of the red
ibis, which he intended to have `mounted.' I gave my word that no
opportunity should be lost of obtaining these birds, and I was very
anxious to make good my promise.

"The southern part of the State of Louisiana is one vast labyrinth of
swamps, bayous, and lagoons. The bayous are sluggish streams that glide
sleepily along, sometimes running one way, and sometimes the very
opposite, according to the season of the year. Many of them are outlets
of the Mississippi, which begins to shed off its waters more than 300
miles from its mouth. These bayous are deep, sometimes narrow,
sometimes wide, with islets in their midst. They and their contiguous
swamps are the great habitat of the alligator and the fresh-water
shark--the gar. Numerous species of water and wading fowl fly over
them, and plunge through their dark tide. Here you may see the red
flamingo, the egret, the trumpeter-swan, the blue heron, the wild goose,
the crane, the snake-bird, the pelican, and the ibis; you may likewise
see the osprey, and the white-headed eagle robbing him of his prey.
Both swamps and bayous produce abundantly fish, reptile, and insect, and
are, consequently, the favourite resort of hundreds of birds which prey
upon these creatures. In some places, their waters form a complete
net-work over the country, which you may traverse with a small boat in
almost any direction; indeed, this is the means by which many
settlements communicate with each other. As you approach southward
towards the Gulf, you get clear of the timber; and within some fifty
miles of the sea, there is not a tree to be seen.

"In the first day or two that I was out, I had succeeded in getting all
the specimens I wanted, with the exception of the ibis. This shy
creature avoided me; in fact I had only seen one or two in my
excursions, and these at a great distance. I still, however, had hopes
of finding them before my return to my friend.

"About the third or fourth day I set out from a small settlement on the
edge of one of the larger bayous. I had no other company than my gun.
I was even unattended by a dog, as my favourite spaniel had the day
before been bitten by an alligator while swimming across the bayou, and
I was compelled to leave him at the settlement. Of course the object of
my excursion was a search after new flora, but I had become by this time
very desirous of getting the rare ibis, and I was determined half to
neglect my botanising for t