Kaimans Disturb StöckLe’s Slumbers. 
271 
stream while the uninterrupted bank- wall allows of them being just as 
little regarded as old channels or river-beds. (The few examples that 
have their openings directed really contrary to the current are to be 
recognised already from a distance by their extraordinary wide mouth, 
which often exceeds the bed of the river itself. 
779. Several others having unfortunately joined our two patients by 
getting sick also, my brother considered it wiser to give the hands a day's 
rest again. We accordingly made our way into the large Aurime bight 
situate on the western shore, and soon found an excellent spot on the 
raised bank, without doubt the situation of an earlier extensive Indian 
settlement, as was easily recognised by the contrast in the size of its trees 
when compared with those of the surrounding forest. Mimosae and 
/$ 'olanaceae, in conjunction with cutting grass 19 to 12 feet high built the 
most impenetrable thickets and an actual ‘‘Noli me tangere” in those 
spots where Manihot , Dioscorea and Musa were previously planted and 
of which now no more traces remained. It is a curious phenomenon’ 
that among cultivated plants in former dwelling places I liave only found 
the stunted offspring, though one would be inclined to believe that those 
which have already reached a certain stage of growth could not have 
been so completely suppressed and crowded out by the first sprouting 
Solanaceae , Mimosae,, and Passiflora — and yet this is generally the case 
as soon as a settlement has been abandoned for a few years. 
780. In spite of the attempts immediately made upon landing to get 
possession of one of the kaimans floating around, I did not succeed in 
doing so, because the bullets rebounded ineffectively from off the hard 
armour-plate, and in a few cases the wearer of the same did not even 
think it worth while to alter its situation and position, while in others it 
swam very leisurely away. But if we wanted to get near them in a boat, 
so as to obtain a sure target in their eye-sockets, they disappeared 
indolently and slowly beneath the surface of the water. Remaining 
quite quiet by day the animals seemed to have collected strength solely 
for the diabolical noise at nightfall, for hardly had the sun disappeared 
than the wild uproar also begun. Our boats appeared to attract their 
special interest, because they approached them so closely as to make 
some of the Negroes and coloured people who proposed spending the 
night in them jump out pretty lively: the would-be occupants preferred 
slinging their hammocks under the trees. Hamlet and Stöckle, 
manifestly the biggest cowards of the whole expedition, frightened at 
this, did not consider even their own camp, that up to now had ]>een 
pitched close to the waterside, sufficiently safe, but untied their 
hammocks as quickly as possible, and only slung them up again far from 
the bank. Stöckle admitted to me next morning that he had been unable 
to sleep a wink on account of his trembling and quaking so much, and 
that he had damned the b beast to hell, because all night through, it 
had been thumping the boat with its big tail and screaming away like a 
bittern; he thought nothing else than that his end had come. 
781. The morning dawned on Sunday, and after prayers were read, h 
strolled along the banks with Stöckle and found many an interesting 
plant among which I will only mention the dainty Jonidium opposite 
