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his Indians may eat up his provisions to lighten t
S: while in the Old World saurian the teeth interlock,
so that the two jaws
are brought close together, the teeth in the upper jaw of the Amazonian cayman pass by the lower series outside of them. The latter has therefore much less
power. It has a ventral cuirass as well as dorsal, and it
is web-footed, while the crocodile has the
toes free--another mark of inferiority.
Sluggish on land, the alligator is very agile in its element. It never attacks man when on his guard, but it is cunning enough to know when it may do this with safety. It lays its eggs (about twenty) some distance from the river bank, covering them with
leaves and sticks. They are larger than
those of Guayaquil, or about four
inches long, of an elliptical shape, with
a rough, calcareous shell. Negro venders sell them cooked in the streets of Para. Turtles
are, perhaps, the most important
product of the Amazon, not excepting the pirarucu. The largest and most abundant
species is the Tortaruga grande. It measures, when full grown, nearly three feet in length and two in breadth, and has an oval,
smooth, dark-colored shell. Every house has a little pond (called _currul_) in the back
yard to hold a stock of turtles through the wet season. It furnishes the best meat
on the Upper Amazon. We found it very tender, palatable, and wholesome; but Bates, who was obliged to live on it for years, says it is very cloying. Every part of the creature is turned to account.
The entrails are made into soup; sausages are made of the stomach; steaks are cut from the breast; and the rest is roasted in the shell.[171] The turtle lays its eggs (generally between midnight
and dawn) on the central and highest part of the plaias, or about a hundred feet from the shore. The Indians say it will lay only
where itself was hatched out. With its hind flippers it digs a hole two or three feet deep, and deposits from eighty to one hundred and sixty eggs (Gibbon says from one hundred and
fifty to two hun
his Indians may eat up his provisions to lighten t
S: while in the Old World saurian the teeth interlock,
so that the two jaws
are brought close together, the teeth in the upper jaw of the Amazonian cayman pass by the lower series outside of them. The latter has therefore much less
power. It has a ventral cuirass as well as dorsal, and it
is web-footed, while the crocodile has the
toes free--another mark of inferiority.
Sluggish on land, the alligator is very agile in its element. It never attacks man when on his guard, but it is cunning enough to know when it may do this with safety. It lays its eggs (about twenty) some distance from the river bank, covering them with
leaves and sticks. They are larger than
those of Guayaquil, or about four
inches long, of an elliptical shape, with
a rough, calcareous shell. Negro venders sell them cooked in the streets of Para. Turtles
are, perhaps, the most important
product of the Amazon, not excepting the pirarucu. The largest and most abundant
species is the Tortaruga grande. It measures, when full grown, nearly three feet in length and two in breadth, and has an oval,
smooth, dark-colored shell. Every house has a little pond (called _currul_) in the back
yard to hold a stock of turtles through the wet season. It furnishes the best meat
on the Upper Amazon. We found it very tender, palatable, and wholesome; but Bates, who was obliged to live on it for years, says it is very cloying. Every part of the creature is turned to account.
The entrails are made into soup; sausages are made of the stomach; steaks are cut from the breast; and the rest is roasted in the shell.[171] The turtle lays its eggs (generally between midnight
and dawn) on the central and highest part of the plaias, or about a hundred feet from the shore. The Indians say it will lay only
where itself was hatched out. With its hind flippers it digs a hole two or three feet deep, and deposits from eighty to one hundred and sixty eggs (Gibbon says from one hundred and
fifty to two hun