Chap. IV. A NOCTURNAL VIS1TOK. 279 



give a hoarse grunt and shake themselves ; they imme- 

 diately afterwards turned to receive another bone which 

 I threw to them. 



Every day these visitors became bolder ; at length 

 they reached a pitch of impudence that was quite in- 

 tolerable. Cardozo had a poodle dog named Carlito, 

 which some grateful traveller whom he had befriended 

 had sent him from Rio Janeiro. He took great pride 

 in this dog, keeping it well sheared, and preserving his 

 coat as white as soap and water could make it. We slept 

 in our rancho in hammocks slung between the outer 

 posts ; a large wood fire (fed with a kind of wood abundant 

 on the banks of the river, which keeps alight all night) 

 being made in the middle, by the side of which slept 

 Carlito on a little mat. Well, one night I was awoke by a 

 great uproar. It was caused by Cardozo hurling burning 

 firewood with loud curses at a huge cayman which had 

 crawled up the bank and passed beneath my hammock 

 (being nearest the water) towards the place where Carlito 

 lay. The dog had raised the alarm in time ; the reptile 

 backed out and tumbled down the bank to the water, 

 the sparks from the brands hurled at him flying from 

 his bony hide. To our great surprise the animal (we 

 supposed it to be the same individual) repeated his visit 

 the very next night, this time passing round to the 

 other side of our shed. Cardozo was awake, and threw 

 a harpoon at him, but without doing him any harm. 

 After this it was thought necessary to make an effort 

 to check the alligators ; a number of men were there- 

 fore persuaded to sally forth in their montarias and 

 devote a day to killing them. 



