THIRD JOURNEY. 195 



and patience ; we had spent nights in watching, had 

 seen the cayman come and take the bait, and, after 

 our expectations had been wound up to the highest 

 pitch, all ended in disappointment. Probably this 

 poor wild man of the woods would succeed by means 

 of a very simple process, and thus prove to his 

 more civilized brother that, notwithstanding books 

 and schools, there is a vast deal of knowledge to be 

 picked up at every step, whichever way we turn 

 ourselves. 



In the morning, as usual, we found the bait gone 

 from the shark-hook. The Indians went into the forest 

 to hunt, and we took the canoe to shoot fish and get 

 another supply of turtles' eggs, which we found in great 

 abundance on this large sand-bank. 



We went to the little shallow creek, and shot some 

 young caymen, about two feet long. It was astonishing 

 to see what spite and rage these little things showed 

 when the arrows struck them ; they turned round and 

 bit it, and snapped at us when we went into the water 

 to take them out. Daddy Quashi boiled one of them 

 for his dinner, and found it very sweet and tender. I 

 do not see why it should not be as good as frog or 

 veal. 



The day was now declining apace, and the Indian 

 had made his instrument to take the cayman. It was 

 very simple. There were four pieces of tough hard 

 wood, a foot long, and about as thick as your little 

 finger, and barbed at both ends : they were tied round 

 the end of the rope in such a manner that, if you con- 

 ceive the rope to be an arrow, these four sticks would 

 form the arrow's head; so that one end of the four 

 united sticks answered to the point of the arrow-head, 

 o2 



