The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 88, July 1984 - April, 1985 Page: 51
476 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Sea Turtles in Texas: A Forgotten Commerce
turtles were caught by means of huge nets in which they became entan-
gled, they were brought ashore and placed in a deep pool of water pre-
pared for them near Blind Bayou. We used to watch them come up and
put their heads out of the water to blow, as we called the act of breathing.
They would weigh three or four hundred pounds and the flesh was fine
eating. Mr. John Phillips assisted in the cannery.22
According to the 186o census, Indianola manufacturer J. J. Harrison
possessed assets in excess of $8,ooo, a sizable portion of which he ap-
pears to have sunk into a turtle "packery," as residents called the
town's two or three canning facilities.23
Harrison and Company placed regular advertisements for "Harri-
son's Fresh Green Turtle, and Turtle Soup" in the weekly newspaper,
the Indianola Courier and Commercial Bulletin, at least between Oc-
tober 27, 186o, and January 5, 1861. Meat was hermetically sealed in
two-pound and six-pound cans and was warranted to keep in any
climate. The advertisement called the attention of hotel proprietors,
caterers, and grocers to the excellence of turtle meat and soup, which
physicians were reported to recommend to their patients. Harrison
claimed it took only a few hours to convert his animals, which sup-
posedly swam in spacious pens, "into savory Soup or concentrated
Stock, ready for use, and IMPERISHADBLE [sic]." Indianola proved
an optimum locality, continued the advertisement, and Harrison had
"established his manufactory at a point where the Green Turtles
abound. . 2 24
A similar but less ornate advertisement also appeared in the same
newspaper stating that Harrison's soup and meat kept in any climate
and that "Thomas W[E]BB 8c Co." were the sole agents for it in Texas
and Mexico. These soups must have been tasty: an entry in the In-
dianola newspaper (December 1, 1860) reported that J. J. Harrison
had received a premium for "Best 24 cans Turtle Soup" at a fair in
Victoria.25
22Eudora Moore, "Recollections of Indianola," Indianola Scrap Book (facs. reprod., Port
Lavaca, Tex., 1974), 94, 110 (quotation).
28Lelia Seeligson, "History of Indianola," ibid., 3o (quotation); United States Eighth
Census, 186o, Texas, Vol. 2, Brazos-Comanche 80-531, Schedule i, Free Inhabitants in Old
Town, Indianola, Calhoun County, p. 33. Dwelling 318 listed J. J. Harrison.
24Courier and Commercial Bulletin (Indianola) appeared every Saturday. The few
surviving copies from between 1859 and 1861 make no mention of sea turtles except for
advertisements in six issues after October 27, 186o, all relating to Harrison's cannery.
The quotations in the text come from the longer of the two Harrison and Co. ads that
appeared in each issue. Courier and Commercial Bulletin (Indianola), Oct. 27, Nov. 3,
1o, 24, Dec. 1, 186o, Jan. 5, 1861.
25Ibid., Nov. 3, 186o.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 88, July 1984 - April, 1985, periodical, 1984/1985; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101210/m1/73/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.