“On the south side of the great lake is a smaller one, called _Songozana_, which is separated from it by a flat shore, but one hundred and fifty paces wide. It is formed by rains, which fill it up in the rainy season; and as it is higher than the great lake, its waters bear away the sand, and empty into it. This laguna then becomes filled with alligators and all kinds of fish. But during the summer it nearly dries up. The Indians then kill with clubs great numbers of alligators and fish. It is about a league and a half in length, and three-fourths of a league in breadth. I visited it in the latter part of July, 1529, and there was but little water in it. The farmer whom I have mentioned had many hogs, which fed on the fish which they caught here, and were so large that they looked frightful, the more so, because they had the smell and taste of fish. For this reason they are now kept away from the laguna, and only allowed to approach to drink. “In this vicinity there are numerous black tigers, which made great havoc in this farmer’s flocks. He had some excellent dogs, which had killed many of these tigers; he showed me one in particular, that had killed two or three. The skin of one of these animals, which he showed me, was black, like velvet. This kind is more ferocious than the spotted variety. He said he would not take a thousand dollars for his dogs, for his pork was worth a thousand, and without the dogs the tigers would have destroyed them all.”