A VISIT TO A BREEDING-PLACE OF THE PELICAN. 249 
song of the Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus turdoides) interrupts 
the loud silence for some minutes. These floating reed forests 
are intersected by innumerable broad and narrow channels, which, 
with a depth of from fifteen to twenty feet, form a treacherous 
cover of aquatic plants, and are here and there quite choked 
by them, particularly with hornwort (Ceratophyllum) and water 
soldier (Stratiotes aloides). The latter reaches a foot high above 
the surface with its sharp leaves, and adds to the difficulty of 
navigation. Charming as this labyrinth of islands may be, it 
becomes appalling to him who loses his way in it! We soon 
found ourselves in this predicament, and although we continued 
to try our luck in different places, it was always in vain. Our 
strength began to fail—hunger made itself felt. We could not 
resist a feeling of oppression. The sun sank, and with it our last 
hope; for without it there could be no question of our inability 
to find our way through the dense reeds. We were at some 
hundred yards distance from the lake, and thoroughly wedged in 
between the floating masses. It was impossible to get a footing 
outside the boat; as soon as we tried to step on supposed firm 
ground it sank immediately, and the water threatened to engulph 
us. And then we had to look forward to the most terrible 
torments from that army of flies, the blood-thirsty mosquitos ; 
We could not possibly pass the night among the reeds; we were 
bound to try all we could to regain the lake at least, and with it 
freer air. We forced our way back with the power of despair, 
and breathed more freely when at last we regained the smooth 
surface of the lake. Rowing along the reed-banks, we noticed a 
spot where formerly a fishing-hut seemed to have stood. This 
we selected for our camp. Of course it was but a shaky cover 
composed of dried reeds, yet it seemed firm enough to carry 
us and the boat. With our hunting-knives we quickly cut off 
green reeds and ferns, arranged them for us to lie upon, and 
turned our boat upside-down upon the whole, hoping thus to be 
a little protected from the mosquitos. But our scheme was not 
successful: the ground gave way considerably, and the water rose 
higher and higher. We turned our boat over again, lined it with 
reeds and covered it completely with them; here at least we 
could not get drowned. Now we crept in between the reeds 
through a little gap, and pressed closely against one another, 
hoping thus to be able to sleep for a few hours. But this, too, 
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