Page:Australia, from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay.djvu/79

 couple of loaded muskets, and drive them off. Having given some tobacco to these natives, I struck across the country to the northward, and arrived on the main branch of the Bellengen, exactly opposite a verdant plain of very pleasant aspect, about 200 acres in extent, covered with broad bladed grass and high reeds. The river was very narrow here, and we crossed it without difficulty. As it was now dusk, I prepared to stop for the night at the nearest fresh water the blacks could find, which was unluckily a small quantity that had temporarily lodged in the hollow formed by the uprooting of a large tree in the alluvial brushy and was at this time perfectly putrid, from the quantity of dead insects and rotten leaves which had accumulated in it. It was so offensive both in taste and smell, that, although I was excessively thirsty, I could not touch a drop of the tea made from it, and it was equally rejected by my men. The blacks, however, were not so scrupulous, and drank the tea which had been prepared for the whole party. As the saltness of the water was not yet perceptibly diluted by the river, and the surrounding land being alluvial, I could not hope to find any better water near our resting place. The best proof that no other water was near, was the variety of birds which had congregated on the overhanging trees to quench their thirst: the white cockatoos with yellow crests, black and scarlet macaws, red and green parrots, flew up in great numbers when we disturbed them. Thirst