WANDERINGS IN 



It was now an hour after sunset. The sky was cloud- 

 less, and the moon shone beautifully bright. There was^ 

 not a breath of wind in the heavens, and the river seemed 

 like a large plain of quicksilver. Every now and then a 

 huge fish would strike and plunge in the water ; then the 

 owls and goatsuckers would continue their lamentations, 

 and the sound of these was lost in the prowling tiger's 

 growl. Then all was still again and silent as midnight. 



The Caymen were now upon the stir, and at intervals 

 their noise could be distinguished amid that of the Jaguar^ 

 the owls, the goatsuckers, and frogs. It was a singular 

 and awful sound. It was like a suppressed sigh, bursting 

 forth all of a sudden, and so loud that you might hear it 

 above a mile off. First one emitted this horrible noise, 

 and then another answered him ; and on looking at the 

 countenances of the people round me, I could plainly see 

 that they expected to have a Cayman that night. 



We were at supper, when the Indian, who seemed to 

 have had one eye on the turtle-pot, and the other on the 

 bait in the river, said he saw the Cayman coming. 



Upon looking towards the place, there appeared some- 

 thing on the water like a black log of wood. It was so 

 unlike any thing alive, that I doubted if it were a Cayman ; 

 but the Indian smiled, and said he was sure it was one, 

 for he remembered seeing a Cayman, some years ago^ 

 when he was in the Essequibo. 



At last it gradually approached the bait, and the board 



