660 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



these forests. The Sakiwinkie, with 

 its olive and yellowish tints about the 

 head, makes a pretty pet. And the 

 black and fluffy marmoset is also in 

 demand. I have seen both of these 

 monkeys leaping and scrambling 

 amongst the trees, at Uruata, or swarm- 

 ing up the trunks. 



Tapir is a splendid diver. It travels 

 long distance by water. I have seen 

 it swimming the Essequibo, where its 

 width is a full mile. 



The Indians gave the names of five 

 distinct species of turtle, to be found in 

 the Rapo-nunni and five tortoises, or 

 land-turtles. The warara, which meas- 

 ures 5 ft. in length, requires that a man 

 shall be skilled and strong if he desires 

 to turn it. An Indian who brought in 

 one of this size suffered a severe scratch- 

 ing, from the sharp nails, and sustained 

 a rupture. Between January and April 

 turtles' eggs may be found, by the score, 

 in exposed sand-banks. A lay may be 

 discovered by following the turtle's 

 track, easily distinguishable from a boat, 

 and scooping the sand for a depth of 8 

 inches. Should rain have obliterated 

 the track, eggs may be found by probing 

 where a suspicious indentation of the 

 sand appears. The egg-shells, being of 

 parchment texture, are not easily 

 broken. A smaller turtle, tarekatha, 

 may sometimes be seen by the fifty, 

 or the hundred, together. I counted 

 over fifty emerging from Parishara 

 Pond. Their necks were craned, to 

 enable them to eye our boat, and their 

 whitish throats gave the appearance of a 

 strew of lily-buds, upon the placid 

 surface of the water. Moonlight nights 

 are suitable occasions for watching 

 turtles come forth, to lay. They always 

 return upon the same track, leaving 

 only one mark for the double journey 

 from and to the water. They are able 

 to manage this, because they rotate, 

 when digging the hole for the eggs. It 

 is observable that the bodies of the 

 tortoises are not so flattened as those 

 of the turtle. Tortoises may be found 

 in the Uruata Forest. 



The Rapo-nunni teems with alli- 



gators, and every stream and pond of 

 any size knows them. Their heads, 

 like the ends of gnared logs, may be 

 seen stationarj^ or almost imperceptibly 

 moving, in mid-stream, or near the bank. 

 Caiman niger mounts guard over every 

 landing, and looks out for unwary dogs, 

 thoughtless children, and careless adults. 

 A foe of the alligator, the iguana, may 

 often be seen upon the bank of the river, 

 sunning itself. Sometimes it lies along 

 the root, or trunk, of a tree, from which 

 its greenish skin is hardly distin- 

 guishable. 



The pokaru is a good place for studying 

 snakes. In the bush we saw a green 

 labaria; and, crossing a side road, with 

 a frog in its mouth, a black snake, about 

 four feet in length, passed in front of 

 us. The green labaris is known as 

 Lachesis hilineatus. Another green 

 snake, the Cprallus caninus, or parrot- 

 snake, lurks in the branches of trees, 

 waiting for unwary birds. The grey- 

 green and chrome rattlesnake is com- 

 mon upon the savanna, although the 

 ordinary person may walk for miles 

 without seeing one. Between the Napi 

 and the Takutu, it is abundant. Upon 

 the Tuka Savanna, one of our Indians 

 was killed by the bite of a rattler. This 

 snake is known to be viviparous. 



c. Present biota 



The effect of human occupation has 

 had slight effect on the native fauna 

 except near the coast, and even here 

 only in the vicinity of the sugar 

 plantations. 



The Game Laws of British Guiana, 

 both against shooting and trapping, are 

 well planned, exceedingly strict and 

 thoroughly enforced. Data concerning 

 them may be had from Mr, James 

 Rodway, Curator of the Georgetown 

 Museum. 



III. Political Relations, Trans- 

 portation AND OpFORTUNITIES 

 FOR Research (W. B.) 



The data which I give relating to the 

 conditions at Kartabo, near Georgetown, 

 apply to many localities in the other 



