142 EXPLORATION OF THE RIVER. 



instantly out of sight. They were evidently 

 greatly alarmed, and as Miago, whose presence 

 might have given them confidence, was not with us, 

 it seemed hopeless to attempt any communication 

 with them, much as we should have liked to con- 

 vince them, that these strange white creatures were 

 of a race of beings formed like themselves, though 

 even of our existence they could have had no pre- 

 vious idea. 



Six miles from our last night's bivouac, still keep- 

 ing our southerly direction, brought us to some low, 

 grassy islets, extending almost across the river, and 

 leaving only confined and shallow channels ; through 

 one of which we had, at half tide, some difficulty in 

 finding a passage for the boats. The river now 

 widened out a little, and we found the deep water 

 near the western bank, the appearance of the coun- 

 try remaining unaltered. We landed to pass the 

 night at a rocky point on the east side of the river, 

 one mile south from the most western islet of the 

 chain just described as almost preventing our as- 

 cent. The depth of the river at this point was 

 about twelve feet at low water ; and its breadth 

 some four or five hundred yards. We found the 

 water fresh at all times of tide, which here rose only 

 eight feet ; being ten feet less than its greatest rise 

 eight miles nearer the mouth, where the time of 

 high water at the full and change of the moon occurs 

 at 4h. 10m. p.m. 



This was the first rock formation we had noticed 



