138 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. 9 



of the Western Winter Wren, wliich seemed to 



indicate that tlie performer had found a con- 

 f^enial home and was giving vent to its enjoy- 

 ment. The moment for departure came, tlie 

 train was again in motion, and as we passed 

 around the railway curve whicli almost en- 

 circles the glen and out through the tunnel hy 

 which it is entered I bade farewell to the 

 haunts and home of this interesting bird, and 

 the awful scenes wliich must forever brood the 

 \vin<4s of the shadow of death. 



]\'m. L. Kells. 



Lost in a Mangrove Swamp. 



Naturally, I get lost sometimes. Every one 

 gets lost once in a while. But wlien you travel 

 about alone in thesortof out-of-the-way places 

 that I like, getting lost is rather a common 

 occurrence. .So when I started off for a few 

 day.s' hunt through the Mangrove Swamp 

 across the VVeealockale, and the people said I 

 must look out and not get lost I said " I don't 

 care if I do.'" But I did care though when 

 the time came. I think it was the most dis- 

 agreeable night but one that I ever passed. 



I made my boat fast and started into the 

 swamp. As I took a look back at it a Cormor- 

 ant perched upon the stern, I found progress 

 through the swamp was a ditficnlt matter. 

 Tlie long, straggling Mangrove roots interlace 

 in a queer way at acute angles. There is 

 never a horizontal one to give a decent foot- 

 hold in climbing about, anil they are slippery 

 as can be. Taken all in all a mile of this sort 

 of progress was fully equal to ten of good 

 "dirt road," and by noon I relished the lunch 

 that I had brought with rae as only a hungry 

 and hearty man can. I found lots of coon 

 signs and some otter. Bear were plenty over 

 here I had been told, but I hadn't come across 

 any tracks. Cardinals and Maryland Yellow- 

 throats were the only plentiful land birds. A 

 few fish crows and Jackdaws were occasion- 

 ally heard, but during the noon heat the 

 swamp was still. Out of the wind the mos- 

 quitoes put ill some fine work, and once or 

 twice during tlie afternoon it occurred to me 

 that they would be pretty severe in the night. 

 I little imagined how severe they really were. 



As the sun began to lower it grew cloudy, 

 and tlie life (if the inhabitants seemed to stir 

 up a little. Kingiisliers became numerous as 

 I got among some little rivers and pond holes. 

 Here Herons of several species seemed to be 

 congregating. I also saw two species of Ibis, 



the Wood and Glossy. Anhingas were the 

 features of the scene farther on, and as I 

 heard the distant note of the sea and came to 

 a wide expanse of water I concluded it was 

 about time to turn back. Then came the dif- 

 ficulty. Which way was back? For this 

 water was riuiuiiig the wrong way, and I must 

 be near one end of the swamp and not across 

 it. Which end — north or south — I could not 

 tell. I struggled about for some time but 

 couldn't decide the question, and at last con- 

 cluded — which I knew all along — that I 

 didn't know where I was. A fine, drizzling 

 rain began to fall and I searched with all the 

 Sliced I could for some dry stuff to make up a 

 tire. After some time I caught sight of a 

 palmetto tree, and as I made my way towards 

 it darkness began to fall. I kept right on, 

 though, and at last, as the palmettos did not 

 a,p](ear, I found to my chagrin that. I had lost 

 that too. I scrabbled round with both hands 

 and got at some grass, then broke and lost a 

 match, and searching in my pocket found I 

 had only two more left As it would not do 

 to lose them I tore off the sleeve of my shirt 

 and rubbed wet powder into it, and soon had 

 a wee, small smouldering fire. All night long 

 I coddled and coaxed that tire. I could 

 scarcely stir from the smoke, the mosquitoes 

 were so thick, but every time a llame started 

 up I made a rush for some more dry wood, 

 and so kept the thing going. 



.Some time towards morning I fell into a 

 doze, and when I woke with a start I found 

 only one or two weak embers liissing on the 

 wet ground, liow I did coax and wheedle 

 those little weak sparks. And what a high 

 carnival the mosquitoes held on me through 

 the whole operation. At last a tiny, flicking 

 flame rewarded my painful efforts. With 

 many a backward look for fear it might die 

 out before I could get more fuel, I crcjit otf to 

 leeward in the smoke and got some excellent, 

 dry material. As this gave forth a good, full, 

 leaping blaze it lighted up the big palmetto 

 tree not fifty feet away that I had been making 

 for when darkness overtook me. Its dry- 

 leaves soon gave me a roaring fire and light 

 enough to collect a good pile of wood. A few 

 of its broad, green leaves formed an excellent 

 bed and just before daylight I fell into a 

 refreshing and much-needed sleep. 



When I woke the sun was over an hour higli, 

 and I thought first of all about breakfast. 

 .Making my way towards the water the first 

 tiling that met my gaze was a flock of Sjioon- 

 bills. There were seventeen of them on a 



