Eyg-collectiny in Asia Minor. 413 



the superintendent. As soon as he heard of my projected 

 expedition to the lake and marshes at the mouth of the 



Meander, Mr. H , who is a good sportsman and has 



the tastes of a naturalist, offered to go with me, and as 

 his time was limited we determined to start that very night. 

 We at once set to work on our preparations, and by mid- 

 night had everything ready. We sent one man on ahead 

 with a pack-horse carrying our baggage — which we cut down 

 to the smallest limits — and then lay down to rest for an 

 hour and a half. We then had something to eat and a cup 

 of tea, and started for Sakizbounou at about 3 a.m. I left 

 Demetrius behind with instructions to return to Bournabat 

 the next day, but took with me my Turkish servant, who 



carried a shot-gun, while Mr. H was accompanied 



by a trusty Circassian armed with a rifle. 



After leaving the town of Sokia we rode westward down the 

 valley of the Meander, keeping the dim figure of the Circassian 

 — who, being intimately acquainted with the country, acted 

 as our guide — constantly in view. At first the path we were 

 following led us along the river's bank, and then we struck 

 across a great open plain. We passed several Yuruk en- 

 campments, round which the shadowy forms of camels and 

 horses were feeding, and much disturbed the equanimity of 

 the great wolf-like sheep-dogs, which always left their charge 

 and escorted us for several hundred yards on our journey, 

 barking most furiously all the while. Just as day was 

 breaking wx came to a small village on the bank of the 

 Meander. There must have been more than fifty pairs of 

 Storks nesting in this small village, and every hovel had two 

 or three nests on it. In most of these the young birds 

 had already been hatched, but some still contained eggs, on 

 which the females were sitting. Although it was as yet 

 scarcely daylight the great majority of the Storks were 

 already on the look-out for food. They were walking about 

 in crowds just outside the village, very like flocks of geese, 

 and were almost as tame. 



About 6 o'clock on the morning of May 13th we reached 

 Sakizbounou, a small Turkish village on the Meander 



