or opening gave access to _three_ creeks instead of one; they were all,
however, too shallow to admit anything drawing over ten feet, even at
high-water; and the land adjoining was also so low and the bush so
stunted--consisting almost exclusively of mangroves--that only a partial
concealment could have been effected unless a ship's upper spars were
struck for the occasion. A low-rigged vessel, such as a felucca, would
indeed find complete shelter in either of the two westernmost creeks--
the easternmost had only three feet of water in it when we visited it;
but the shores on either side consisted only of a brownish-grey fetid
mud, of a consistency little thicker than pea-soup; and the facilities
for embarking slaves were so utterly wanting that we felt sure we need
not trouble ourselves at any future time about either of these creeks.

The other creek, that which I have described as situated at the further
end of the base of the triangle forming the bay, was undoubtedly more
promising; though, like the others, it could only receive craft of small
tonnage, having a little bar of its own across its mouth, on which at
half-tide, which was about the time of our visit, there was only seven
feet of water. Its banks, however, were tolerably firm and solid; the
jungle was thicker and higher; though little more than a cable's length
wide at its mouth, it was nearly a mile in width a little further in;
and branching off from it, right and left, there were three or four
other snug-looking little creeks, wherein a ship of light draught might
lie as comfortably as if in dry-dock, and wherein, by simply sending
down topgallant-masts, she would be perfectly concealed. Mr Austin
would greatly have liked to land here and explore the bush a bit on each
side of the creek; but our mission just then was to make a rough survey
of the river rather than of its banks, so we reluctantly made our way
back once more to the broad rolling river.

A pull of a couple of miles close along the shore brought us to the
entrance of another creek, which for a length of two miles averaged
quite half a mile wide, when it took a sharp bend to the right, or in a
southerly direction, and at the same time narrowed down to less than a
quarter of a mile in width. For the first two miles we had plenty of
water, that is to say, there was never less than five fathoms under our
keel; but with the narrowing of the creek it shoaled rapidly, so that by
the time we h