We then pursued our way up the river; it soon trended sharply round to the South-East and joined the main stream which we had unknowingly left the preceding evening.  There we had to unload and drag the boat over a fall; but, as the ascent was not more than ten or twelve inches, no difficulty was experienced in effecting it.  Whilst thus employed, we were visited by ten natives, some of whom, by being painted and ornamented in a remarkable manner, were recognised as those who followed us last evening:  their timidity was at first very great, but our conduct gave them confidence, and they very soon came to the boat, and assisted in launching her into deeper water, for which service they were presented with fishing hooks and lines, which they gladly received.  Everything we said or did was repeated by them with the most exact imitation; and indeed they appeared to think they could not please us better than by mimicking every motion that we made.  Some biscuit was given them which they pretended to eat, but on our looking aside were observed to spit it out.  They wished much to take us to their huts; but, the day being much advanced without our having made any progress, we were obliged to decline their invitation; and as soon as the boat was reloaded we took leave of these friendly Indians, whose voices we heard until a turn of the river hid their persons from our view.  About two miles higher, at King’s River,* Lieutenant Oxley landed and recognised his former tracks which were now much overgrown and nearly effaced; the marks of the axe were, however, sufficiently evident for us to follow them for half a mile along the banks of the river, when we re-embarked, and continued our course upwards.

(Footnote.  See Illustration:  View of the River Hastings at its Junction with King’s River.)

The river now became much narrower, not being more than seventy or eighty yards wide; four miles higher up we landed and joined Mr. Cunningham, who was botanizing in the Lady Nelson’s boat:  this gentleman had overtaken us about an hour before and passed on to look for a convenient place to encamp for the night; but for want of a better situation, was obliged to land in a brush, the banks of which were so thickly lined with trees and climbing plants that we should have passed it if the station had not been indicated to us by his boat made fast to the landing place.

Some rain fell during the night, but this inconvenience was trifling compared to the discordant screams of a bird which had roosted over our fires, and which the people called the cat-bird.  The trichillia and the ficus, before noticed, are abundant on these banks, and are all intricately connected with each other by climbing plants which grow to an incredible size, and hang down in rich clusters from the summit to the root of the tree, tending considerably to beautify the richness of the scene.

The woods included every tree of the soil and climate, excepting a white and straight stemmed eucalyptus, which is common at Hunter’s River, and there called the Flooded Gum; it is used and reckoned valuable for spars, but the few specimens that I have seen of it have been very brittle and bad.  Some of these trees were observed by us to be from fifty to sixty feet high, perfectly straight, and without a fork for forty feet.