of making them understand us, or of obtaining any information from them,—­for if we could have succeeded in this point, we should have gladly borne every inconvenience,—­all combined to estrange us from these people and to make their presence disagreeable.  Yet there was an absolute necessity to keep up the chain of communication, to ensure our own safety, setting aside every other consideration; but as I had been fortunate in my intercourse with the natives during the first expedition, so I hoped the present journey would terminate without the occurrence of any fatal collision between us.  The natives, it is true, were generally quiet; but they crowded round us frequently without any regard to our remonstrances, laying hold of the boat to prevent our going away, and I sometimes thought that had any of them been sufficiently bold to set the example, many of the tribes would have attempted our capture.  Indeed, in several instances, we were obliged to resort to blows ere we could disengage ourselves from the crowds around us, and whenever this occurred, it called forth the most sullen and ferocious scowl—­such, probably, as would be the forerunner of hostility, and would preclude every hope of mercy at their hands.  With each new tribe we were, in some measure, obliged to submit to an examination, and to be pulled about, and fingered all over.  They generally measured our hands and feet with their own, counted our fingers, felt our faces, and besmeared our shirts all over with grease and dirt.  This was no very agreeable ceremony, and a repetition of it was quite revolting, more especially when we had to meet the grins or frowns of the many with firmness and composure.

Tempestuous weather.

The weather had been tempestuous and rainy, for three or four successive days:  on the 28th it cleared up a little.  Under any circumstances, however, we could not have delayed our journey.  We had not proceeded very far when it again commenced to rain and to blow heavily from the N.W.  The river trended to the South.  We passed down several rapids, and observed the marks of recent flood on the trees, to the height of seven feet.  The alluvial flats did not appear to have been covered, or to be subject to overflow.  The timber upon them was not of a kind that is found on flooded lands, but wherever reeds prevailed the flooded or blue gum stretched its long white branches over them.  The country to the westward was low and bushy.

Singular formation of the banks.

The left bank of the Murray was extremely lofty, and occasionally rose to 100 feet perpendicularly from the water.  It is really difficult to describe the appearance of the banks at this place; so singular were they in character, and so varied in form.  Here they had the most beautiful columnar regularity, with capitals somewhat resembling the Corinthian order in configuration; there they showed like falls of muddy