82 DAN MEINERTZHAGEN'S DIARY. 



growing at an enormous pace, and seem 

 most healthy. The feathers under the head 

 have not yet begun to grow, and when they 

 lift up their heads for food one sees a bare 

 patch of skin under the chin. All the other 

 feathers are in quite an advanced stage. 



When I started for this place, I pictured to 

 myself, during June, day after day without 

 a cloud in the sky. The fact is, we haven't 

 had a perfectly clear day since the snow left us. 



Every Saturday night all the men and 

 women go and bathe in the bay in front of the 

 town, even the smallest children. They all 

 run in perfectly naked and unashamed, and dip 

 and run out. No one seems to be able to swim. 



I took my skeletons from macerating yester- 

 day, and hung them up to dry. They will, 

 I think, be very good ones. 



Now that the water has left the lowlands in 

 the bay here, there is one huge swamp, not too 

 bad to walk over, and we beat it last night for 

 Ruffs and Sandpipers. If only one had it in 

 England, I could not help thinking what a lovely 

 place for Snipe it would make in the winter. 



The first salmon was caught to-day in the 

 nets, weighing 10 Ibs., and on enquiring after 

 it, we found it had already been sold to the 

 postmaster, at 25 ore a Ib. 



