as piped away; Mr Austin being in charge, with me
for an _aide_, all hands being fully armed.

The wind had by this time died away to a dead calm; the sun was blazing
down upon us as if determined to roast us as we sat; and we had a long
pull before us, for although the ship lay only two miles from the shore,
we had to round a low spit, called, as Mr Austin informed me, Shark
Point, six miles away, in a north-easterly direction, before we could be
said to be fairly in the river.

For this point, then, away we stretched, the perspiration streaming from
the men at every pore. Fortunately the tide had begun to make before we
started, and it was therefore in our favour. We had a sounding-line
with us, which we used at frequent intervals; and by its aid we
ascertained that at a distance of one mile from the shore the shallowest
water between the ship and Shark Point was about three and a half
fathoms at low water. This was at a spot distant some three and a half
miles from the point. Half a mile further on we suddenly deepened our
water to forty-five fathoms; and at a distance of only a quarter of a
mile from the point as we rounded it, the lead gave us fifteen fathoms,
shortly afterwards shoaling to six fathoms, which depth was steadily
maintained for a distance of eight miles up the river, the extent of our
exploration on this occasion. On our return journey we kept a little
further off the shore, and found a corresponding increase in the depth
of water; a result which fully satisfied us that we need have no
hesitation about taking the _Daphne_ inside should it at any time seem
desirable so to do.

Immediately abreast of Shark Point is an extensive creek named Banana
Creek; and hereabouts the river is fully six miles wide. On making out
the mouth of this creek it was our first intention to have explored it;
but on rounding the point and fairly entering the river, we made out so
many snug, likely-looking openings on the southern side that we
determined to confine our attention to that side first.

In the first place, immediately on rounding Shark Point we discovered a
bay at the back of it, roughly triangular in shape, about four miles
broad across the base, and perhaps three miles deep from base to apex.
At the further end of the base of this triangular bay we descried the
mouth of the creek; and at the apex or bottom of the bay, another. The
latter of these we examined first, making the discovery that the mouth