Lake St. Clair and Macquarie Harbour. 425 
river. I called tlie great forest, which extends from hence to 
Macquarie Harbour, the Black Forest, from its sombre appear¬ 
ance as seen from the clear hill at the end of the White Hill plain. 
A steep and long descent has to be encountered when entering it, 
at the base of which is an insignificant plain, which is speedily 
traversed, and we again found ourselves amongst myrtles, grow¬ 
ing closely together, and the spaces between them filled with a 
scarcely pervious thicket. A walk of four or five miles further, 
over a series of low undulations, brought us to the bank of the 
Franklin river, where we had to cross it. This is a beautiful 
stream, of considerable width, depth, and rapidity. Its banks 
are mostly high, and often perpendicular, overhung with hand¬ 
some myrtles, and many fine pines;* the branches of the latter 
(like those of the willow) often drooping to its surface in a man¬ 
ner which much contributes to the beauty of the stream. Some 
large gum ( eucahjptus ) trees, which are rather unusual in the 
western districts, are found about here. This spot is about fifty- 
two miles from Lake St. Clair. 
There is nothing in the journey to Macquarie Harbour, which 
at first induces so much surprise, as the vast height at which the 
drift-wood of this river is observed to be lodged in the trees on 
the banks: viz. at least 30 or 40 feet above its summer level. The 
great height to which the Franklin rises, is, however, to be ac¬ 
counted for from the fact that it drains a very mountainous region,, 
doubtless often deeply covered with snow; which being quickly 
melted during the rapid alternations of temperature, so common 
in Van Diemen’s Land, a vast volume of water is suddenly 
poured into its channel; it is difficult to believe that any storms 
of rain, however long continued, could so greatly swell the river. 
Nothing but a winter’s accumulation of snow, hastily converted to 
water, by a sudden change of temperature, could produce this 
effect. 
Another very remarkable feature in this river is, the extraordi¬ 
nary contraction of width it undergoes, exactly where it falls into 
the Gordon. At that place it appears less in magnitude, than at 
♦ Dacrydium Franklinii, Hook.} or Huon Pine of tlic Colonists—E d. 
