Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/23

Rh be distinguished from the female by the greater length of its tail. The Tortoises which live on those islands where there is no water, or in the lower and arid parts of the others, chiefly feed on the succulent cactus. Those which frequent the higher and damper regions eat the leaves of various trees, a kind of berry (called guayavita), which is acid and austere, and likewise a pale green filamentous lichen, that hangs in tresses from the boughs of the trees. The Tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and wallowing in the mud. The larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always situated towards the central parts, and at a considerable elevation. The Tortoises therefore, which frequent the lower districts, when thirsty, are obliged to travel from a long distance. Hence, broad and well-beaten paths radiate off in every direction from the wells even down to the sea-coast; and the Spaniards, by following them up, first discovered the watering places. When I landed at Chatham Island, I could not imagine what animal travelled so methodically along the well-chosen tracts. Near the springs it was a curious spectacle to behold many of these great monsters; one set eagerly travelling onwards with outstretched necks, and another set returning, after having drunk their fill. When the Tortoise arrives at the spring, quite regardless of any spectator, it buries its head in the water, above its eyes, and greedily swallows great mouthfuls, at the rate of about ten in a minute. The inhabitants say that each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood of the water, and then returns to the lower country; but they differed in their accounts