LAKE REGION OF WESTERN ARGENTINA 415 



bind them into long, thick bundles and, lashing several 

 of them together, form a craft that will support a man, al- 

 though his feet are always under the icy water. Shooting 

 from such a contrivance, unless it is larger than any I have 

 seen, would be impossible. Therefore we started to walk 

 along the muddy banks in the hope that something would 

 fly over. 



After having gone a short distance, a commotion among 

 the sedges attracted our attention, and a moment later a 

 large gray fox appeared and trotted away. A charge of 

 No. 4 shot stopped him; he was in splendid fur and made 

 a desirable addition to our lot of trophies. Later, we saw 

 them frequently; they haunt the edges of the marsh and 

 feed upon coots and wounded ducks. Carrion-hawks, also, 

 were always about in considerable numbers and reaped a 

 rich harvest. 



Coots of several species were running around everywhere. 

 They wandered far away from the water, apparently to 

 pick up toads or lizards, and as we approached, scurried 

 back to the marsh or hid in the dense, low bushes, where 

 they remained motionless until the cause of their fright had 

 passed. Ducks were all well out of range and refused to fly 

 over. I hesitate to estimate their numbers, there were 

 such countless thousands, but in many places the water 

 was covered with them, and there were large white geese 

 and black-necked swans. Black rails of good size darted 

 about or waded boldly out in the open, jerking their tails 

 and clucking. 



It did not take us long to discover that we were too late 

 in the day for ducks, so we started back to camp, cutting 

 across the country. Several tinamous got up singly, with 

 a loud whir of wings; they flew straight and fast, a great 

 contrast to the slow, wavering flight of the forest-inhabit- 

 ing species. 



When we reached camp, some of the goat-meat had been 

 roasted and we had a feast ! The rest of the day was spent 

 in straightening up camp. 



