My Harpy Eagle and Electric Eels. 
407 
between which are found several navigable channels. The width of 
this estuary between Plantations Mary's Hope and Kickeri, which 
passage is regarded as the real mouth of the river, amounts to 10 miles 
in a north-westerly to south-easterly direction. The distance between 
both banks of the bay between tlordon's Point and Plantation Alness 
amounts to 18 geographical miles. On the eastern bank of its mouth it 
receives the river Nickeri on which is situated the Dutch Fort Nickeri 
with a battery and garrison of 120 men. 
1.028. The whole Colony is di\i(3ed into 11 parishes: namely, Sts. 
Mary, Paul, George, Andrew, Matthew. Maik, Hwithin, Luke, James, 
John, and Trinity. 
1.029. On May 18th the members of the Boundary Expedition took 
their return passage to Europe in the steamer Trent. My rich botanical, 
zoological, geological and ethnogi-aphical collections, but especially ray 
lavish collection of living palms, orchids aud animals foi-ced me to take 
a passage for myself and them on a merchant ship. 
1.030. Among the lettere waiting for me on my return to Georgetown 
from Pirara was one from home containing the infoi-mation that ;i new 
zoological garden had been attached to the Scientific Institute of 
Berlin. I did not believe in letting the favourable opportunity slip of 
enriching it on my travels, and during my trip up the Pomeroon had 
already tried in every way to get hold of living animals with the result 
that I had collected a regular little menagerie, partly by barter and 
partly by purchase. The pride of my collection was one of those mighty 
eagles of South America, a Harpifw da^tnictor Temm. This bird, so 
rare even in South America, had been brouglit by Indians fiom the 
interior to Georgetown, and had come into the hands of the Governor, 
who made a present of it to us on our departure : it was still fairly young 
and had a comidetely white plumage. As the Zoological Gardens at 
Regent's Park. London, did not even possess a specimen of these rare 
birds, I felt all the greater obligation towards the friendly giver. 
Besides a number of monkeys and other mammals and birds, such as 
Crar, Penelope , Psophiei, Parrot,s, ietc, I b.',Kl also collected an Tq^iana 
fnherrulnta , several Gj/ninofus ejertricufi, etc., and four of the larger 
snakes, viz: — an 11 ft. long Boa ronftfrietor, two 8 ft. long Bon wiirhia 
and a 6 ft. long CoJiiher peieeiJofifoma Pr. NeuAv. The snakes T had 
already had for a long time: it was very snrjirising to me that these 
drank water very frequently and in large quantities, which none of the 
others did. I had the electric eels in' large tubs, one of which was 
surrounded with iron hoops which, however, muot have considera1>ly 
weakened the electric powers of the creature, because T noticed its 
diminution in this specimen from the very first. Small live fish were 
their favourite food, which they generally digested quickly: as we threw 
them into the vessels they were shortly killed by the shock, and only then 
eaten. During the day the eels were always quiet, but with nightfall 
all the more restless. If we teased them contlinuously, so that tlsey lost 
their electrical powers their colour changed to n violet, while s"\'erul 
scattered black spots became distinctly visible on their iKxlies. The 
electric shocks were equally appreciated through the tubs, the result 
