In the United States much attention is being given to the study of the Mexican and Maya manuscripts.
It is to be hoped that methods of interpretation will be established upon a sound basis, and that the characters written upon the codices, and the hieroglyphs graven upon the idols and stone tablets will be ultimately deciphered.
Some years after my return to England I had a long conversation upon the subject of alligators with Mr. Bates, who was then our Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, and whose knowledge upon all matters concerning the habits of animals in tropical lands was very extensive. In his book “The Naturalist on the Amazons,” he mentions a case that happened at a place called Carcara.
An Indian, one of the crew belonging to a trading canoe, whilst in a half-drunken state went down to bathe in the lake and stumbled. A pair of gaping jaws seized him round the waist and dragged him under water; after a short lapse of time the brute came up to breathe and was seen with one leg of the man sticking out from his jaws.
Other instances of this kind have been mentioned by naturalists, but I do not remember any cases of men being seized when actually swimming in the water. Possibly my Indians may have known from hearsay or experience the truth of what they stated.
It has been said that alligators, owing to the formation of their throats, cannot swallow their prey in the water, but are obliged to go to the banks for that purpose.
It was not, however, upon the subject of the danger to men from approaching these reptiles that the conversation chiefly turned.
We discussed the question of their food supply. Mr. Bates said that they lived upon fish. I observed, with reference to that part of the river where I had seen them congregated in such amazing numbers, that it was impossible that the supply of food from fish alone could be sufficient, and also that in consequence of the filthy state of the water no fish could live in it.
Mr. Bates after some consideration said that their food must be fish, but he added, that it was probable that they could live in an almost torpid condition for long periods.