258 I N A G U A 



decent meal. As soon as the sun set I turned in to recoup some 

 of my dissipated energy; the miles of wading while pulling a 

 heavy boat had made me too tired to be interested in fla- 

 mingos; for that evening, at least, I would relax. The air was 

 very heavy, and although I faced the tent into the wind I did 

 not sleep well and awakened several times. This camp was one 

 of the most exciting of my entire outdoor experience. The 

 moon was out again and between the clouds it sent long shafts 

 of blue light scurrying over the black waters. It had hardly 

 risen when a vast tumult of bird voices began to fill the air. 

 These started with a light peeping refrain of sandpipers and 

 the plaintive calls of plover and killdeer. The gallinules took 

 up the concert and their cackling broke in a dozen wild 

 choruses over the lake. One by one other birds added to the 

 tumult. The clatter of rails and squawk of little green herons, 

 accompanied by myriads of faint splashings and whistlings, 

 made the lake seem alive. As the minutes passed the sounds 

 increased until the lake was an unbelievable bedlam. This 

 was rather amazing for the remainder of Inagua was extraor- 

 dinarily quiet at night. Except for the wind, the ground clat- 

 ter of the crabs and the occasional sweet melody of a mock- 

 ingbird, a migrating Maryland yellow throat or other warbler 

 singing in its sleep, the evenings were deathly still. 



The bedlam increased until the flamingos joined in. From 

 that moment the lake became a vast roar, a dark empty space 

 surffine with waves of seethin^ noise. The nearest common 

 approach to the sound was the tumult of a crowd at a major 

 football game. No football crowd, however, ever gave the 

 sense of majesty that came out of the lake that night. The 

 combination of all the sounds blended in a mournful minor key 

 that sent cold shivers up and down my spine. I have experienced 

 the same effect from certain passages of Sibelius and from 

 the blood-chilling cadences of G otter ddmmerung. 



