broken off just at the shoulder, so as, however, in one place, to leave part of the back of the head in its natural form. The two shoulder-bones were very fair, and three of the feet well preserved; the legs were of their natural shape and size, and the feet preserved, even to the extremities of the five toes of each.

ALLIGATOR *.

The principal distinction betwixt the Alligator and the Crocodile is, that this has its head and part of the neck more smooth than the other, and that the snout is considerably more wide and flat, as well as more rounded at the extremity. The length of the fullgrown Alligator is seventeen or eighteen feet.

The Alligators are natives of the warmer parts of America; and had it not been for an accident, these inhabitants of the New World would never have been known by any other name than that of Crocodile: for, had the first navigators seen any thing that more resembled their form than a Lizard, they would have adopted that by which the Indians call them, the Cayman; but the Spanish sailors remarking their great resemblance to that little reptile, they called the first of them which they saw, Lagarto or Lizard. When our countrymen arrived, and heard that name, they called the creature a-Lagarto, whence was afterwards derived the word Alligato or Alligator.

*SYNONYMS.-Lacerta Alligator. Linn.-Jacare. Marcgrave. -Crocodile. La Hontan.- Lacertus maximus. Catesby.-Ame·Shaw's Gen. Zool, vol. 3. tab. 59.

rican Crocodile..

They are often seen floating on the surface of the water like a log of wood, and are mistaken for such by various animals, which they by this means surprise, and draw down to devour at leisure. They are said also sometimes to form a hole in the bank of a river, below the surface of the water, and there to wait till the fish, that are fatigued with the strong current, come into the smooth water near to rest themselves, when they immediately seize and devour them*. But since they are not able to obtain a regular supply of food, from the fear in which they are held by all animals, and the care with which these, in general, avoid their haunts, they are able to sustain a privation of it for a great length of time. When killed and opened, stones and other hard substances are generally found in their stomach. In many that Mr. Catesby examined there was nothing but mucilage and large pieces of wood, some of which weighed seven or eight pounds each: the angles were so worn down that he fancied they must have lain there for several months t. Two alligators that Dr. Brickell saw killed in North Carolina, had in their bellies several sorts of snakes, some pieces of wood, and in one of them a stone that weighed about four pounds.

The voracity of these animals is so great that they do not spare even mankind when opportunity offers. A short time before M. Navarette was at the Manillas, he was told that as a young woman was washing

* Du Pratz, 268. † Catesby, ii. 63. Browne's Jamaica, 461. Brickell, 134.

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her feet in one of the rivers, an Alligator seized and carried her off. Her husband, to whom she had been but that morning married, hearing her screams, threw himself headlong into the water, and, with a dagger in his hand, pursued the robber. He overtook, and fought him with such success, as to recover his wife: but she, unfortunately for her brave rescuer, in consequence of her fear, and the lacerations she had received, was found to be dead*:

They deposit their eggs, like the Crocodile and the Turtles, at two or three different periods, laying from twenty to about twenty-four at each time. It is said that those of Cayenne and Surinam raise a little hillock on the bank of the river they frequent, and, hollowing it out in the middle, amass together a heap of leaves and other vegetable refuse, in which they deposit their eggs. This being also covered up with leaves, a fermentation ensues, by the heat of which, in addition to that of the atmosphere, the eggs are hatched. They generally lay their eggs in the month of Aprilt. Multitudes of these are destroyed by the Vultures, and immense numbers of the young animals are devoured, as soon as they reach the water, by the various species of fish.

It appears that the Alligator, when taken very young, may be in some measure domesticated. Dr. Brickell saw one that was taken not long after being hatched, and put into a large pond before a planter's

* Navarette's Travels, Churchill's Coll. ii. 263.

M. de la Borde, quoted in Shaw's Gen. Zool. iii. 196.

house. It remained near half a year, during which time it was regularly fed with the entrails of fowls, and raw meat. It frequently came into the house, where it would remain for a short time, and then return again to its shelter in the pond. It was supposed at last to steal away to a creek near theplantation; for it was one day missing, and from that time was never afterwards seen*.

Their voice is very loud and dreadful, being stronger than even the roar of a bull. They have an unpleasant and very powerful musky scent: M. Pagés says, that near one of the rivers in America, where the Alligators were very numerous, the effluvia was so strong as to impregnate their provisions, and even to give them the nauseous taste of rotten musk.

The teeth are as white as ivory, and chargers for guns, snuff-boxes, and several kinds of toys are made with them. Those who have eaten of their flesh say that it is white and very delicious: many of the American tribes are in a great measure supported by it.

COMMON GUANA‡.

This is an animal that frequently occurs in America, and both the West and East Indies, where it grows to four or five feet in length. The tail is long and round; the back serrated; and the crest

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denticulated. The individuals vary greatly in colour, but their prevailing tinge is a brownish green. Under the chin there is a pouch capable of great inflation.

It inhabits the rocks, and hides itself in cliffs or hollow trees. Its food is almost entirely confined to vegetables and insects, which it swallows whole; and the fat of the abdomen assumes the colour of whatever the animal has last eaten. Its appearance is disgusting, and its motions very slow, "their holes," says Catesby, being a greater security than their heels." Though not naturally amphibious, it will on necessity continue long under water: in swimming it keeps its legs close pressed to its body, and urges itself forward by means of the tail.

They constitute a principal support of the natives of the Bahamas, who go out in their sloops to other islands to take them, which they do by means of dogs trained for the purpose. As soon as caught their mouths are sewed up, to prevent them from biting, and some are carried alive from hence to Carolina for sale; others are salted and barrelled for home consumption*.

They constitute a most favorite food to the natives. Father Labat speaks highly of its delicacy and fine flavor, and describes the mode in which he, and some others that were along with him, saw one of them taken. "We were attended (he says) by a negro who carried a long rod; at one end of

* Catesby, ii. 64.