four feet deep of dat black sand, and head straight for de water. Don’t even look around to get dere bearins—dey just
go
. Feel dat water and head straight for de sea. Some dem nests are way up in de bushes, y’know, out of sight de sea, but ain’t one of dem young turtle makes a mistake—dey
know
.
Green turtle very mysterious, mon.
Yah. But Copm Allie say he don’t believe dat one thirty-second of what leaves de beach at Turtle Bogue ever makes it.
De most of dem never makes it to de water.
Dass it. All kinds birds and rats and wildcats, jaguars, y’know, and dogs, and what dey calls ringtails—all dem vermin comes out de swamps and jungles dat lays just behind dat beach, and wild hogs, too, dey say—all of dat is swarmin debeaches, and de few dat slips past de vermin got to scromble through dat big surf dere, which is one of de worst in all de world, and dem dat gets past de breakers, dey got to deal with all de sharks and fish in de deep water, and de mon-o’-war birds pickin at’m from de top when dey surfaces to get dere breath. In de mornin time when dose young ones dat come out from de night is restin in de water, dat mornin de sky is littered with birds. Mon-o’-war birds. De boobies don’t grob dem so much, but de mon-o’-war do. Dey millions of birds dere. Dat mornin de sea is covered with baby turtle and de sky is black with birds, just
black
with mon-o’-war birds, swoopin down. Dey is very few dat gets away. Oh,
very
few!
Oh, I like to see dat sight! Dat is a sight dat I would like to see!
Millions of birds at Turtle Bogue dere in September. In de time of de hatchin of de green turtle, dat old empty coast is a sight to see: dat black sand and dat ugly sea, and dat sky black with big black birds in all dere millions, and de black jungle layin dere behind.
Mon, oh mon. You seen all
dat
?
I tellin you, it ain’t
me
seen it; it were a fella dat were known firsthand to Copm Allie!
The men fall silent; Raib is standing at the edge of light.
Well, it a pity dat dat kind of mornin ain’t
people’s
first experience of dis life. I mean to say, lookin over dis crew, I think people had ought to start out with de same chance in life—one out of thirty-two. Dat take care of most of de goddom Sponnish and Jamaicans.
You
be de one in
your
thirty-two, huh, Copm Raib?
Oh,
I
make it, okay! (
laughs
) It all of your
selfs
dat you got to worry about.
Byrum heaves to his feet. He goes to the leeward rail to scrape his plate, brushing the Captain closer than is necessary. When Raibhalf turns, gazing after him, Byrum ignores him; he speaks loudly from the rail, unbuttoning his fly.
Oh, yes! Dey very few lives to tell de tale! And dem few dat makes it disappears. Ain’t
no
mon ever seen a baby turtle de first year. Disappears, mon. Vanish. De first ones dat you see, dey go five pound or better, look like a dish. (
pause
) Dat right, Copm Raib?
As the men turn one by one to watch, Raib slaps at his sleeve where Byrum brushed him.
Mon dat know all dat much about turtle, dat is a valuable mon. I s’prised dey let you off de
A.M. Adams
.
Byrum, pissing, calls over his shoulder.
Never let me off—dey fired me! (
buttoning
) We all gets fired now and den in life.
So you say den: I ain’t had much experience of it. De onliest time in all dis life I ever got fired off a job was on a United Fruit vessel out of Bluefields, and de other quartermaster were Desmond Eden. He were smugglin arms cause we rerouted to Colombia; he had dem hid under de deckhouse floor. I was not into de deal, so I was innocent, but dey grob me all de same. You call dat justice? I mean to say, Desmond frig me
good
!
Copm Desmond Eden! After all dat fella done, all de chances dat he took, and de money made, he right back down here in de Cays where he begun!
Dat de most awfullest mon in Caymans. He still owin me two hundred dollars for dat sharkskin, but it worth dat and more just to be rid of him. He a good worker, I say dat for
go
. Feel dat water and head straight for de sea. Some dem nests are way up in de bushes, y’know, out of sight de sea, but ain’t one of dem young turtle makes a mistake—dey
know
.
Green turtle very mysterious, mon.
Yah. But Copm Allie say he don’t believe dat one thirty-second of what leaves de beach at Turtle Bogue ever makes it.
De most of dem never makes it to de water.
Dass it. All kinds birds and rats and wildcats, jaguars, y’know, and dogs, and what dey calls ringtails—all dem vermin comes out de swamps and jungles dat lays just behind dat beach, and wild hogs, too, dey say—all of dat is swarmin debeaches, and de few dat slips past de vermin got to scromble through dat big surf dere, which is one of de worst in all de world, and dem dat gets past de breakers, dey got to deal with all de sharks and fish in de deep water, and de mon-o’-war birds pickin at’m from de top when dey surfaces to get dere breath. In de mornin time when dose young ones dat come out from de night is restin in de water, dat mornin de sky is littered with birds. Mon-o’-war birds. De boobies don’t grob dem so much, but de mon-o’-war do. Dey millions of birds dere. Dat mornin de sea is covered with baby turtle and de sky is black with birds, just
black
with mon-o’-war birds, swoopin down. Dey is very few dat gets away. Oh,
very
few!
Oh, I like to see dat sight! Dat is a sight dat I would like to see!
Millions of birds at Turtle Bogue dere in September. In de time of de hatchin of de green turtle, dat old empty coast is a sight to see: dat black sand and dat ugly sea, and dat sky black with big black birds in all dere millions, and de black jungle layin dere behind.
Mon, oh mon. You seen all
dat
?
I tellin you, it ain’t
me
seen it; it were a fella dat were known firsthand to Copm Allie!
The men fall silent; Raib is standing at the edge of light.
Well, it a pity dat dat kind of mornin ain’t
people’s
first experience of dis life. I mean to say, lookin over dis crew, I think people had ought to start out with de same chance in life—one out of thirty-two. Dat take care of most of de goddom Sponnish and Jamaicans.
You
be de one in
your
thirty-two, huh, Copm Raib?
Oh,
I
make it, okay! (
laughs
) It all of your
selfs
dat you got to worry about.
Byrum heaves to his feet. He goes to the leeward rail to scrape his plate, brushing the Captain closer than is necessary. When Raibhalf turns, gazing after him, Byrum ignores him; he speaks loudly from the rail, unbuttoning his fly.
Oh, yes! Dey very few lives to tell de tale! And dem few dat makes it disappears. Ain’t
no
mon ever seen a baby turtle de first year. Disappears, mon. Vanish. De first ones dat you see, dey go five pound or better, look like a dish. (
pause
) Dat right, Copm Raib?
As the men turn one by one to watch, Raib slaps at his sleeve where Byrum brushed him.
Mon dat know all dat much about turtle, dat is a valuable mon. I s’prised dey let you off de
A.M. Adams
.
Byrum, pissing, calls over his shoulder.
Never let me off—dey fired me! (
buttoning
) We all gets fired now and den in life.
So you say den: I ain’t had much experience of it. De onliest time in all dis life I ever got fired off a job was on a United Fruit vessel out of Bluefields, and de other quartermaster were Desmond Eden. He were smugglin arms cause we rerouted to Colombia; he had dem hid under de deckhouse floor. I was not into de deal, so I was innocent, but dey grob me all de same. You call dat justice? I mean to say, Desmond frig me
good
!
Copm Desmond Eden! After all dat fella done, all de chances dat he took, and de money made, he right back down here in de Cays where he begun!
Dat de most awfullest mon in Caymans. He still owin me two hundred dollars for dat sharkskin, but it worth dat and more just to be rid of him. He a good worker, I say dat for
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