NARRATIVE OF MR. CARRON. 147 



tract, " that a better road mig-ht have been found, 

 a little to the right or to the left." Such observa- 

 tions were the more unjust and vexatious, as in all 

 matters of difficulty and opinion, he would invariably 

 listen to the advice of all, and if he thought it pru- 

 dent, take it. For my own part, I can safely say, 

 that I was always ready to obey his orders, and 

 conform to his directions, confident as I then was 

 of his abilities to lead us to the place of our desti- 

 nation as speedily as possible. 



June 2Srd. — We started early this morning-, and 

 proceeded along- the beach till we came to a small 

 river, which was narrow and shallow, but the bottom 

 being- muddy, and it being low water, we diverged 

 towards the sea, where the sand was firmer, and 

 there crossed it with little difficulty, without un- 

 loading the pack-horses or carts. The tide runs but 

 a short distance up this river, and as far as the tide 

 goes it is fringed with a belt of mangroves. The 

 banks are muddy, and so soft that a man sinks up 

 to his knees in walking along them. A little above 

 the mangroves the river divides into several small 

 creeks, in swampy ground, covered with small mela- 

 leucas so thickly, that although they are not at 

 all bushy below, but have straight trunks of from 

 three to five inches in diameter, and from ten to 

 twenty feet high, a man can scarcely walk between 

 them. 



After crossing this river we again turned inland 

 for a short distance, and camped by the side of a 



L 2 



