Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/254

 150 PHILLIP 1789 day, still finding deep water and a wide channel. But as J"n« they went on the water gradually became shallow and the channel narrow, showing that they were not very far from the scarce in the mountains. Towards evening they found them- selves at the foot of a mountain covered with lofty trees. Pleasant but free from scrub ; the country all around being pleasant to look upon, rich with grass, and without any of those rocky patches which met their eyes so often in other directions. The charms of the scenery led them to move some distance up the hill before they camped. In the stillness of the night they were startled by the roar of distant waters falling over rocks, and concluded at once that there was a cataract in the way which would stop their progress up the river. A view of the In Order to satisfy themselves on that point, they walked to mountains. •', the top of the hill next morning, when they saw an immense range of mountains only five or six miles off ; between this range and the hill on which they stood — ^which Phillip had named Richmond Hill — ^lay a deep valley; while in the range itself they distinctly saw ^' a remarkable gully or chasm '* about five miles away. On each side of this gigantic gap stood two hills, which Phillip had named the Carmarthen and Lansdowne Hills. After they had done justice to the scenery here, they descended the hil^ towards the river; but as it was low water and the boats could hardly float in it, they determined to wait for the next tide, and to spend the intervening time in exploring the country. They found it Good perfectly cleai;^ of scrub, the trees standing wide apart and ° ^' all of a great height. The soil, too, was good; a small patch of it was turned up under Phillip's instructions, and a few potatoes, some Indian com, melon, and other seeds were sown. It is pleasant to learn that it ^'was a common prac- tice when a piece of ground, favourable from its soil and Sowing good being in an unfrequented situation, was found, to sow a few seeds of different kinds,''* and leave them to the kindly • Hunter, p. 152 ; Captain Grey made an elaborate attempt to introduce plants, seeds, and animals in this manner during his expedition to the north- west coast in 1837. A large stock was collected by him in England, at Digitized by Google