214 



CURRENTS OF THE RIVER. 



careful navigators look out for the bar across the mouth of the river as 

 they come in from the sea. 



The muddy waters of rivers seem indisposed to mingle with the salt 

 waters of the sea, or rather the salt waters of the ocean turn the muddy 

 waters on the one side or the other of the mouth of rivers, until they 

 have deposited their mud, and then the clear new water cordially joins 

 the older, briny ocean. Where a large river empties into the sea, if 

 the current of the ocean flows parallel to the coast, and strikes the river 

 current at a right angle, all the mud is carried with the ocean current, 

 and is quickly placed on the bottom. By the arming on their lead, 

 navigators may tell, at night or in a fog, on which side of the mouth of 

 the river they are as they near the coast, provided they study the 

 ocean currents. This is, however, not always the case. An ocean cur- 

 rent, sweeping by the mouth of a navigable river, may not have suffici- 

 ent force to be of this service to the manner; but it is the case in a very 

 important river on this continent. Where sand is found on the south, 

 and mud on the north side of the outlet, the former is washed from the 

 bottom of the sea, the latter comes down from the highlands, and is 

 carried out by the river. 



While floods are constantly shifting the soil from the mountains to 

 the low grounds, and the land is pushed out into the sea, its waves are 

 regularly heaving back all the earth which has gotten over the shore 

 line. Between the currents of rivers and the waves of the sea, the earth 

 is found growing. 



We encamped for the night on the east side of the river, where the 

 thick forest trees prevented my getting latitude by the stars. This is the 

 first clear night we have had for a long time. T doubt, even if the 

 branches of the trees were out of the way, if the swarms of musquitoes 

 would allow me to observe. Richards generally stands by with a bush 

 when the sand- flies or musquitoes are troublesome, but they bite through 

 the holes in a man's boot in spite of his stockings. 



We entered the woods some distance with the gun, just before dark, 

 and found that as we left the river the trees became smaller, and in some 

 cases the land was even now covered with water, long grass, and cane- 

 brakes. 



The banks of rivers that flow through alow, flat, newly -made soil, are 

 thrown up high by deposits, so much so that the surface of the water, 

 at times, is above the general level of the country near it. When the 

 river rises, it breaks over the banks and floods the back lands. 



The largest forest trees are found immediately on the banks ; these 

 trees are most frequently undermined and carried down stream by the 



