WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 17 



war, and after thirty days at sea Waterton landed 

 in England. 



Another uncle had estates in Demerara, and in 

 the autumn Waterton sailed thither from Ports- 

 mouth. He landed at Georgetown, Demerara, in 

 November, 1804, and was soon delighted by the 

 natural history of the tropical forest. In 1806 his 

 father died, and he returned to England. He made 

 four more journeys to Guiana, and, in 1825, pub- 

 lished an account of them, entitled ''Wanderings 

 in South America, the North- West of the United 

 States, and the Antilles, in the years 1812, 1816, 

 1820, and 1824 ; with original instructions for the 

 perfect preservation of birds, &c., for cabinets 

 of natural history." The book at once attracted 

 general attention, became popular, and has taken 

 a place among permanent English literature. Un- 

 like most travellers, Waterton tells nothing of his 

 personal difficulties and discomforts, and encum- 

 bers his pages with neither statistics nor informa- 

 tion of the guide-book kind. His observation of 

 birds and beasts, written down in the forests, and 

 the description of the forests themselves, fill all 

 his pages. The great ant-eater and the sloth were 

 for the first time accurately described by him. 

 He showed that the sloth, instead of being a de- 

 formed, unhappy creature, was admirably adapted 

 to its habitat. He explained the use of the great 

 claws of the ant-eater, and the curious gait which 

 they necessitated. The habits of the toucan, of 

 the houtou, of the campanero, and of many other 

 birds, were first correctly described by him. He 

 determined to catch a cayman or alligator, and 



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