Some
name them the boxer shell, tracing resemblance to a boxing-glove,
others the "boat," and again the melon shell. Blacks use them for a variety
of purposes--bailers, buckets, saucepans, drinking vessels, baskets, and
even wardrobes. They represent, perhaps, the only utensil in which a
black can boil food, and it is an astonishing though not edifying
spectacle when the fat-layered intestine of a turtle, sodden in salt water
just brought to a boil in a bailer shell, is eagerly devoured by hungry
blacks.
A RIVAL TO THE OYSTER
Down the caverns of the submerged rocks and blocks of coral are two or
three species of ECHINUS (sea-urchins), with long and slender spines
radiating from their spheroid bodies. One (DIADERNA SETOSA) is
distinguished by what appears to be precious jewels of sparkling
blue--believed to be visual organs--which lose their brilliancy
immediately on removal from the water. Another has a centre of coral
pink. The black spines, 10 inches or so long, are exquisitely sharp, and
brittle in the extreme. Some believe that the animals are endowed with
the power of thrusting these weapons forward to meet the intrusive hand,
for unless approached with caution they prick the fingers while yet
seemingly out of reach.
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