Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/256

 152 PBILUP 1789 tracing the river to its source in that direction. The next jnoe. five days were occupied in the return to Mullet Island^ many of the smaller branches being examined on the way. While they were looking about them at the falls they were Floods in surprised to observe the signs of recent floods in the river; ^^* and further examination revealed to them the immense force of a mountain torrent descending from such a range as that before them. They saw large logs of timber, which had been lodged from thirty to forty feet above the level of the river, caught on their way down by the clefts in the branches of trees which had been strong enough to resist the onward sweep of the current. All these trees had been bent by the irresistible power of the flood ; but most of them had been laid level with the ground on which they stood, '' with their Trees bent *op8 pointing down the river, as much as I ever saw a field uke grass. q£ ^^^^ after a storm.'' The capacity for working wreck and ruin possessed by this little mountain torrent was evident enough even twelve or fourteen miles lower down, where the same sort of flood-marks were visible at twenty-eight feet above the surface of the water ; although the common rise and fall of the tide did not appear to be more than six feet. But it was left for later colonists to learn at their cost what '' a flood in the Hawkesbury " might mean at times. Return to The retum of the explorers to Sydney Cove was marked quarters. ^7 ^^ incident, graphically described by Captain Hunter,* which shows how very difficult it was in those days to move about the country, even in the neighbourhood of the settle- ment. When they had arrived at the north part of Port Jackson — ^somewhere near Manly — they were unable to reach the settlement, no boat having been sent to meet them; and consequently they had to choose between walking round A journey Middle Harbour to the cove in which the Sinus was lyinff, from Manly. "^ ° or walking back to Broken Bay, where they had left their boats. They were rescued from this dilemma by two of the men swimming across a narrow part of Middle Harbour, and • Post, p. 518. Digitized by Google