SOUTH AMERICA. 231 



it we could see two or three hundred fresh-water THIRD 



JOURNEY. 



turtle on the edge of the bank. Ere we could - 

 get near enough to let fly an arrow at them, they 

 had all sunk into the river and appeared no more. 



We went on the sand-bank to look for their Turtle*, 

 nests, as this was the breeding season. The" 6 

 coloured man showed us how to find them. 

 Wherever a portion of the sand seemed smoother 

 than the rest, there was sure to be a turtle's nest. 

 On digging down with our hands, about nine 

 inches deep, we found from twenty to thirty white 

 eggs ; in less than an hour we got above two 

 hundred. Those which had a little black spot or 

 two on the shell we ate the same day, as it 

 was a sign that they were not fresh, and of 

 course would not keep : those which had no speck 

 were put into dry sand, and were good some 

 weeks after. 



At midnight, two of our people went to this 

 sand-bank, while the rest staid to watch the 

 cayman. The turtle had advanced on to the sand 

 to lay their eggs, and the men got betwixt them 

 and the water ; they brought off half a dozen 

 very fine and well-fed turtle. The egg-shell of 

 the fresh-water turtle is not hard like 'that of 

 the land tortoise, but appears like white parch- 

 ment, and gives way to the pressure of the 

 fingers ; but it is very tough, and does not break. 

 On this sand-bank, close to the forest, we found 

 several guana's nests ; but they had never more 



