324 ZOOLOGY OF 



alligators open their jaws and swallow them by hundreds ; the 

 jaguars from the forest come and feed upon them; eagles and 

 buzzards, and the great wood ibises attend the feast ; and 

 when they have escaped all these, there are many ravenous 

 fishes which seize them in the stream. 



The Indians catch the full-grown turtles, either with the 

 hook, net, or arrow. The last is the most ingenious method, 

 and requires the most skill. The turtle never shows its back 

 above water, only rising to breathe, which it does by protruding 

 its nostrils almost imperceptibly above the surface ; the Indian's 

 keen eyes perceive 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 pene- 

 trates, and remains securely fixed in the turtle'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 

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

 buoy, which the Indian secures, and by the attached cord 

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

 the turtles sold in the cities have been procured, and the little 

 square vertical hole of the arrow-head may generally be seen in 

 the shell. 



Besides the great tataruga (Podocnemis expansd), there are 

 several smaller kinds, also much used for food. The Tracaxa 

 {Emys tracaxa, Spix) and the Cabecudo {E. macrocephala, 

 Spix) have been described by the French naturalists, Dumeril 

 and Bibron, as one species, under the name of Peltocephalus 

 tracaxa ; but they are quite distinct, and though their characters 

 are perhaps not easy to define, they could never be confounded 

 by any one who had examined them in the living state. They 

 are found too in different localities. The tracaxa is abundant 

 in the Amazon, in the Orinooko, and in the Guaviare, all white- 

 water rivers, and very scarce in the Rio Negro. The cabecudo 

 is very abundant in the Rio Negro and in the Atabapo, but is 

 not found in the Guaviare or the Amazon, appearing to be 

 confined to the black-water streams. I obtained ten distinct 

 kinds of river tortoises, or Chelydidcs, and there are also two or 

 three kinds of land-tortoises inhabiting the adjacent district. 



As might be expected in the greatest river in the world, 

 there is a corresponding abundance and variety of fish. They 



