OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. 175 
together with several other species of waders, and large 
flocks of them may be seen running busily about over the 
mud flats, searching for worms, crustaceans, etc. 
The baked mud of the upper zone is at present too hard 
to retain the impressions of their footsteps, while that 
near the bottom of the slope is too soft. The middle 
zone, with its smooth, glossy, partially dried surface, is 
eminently fitted to receive and retain the most delicate 
impressions, and it is covered all over with the long zig- 
zag lines of their little three-toed tracks. We distinguish 
readily the tracks of other species of birds that have run 
over the same surface. Here is the large three-toed im- 
pression of the foot of the Great Blue Heron, which we 
frightened away when we came up, and which is now 
wading about leisurely along the edge of a sand-bank in the 
middle of the river. Here are also tracks of crows and 
dogs, and here, the deep, brokenly-cut hoof-prints of a 
cow. ‘There are tracks both of booted and barefooted gun- 
hers. See! these impressions were made by a person walk- 
ing leisurely, but if you will follow them on a little you 
will find that they begin to be suddenly farther apart, and 
the toe becomes more deeply impressed. A sportsman has 
stolen quietly up to a flock of “Peeps,” fired, and then run 
to pick up his game. Here we find great numbers of 
tracks made by the flock into which he fired ; and we see, 
also, the long grooves made by the shot. There are feath- 
ers lying about, and we can tell from the different direc- 
tions in which he ran, that he has shot and picked up 
half a dozen birds. 
_ Let us now go up the slope a little further, to where 
the mud is dry and cracked. On this hardened surface 
we find the tracks of birds that ran over it a couple of 
hours azo, when it was still soft. We scale off a few 
