3i6 TlMEHRI. 



about a dozen houses are grouped together on a bare 

 sandy area; but here we encountered only old men, women 

 and children — the young men being absent. To console 

 us, it was said that higher up the river it was easy to 

 get men who knew the upper reaches, but this we 

 found later on to be but a delusion. 



At Tipooroo, a little below the Kibiribirie creek, at 

 the residence of a settler named Mandhar, we obtained 

 a large supply of delightfully sweet oranges, several 

 trees of which surrounded the house, and evidently were 

 in a most flourishing condition. Here it was somewhat 

 of a surprise to find that native grown rice formed an 

 important article of diet ; and several large sheaves of the 

 grain were brought from the field while we waited for 

 breakfast. 



Upwards, above this point, past the small settlement of 

 the French resident, Polite — past Wackra-mucro, a small 

 settlement of Indians on a low hill on the East bank, and 

 beyond Ahwiemah, another Indian settlement some miles 

 higher on the opposite side, the banks of the river are but 

 very slightly raised, and extensive swamps intervene be- 

 tween the more elevated positions. On the higher land, 

 trafls are constantly met with to old grants for timber 

 or balata, and the abandoned benabs often gave welcome 

 shelter. 



Ahwiemah consists of about a dozen houses, some of 

 very large size, splendidly situated on a hill at a bend of 

 the river, and commanding very fine views on each side. 

 The settlement is studded with a luxuriant growth of 

 plantain, banana, lime, papaw and pepper trees; but 

 the want of a sufficiently wide and open clearing detra6ls 

 from its advantages. The Indians were nearly all absent, 



