hour to report that he had found a ford across the river close to us. I
therefore ordered the ponies to be brought up and we at once moved on.
The river where we crossed it in south latitude 15 degrees 49 minutes,
east longitude 125 degrees 6 minutes, was about a hundred yards wide. It
was however nowhere more than knee deep as we wound through it, following
a circuitous course; but we passed very deep parts on each side, and I
could not but admire the perseverance of Auger in having discovered so
very intricate a ford as this was. There were several minor channels to
the stream not much wider than an English ditch; they were however very
deep and went winding along through groves of the pandanus and lofty
reeds, which formed leafy tunnels above them. It was some time before we
got rid of the main stream, and we then found ourselves on a narrow
terrace of land which was bounded on the left by rocky cliffs, and on the
right by a large tributary of the stream we had just crossed. This
tributary was not fordable here so we were compelled to travel up the
terrace where our way was much impeded by the luxuriant vegetation and by
fallen trees of great magnitude; indeed of a size which those alone who
have traversed tropical virgin forests can conceive.

That we could not get off this terrace was the more provoking from
seeing, immediately on the other side of the stream, one of those wide
open basaltic valleys which I have so often mentioned. We at length
reached the point where the stream issued from the high land and, having
here forded it, entered the large valley, but in its centre we found
another impassable stream and, in order to turn this, were obliged to
travel round the valley; but before we could gain the head of it we had
to cross two streams which ran into it on the eastern side. These however
gave us but little trouble.

NATIVE HUT.

On the tongue of land between them we found a native hut which differed
from any before seen, in having a sloping roof. After passing this hut we
began to wind up a rocky ascent, and just at sunset reached the
watershed, which threw off streams to the north and south: the valley
which lay immediately to the south of us appearing as fertile as that
which we had been travelling through for the whole day.

March 28.

The first part of our journey was through a fertile valley, about four
miles in length, through which wound a rapid stream. It was clothed with
the richest grass, a