FRESH-WATER TURTLES. 153 
sind-islands, the turtle-pools in the forest, and the tributaries and 
lagoons of the great river. His companion was Cardoza, who was 
a sort of official superintendent of the diggers for turtles’ eggs on 
the sand-banks of Shimuni, the island lying nearest to Ega. There 
are four or five of these royal praias, as they are called, in the 
district, each having its commandant, whose business is to see that 
every inhabitant has an equal chance in the egg-field. 
“The pregnant turtles descend from the interior pools of the 
main river in July and August, before the outlets dry up, and seek 
their favourite sand-island in countless swarms; for it is only a 
few praias that are selected by them out of the great number 
existing. When hatched, the young animals remain in the pools 
throughout the dry season; for these breeding-places of the turtle 
then lie from twenty to thirty feet above the level of the river, and 
are accessible only by cutting a path through the dense forest.” On 
the 26th of September Mr. Bates left Ega with his companion, who 
was about to visit the sentinels placed to mark when and where the 
turtles laid their eggs. Their conveyance was a stoutly-built canoe, 
or zgareté, arranged for two paddlers, with an arched covering in the 
stern, under which three persons could sleep comfortably. The 
swift current of the Solimoens carried them rapidly to the large 
wooded island of Baria, which divides the river into two broad 
channels. Shimuni lies in the middle of the north-easterly passage. 
There they were quickly paddled, reaching it an hour before sunset. 
The island is about three miles long and half a mile broad. The 
forest which covers it rises to an immense uniform height, presenting 
all round a compact and impervious front, the uniformity being 
interrupted by a singular tree, called mulatto wood, the polished 
dark-green trunk of which is seen conspicuously through the mass of 
vegetation. ‘The sand-bank lies at the upper end of the island, and 
extends several miles, presenting an irregular surface of ridges and 
hollows. At the further shore, to the north-east, where no forest line 
shuts out the view, the white, rolling, sandy plain stretches away to 
the horizon ; to the south-west a channel, about a mile in breadth, 
which separates Baria from Shimuni, is situated. 
Arrived at this island, Mr. Bates proceeds to describe with great 
minuteness the operations of the turtles, as well as those of the 
sentinels placed to watch them. 
“‘We found two sentinels,” he says, “lodged in a corner of the 
praia, where it commences at the foot of the towering forest wset of 
the island, having built themselves a little rancho with poles and 
palm-leaves. Great precautions are obliged to be taken to avoid 
