me to
take them out to dry. We could not but admire here the ingenious nests
of the flamingo; they are of a conical form, raised above the level of
the marsh, having a recess above, in which the eggs are deposited, out
of the reach of danger, and the female can sit on them with her legs in
the water. These nests are of clay, and so solid, that they resist the
water till the young are able to swim.

In a fortnight the flax was ready to be taken out of the water; we
spread it in the sun, which dried it so effectually, that we brought it
to Falcon's Nest the same evening, where it was stored till we were
ready for further operations. At present we laboured to lay up provision
for the rainy season, leaving all sedentary occupations to amuse us in
our confinement. We brought in continually loads of sweet acorns,
manioc, potatoes, wood, fodder for the cattle, sugar-canes, fruit,
indeed everything that might be useful during the uncertain period of
the rainy season. We profited by the last few days to sow the wheat and
other remaining European grains, that the rain might germinate them. We
had already had some showers; the temperature was variable, the sky
became cloudy, and the wind rose. The season changed sooner than we
expected; the winds raged through the woods, the sea roared, mountains
of clouds were piled in the heavens. They soon burst over our heads, and
torrents of rain fell night and day, without intermission; the rivers
swelled till their waters met, and turned the whole country around us
into an immense lake. Happily we had formed our little establishment on
a spot rather elevated above the rest of the valley; the waters did not
quite reach our tree, but surrounded us about two hundred yards off,
leaving us on a sort of island in the midst of the general inundation.
We were reluctantly obliged to descend from our aerial abode; the rain
entered it on all sides, and the hurricane threatened every moment to
carry away the apartment, and all that were in it. We set about our
removal, bringing down our hammocks and bedding to the sheltered space
under the roots of the trees that we had roofed for the animals. We were
painfully crowded in the small space; the stores of provisions, the
cooking-utensils, and especially the neighbourhood of the animals, and
the various offensive smells, made our retreat almost insupportable. We
were choked with smoke if we lighted a fire, and inundated with rain if
we opened a door. For t