462 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1919. 
far when one cart was overturned into a deep pool beside the road 
and its whole contents soaked. At one place we had to cross a 
treacherous “ niggerhead” swamp. A niggerhead swamp is one in 
which the soft, black ooze is closely dotted with peculiar tussocks of 
grass. in summer the long grass hides everything, with the result 
that in trying to cross the swamp one encounters a series of pitfalls 
as one’s feet miss the tussocks and plunge one into the ooze, often up 
to the waist. In the autumn or spring, when fire has consumed the 
long grass, as it often does, the tussocks look like so many black 
heads covered with fuzzy black hair, whence the name “ niggerhead.” 
The difficulty of getting a heavy cart across such a swamp can be 
imagined. Add to this a soaking, steady rain and it will be under- 
stood that our plight was far from pleasant. However, by the end 
of the second day we had managed to penetrate the forest sufficiently 
far for my purpose of making a typical collection of small mammals, 
so camp was pitched in a suitable spot, and I lost no time in getting 
my traps out. 
it was a wonderful place we had chosen. A beautiful stream 
flowed near by, whence the natives daily brought us fresh trout and 
grayling. Big, fat pintail snipe were abundant on the open swamps 
and recent clearings, while hazel grouse and pheasants could be 
heard, though seldom seen, in the forest itself. Many bright-plum- 
aged birds were seen, most noteworthy of which was the beautiful 
oriental roller (L'urystomus calonyx, Sharpe), with its brilliant blue 
and green plumage, crimson bill and legs. There were a great many 
of these birds about, but they kept to the tops of the highest trees 
and defied all our efforts to secure specimens, while they disported 
themselves in the air and uttered incessantly their shrill chattering 
calls. Jays, cuckoos, woodpeckers (pied and black), warblers, fly- 
catchers, finches, hawks, owls, herons, kingfishers, and grebes were 
all seen and noted. 
Small mammals were scarce, however, so we decided to push on 
farther up the valley. We finally reached its head after another 
day’s travel, where a friendly settler, practically the last in this 
direction, gave us shelter in his log-built huts. Here an interesting 
discovery was made. We had heard rumors of a wonderful lake, 
called by the natives Laolungwan, and had determined to visit it. 
Having, therefore, made ourselves comfortable at the farm, we lost 
no time in making for the lake, which lay but a mile or so away. A 
steep ascent up the head of the valley brought us to the object of our 
search, and there, like an emerald set in gold, lay the most beautiful 
lake it has been my fortune to see. It did not take long to determine 
the fact that this wonderful sheet of crystal clear water occupied the 
crater of an extinct volcano. In the course of my stay in this vicinity 
I visited another similar lake, while the native hunters told me that 
