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I ran down to the side of the river, and have been crawling about in the reeds for days, living on the eggs of water-birds and a few small fish that I caught in the pools, till this morning, when I heard the Zulus again and slipped up here into this hole. Then you came and stood over the hole, and for a long while I thought you were a ghost.
In large lakes this would not be necessary, as most of the water-birds such as the swans and geese and all the ducks that are not of the diving kinds, are sure to come to the shore to feed, and are more likely to be taken close in to land than out in the open water. "The Indians often snare these birds upon the nest, and they always wash their hands before setting the snare.
About this time, the weather being extremely dry, the colonists, clothed as warmly as possible, resolved to devote a day to the exploration of that part of the island between the Mercy and Claw Cape. It was a wide extent of marshy land, and they would probably find good sport, for water-birds ought to swarm there.
With these they hooked into the branches and dragged themselves up along the bank, in addition to poling where the depth permitted it. The river was as big as the Paraguay at Corumba; but, in striking contrast to the Paraguay, there were few water-birds. We ran some rather stiff rapids, the Infernino, without unloading, in the morning.
Indeed, it seems astonishing, when one observes these big beasts and big waders and other water-birds in their native surroundings, to find how utterly non-harmful their often strikingly revealing coloration is.
The beautiful grouping, the pose of the figures and the graceful lines of the vessels are unforgettable. The air is fluid; great white clouds stretch across the sky, which has the same liquid beauty as the water in the background. Water-birds and dewy flowers add life and color. The grateful use of water for man's thirst is beautifully told.
Its colour is very similar to the pochard of Europe: its head is a uniform deep chestnut, its breast black; while the back and upper parts of the wings present a surface of bluish-grey, so lined and mottled as to resemble though very slightly the texture of canvas: hence the trivial name of the bird. Like most of the water-birds of America, the canvas-back is migratory.
"Do people see the birds flying away together, nurse?" "Not often, my dear; for most birds congregate together in small flocks, and depart unnoticed. Many go away at night, when we are sleeping; and some fly very high on cloudy days, so that they are not distinctly seen against the dull, gray sky. The water-birds such as geese, swans, and ducks take their flight in large bodies.
This was more particularly the case with the water-birds, as ducks, bitterns, pelicans, cormorants, and swans, we saw few of the latter, but generally heard them at night passing over our heads from N.W. to S.E. or vice versu; but we never afterwards found any waters which we could suppose those birds could frequent in the distant interior.
The pool was full of water-birds, coots, and moor-hens, sailing aimlessly about, and uttering strange, melancholy cries at intervals. On the edge of the water stood a small marble temple, streaked and stained by the weather. As we approached it, my friend told me something of the builder of the little shrine.
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