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-town of Tampa, and remained there until
[Ettered according to Act of Congress, in the yea
®
r 1882, by Jaws Et.verson, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.)
JAMES ELVERSON, 2N.W.
Publisher, and
VoL. III.
gorner NINTH
SPRUCE Sts.
PHILADELPHIA, OCTOBER 21, 1882.
TERMS: { $8.00 PER ANNUM,
No. 46.
IN ADVANCE,
Amateur Turtle-Catchers,
BY JAMES OTIS. .
Last year, when Harry and Johnny
Drew were in Florida, they visited the
nearly June. When they first went
South, they were very anxious to catch
a turtle, and they believed they should
find such game crawling around on the
beach, or floating on top of the water,
just begging to be caught by very small
boys from the North,
It was not many days after they ar-
rived there, however, before they came
to look upon turtles as much less stupid
than they had supposed them to be, and
they soon learned that to catch a turtle
required considerable skill, a very great
amount of patience, and that it can only
be done in certain seasons of the year.
Although they had changed their views
on the subject somewhat, after talking
with the boys of the town, they still be-
lieved the work to be so trifling that
Now, this lying at full length in the
sand, near the sea, where the flies are
both numerous and active, is no re-
markably pleasant. thing, even though
they were as anxious as ever to catch one
of these animated shells. Therefore, in
the spring of the year, when they saw the
turtle hunters start out on moonlight
nights, and were told that they had §
brought back a certain number of prizes,
they were very anxious totry their hands i
at the business.
Mrs. Drew was perfectly willing . that
they should go out with the fishermen,
but when they begged to be allowed to
go alone, she was very doubtful as to
whether it would be safe for them to do
80, until old Captain Bob Grant said in
his hoarse voice, much as if he was shout-
ing at a ship several miles away?
“Let them go, ma’am; it won’t do ’em
any harm, an’ they’ll be sure to want to
crawl home after they’ve watched an
hour or so on the beach.””
The boysnever had a very high opinion
of Captain Bob until they heard him give
this opinion, and then they looked upon
him asa firm friend to boys in general,
and themselves in particular.
The preparations they made were won-
derful in extent, and from the amount of
provisions they insisted on having put
up for them as a lunch, one would have
thought they intended to stay several
days, instead of. only a few hours. But
they got all they thought they needed,
and, as that very night after the question
had been decided was a moonlight one,
they started out, firmly believing they
should bring back at least three very
large turtles.
Captain Bob had told them exactly
how to proceed, and when they reached
the beach, about an hour before high
Water, they found a convenient hiding-
Place, from which they could spring out
one .is out for
sport, and the
boys got near-
ly as much as
they wanted of
it before they had been
there fifteen minutes.
Half an hour passed
without their having seen anything
alive save the sand-flies, and Johnny
had eaten as much of the lunch as pos-
sible, under the beliof that they should
soon go home, when Harry elbowed him
so hard in the side he surely thought
his ribs were broken. .
Luckily for their chances of effecting
a capture, just as he was about to cry
quickly at the first appearance of the
wished-for turtle.
out with pain, he remembered what they
had come for, and that any noise would
ruin all their plans, so he stifled the cry
that was just escaping from his lips, and
at the same time saw a dark mass of
something at the water’s edge, behaving
much as if it was trying to shove itself
upon the sand.
There was but one drawback to the
affair, and that was that the turtle, which
was slowly crawling upon the beach,
was rather larger than they cared to at-
tempt to capture, although neither of the
expectant hunters had the least idea
of allowing the fellow to escape him
simply because of that.
In ten minutes from the
time that Mr. Turtle first
made his appearance,
Harry thought he had
got far enough
inland to make
it safe for them
to begin work,
and shouting
to Johnny he
“Be all ready now, for that’s a turtle,
an’ he’s a big feller,” whispered Harry,
warningly.
Johnny almost ceased breathing in
his desire to be silent, and both saw the
turtle as he crawled up on the sand, the
moonbeans glistening on his shell until
it looked like silver.
“HE TRIED TO STOP HIM BY PULLING AT THE SHELL.”
started at full speed down the beach.
On hearing the noise, the turtle ap-
peared tothink he had taken about as
long a walk as he cared to for that night,
and that it was time to take a swim, for
he turned around as quickly as possible,
evidently making every effort to reach
the water.