58 BANKS OF THE VICTORIA. 



bird that I had seen at Port Essington.* They 

 were scarce and not met with in other parts of the 

 river. Kangaroos were numerous on the banks, as 

 we entered the plain, and during the day were to 

 be seen in numbers under the bushes near the 

 water's edge. 1 added one to our stock of fresh 

 provisions, which with alligator steaks and ducks, 

 gave us a good supply to share with the other 

 boats. We named this part of the river Long 

 Reach, from its carrying us nine miles in a direct 

 course, with a general width of a quarter of a mile, 

 and a depth of two and three fathoms. The banks 

 were well defined, in many places being a low line 

 of cliffs six feet high, presenting to our view several 

 feet of brown soil, resting on a compact clay. This 

 is the general character of this extensive plain ; 

 and from the small size of the trees, chiefly white 

 gums, that are thinly scattered over it, we may 

 infer that it is land of recent formation. Two miles 

 from the end of Long Reach, we passed a sandy 

 head, where the tide rises from three to ten feet. 



The river now took a south by west direction, for 

 nearly two miles, a little narrower, but three 

 fathoms deep throughout. Towards the latter part 

 the banks were fringed with mangroves of a small and 

 singularly even growth, resembling a clipped gar- 

 den shrubbery. Our course again changed to south- 

 east, entering the low range of hills bounding the 

 south-eastern side of Whirlwind Plains. It was long 



* Figured by Mr. Gould, as Tadorna Radjah. 



