264 VAN diemen's inlet. 



race ; and until our presence undeceived them, they 

 must have been living in happy ignorance that they 

 were not the only specimens of humanity upon the 

 face of the earth. 



There was little to interest us in our examination 

 of this inlet, especially as the Dutch had probably 

 visited it some two hundred years before ; thus 

 destroying the principal charm it would have pos- 

 sessed, namely, that of novelty. We inferred this 

 from there being an opening laid down in this 

 neighbourhood by them as Van Diemen's River. 

 I, in consequence, continued the name, altering 

 river to inlet ; though, probably, at times, it may 

 deserve the appellation of a river, as after heavy 

 falls of rain it must contain fresh water. Our finding 

 the water only brackish near the head favours this 

 supposition. 



The habitations of the natives were of a more 

 substantial kind than we should have expected to 

 meet with in these latitudes, being snug oval-shaped 

 huts, thatched with coarse grass. The extremely 

 low level nature of the country, the reader can 

 imagine, as also how much it surprised us to find that 

 from the boat at high water our eyes could wander 

 over miles. Occasionally on the plains, rendered 

 warm from their colour reflecting the powerful 

 beams of the sun, were to be seen whirling clouds 

 of dust, towering upwards until their centrifugal 

 force became exhausted. The temperature, how- 

 ever, was lower about four in the morning than we 



