i?2 TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



was not easy, as one had to kneel down to get the bird 

 against the sky. I got about three hours' broken sleep, 

 Alston about the same, and Carl hardly any. 



Tuesday, the 16th of July, was a very hot day. At 

 half-past six or seven, when it was already scorching 

 hot, Alston found the hornets worse than the sJceeters, 

 his wrists being covered with blisters, and one of them 

 had a lump as big as half a hen's egg. Lots of birds 

 were seen, but all of them ' common ' at least, what we 

 considered so. We came in to breakfast and then skinned, 

 Carl going out to shoot. 



This place looks a much better locality than we think 

 it is, after our experience of this morning. The hornets, 

 horseflies, and common flies were almost as bad as the 

 mosquitoes in the night. Alston suffered most from the 

 hornets. With me their bites do not cause swellings, 

 though those of the mosquitoes do. I forgot my leggings 

 last night, and suffered accordingly, seven or eight 

 ' cumari ' covering the space of half a square inch. We 

 did little to-day but skin a few birds, including adult and 

 young Spotted Crake brought in by our guide of last night. 



Alston and I were each separately entertained to tea 

 by the peasants at whose houses we were respectively 

 staying. 



It was so hot, and there were so many ' cumari ' 

 that it was impossible to get any sleep this night, so 

 we had a romp and kicked up a general row, by way of 

 keeping cool, as Alston put it. 



July 17. 



On Wednesday morning, the 17th of July, about half- 

 past one, there was a tap at the window, and on looking 

 out, whom should we see but Carl Ivanovitch Birse and 

 his crew. They had rowed over from Archangel in less 

 than an hour, to see how we were getting on. 



