INTERVIEW WITH NATIVES. 



77 



lying in the bed of the river here. The patent log 

 now gave us a distance of seven miles from the 

 inside of the breakers, and we found that it was 

 impossible to take onr boat any higher from the 

 shallowness of the water beyond. While trying to 

 drag her over a sand bank we saw eight or ten 

 natives advancing over the sands from the north 

 bank, and one old man came directly up to us. 

 We made friendly signs to him, but determined to 

 make a rcconnoissancc on foot before engaging the 

 boat in shallow water with natives about ; so hauling 

 back into the first deep hole, we anchored under a 

 small cliff where we could easily land. Then 

 taking one man with us, and leaving four armed 

 with muskets in the boat, we took our guns and 

 went ashore to the natives. Eight of them had 

 crossed the river and joined us : they were tall, 

 athletic men, bold and confident in their manners, 

 with energetic gestures and loud voices. One man 

 had his hair dressed in small pipe-like ringlets, 

 with a particularly impudent face and round bullet 

 head, and he held a short stick in his hand, with a 

 knob at the end of it. The rest were unarmed- 

 We went over the small cliff, and then down on to 

 the sands in the bed of the river, proceeding up its 

 course. One of us shot a kite at the edge of the 

 wood, at which the natives started a little, but 

 rather exhibited curiosity than fear, when we gave 

 them the bird to examine. Another small party of 

 natives were on the opposite side of the river with 



