358 



OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. 



natural home, while the other yellow Tyrants frequent 

 wooded river banks. 



At one o'clock we came in sight of a barn-like shelter in 

 which was housed a huge steam traction plough, and radiat- 

 ing out across the savanna were the lines of dykes which 

 marked the great fields intended for rice planting. 



Fig. 146. Our Bung.^low on Abary Isl.ind. 



A few minutes more of steaming brought us to a landing 

 place on a small island, with the bungalow in the centre. 

 This islet and in fact this whole region has an interesting 

 history. All this savanna was once a densely wooded jungle 

 of mora trees, eta palms and other growth. In 1S37 a drought 

 occurred of such extent that all the vegetation — trees, palms 

 and underbrush — became dry as chips. The inevitable fol- 

 lowed and a fire started in some way which swept this whole 



