ENTER RIVER WITH PRINCE GEORGE. 263 



due west of us, we had a depth of two and a half 

 fathoms. The land to the eastward of us curved 

 gradually out along the coast, without any decided 

 point or headland. It was all equally low and flat, 

 and covered with jungle like that we had seen before. 

 On a small beach, however, on our starboard hand 

 a little to the eastward of us, we saw several natives 

 and a house, and presently two or three small canoes 

 were shoved out from the mangroves, and followed 

 us. One had four men in, one of whom had some- 

 thing red on his head, that we thought might be a 

 red nightcap belonging to our missing boats, but 

 which was probably a red flower. Although we 

 were going up with a fresh breeze and a flood tide 

 they neared us rapidly, pausing and shouting when 

 they were about 300 yards off. The water was now 

 slightly brackish, and fifteen feet deep. We shortly 

 wound round a bend of the river and lost all view 

 of the sea. About half-past five o'clock we passed 

 a large native village on the east bank, and could 

 see the roofs of four or five immensely long houses 

 among the trees, with smoke oozing through the 

 thatch, and a crowd of people at the water's edge, 

 from which a large canoe came out and followed us. 

 We also saw several other canoes coming up on 

 each side of the river. Just at sunset we anchored 

 near the middle of the stream, which was full two 

 miles wide, the depth of water being three and a 

 quarter fathoms, or about twenty feet. The flood 

 tide was still running up very rapidly, at the rate 



