point three miles in a straight line from the mouth on the other side of
the river. Above these points the lower part of the river has (where the
edges have no mangrove) fine hard sandy sloping banks which are well
adapted for landing horses or goods. A short time before we reached the
point, above thirteen miles in a straight line from the mouth of the
river where we anchored for the night, we saw about six blacks, who were
very friendly and followed us for some time. We found that the water was
fresh when we reached Alligator Point, about twenty miles in a straight
line from the mouth of the river; above this point the fringes of
mangrove are scarce on the edges of the river, and back from the river
there is rising ground, consisting of fine, well-grassed, and slightly
timbered downs. On passing up the river, on the left bank, we observed a
blackfellow asleep. At sunset we anchored at a point about twenty-six
miles in a straight line from the mouth of the river, where a river from
the southward, which Mr. Woods called the Barkly, joins the Albert River.

(*Footnote. Kangaroo Point would in my opinion be a healthy site for a
township. The ground is sufficiently high along the shore at that place,
and without mangroves. We did not find water there, but, as there were a
few blacks almost always in that neighbourhood, I have no doubt that
there is some surface water, or that it is easily procured by digging.)

On going on shore on the western bank of the Albert River I found within
a hundred yards of it a waterhole at which it would be more convenient to
water stock than the river, as the banks of it are at this place too
steep. Above the junction of the Barkly the Albert River is not navigable
for even boats, from its being too full of snags. On the following
morning we went up the Barkly on the barge for about two miles, to where
it was too full of snags to proceed further up the river by water. We
then took a walk over the Plains of Promise and crossed at a point about