Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/25

Rh is rocky, she drops them indiscriminately in any hollow. Mr, Bynoe found seven placed in a line in a fissure. The egg is white and spherical; one which I measured was seven inches and three-eighths in circumference. The young animals, as soon as they are hatched, fall a prey in great numbers to the buzzard with the habits of the caracara. The old ones seem generally to die from accidents, as from falling down precipices: at least, several of the inhabitants told me they had never found one dead without some such apparent cause. The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them. I was always amused, when, overtaking one of these great monsters as it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I passed, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss, fall to the ground with a heavy sound, as if struck dead. I frequently got on their backs, and then, upon giving a few raps on the hinder part of the shell, they would rise up and walk away; but I found it very difficult to keep my balance. The flesh of this animal is largely employed, both fresh and salted; and a beautifully clear oil is prepared from the fat. When a Tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to see, inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal plate is thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated; and it is said to recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure the Tortoises, it is not sufficient to turn them like Turtle, for they are often able to regain their upright position."