The sea-blubber and galley-fish are other varieties of the mollusca class. They float like a jelly upon the surface of the sea, near its margin; and are dangerous to fishermen, and those persons who are in the habit of going into shallow water without shoes, wounding the feet sorely. If trodden upon, they explode with a loud noise, like an inflated bladder. These sea-nettles, (so called from the stinging pain they occasion if touched,) like the rest of their tribe, feed upon minute shell-fish and sea-insects. They are viviparous.
The sea-polypus also inhabit these seas. These wondrous phenomena of nature belong to the genus hydra, class vermes, order zoophyte; the distinguishing character of which is, that if any part of the body be severed, it instantly becomes a perfect animal. For example, if a polypus be cut transversely into two or three pieces, each portion becomes a regular animal, and a new polypus will also be produced from the skin of the old one. If any of the young polypi be mutilated while growing upon the body of the parent, the parts cut off will immediately grow again; and even if the polypus be dispossessed of its extremities, it will produce young ones before it has attained head or tail. The sea-anemone is very beautiful when alive. It is of a most lovely purple, and throws out its numerous feelers like radii from the centre; these feelers it can contract or expand at pleasure. They feed, like the rest of their species, upon small marine worms, insects, and shell-fish, which they have the power of rendering motionless, (after being entrapped in their long fibrous arms,) by means of a gluey liquid which oozes out of their bodies.
The chætodon, or cat-fish, is another inhabitant of the Caribbean. It is one of the most voracious of its tribe, preying indiscriminately upon all who approach it, and who it is enabled, by stratagem or open warfare, to overcome. The body is oblong, the head small, and the teeth slender, but extremely sharp, and bending inwards. The fins of the back are scaly, and the gill-membrane six-rayed.
Among the shell-fish are lobsters, (some of which attain to an immense size,) several kinds of crabs,[[68]] oysters, (which generally adhere to the mangrove trees,) conchs, whelks, cockles, star-fish, sea-eggs, and smaller multivalves and bivalves. This part of the ocean is also very prolific in marine plants, (some of which, as “sea-feathers,” “sea-fans,” &c., are very beautiful,) and corals of several shapes and kinds; the latter substance is principally used for burning lime. The brain-stone is also frequently found, as well as many other curiosities, which are purchased from the negro divers and sent to England, as presents, but which I must pass over with this brief notice.
The testudo Mydas, or sea-turtle, frequent the bays of Antigua. The female is so very prolific, that she sometimes lays 1000 eggs, which are hatched by the sun, in about 25 days. The merits of this amphibious animal are too well known to descant upon. The shell[[69]] is very hard and strong, and it will carry as much as 700 or 800 lbs. upon its back. One was captured in these seas, a few years ago which measured six feet across the back, and the shell formed a good boat for a boy to sail about the harbour in. In Cuba, they attain a great size, and have been known to walk off with five or six men standing upon them. A full-grown turtle has often attained the weight of 500 lbs. There are none of this race of giants at Antigua; those caught upon her shores are of smaller dimensions, although of rich flavour.
The cancer ruricola, or land-crab, is another inhabitant of Antigua well worthy of note. They live in clefts of rocks, hollow trees, or deep holes which they dig for themselves in the earth, and are much esteemed by Creoles for the sweetness of their meat. Once in the year they march down from their mountain dwellings to the sea-shore in immense numbers, for the purpose of casting their spawn. Before starting upon these expeditions, the whole body meet in “conclave grave,” when leaders are chosen, the route agreed upon, and the whole company divided into three battalions. The strongest males most gallantly take the lead in order to face any foe, as well as to act as pioneers; they are followed a short time afterwards by a battalion of females, and the rear is brought up by a medley group of stragglers of all ages and sex. They travel by night, and, as far as possible, keep as straight a line to the sea-side as if they were going by rail-road, only that they neither cut through hills, nor fill up dingles, but march over every impediment with the greatest nonchalance. While upon their travels, they commonly march with their long nippers held aloft, and which now and then they clatter together, as if in defiance of any one they may meet; and if assaulted, they will grasp their assailants so firmly by them, that very frequently they leave such members behind them. They have something of the ogre about their disposition, for if one of their companions meet with an accident which prevents it travelling as fast as the rest, the others immediately fall upon and devour it, without any compunctive feelings.
As soon as they reach the sea-side, the females prepare to cast their spawn upon the surface of the sea, leaving it to chance to bring it to perfection. The females are very prolific; but it is supposed two-thirds of their eggs fall a prey to the numerous shoal of fish, which are apparently hovering about, waiting for their expected treat. After remaining for some time by the sea-side, they prepare to return to their mountain homes; but many of them are fatigued by their long journey, and dig holes about the adjacent parts of the country, where they remain until they again become strong and fat. It is during these annual peregrinations that the negroes employ themselves in crab-catching; which exploit they perform at night by aid of a torch, when the crabs come out of their holes to feed. Land-crabs cast their shells annually, and at such periods remain closely concealed in their holes, almost without motion and without food, for about the space of six or eight days, during which time the new shell hardens. They vary in size and colour, some being of a deep coal black, others of a light yellow, and some streaked in red and yellow. Their favourite resorts are the burial-grounds, upon which account many persons have a great antipathy to them as an article of food.
The soldier-crab is a curious little animal, totally unprovided by nature with any shell, so that in order to protect its delicate body from the attack of its enemies, it is obliged to look out for the vacated covering of some shell-fish in which to take up its abode. As the “soldier” increases in bulk, it changes its habitation, and sometimes, for want of a better dwelling, is fain to content itself with the cast-off claw of a lobster or a defunct crab. Although of small size, they are extremely quarrelsome, and their combats for a favourite shell are very terrific, and often end fatally to one of the party; upon which event, the conqueror immediately takes possession of the fought-for dwelling, and to put an end to the affair, makes his dinner off the body of his enemy.
Lizards abound in Antigua; from every fence, from every tree—from the copsewood thicket and the wavy cane-field—you may see their bright little eyes peeping at you. There are about eighty species of this tribe found in different parts of the world, included under the name lacertæ; those commonly found in Antigua are the agilis, or common tree lizard, the ground lizard, and the guana, or iguana. The common lizard is of a bright green colour, with the head and feet of an ashy hue; there are some, however, of a dirty olive brown, with the feet and tail approaching to black. Like the chameleon, they have the power of changing their colour; and when angry, they swell out the skin of the thorax into a kind of pouch, inflating and contracting it with a clock-like motion. Their tails, of the extreme length of their bodies, are verticillated, and armed with sharp scales; their snouts are long and pointed, and their jaws furnished with numerous small and sharp teeth. They feed upon insects and young buds, and are particularly quarrelsome among themselves, often losing the greater part of their tails in their combats. The lizard is very susceptible of melody, and will remain couched upon a tree for a long time together, listening to the soft strains of a flute or piano, or the sound of the human voice. They are also capable of being tamed, and will frequent the spot where they have once been fed with bread crumbs. The lizard is oviparous, and deposits its eggs (which are white, of the shape of a hen’s egg, and about the size of a small kidney bean) in holes in the ground near the roots of trees, or even in the ashes by the fire-hearth.
The ground-lizard is considerably larger than the tree-lizard. It is of a greenish brown hue, with a blood-red stripe running longitudinally down each side. The head, ending in a pointed snout, is also of the same colour, which gives the animal altogether a disgusting appearance. The mouth is armed with an infinite number of sharp, slender teeth, the bite from which is supposed to be very venomous on account of their often leaving such weapons in the wound they have inflicted. The negroes have a superstitious notion, that as soon as this reptile has bitten any one it immediately makes the best of its way to the sea-side, and as the only means of preventing any ill-consequences to itself, bathes in the water, and the wounded person receives the punishment in the shape of leprosy. If, on the contrary, the individual bitten can reach the sea and perform the ablution necessary, before the lizard has time to gain that spot, the reptile pays the penalty, falling a prey to the effects of its own venom. The tail of the ground-lizard is of extreme length, and trails along the ground, giving the creature, when walking, a kind of snake-like motion; when, however, it is attacked by a dog, or frightened by the sound of approaching footsteps, it throws this unwieldy member over its back, and starts away with the greatest activity. The ground-lizard lives in deep holes, which it burrows in the ground, (from whence its name;) its food is the young herbage, fruit, vegetables, or anything of the kind that falls in its way; it holds its prey firmly with its fore-feet, while it tears it to pieces with its teeth, and then swallows it with much apparent gusto, putting out its long slender red tongue, in the manner of a dog. I have often fed a ground-lizard with the fruit of the soursop, for the purpose of watching its movements; and if a piece of its favourite fare was delayed for a little longer than it deemed necessary, it would turn up its bright round eyes upon me, as if asking why I balked its appetite. Ground-lizards are also extremely choleric, and will fight with their own species for an hour together. The mode of warfare is to spring forwards, grapple each other with their fore-paws, throw their long tails around each other’s body, and in this situation roll over and over in the dust, until one of them acknowledges itself conquered by striving to retire.