60 SPOUTING ADVENTURES 



wild from being constantly disturbed by pro- 

 fessional sportsmen. Returning to Callao to 

 meet the mail, we sailed again to visit some 

 small ports to the northward, and after a 

 pleasant run down the coast anchored at 

 Huacho, a wretched place and a bad anchorage. 

 There is some sport to be got at a place called 

 San Lorenzo; but the best shooting is at a 

 lagoon about fifteen miles from the port. 



I rode over to this place accompanied by two 

 of the officers, and guided by a native; there 

 were plenty of ducks in the lagoon, but it seemed 

 impossible to get at them, owing to the immense 

 height of the reeds, which were from fifteen to 

 twenty feet high. It seemed as though we 

 should return empty-handed ; we could see the 

 ducks swimming about in open spaces in the 

 middle, out of reach of our guns : at length we 

 nit upon a plan which succeeded. Cutting 

 down several bundles of reeds we made them 

 into a couple of rafts, or bolsas as they are 

 called, and sitting astride of them, one on each, 

 we paddled out into deep water and had some 



