at midday, and 72 Deg.

in the evening.
A slave-boy belonging to Colonel Pires, having stolen and eaten some lemons in the evening, went to the river to wash his mouth, so as not to be detected by the flavor.

An alligator seized him and carried him to an island in the middle of the stream; there the boy grasped hold of the reeds, and baffled all the efforts of the reptile to dislodge him, till his companions, attracted by his cries, came in a canoe to his assistance.

The alligator at once let go his hold; for, when out of his own element, he is cowardly.

The boy had many marks of the teeth in his abdomen and thigh, and those of the claws on his legs and arms.
The slaves in Colonel Pires' establishments appeared more like free servants than any I had elsewhere seen.