We landed our dwarf and his young friend in the bosom of their families, and I can safely aver they kept the natives of the island alive for many weeks with the account of their travels and adventures and the wonderful sights they had seen.
We spent two or three days here in order to refit.
We commissioned the natives to get us a turtle, promising to give them 15 sticks of trade tobacco for it.
They started off in one of their big canoes for a small island about seven miles away.
They stayed on the island all night, but were unsuccessful. Being anxious to earn the tobacco, and knowing that "no turtle no tobacco," was our motto, they remained another night, and succeeded in capturing a huge turtle weighing close on four cwt.
Their plan is to choose a clear night. They then lie in wait near the beach; the turtle leaves the sea for a moonlight walk, when the natives, armed with big sticks, rush upon it and turn it over on its back, in which position it is helpless. They have a cruel practice of burning the shell off the turtle when alive. We were much annoyed with them at this, but it was too late to expostulate, as we had not been witness to the practice. The turtle, which was a "green one," was placed on its back in the canoe and eventually brought to us minus the shell.
We felt much inclined not to buy it, but fresh meat is not to be despised.
When you have lived on tinned meats for some months, it is only natural that you should desire a change. In a turtle there is truly fish, flesh and fowl.
I don't know whether any of my readers have ever tasted a fresh turtle steak or not, but if they have not, my advice to them is do so at the first opportunity, for it is delicious, and superior even to the acknowledged rump steak.
We intended to keep the turtle alive until we reached China Straits, so as to dine off it on Christmas day. A turtle will keep alive in a boat without anything to eat for several weeks. It is only necessary to occasionally dash a bucket of salt water over its head to keep it cool.