ANOTHER CHANNEL. 



87 



and very much alarmed on seeing us, and snatching 

 up their nets hastened through a thin belt of man- 

 groves iuto the bush, one of them carrying a very 

 fine fish in her hand. Notwithstanding the tide 

 was running out of this branch, we determined to 

 try it, so pushing through the weir, and poling for 

 about a quarter of a mile over a shallow sandy flat, 

 we came to the mouth of another channel coming 

 down on our right, 100 yards wide, with a strong 

 stream of brackish water running out of it. This 

 stream divided, part running down the small branch 

 we had come up, and part following a channel 

 which wound round on our left hand towards the 

 south. This we determined to follow, but seeing a 

 grassy bank before us, I landed for a short time, 

 and crossing a little swamp, got on to a fine grassy 

 plain, with light timber, over which I could sec the 

 hills near which we were on the 1 1th, and which we 

 had christened the Inner Hills. I concluded, there- 

 fore, that this fine plain was continuous at the back 

 of the mangroves from one place to the other, in which 

 case there must be a considerable quantity of very 

 good land (for Australia) within a slight distance of 

 the sea. Returning hastily to the boat, lest wo should 

 lose the tide, we pushed on with a rapid current, 

 and continued our course through a very winding 

 channel among mangrove bushes, with arms going 

 off in two or three directions. At several places we 

 had to jump out and drag the boat over sand 

 patches, but in about two miles got into a deeper 



