Captain Davis--who was passionately fond of tobacco, and would travel almost any distance to obtain an ounce or two from the Malay _beche-de-mer_ fishers--pointed out to me a blazed tree near his camp on which the following inscription was cut:-- LUDWIG LEICHHARDT, Overland from Sydney, 1847.
It was therefore evident that this district had already been visited by a white man; and the fact that he had come overland filled me with hopes that some day I, too, might return to civilisation in the same way.

The English-speaking black chief assured me that his father had acted as guide to Leichhardt, but whether the latter got back safely to Sydney again he never knew.

The white traveller, he said, left Port Essington in a ship.
Having considered all things, I decided to attempt to reach Port Darwin by boat, in the hope of finding Europeans living there.

At first, I thought of going overland, but in discussing my plans with "Captain Davis," he told me that I would have to cross swamps, fords, creeks, and rivers, some of which were alive with alligators.

He advised me to go by water, and also told me to be careful not to be drawn into a certain large bay I should come across, because of the alligators that swarmed on its shores.