Page:Australia, from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay.djvu/76

 they had induced to accompany us, It being excessively warm, both the blacks and myself frequently walked into the surf to cool our feet, which was very refreshing. The waves which broke on the beach were full of mullet, and salmon, that seemed to swim among the breakers in search of prey. The blacks made several attempts to spear some as we walked along, and at last succeeded in transfixing a salmon, weighing upwards of twenty pounds, which subsequently served for our dinner. The headlands along the coast were of coarse slate, until we arrived at the rocky points, answering to the ranges of mica, which I had crossed in my previous excursion. About one o'clock, we turned inland from the beach, until we found a water-hole; halted there for an hour, and cooked the salmon. We now travelled over an undulating grassy tract, timbered by stringy bark, and forest mahogany; and after crossing several hollows, we arrived on the salt water estuary of the southern tributary to the Bellengen, which I had called Odalberree, near its source. We here heard the natives; so I kept back my men, whilst the blacks with me went forward to have a conference with those we were