254 CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. 



one of the unfortunate " Eurydice," taken by the judge 

 as she lay under the walls of Fort St. George, just 

 prior to her departure for England on the voyage that 

 had such a terrible ending. 



Skirting the belt of mangroves bordering the lagoon, 

 one morning in March, I anxiously searched the in- 

 tertwined branches for iguanas. Grenada is celebrated 

 as being the home of great numbers of these reptiles, 

 which may often be found basking on old walls within 

 the limits of the town. My boatman was a negro, who, 

 accustomed to the appearance of the iguana in the 

 trees, discovered one long before I could distinguish 

 the difference between green reptile and green leaves. 

 Even after it had been pointed out, I had difficulty in 

 recognizing it, so nearly did its colors harmonize with 

 those of the tree in which it was feeding. 



It lay quite still, stretched flat upon a branch, its tail 

 hanging down like that of a snake. Though it was 

 evidently suspicious, of our intentions, its quiet was 

 not clue to that alone, for it is naturally a sluggish 

 animal. Yet, when once thoroughly aroused, it will 

 dash over the ground at great speed. I fired, yet it 

 still clung tenaciously to the bough, and a second shot 

 did not kill it, for it would have escaped had not my 

 boatman pinned it with an oar, after it had fallen into 

 the mud. From one that we captured that morning, 

 the man with me procured a dozen large, white eggs, 

 which he saved to eat. 



As we rowed along, the breaking of overhanging 

 branches was accompanied by the crackling of shells, 

 as thift oysters, clinging to the roots and branches, 

 closed their shells at the disturbance. Some of these 

 ovsters were more than a foot above water, where they 



