A WATER-HOOPOO. 137 



the natives were curing the fish over smoky fires. 

 This smoking and a three days' drying over a slow 

 fire keep the fish sweet without the addition of 

 salt. The art of kippering apparently is not a new 

 one. It was known to the Egyptians four thousand 

 years ago ; and here we have a wild race perfectly 

 well acquainted with the art of curing without the 

 aid of salt. Their dried fish will keep for years, and 

 the smoky flavour is not at all unpalatable. 



A second and a third hoopoo were arranged in 

 other parts of the river during the same week, but 

 neither of these was as successful as the first. 



