arance of the surrounding country; and from the circumstance of our
not having as yet passed a single tributary. As we proceeded down the
river, its channel gradually contracted, and immense trees that had been
swept down it by floods, rendered the navigation dangerous and intricate.
Its waters became so turbid, that it was impossible to see objects in it,
notwithstanding the utmost diligence on the part of the men.

About noon, we fell in with a large tribe of natives, but had great
difficulty in bringing them to visit us. If they had HEARD of white men,
we were evidently the first they had ever SEEN. They approached us in the
most cautious manner, and were unable to subdue their fears as long as
they remained with us. Collectively, these people could not have amounted
to less than one hundred and twenty in number.

ANOTHER ACCIDENT.

As we pushed off from the bank, after having stayed with them about half
an hour, the whaleboat struck with such violence on a sunken log, that she
immediately leaked on her starboard side. Fortunately she was going slowly
at the time, or she would most probably have received some more serious
injury. One of the men was employed during the remainder of the afternoon
in bailing her out, and we stopped sooner than we should otherwise have
done, in order to ascertain the extent of damage, and to repair it. The
reeds terminated on both sides of the river some time before we pulled up,
and the country round the camp was more elevated than usual, and bore the
appearance of open forest pasture land, the timber upon it being a dwarf
species of box, and the soil a light tenacious earth.

ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY AND OF THE RIVER.

About a mile below our encampment of the 12th, we at length came upon a
considerable creek-junction from the S.E. Below it, the river increased
both in breadth and depth; banks were lofty and perpendicular, and even
the lowest levels were but partially covered with reeds. We met with fewer
obstructions in consequence, and pursued our journey with restored
confidence. Towards evening a great change also took place in the aspect
of the country, which no longer bore general marks of inundation. The
level of the interior was broken by a small hill to the right of the
stream, but the view from its summit rather damped than encouraged my
hopes of any improvement. The country was covered with wood and brush, and
the line of the horizon was unbroken by the least swell. We were o