The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part Second / Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Siam and Java; With Descriptions of Cochin-China, Cambodia, Sumatra and the Malay Archipelago

by Thomas Wallace Knox

"Turtles are captured at night, when they go on shore to lay their eggs. They generally select a moonlight night for this purpose, and a smooth sandy beach; they dig holes in the sand, where they deposit their eggs, and leave them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. When they are on shore for this purpose, the hunters come upon them; the turtle cannot move rapidly on the sand, and is easily overtaken. The hunters turn the poor turtles on their backs, and then leave them till the next day, when they come and remove them."

"I have heard," said one of the boys, "that when a turtle is placed on his back he cannot turn over and put himself right side up."

"That is quite correct, and a knowledge of this peculiarity is of great assistance to the turtle-hunters. But there is another way of catching the turtle that will strike you as the most curious of all."

"What is that?"

"It is by fishing with the Remora."

"And what is the remora?"

"It is a fish found in tropical waters, both in the East and West Indies. Its popular name is 'the sucking-fish,' and it is so called on account of a disk on its head, by which it can attach itself to a smooth surface, like the side of a shark, a ship, or the shell of a turtle. The disk is very much like the soft leather 'suckers' made by school boys, and when the fish has attached himself, you can pull him to pieces rather than induce him to release his hold.

"The turtle-hunters go out in a boat and carry several of these fishes in a tub. When they see a turtle they get as near to him as they can, and send a sucker after him. The fish is held by a ring on his tail, attached to a stout cord; he swims towards the turtle and fastens on his shell, and then the fish and turtle are hauled in together. In the air the remora loosens his hold, and is dropped back into the tub, to wait till he is wanted again."

The boys laughed at this comical way of fishing. Fred wondered if the remora was able to understand the joke, and comprehend the value of his services to mankind. Frank said he would like to know what the turtles thought of the business, and whether they had any respect for a parasite that came uninvited and caused them to be captured.