INSTINCT OF FISH 277 



of the rivers dry up or evaporate, the fish either collect in 

 the deep holes or retire to the lower reaches of the river, 

 where they have sufficient water for their needs. They 

 must be possessed of unerring instinct, if not positive 

 knowledge, for those holes to which they retire have water 

 in them all the year round. A few fish, however, perish ; 

 for in most of the holes a few are found imprisoned — 

 individuals which appear to have delayed their retreat too 

 long — but the numbers which so perish are so small as 

 scarcely to be worth notice. For instance, in a pretty big 

 hole I have seen five or six bream imprisoned, which may 

 have had the good fortune to exist in the muddy slush (it 

 could scarcely be called water) until a fall of rain gave 

 them a fresh supply of their native element. On the other 

 hand, in holes which had a good depth of water, and were 

 probably permanently wet, the fish are sometimes crowded 

 together in great numbers. If the natives find such collec- 

 tions they capture the whole in their hand-nets. 



The natives did not appear to be so numerous along 

 the coast (at a distance inland of twenty or thirty miles) 

 as they are further inland ; but we met a few small tribes 

 of them, with two of which we held friendly intercourse, 

 and purchased some warren-roots, and other articles from 

 them ; for, of course, we did not help ourselves from the 

 numerous warren grounds we passed. Nothing could 

 justify a robbery of these poor people, except the last 

 necessity of the robber. 



Nothing of interest occurred on the last days of this 

 ramble ; and the country can only be described as the 

 most mountainous I have seen in Australia. Several of 

 the summits exceed three thousand feet in height, and 

 one, Bellenden Ker, exceeds five thousand. They are all 

 typical Australian heights, most of them flat-topped and 

 cliff-faced ; and on all those is far less forest-growth than 

 would be found upon similar hills in any other parts of the 

 world. 



The most interesting feature of this region is the lovely 

 fern-gullies. In ferns surely Australia can champion the 

 whole earth ! When in these gullies, we were completely 



