DELAYED BY STRONG WINDS. 149 
their haunt, he landed and preceded us to collect them. 
We were, of course, more than usually liberal to so old 
a friend, and we were really sorry to part with him. 
Soon after leaving his tribe, which occupied the left bank 
of the river, and was very weak in point of numbers, we fel^ 
in with a very strong tribe upon the right bank. They num- 
bered 211 in all. We lay off the bank, in order to escape 
their importunities ; a measure that by no means satisfied 
them. The women appeared to be very prolific; but, as a 
race, these people are not to be compared with the 
natives of the mountains, or of the upper branches of the 
Murray. 
We passed some beautiful scenery in the course of the 
day. The river preserved a direct southerly course, and could 
not in any place have been less than 400 yards in breadth. 
The cliffs still continued, and varied perpetually in form ; 
at one time presenting a perpendicular wall to the view, 
at others, they overhung the stream, in huge fragments. All 
were composed of a mass of shells of various kinds ; 
a fact which will call for further observation and remark. 
Many circumstances at this time tended to confirm our 
hopes that the sea could not be very far from us, or that we 
should not be long in gaining it. Some sea-gulls flew over 
our heads, at which Fraser was about to shoot, had I not 
prevented him, for I hailed them as the messengers of 
glad tidings, and thought they ill deserved such a fate. It 
blew very hard from the S.W., during the whole of the 
day, and we found it extremely laborious pulling against 
