160 PHILLIP 1791 after which they had no difficulty in reaching that part of April, the river where they had turned o£E from it on the second day of their journey. Thus they had not much to congratu- late themselves upon for their four days' exertions. At this point, however, fortune befriended them in the shape of an old native, whom they saw paddling his own canoe in the A friend in rivcr. They made their two natives coo-ee to him and in- vite him to come over, which he did without any hesitation, happening to know one of them. The stranger followed the explorers up the river in his boat ; but as soon as he saw that they did not know how to save themselves unnecessary fatigue in walking, he was kind enough to leave it at once Native path, and take the lead, quickly bringing them into a path made by the natives along the river. Here they moved along easily ; and after they had camped for the night they were joined by another native with a lively little boy, who soon became friendly with them, intimating their intention to stay, though they had left their families on the opposite bank of the river. In return for a biscuit, the old man who had acted as a guide gave an exhibition of his agility in climbing a tree — the finest exhibition of the kind which Phillip had yet seen. On resuming the journey next day, the party continued to follow the natives' path along the bank until they came Another to another creek — too wide to be crossed by cutting down a tree, and too deep to be forded. They had no choice, therefore, but to follow its windings until they supposed themselves at the head of it, and then they made for the river again. But they had not gone far before they found they had only rounded a small branch of the creek ; so that they had to follow up the principal branch of it — a task which occupied them for the rest of the day and gave them Doubling infinite labour to do it. In the afternoon they found it branches, divido again into two branches, either of which might have been crossed on a tree ; but by this time they were all worn out with fatigue, and therefore decided to take rest — especi- ally as it threatened to rain heavily and they, had no tent. Digitized by Google
