this river the land is tolerably high and
hilly; on the west side it is rather low, but the whole is covered with
verdure and wood, and has the appearance of great fertility, though
there were but a few small spots which had been cultivated. At the
entrance of the narrow part of the river the land is covered with
mangroves and other shrubs; but farther, there are immense woods of
perhaps the finest timber in the world, of which some account has
already been given: In several places the wood extends to the very edge
of the water, and where it is at a little distance, the intermediate
space is marshy, like some parts of the banks of the Thames in England:
It is probable that the river contains plenty of fish, for we saw poles
stuck up in many places to set nets for catching them, but of what kinds
I do not know. The greatest depth of water that we found in this river
was six-and-twenty fathom, which gradually decreased to one fathom and a
half: In the mouth of the fresh-water stream it is from four to three
fathom, but there are large flats and sand-banks lying before it. A ship
of moderate draught may, notwithstanding, go a long way up this river
with a flowing tide, for it rises perpendicularly, near ten feet, and at
the full and change of the moon, it is high water about nine o'clock.

Six leagues within Cape Colville, under the eastern shore, are several
small islands, which, together with the main, seem to form good
harbours; and opposite to these islands, under the western shore, lie
other islands, by which it is also probable that good harbours may be
formed: But if there are no harbours about this river, there is good
anchoring in every part of it where the depth of water is sufficient,
for it is defended from the sea by a chain of islands of different
extent, which lie cross the mouth of it, and which I have, for that
reason, called _Barrier Islands_: They stretch N.W. and S.E. ten
leagues. The south end of the chain lies N.E. between two and three
leagues from Cape Colville; and the north end lies N.E. four leagues and
a half from Point Rodney. Point Rodney lies W.N.W. nine leagues from
Cape Colville, in latitude 36 deg.15' S. longitude 184 deg. 53' W.

The natives residing about this river do not appear to be numerous,
considering the great extent of the country. But they are a strong,
well-made, and active people, and all of them paint their bodies with
red ochre and oil from head to foot, which we had not see