Ducks were always to be seen in the reaches before us, and very frequently the Ornithorynchus paradoxus, an animal which had not, I believe, been hitherto seen so near the sea.  After rowing about sixteen miles we landed on the left bank near a cascade falling from under a limestone cliff and there we encamped for the night.  The sun was setting in a cloudless sky while I eagerly ascended the highest cliffs in hopes of obtaining a sight of the coast, but nothing was visible beyond a gently undulating woody country, some swamps alone appearing in it to the westward.  The land about the cliffs of limestone was tolerably good and grassy, but towards the end of this day’s pull forests of the stringybark sort of eucalyptus, having in them trees of large dimensions, closed on the river.  We endeavoured but in vain to catch fish, and whether the waters contained the cod-perch (Gristes peelii) or not remained a question.  Our position and our prospects were now extremely interesting and throughout the night I was impatient for the light of the next day.

COURSE OF THE RIVER.

August 19.

I arose at three in order to determine the latitude more exactly by the altitude of various stars then approaching the meridian.  These were Aries and Menkar; while the two feet of the Centaur, both fine circumpolar stars, were so steadily reflected in the placid stream that I obtained by that means the altitude of both BELOW THE POLE.  It was most essential to the accuracy of my survey of the river that I should determine the latitude as frequently and exactly as possible.  The sun afterwards rose in a cloudless sky and I ascertained the breadth of the river by means of a micrometer telescope to be exactly 70 yards.  We continued our interesting voyage and found the river of very uniform width and that its depth increased.

The current was slower but still perceptible although we found the water had ebbed six inches during the night an indication that it was already influenced by the tide although it tasted perfectly fresh.  At a place where I observed the sun’s meridian altitude I found the breadth on measurement to be 71 yards and the depth on sounding, 4 1/2, 3 1/2 and 3 fathoms.  The direction of the course had there however changed.  To the camp of last night it had been remarkably straight towards south-south-east although full of turnings being what may be termed straight serpentine,* and I had accordingly expected to find the estuary at Portland Bay in which case it was likely to be sheltered sufficiently by Cape Nelson to form a harbour.  Now however the general course was nearly west and it preserved the same general direction without much winding during the progress we made throughout the day.  I had therefore every reason to suppose that it would thus terminate in the wide bay between Cape Northumberland and Cape Bridgewater.  The scenery on the long reaches was in many places very fine from the picturesque character of the limestone-rock and the tints and outline of the trees, shrubs, and creepers upon the banks.  In some places stalactitic grottoes covered with red and yellow creepers overhung or enclosed cascades; at other points casuarinae and banksia were festooned with creeping vines whose hues of warm green or brown were relieved by the grey cliffs of more remote reaches as they successively opened before us.