THE FLAMINGO 157 



out, fell to my lot. Returning to Nassau, Mrs. Chapman and 

 I were placed in an abandoued lunatic ward of the Colonial 

 Hospital, which on one side was bounded by the lepers' com- 

 pound, while the quarters for the insane were somewhat fur- 

 ther removed on the other. At our door was a large cistern 

 occupied by a thriving colony of tree toads whose united voi- 

 ces, echoing in their cavernous home, often made it impossi- 

 ble to distinguish the cries of our demented neighbors. The 

 experience was not devoid of novelty. 



In place of the trip to Inaugua, for which time was now 

 lacking, Bonhote and Fuertes decided to go to southern An- 

 dros, where the former had learned through the Rev. F. 

 Barrows Matthews, of a Flamingo rookery which Mr. Mat- 

 thews had visited in 1898. It was agreed to make camp near 

 the coast and use small boats to reach the site of the rookery 

 while the schooner was to be sent back for me. 



Two weeks later I joined the camping party. They had 

 visited the old rookery and explored the surrounding coun- 

 try seeing many Flamingos but finding no occupied nests. 

 No efforts had been spared to secure specimens of the Fla- 

 mingo, Fuertes especially desiring one to paint, but thus far 

 he had been unsuccessful, and while this narrative is not a 

 record of birds killed, the manner in which the first two of 

 our total of four Flamingos were secured went so far 

 toward compensating me for my fortnight with the lepers 

 and lunatics that I cannot resist the satisfaction of describ- 

 ing it. 



The day following my arrival, being still too weak to 

 hunt, I was landed on a comparatively open place on the 

 banks of the creek at the mouth of which the "Estrella" 

 was anchored, while the boat continued toward the interior 

 in search of fire-wood. The discharge of my gun startled 

 two Flamingos, which, unseen, had been feeding in a near- 

 by lagoon. They headed for the interior, but, seeing the 

 boat, turned to fly down the creek, and from my hiding-place 

 behind a mangrove both were secured as they passed. Later 



