was defcending, they did not land, but backed in near enough to
throw him a yarn flocking, which they Ihewed him was to be worn
as a cap with a tail to it, and then parted good friends.
Monday the 2 2d was paffed in getting the floop into the river,
which with fome difficulty was accompliftied, having to find out a
channel through an infinity o f ffioals, fome. o f which were covered
with mangroves. Finding a proper place to lay the floop on fhore,
Mr. Flinders took the neceflary meafures; and on Thurfday the
25th, having completely flopped the leak, by filling up the feam
with oakum, nailing the plank to afrelh, and covering the whole
with tarred canvafs and Iheet lead, he re-flowed his veflel, which
had been cleared o f every thing, a few tons of ballaft excepted, and
was again in a condition to profecute his intended excurfion to the
Glafs-Houfe peaks.
In a fpare interval o f a few hours before high water, (the day
he laid the floop a fhore) he attempted to get fome fwans, but met
with none that could not fly. He faw feveral large fifh, or animals
that came up to the furface o f the water to blow, in the manner o f
a porpoife, or rather o f a feal, for they did not fpout, nor had
they any dorfal fin. The head alfo ftrongly refembled the bluff-
nofed hair feal, but their fize was greater than any which Mr.
Flinders had feen before. He fired three mufquet balls into one,
and Bong-ree threw a fpear into another; but they funk, and were
not feen again. Thefe animals, which perhaps might be fea lions,
were not obferved any where but in this river.
Not finding any frefh water wherewith to fill up their calks, they
had dug a hole in a low fituation about a hundred yards inland.
The firft fpit confifted o f vegetable earth, mixed with a large portion
of black fand ; the three following feet were compofed o f different
layers o f fand, and then they came to the hardened black
clay o f whieh the rocks on fome parts o f the banks were formed.
Here the water began to ooze in at the fides o f the hole, which in
the courfe o f fix-and-thirty hours was filled, but with very thick
water.
water. Luckily there Was not any occafion to ufe it ; for one of
the people, incautioufly ftraying into the wood, met with a hole
of Very good water, at which they completed their flock.
While they were employed in making up the fails, which had
been loofed in the firft part o f the morning to dry, three natives
made their appearance upon the beach, a ffiort diftance below the
veflel, and unarmed as before. Bong-ree went up to them in his
ufual undaunted manner ; but they would not fufier Mr. Flinders
or any o f his party to approach them, without firft laying down
their mufquets. Prefents were made them o f yarn caps, pork, and
bifcuit, all of which they eagerly took, and made figns for Bong-ree
to go with them, and they would give him girdles and fillets, to
bind round his head and the upper parts of his arms. 1 So long as
their vifitors confifted only of two, the natives were lively, dancing and
finging in concert in a pleafing manner ; but, the number o f white men
having imperceptibly increafed to eight, they became alarmed and
fufpicious, feeming to look with a jealous eye upon a ffiot belt
which Mr. Flinders wore, and which, though they did not rightly
know how, might fome how or other be a deadly weapon.
Obferving this, he gave it to one :of the people to take aw a y ;
but this he afterwards thought was wrong, as tending to make
them fufpicious of every thing they faw, and thus be a means o f
deftroying their friendly intercourfe. B y this fhot beh they feemed
to recognife lidr Flinders as the perfon who had fired upon them
before, and yreremore defirous that he fhould keep at a diftance
than any other perfon. Three o f the failors, who were .Scotch,
were defired to dance a reel, but, for want of mufick, they made a
very bad performance, which was contemplated by the natives
without much amufement or curiofity. Finding they could not be
perfuaded to vifit the floop, our people parted with them, but in a
very friendly manner.
Having weighed the anchors (Thurfday the 25th) they turned
two or three miles further up the river in the afternopn, for the
con