VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY OF SOUTHERN LANDS. 935

tinguifhed which our guides averred were frequented by the natives, on the expertnefsand agility requifite for which purpofe no comment is neceffary.

“ On the margin of the river we perceived, at intervals, fhingle in great heaps, bornedown by the violence of the dream. This fhingle confided of a mixture of granite,porphyry, and other matter brought from the primitive mountains; fmaller and morerare in the vicinage of Hawkefbury, the (tones encreafe in fize and frequency as theriver is higher afcended : thefe lafl circumdances engendered the hope that we fhouldin little time approach the dte of their origin, and the prefumption was farther augmentedby the proximity of the mountains.

“ Beyond the efcarpment I have noticed, the country again becomes vifible, andfarms and cultured lands border both Tides of the river. At the extremity of thefelands, on the left bank of the dream, is a linall mount of flight elevation, termedRichmond Hill, where the country ceafes to be cleared, and where alfo the river is nolonger navigable by boats of any great draught of water, on account of fand banks bywhich it is obdrudted. M. Arndell, who had forefeen this obdacle, had directed ourboatmen to procure for us at Richmond Hill a very fmall boat, capable of carrying usover thefe ban ks.

« We now loon reached a fmall low iflet entirely compofed of fhingle, on whichgrow fome dunted trees. Here the right arm of the river * was nothing but a flender,rill, and the left arm f alone was navigable : this arm however continued fo but for afhort didance, being obdru&ed by beds of fhingle, on which we continually grounded.Moreover, the Hope of this branch was fo conflderable here that, in order to overcomethe drength of the current, the men were obliged to get into the water, and drag thefkiff along.

“ After contending for a long time with this lad obdacle we refolved on landing,and got on fliore on the iflet noticed. The fhingle of which, as we have obferved, it iscompofed, conflds of a variety of fubdances, but mod efpecially of thofe which formprimitive mountains; granite, porphyry, gneifs or micucious fchid conflitute the majo-rity, confounded with bituminous fchid, freedone, pudding-done, breccias, and otherfubdance of fecondary origin. From the primitive dones adverted to being found nowhere but in the bed of the river, we mud perforce conclude that the mountains whencethey are brought are themfelves of primitive nature: dill, as yet, the Engjifh havebeen unable to extend their refearches beyond the banks of freedone of which theforemod tiers of mountains are compofed, which banks alfo extend to the fea.

“ Thwarted by the different obdacles to our ulterior navigation, and deditute of themeans neceffary for penetrating foreds through which no roads are cut, and which pre-fent no refources of any kind, my colleague and myfelf at length determined to returnto Hawkefbury. The current of the river much facilitated our progrefs now, and foondid we pafs the fand banks and (helves which retarded us on our advance to the moun-tains. We were moreover indebted in great nieafure for this facility to a circumftancethe concurrence of which had not entered into our computation. The flowing in ofthe tide had raffed the waters of the river about three decimeters J notwithdanding wewere at a didance from the fea, computing the windings of the river, of more thanone hundred miles. From this obfervation it refults : that the difference of levelbetween the foot of the Blue Mountains and the fea fhore does not exceed from fix tonine decimeters §, feeing the rife of tide at Port Jackfon is commonly not more thanfour to five feet.”

* The river Grofe. f The Nepean. % A foot Englifli. § z or 3 feet.

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