206 CAPTAIN TUCKEY’S NARRATIVE. 
that bounds the river, about eight miles above our last night’s 
station, where I hope to procure a couple of canoes to pro- 
ceed up the river, as far as my means will permit. 
The river here expands to three miles in width; the banks 
have in some places low strips of soil and sand, with cliffs of 
clay slate, large masses of which are also scattered in the 
river, but do not in the least impede its navigation. In other 
parts low hills of gentle descent come down to the margin of 
the river ; their summits clay, entirely bare of trees. Here 
we also found considerable masses of fine blue limestone ; 
and a quantity of chalk was brought to us by one of the na- 
tives, which we were told was procured from hills on the 
opposite side of the river. 
The population is here more considerable than what we 
have seen lower down. The gentlemen's towns forming 
a continued chain of buildings from the spot where we 
landed. Provisions seem to be also more plentiful. Several 
goats, pigs and fowls, with manioc, ground-nuts, and peas, 
having been brought to us for sale, as were also mats. 
Amongst the croud that surrounded our tent, two or three 
of the foomoos or gentlemen only had any European clothes. 
The women were here the most horribly dirty looking 
wretches that can be conceived ; equalling the New Hollan- 
ders in filth, and nothing superior to them except in the 
