Both fish and turtle are shot by the natives with arrows. The Indian
takes his post on a little stage made of poles and cross-pieces of wood,
secured with lianas, on the margin of the pools frequented by the
turtles, armed with his bow and arrows. The arrow used for killing the
latter has a strong lancet-shaped steel point fitted into a peg which
enters the tip of the shaft. The peg is secured to the shaft by twine
made of the fibres of pineapple leaves. The line, some thirty or forty
yards long, is neatly wound round the body of the arrow. When the
muzzle enters the shell the peg drops out, and the pierced animal
descends with it towards the bottom, leaving the shaft floating on the
surface. The sportsman, hastening to the spot in his canoe, sends
another arrow into the turtle, and then humouring it by means of the two
cords, quickly gets it on board. It is extraordinary, the skill the
Indians will display on these occasions. They do not even wait for the
turtle coming to the surface, but watch for the tracks which it makes in
the water when swimming beneath it, and shoot with unerring aim.--At
certain seasons turtle in vast shoals wend their way up the Orinoco,
when, as they come to the surface to breathe, the Indians--who are on
the watch--shoot them with heavy arrows, which, falling perpendicularly,
pierce their thick coats; and they drift on shore, or are picked up by
the canoes kept in readiness for that purpose. Nets also are employed:
the depth is about equal to that of the water; while the floats, buoyed
up on the surface, thus form a complete track. One party takes either
end of the net, while the rest beat the water with poles, in order to
drive the turtles towards the middle. As the beaters advance, numbers
of little snouts suddenly popping above the water show that all is going
on well. The beaters continue shouting and striking the water with
great vigour. The ends of the nets are then seized by numerous strong
hands and dragged quickly forward, forming a circle to inclose all the
body. The canoes being brought up, the turtles are thrown into them.
Mr Bates describes having seen fully eighty turtles secured thus in
about twenty minutes.