140 Kennedy's expedition. 



what I afterwards saw of their habits^ that theu' 

 cookery is confined to roasting and baking'. In 

 the camp were several larg-e shells for holding- 

 water^ and some calabashes^ made by taking* out the 

 inside of a kind of g'ourd which g-rows plentifully 

 near the camp. These calabashes would hold from 

 one to three pints each. 



June 12th. — This morning* Taylor endeavom'ed 

 to cross the river with the rope for working- our punt^ 

 but although an expert swimmer^ and a ver}^ strong- 

 man^ he Avas unable to do so^ from the strength 

 of the tide which was running- out. We saw 

 several natives fishing in the river fi-om their canoes, 

 which are about five feet long and one and a-half 

 feet Vv'ide, made of bark, with small snplings tied 

 along the side, and are paddled with small pieces 

 of bark held in either hand. We made sio-iis to 

 them to come to us, with which three of them 

 complied. We made them understand that if they 

 would take our rope across, and make it fast to 

 a dead tree on the other side of the river, we would 

 give them a tomahawk. They consented to under- 

 take the task, and after great exertion succeeded 

 in performing it, and received their reward, with 

 which they seemed quite satisfied and highly 

 pleased. We succeeded in getting ever} thing 

 across the river by 10 o'clock p.m., for the moon 

 being up, we would not stop till we had finished. 

 Our horses we took about a quarter of a mile up the 

 river, and they crossed where it was narrower and 



