Chap. IV. A DAY'S HUNT. 281 



Aiyussa turtles, which were making their way in an 

 undeviatmg line to the water, at least a mile distant. 

 The young animal of this species is distinguishable from 

 that of the large turtle and the Tracaja, by the edges 

 of the breast-plate being raised on each side, so that in 

 crawling it scores two parallel lines on the sand. The 

 mouths of these little creatures were full of sand, a 

 circumstance arising from their having to bite their way 

 through many inches of superincumbent sand to reach 

 the surface on emerging from the buried eggs. It was 

 amusing to observe how constantly they turned again 

 in the direction of the distant river, after being handled 

 and set down on the sand with their heads facing the 

 opposite quarter. We saw also several skeletons of the 

 large cayman (some with the horny and bony hide of 

 the animal nearly perfect) embedded in the sand : they 

 reminded me of the remains of Ichthyosauri fossilized 

 in beds of lias, with the difference of being buried in 

 fine sand instead of in blue mud. I marked the place 

 of one which had a well-preserved skull, and the next 

 day returned to secure it. The specimen is now in the 

 British Museum collection. There were also many foot- 

 marks of Jaguars on the sand. 



We entered the forest, as the sun peeped over the 

 tree-tops far away down river. The party soon after 

 divided ; I keeping with a section which was led by 

 Bento, the Ega carpenter, a capital woodsman. After a 

 short walk we struck the banks of a beautiful little lake, 

 having grassy margins and clear dark water, on the 

 surface of which floated thick beds of water-lilies. We 

 then crossed a muddy creek or watercourse that entered 



