THE CAYMAN. 423 



ravenous fellow-crocodiles ? or by what process is he to curb his own 

 hunger until the lardered morsel be ready for deglutition ? The old 

 hackneyed account of crocodiles devouring their own young when 

 newly-hatched is really unworthy of refutation. Depend upon it, no 

 such unnatural banquet takes place ; for the crocodiles are never re- 

 duced to so abhorrent a necessity. The rivers which they inhabit 

 abound with fish, both large and small, and on these the crocodiles 

 feed, as well as on fresh-water turtle. And as to the vultures watch- 

 ing individuals of the family of crocodile until they have laid their 

 eggs, and then devouring them, it is an ancient fable, which, like 

 Don Quixote's library of romances, ought to be thrown to the fire in 

 the court-yard, and there burnt with the rest of the trash. I can 

 positively affirm that neither in the Essequibo nor in the Oronoque 

 did I see one single solitary attempt of a vulture to invade the spot 

 where a cayman had deposited her eggs. The cayman, in fact, may 

 perform her task with impunity, whilst hundreds of vultures are 

 standing motionless on the branches of a tree hard by, where they 

 remain till hunger bids them be stirring, and then they all take wing 

 and fly away in quest of carrion. Had they been watching the cay- 

 man's treasures, they would have descended from the tree, and not 

 have ascended in aerial flight. 



The cayman not unfrequently lays its eggs in a heap of dry leave?. 

 The eggs afford good nourishment to man. They are about the size 

 of those of a turkey, perhaps somewhat larger. The outside of the 

 shell is rough, and of a dirty-white colour. Probably it is quite 

 white when first deposited. 



This formidable animal, being able to exist either in water or on 

 the land, may be styled amphibious to the fullest extent of the word. 

 Master Swainson, notwithstanding his " compassion for the poor 

 animals," and his interested wish to make his readers believe that 

 they are of a timid nature, would have found himself awkwardly 

 situated had he been in my position when I attacked the cayman 

 mentioned in the "Wanderings," the Indians positively refusing to 

 drag it out of the water, until I had placed myself betwixt them and 

 danger. 



I once saw a cayman in the Oronoque thirty feet in length, and 

 another of the same size in the Essequibo. This animal is an in- 



