drying their wings in the sun, fighting and pecking one another, then rising to make excursions to neighbouring reefs, and returning with loud screams. The graceful man-o'-war bird soars over all, watching with keen eye the rising sprats, or pursuing and plundering the terrified gull which has caught a fish. Nothing can exceed the grace and swiftness of this unscrupulous bird. In vain the gull, with loud outcry, dives down, or soars on high, or turns sharp round in zigzag flight. The man-o'-war bird presses hard on it without flapping a wing, following it round and round as if tied to its tail. Suddenly the gull drops its fish, when, with a graceful swoop, the plunderer catches it before it reaches the water, and sails off to look for another bird to rob. This singular bird has no power to fish for itself, but lives entirely by plundering others. The man-o'-war or frigate-bird is the most noticeable bird we have, because whenever we look up at the sky one is sure to be seen at a vast height, soaring and wheeling on motionless wings. From this height he watches everything that is going on, and if he sees a commotion among the gulls many miles off, he makes for that spot at a speed which some observers have given at 100 miles an hour.