1 94 Journal of Travel and Natural History 



the Tor, and that he had very Httle to eat. As this news was about a month 

 old, I pushed on to the Liverpool hoping that the exploring party would have 

 been able to amve there during our absence, as the country seemed quite 

 dried up. 



" We came to off Entrance Sound, Liverpool River, during the forenoon of 

 the 3rd of July. On our running in Bob White recognised the place, he having 

 been there five or six months, with a party of Malays ; so, shortly after we 

 anchored, I manned a boat and sent Bob away to try and communicate with a 

 canoe, which was fishing for turtle about 2 miles off; but we had no success, as 

 the natives pulled on shore and abandoned their canoe among the rocks. On 

 the 4th of July I proceeded to the sand hills at Point Hawkesbury, and 

 ascertained that our bottles, &c. , had not been disturbed, and no traces of white 

 people having been in the vicinity. We cut some excellent hard wood while at 

 this anchorage on south west point, to replace our cat -heads and repair windlass. 



" We weighed with the flood on the morning of the 9th, and proceeded up 

 the Liverpool River with a light northerly wind, and reached up to about 3 

 miles beyond our former anchorage. The natives hailed through the mangroves, 

 and being answered by Bob White, came on board, about ten in number^ Bob 

 White seemed to understand their language perfectly, though it was quite 

 cUfferent from his own. He ascertained that one of the natives had a brother 

 who had seen Mr M'Kinlay about half a month before, and that he was then at 

 Arrah, so I determined to proceed round to the Goulburn Islands and send 

 Bob inland with a letter to the explorers to let them know where we were. 

 Here the natives having once broken through their reserve, became very friendly, 

 and came on board with their women and children ; they all smoked like the 

 Mount Norris people, and several spoke Malay. One woman who came on 

 board had been to Macassar. 



"We reached the south Goulburn Sound on the evening of the 13th, the natives 

 making a great fire on the beach. We rounded to in 4 fathoms, about a 

 quarter of a mile off shore, and came at once on a reef of rocks which we saw- 

 next morning stretching all along in front of the beach. The sails being backed 

 the schooner came off before we could let go the kedge, and we came to in 5 

 fathoms. In the meantime a great shouting had been going on between Bob 

 White and the natives on shore, and a number soon came off bringing a turtle 

 for sale, They informed Bob it was no use his going to Arrah as Mr M'Kinlay 

 had left there and gone towards the mouth of the east Alligator river, also that 

 they were eating their horses and had only two dogs left, and a number of other 

 things about the party which made me think the natives had really fallen in with 

 the party, though their idea of time was so confused and limited that there was 

 little faith to be put in their statement that they had seen M'Kinlay not more 

 than a week previously. 



" We weighed at 8 a.m. on the 14th of July and proceeded towards Mount 

 Norris Bay, coming to at midnight in Malay Bay, and proceeding on to the 

 head of the bay next morning, when I despatched White across to the east 

 Alligator river with a letter, to which he promised to bring an answer in three 

 days ; in the meantime all hands were out trying to procure buffalo, but 

 without success, and on the afternoon of the third day I met Bob on the beach 

 not looking as if he had just come off a long journey. However he declared he 

 had been to the east Alligator river, found that M'Kinlay had crossed it, and 

 having no canoe came back again. 



" As it ajipeared very likely that M'Kinlay really was returning to Adam Bay 

 for some reason, I made up my mind to return to Point Hawkesbury, bury the 

 provisions in the tank I had provided, and then make all sail for Adam Bay, 

 where I expected to find the party ; but just after 10 p.m. when we had 

 got rid of Bob White and his friends (who went away loailed with presents) a 

 canoe came rapidly from the shore, and after a short talk Bob returned on board 

 and informed us that M'Kinlay, after killing all his horses and cutting them 

 up into small pieces, had made a small boat of the skin, antl that on that 

 day he had arrived at a place called luidyalgoot, in a large boat which 

 Bob called a 'long boat belonging to shi]i,' and urged me to give him the 

 letter again to take over, as he was sure, he said, that M'Kinlay would come 

 on the mainland to shoot buffaloes. I gave him the letter, and after ac- 



