the sponges were cut off from the rocks. Others sat in the boats, using
a bucket with a glass bottom, which, being sunk a few inches below the
surface, enabled them to peer down into the water to a depth of nearly
three fathoms. The sponges were then cut off with the knife I have just
described. In deep water, divers were employed; but of course the risk
was great, as they were liable to attacks from sharks and other monsters
of the deep.

We fell in with a countless variety of animal life in enormous
quantities as we sailed along within the reef. The most curious were
the beautiful paper-nautili, which swim with their long arms extended in
a straight line, their bodies contrasting with their fragile shells,
being remarkably ugly, and appearing as if scarcely connected with them.
Porpoises rolled along in large shoals, numerous sharks showed their
dark triangular fins above the water, and turtles of several species
floated on the surface; while ospreys and other sea-birds flew above our
heads, darting down ever and anon to pick up a luckless fish which came
within their ken. As the breeze fell light, our skipper determined to
obtain a supply of turtle to feed us and his crew, and to dispose of at
the first port we might touch at. He had been a turtle-hunter from his
youth, and knew their ways, he told us, as well as any man. There are
four different species--namely, the green turtle, the hawks-bill turtle,
the loggerhead turtle, and the trunk turtle. The first is that which
makes its appearance at aldermanic feasts. It deposits its eggs twice a
year, in May and June. Its first deposit, in which it lays about two
hundred and forty eggs, is the largest. The flesh of the hawks-bill
turtle is not considered equal to that of the green turtle, but its
shell is of great value as an article of commerce. It also lays eggs
twice a year, in July and August; generally three hundred at a time.
The loggerhead lays three sets of eggs, each averaging one hundred and
seventy. The trunk turtle is frequently of enormous size, with a pouch
like a pelican's; the shell is soft, and the flesh is almost of the
consistency of butter. It is the least valuable, having no shell, and
the flesh being seldom eaten. They all lay their eggs much in the same
way. On nearing the shore on a moonlit night, the turtle raises her
head above the water to ascertain that no enemy is near, and if she
thinks all safe, she emits a loud hissing sound