Early in January of the present year I received word that a large sea turtle had been caught near Santa Barbara, California, and at once arranged to purchase it for the Academy. A photograph (Plate IX) sent me at the time showed it to be a fine specimen of the Leather-back Turtle. Upon its arrival in San Francisco this turtle proved to be a female measuring six feet and seven inches from the tip of its snout to the end of its tail. Its weight was given on the bill of lading as 800 pounds, but this may have been estimated rather than actually determined. It was secured by Mr. G. W. Gourley and Albert F. Stafford, about January 2, in twenty-five fathoms of water in the open sea about two miles south of Santa Barbara. Mr. Gourley has given me the following glowing account of its capture: "SANTA BARBARA, CAL., "Jan. 17, 1905. "_Dear Sir:_--Your note of 13th inst. received.... In regard to the details of the capture I will say that the turtle was first seen swimming on the surface about two miles off shore and to the southwestward of the Santa Barbara whistling buoy. I went after it (accompanied by a boy) in an 18 foot sailboat. I had a gaff with a hook on the end of it and bent about 200 feet of rope onto the handle. I had also prepared a number of other ropes with nooses on them to be ready for quick work. "On approaching the turtle it did not hear the wash of the boat until we were within about 25 feet of it, when it made a rush to windward and started to dive, but the momentum of the boat when I luffed into the wind carried her right along side of him and I dropped the tiller and got forward with the gaff-hook and swung over the side in the weather rigging and got the hook fast in the leathery part of his neck. He immediately sounded and run out the full length of the line--about 200 feet--and towed the boat about half a mile further out to sea. He then came to the surface and we over-handed the line and pulled up close to him again. When he caught sight of the boat he turned and came toward us and threw one of his flippers over the gunwale of the boat, nearly capsizing her.[29] I climbed up on the upper side and shoved him off with an oar. He grabbed the end of the oar and bit the end of it off like a piece of cheese. His movements in the water were very swift; using his fore flipper he could turn almost instantly from one side to the other and his head would project about 18 inches from the body. I succeeded in throwing a noose over his head and later by attracting his attention in the opposite direction got ropes around both flippers--finally having five lines on him--and started to tow him toward the shore. He repeatedly slipped the ropes off from his neck and flippers--several times getting almost entirely free. We were from 11:30 A. M. till nearly 4 P. M. in finally landing him. When about half way to shore he suddenly turned and