170 CENTRAL AMERICA. 



Like John Gilpin — 



" When he next rides down the stream, 

 May I be there to see !" 



The fresh-water shark is very abundant in 

 the lake of Nicaragua and the rivers running 

 out of it towards the eastward ; many of 

 them are just the same as the sea-shark, and 

 are equally ferocious, but there is one species 

 tliat the Piragua men call the "tigre tiburon'"* 

 or tiger-shark, that is very much spotted, 

 and unlike any I have seen at sea. 



Wherever the alligator and shark are 

 both found, the turtle are also found in great 

 quantities ; they bury and conceal their eggs 

 in the same way as the alligator, and often 

 close to each other. They generally choose 

 some dry spit of sand in the middle of the 

 river or some very salient point, and having 

 scooped out a hole, deposit their eggs, and 

 cover the spot up so carefully that it is very 

 difficult to discover them without much prac- 

 tice. 



On discovering a nest of either kind, the 

 first thing is to find out whether the eggs 

 are fresh or not. If the alligator's eggs are 

 fresh, they are taken, as the Indians eat 

 them ; but if they are not, they are always 



