COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 
15 
his clothes, narrowly escaped with his life. isis. 
Fortunately he met with no further impediment January 
J A 21 31 
to his return, and reached the tent much fatigued. 
We afterwards made an excursion up this river, 
but from the greater part of the day being spent 
in searching for the entrance, which is both shoal 
and intricate, we did not succeed in reaching 
farther than four miles from its mouth. At the 
part where we left off our examination, it was 
about sixty yards wide, and from ten to twelve 
feet deep ; bounded on either side by gently 
rising and well- wooded hills ; but the soil was 
neither rich nor deep. The shoals of the river, 
which at the entrance were very extensive, were 
covered with large flights of water-fowl ; among 
which curlews and teals were abundant. 
Oyster Harbour is plentifully stocked with fish, 
but we were not successful with the hook, on 
account of the immense number of sharks that 
were constantly playing about the vessel. A 
few fish were taken with the seine, which we 
hauled on the eastern side of the small central 
island. At this place Captain Vancouver planted 
and stocked a garden with vegetables, no vestige 
of which now remained. Boongaree speared a 
great many fish w T ith his fiz-gig; one that he 
struck with the boat-hook on the shoals at the 
entrance of the Eastern River weighed twenty-two 
