820 THE TROPICAL WORLD. 



only rising to breathe, which it does by protruding its nostrils 

 almost imperceptibly above the surface. The Indian's keen 

 eye perceives this, even at a considerable distance, but an arrow 

 shot obliquely would glance off the smooth flat shell, so he 

 shoots up into the air with such accurate judgment that the 

 arrow falls nearly vertically upon the shell, which it penetrates, 

 and remains securely fixed in the tortoise's back. The head of 

 the arrow fits loosely on to the shaft, and is connected with it 

 by a long fine cord, carefully wound round it ; as the tortoise 

 dives they separate, the light shaft forming a float or buoy 

 which the Indian sectires, and by the attached cord draws the 

 prize up into his canoe. In this manner almost all the tortoises 

 sold in the small settlements on the Amazons are procured, and 

 the little square vertical hole of the arrow-head may generally 

 be seen in the shell. 



The turtles, which are likewise inhabitants of the warmer 

 latitudes, though sometimes a strange erratic propensity or mis- 

 chance will carry them as far from their usual haunts as the 

 North Sea, have, as we all know, a far greater commercial and 

 gastronomic value than all the rest of the tortoise tribes."^ 



During the Brazilian summer (December, January, February), 

 colossal turtles are seen everywhere swimming about along the 

 coast, raising their thick round heads above the water, and 

 waiting for the approach of night to land. The neighbouring 

 Indians are their bitterest enemies, killing them whenever they 

 can. Thus these dreary sand coasts, bounded on one side by 

 the ocean and on the other by gloomy primaeval forests, offer on 

 all sides pictures of destruction, for the bones and shells of 

 slaughtered turtles everywhere bestrew the ground. Two 

 parallel grooves indicate the path of the turtle after landing ; 

 they are the marks of the four large and long fin-shaped feet 

 or paddles, and between them may be seen a broad furrow 

 where the heavy body trailed along the ground. On following 

 these traces about thirty or forty yards shore-upwards, the huge 

 animal may be found sitting in a flat excavation formed by its 

 circular movements, and in which one half of its body is im- 

 bedded. It allows itself to be handled on all sides without 



* For more ample details on the Marine Chelonians, see chap. ix. of ' The Sea 

 and its Living Wonders.' 



