second motion was not so intelligible, for
he pointed due south, as if to indicate that such would be our future
course; and he concluded his information, such as it was, by describing
the roaring of the sea, and the height of the waves. It was evident
this old man had been upon the coast, and we were therefore highly
delighted at the prospect thus held out to us of reaching it.

REMARKABLE CLIFFS.

A little below the hills under which we had stopped, the country again
assumed a level. A line of cliffs, of from two to three hundred feet in
height, flanked the river, first on one side and then on the other,
varying in length from a quarter of a mile to a mile. They rose
perpendicularly from the water, and were of a bright yellow colour,
rendered still more vivid occasionally by the sun shining full upon
them. The summits of these cliffs were as even as if they had been
built by an architect; and from their very edge, the country back from
the stream was of an uniform level, and was partly plain, and partly
clothed by brush. The soil upon this plateau, or table land, was sandy,
and it was as barren and unproductive as the worst of the country we
had passed through. On the other hand, the alluvial flats on the river
increased in size, and were less subject to flood; and the river lost
much of its sandy bed, and its current was greatly diminished in
strength.

NATIVE CHARACTER.

It blew so fresh, during the greater part of the day, from the
westward, that we had great difficulty in pulling against the breeze.
The determined N.W. course the river kept, made me doubt the
correctness of the story of the little old black; yet there was an
openness of manner about him, and a clearness of description, that did
not appear like fabrication. He pointed to the S.S.W. when he left us,
as the direction in which he would again join us, thus confirming,
without any apparent intention, what he had stated with regard to the
southerly course the river was about to take. Among the natives who
were with him, there was another man of very different manners and
appearance. Our friend was small in stature, had piercing grey eyes,
and was as quick as lightning in his movements The other was tall, and
grey headed; anxious, yet unobtrusive; and confident, without the least
mixture of boldness. The study of the human character on many occasions
similar to this, during our intercourse with these people, rude and
uncivilized as they were, was no