J 18 IN THE LAND OF THE BOEA. 



not in their boats they wade about, even the 

 women carrying leaping-poles. Most of the men 

 take a turn occasionally in the marsh with gun 

 and cast-net, by no means unprofitably. 



"What a paradise Fort Opus would be to the 

 sportsman who had the time to devote to explor- 

 ing with a Canadian canoe, especially in winter ! 

 Of principal waterways alone there are — the 

 steamer channel, some score of miles in length ; 

 the little Narenta, as much more ; another stream 

 running up to a lake on the Turkish frontier ; 

 another lagoon below Fort Opus ; and, in addition, 

 small canals and wide drains in every direction. 

 Much of the marsh can be covered by a man 

 provided with waders, but there are {experto crede) 

 plenty of deep holes where these might be a 

 source of danger. 



The Narenta marshes are firstrate shooting- 

 ground, but not till towards mid-winter. We 

 were too early for really good shooting. Still 

 there were some quail left, and snipe, which with 

 miscellaneous waders and swimmers made up my 

 bag. The best sport is obtained when the bulk 

 of the marsh is frozen hard. 



The marshes swarm with snakes, nearly all, 

 however, of the common harmless green variety. 

 I killed one in my first day's walk, whose flat, 

 three-cornered head seemed to me too suspicious 

 for safety, but I fear I wronged it. About the 



