362 



OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. 



bered hosts in flocks of many thousands of the same species. 

 It was a wonderland guarded by stern guardians; teeming 

 with life on land, in the air and in the water. Not a moment 

 of the day, or for that matter, of the night was free from sight 

 or sound of some of these interesting creatures. 



FIG. 148. ABARY RIVER, SHOWING HIGH GROWTH ON WEST BANK. 



First as to the guardians. The sun we found to be a most 

 terrible menace on the quiet open waters, and an exposure 

 of an hour would have resulted in most painful blisters, and 

 these in the tropics are of more serious moment than in the 

 north. With broad-brimmed hats, however, there was no 

 danger. 



The day, even out on the marsh itself, was comparatively 

 free from insects, but at 5.30 a few mosquitoes appear. By 



