An alligator was seen on our return, swimming within two yards of the boat, and a musket, charged with a ball and buck-shot, was uselessly fired at it.  The appearance of these animals in the water is very deceptious; they lie quite motionless, and resemble a branch of a tree floating with the tide; the snout, the eye, and some of the ridges of the back and tail being the only parts that are seen.  The animal that we fired at was noticed for some time, but considered to be only a dead branch, although we were looking out for alligators, and approached within six yards of it before we found out our mistake:  the length of this animal was from twelve to fifteen feet; I do not think that we have ever seen one more than twenty feet long.

We reached the cascade by four o’clock and remained there until our boats arrived for a second cargo of water, which was at midnight; as soon as the casks were filled, we set off on our return, but did not reach the brig until eight o’clock in the morning.

July 29.

The fatigue and exposure which attended our watering at this place were so great that I was obliged to give up the idea of completing it now.  We had obtained, by the two trips, enough to last until the end of October, which, with the chance of finding more upon other parts of the coast, was sufficient for our intended mode of proceeding.  The boats were therefore hoisted in, and preparations made to leave the anchorage.

The river appears to abound with fish, particularly with mullet; and porpoises were observed as high as the first falls, a distance of fifty miles from the sea.  A curious species of mud-fish (chironectes sp.  Cuvier) was noticed, of amphibious nature, and something similar to what we have frequently before seen; these were, however, much larger, being about nine inches long.  At low water the mud-banks near the cascade that were exposed by the falling tide were covered with these fish, sporting about, and running at each other with open mouths; but as we approached, they so instantaneously buried themselves in the soft mud that their disappearance seemed the effect of magic:  upon our retiring and attentively watching the spot, these curious animals would re-appear as suddenly as they had before vanished.  We fired at several, but so sudden were their motions that they generally escaped; two or three only were procured, which appeared from their lying on the mud in an inactive state to have been asleep; they are furnished with very strong pectoral and ventral fins with which and with the anal fin, when required, they make a hole, into which they drop.  When sporting on the mud, the pectoral fins are used like legs, upon which they move very quickly; but nothing can exceed the instantaneous movement by which they disappear.  Those that were shot were taken on board, but on account of the extreme heat of the weather they had become so putrefied as to be totally unfit for preservation.