EXPEDITION TO SURINAM. 43 



« les-s are too Ions;. It is not mentioned by any author CHAP. 



XVII 



" or traveller. I fliewed it to feveral perfons who had t _ _ 



" lived long in Surinam, but none of them knew it ; 



«< hence it either muft be a rare animal, even in its 



" native country, or it muft live in deferts and unfre- 



« quented places : the length of its body is about feven 



" inches ; I have not been able to learn any thing of its 



« hiftory." 



To this I fliall only add my furprize. — It is true that 

 this animal is very rare in Surinam, but it probably owes 

 its not being defcribed by naturalifts to its extreme fero- 

 city, which is without example, it being a very uncom- 

 mon circumftance to take a crabbo-dago or grifon alive. 



Our old commander and I were now infeparable friends, 

 to whofe board being daily invited, he requefted me to 

 paint his portrait at full length in his bufli equipage, 

 which was to be engraved at the expence of the town of 

 Amfterdam, and where he thought himfelf now as great 

 a man as the Duke of Cumberland was in England after 

 the battle of Culloden. 



Having provided a large flieet of paper, and fome 

 China ink, I began to delineate this wonderful cha- 

 radler in his own hut. While I was now looking full 

 in his face, to examine the features of this firft of def- 

 pots, and laughing aloud, to think how he and I now fat 

 flaring at one another, the whole mountain was fud- 

 denly fhook by a tremendous clap of thunder, while the 

 lightning actually Icorched the Colonel's forehead ; and, 



G 2 what 



