TO PORT ESSINGTON. 351 
and even east-south-east as they advanced along the west 
coast. The stronger the sea breeze was during the day, the 
heavier was the dew during the night, which was easily ac- 
counted for by the action of the cold southerly land breeze 
on the warmer moisture with which the sea air was charged. 
The bracing nature of the south breeze at night had a very 
beneficial influence on their constitutions. ; 
VII. The River Roper and Arnheim Land, 15°—13° 40/ 
8. latitude. T 
The Roper is the only large fresh water river of the west 
coast of the gulf, as far as they followed it to the northward. 
It is fed by a great number of running creeks and brooks, all 
closely fringed by belts of Pandanus. On the steep and 
boggy banks of this river, Dr. Leichardt lost four of his 
horses, which unfortunately compelled him to abandon the 
largest portion of his botanical and geological specimens. 
Almost the whole country along the river was open, well 
Srassed, and available for depasturing purposes. At its 
Upper course exist fine plains, which are bound by sandstone - 
ridges, and diversified by creeks, forming an extremely 
Pleasing landscape. The high land was covered with an — — 
= “pen stringy-bark forest on a sandy soil, but its level is — 
frequently interrupted by steep rocky. sandstone hills : 
ridges, at the foot of which. tea-tree swamps with a peaty pr 
formed frequently the heads of creeks. It has been previ- 
ously mentioned that the fall of the high land of the York 
Peninsula is more sudden to the westward; the same is the — 
Case in a still higher degree in Arnheim land, for there is not — 
_ only a very rapid fall in the creeks, but there are precipices: 
. 500—800 feet high, which border the valley of the South 
Alligator River, and over which numerous cascades rushe 
. down to join their waters with those of that river. It w 
fy remarkable that the only slope which allowed 
— Leichardt and his party to descend into the valley is 
by gra 
| nite, whereas the whole of Arnheim _ land. 
OT 
— 
