June 12.
This morning Taylor endeavoured to cross the river with the rope for working our punt, but although an expert swimmer, and a very strong man, he was unable to do so, from the strength of the tide which was running out. We saw several natives fishing in the river from their canoes, which are about five feet long and one and a half feet wide, made of bark, with small saplings tied along the side, and are paddled with small pieces of bark held in either hand. We made signs to them to come to us, with which three of them complied. We made them understand that if they would take our rope across, and make it fast to a dead tree on the other side of the river, we would give them a tomahawk. They consented to undertake the task, and after great exertion succeeded in performing it, and received their reward, with which they seemed quite satisfied and highly pleased. We succeeded in getting everything across this river by ten o'clock P.M., for the moon being up we would not stop till we had finished. Our horses we took about a quarter of a mile up the river, and they crossed where it was narrower and not so deep. Several natives, who had not yet seen our horses, assembled on the banks of the river to see them cross, and when they came out of the water commenced shouting to frighten them, continuing their noise for about twenty minutes. Seeing at length, however, that the beasts submitted to be led quietly along the beach, they came near the camp, and we made them a present of a few fish-hooks. They returned to their camp before sunset.
The river we crossed this day was not so deep as either of the former ones. There is, apparently, a sandbank across all the rivers emptying themselves into Rockingham Bay, near the mouth, and this one formed no exception to the rule. The tide runs up very strongly, I should think from a mile and a half to two miles.
There is a mangrove swamp running up some distance on the northern side of the river, till it joins the freshwater swamps. There is not so much fresh water running out of this river as from the last, and fresh water is only procurable from the south side near the swamp--it being impossible to penetrate the scrub on the northern side to obtain it. At low-water the river is very shallow, with a muddy bottom.
June 13.
On our mustering this morning, Carpenter was missed from the camp. It was discovered that he had absconded during the night, carrying off with him a damper weighing about eleven pounds, two pounds of tea, and ten pounds of sugar. We had breakfast as quickly as possible, and Mr. Kennedy sent four men on horseback to scour the country around in search of him. They returned from an unsuccessful search, but had received intelligence from the blacks that he was not far off.
June 14.
A party went out early this morning, in search of Carpenter, and caught sight of him about two miles from the river, sharing his damper with the blacks. As soon, however, as he saw the party approaching, he decamped into the bush, and was again lost sight of. On coming up to the spot where he was seen, the bags in which he had carried away the tea and sugar were found; the sugar was nearly consumed, but the tea appeared untouched. In the evening Carpenter returned, and on begging Mr. Kennedy's pardon, he was forgiven. Throughout the expedition he was of very little service, being, in fact, little better than an idiot.
This evening we saw a large alligator, about twenty feet long, rising to the surface of the water, close to our camp. He appeared to be attentively watching our sheep, which were feeding by the side of the river, on the Dolichos and Ipomoeas which were growing on the sand. The natives here had a great many dogs, which, towards evening, rushed on our sheep and drove them among the bushes in all directions. We had great difficulty in getting them together before dark.
June 15.