Chap. IV. MORNING ON THE PRAIA. 251 



lianas. They are enabled, by observing the turtles 

 from this watch-tower, to ascertain the date of succes- 

 sive deposits of eggs, and thus guide the commandante 

 in fixing the time for the general invitation to the Ega 

 people. The turtles lay their eggs by night, leaving 

 the water when nothing disturbs them, in vast crowds, 

 and crawling to the central and highest part of the 

 praia. These places are, of course, the last to go under 

 water when, in unusually wet seasons, the river rises 

 before the eggs are hatched by the heat of the sand. 

 One could almost believe, from this, that the animals 

 used forethought in choosing a place ; but it is simply 

 one of those many instances in animals where uncon- 

 scious habit has the same result as conscious prevision. 

 The hours between midnight and dawn are the busiest. 

 The turtles excavate with their broad, webbed paws 

 deep holes in the fine sand : the first comer, in each 

 case, making a pit about three feet deep, laying its eggs 

 (about 120 in number) and covering them with sand ; 

 the next making its deposit at the top of that of its 

 predecessor, and so on until every pit is full. The whole 

 body of turtles frequenting a praia does not finish laying 

 in less than fourteen or fifteen days, even when there is 

 no interruption. When all have done, the area (called 

 by the Brazilians taboleiro) over which they have 

 excavated, is distinguishable from the rest of the 

 praia only by signs of the sand having been a little 

 disturbed. 



On rising I went to join my friends. Few recollec- 

 tions of my Amazonian rambles are more vivid and 

 agreeable tHan that of my walk over the white sea of 



