Part 46 (1/2)

At 630 a east and south for two hours over level flats; then turning east crossed a steep range of sandstone hills, the strata nearly vertical; the strike north and south; thin veins of quartz intersected the rock in every direction, for a complete network The steepness of the country compelled us to turn north-east to the bank of the river, which we followed to the south-east; the banks were high and cut by deep gullies At 1230 pm the hills receded, and we entered soment of the shoulder-bone of a bullock, and observed several trees that had been cut with iron axes; and as the latitude corresponds with that of Dr

Leichhardt's caed to the bullock he killed at this place At 15 caureen leaves, were added to the ironbark, bloodwood, and other eucalypti which constituted the forest, while casuarina and Melaleuca leucodendron grow in the beds of the larger watercourses The channel of the river is about 150 yards, with a s water is due to the late rain, but it is evident froetation that it continues to run throughout the dry season

Latitude by a Cygni 19 degrees 37 seconds

18th October

Continued our route at 625 a nearly east till 830, when the river turned to the north round a range of sandstone hills, crossing which, reached the river again at 105 flowing south, with fine openly-ti south till 10 pe of slate rock which crossed the channel Fro that of the Burdekin froe to the south, which terminated two miles from the river South-west of our position were several flat-topped hills, which appeared to be a continuation of the range crossed yesterday To the south only a few distant hills were visible, the view being obstructed by trees The flats on the banks of the river are well grassed and openly tiu from a soft brown loam into which our horses sank deeply, to a firrassed; the tiical features consist of a fine-grained sandstone interstratified with slate and coarse conglomerates The sandstone is intersected in every direction with veins of quartz, which do not appear to enter the slate The dip of the strata is nearly vertical, the strike north and south The whole appear to have been ranite nor trap has been observed since yesterdayConsumed the last of the dried horse-meat, and increased the ration of flour to one pound per diem

19th October (Sunday)

Remained at the camp to rest the party; the day was cloudy, with variable breeze from the south-east to north-east and north; no observations for latitude could be taken till early on Monday , and even then the altitudes were i water in the bed of the river has increased, but is still quite clear

Latitude by Saturn 19 degrees 7 minutes 19 seconds

CROSS THE CLARK RIVER

20th October

Resuh fine grassy flats till 100, e crossed the Clark River, and altered the course to east over well-grassed flats, to the foot of a rocky range of sandstone hills, which we reached at noon, and ascending by a steep spur, at 230 pe; here sandstone was the prevailing rock; xanthorrhoea, silver-leafed ironbark, and triodia constituted the principal vegetation; descending gradually, at 330 reached a srass on its banks, and at 345 halted at some small waterholes, which appeared to be permanent; except near the creek, the country was poor and stony, with a forest of ironbark and box trees; the country between the Clark and the Burdekin appears to be of excellent quality, consisting of well-grassed flats, tium, and box trees The Clark is about 100 yards wide, with a sandy bed crossed by ridges of slate rock; the banks are sixty to eighty feet high, and the marks of last year's flood thirty to thirty-five feet, the trees being bent and broken by the force of the current;floods, but the Burdekin has aonly shallow pools of water, separated by dry sand and rock; after leaving the immediate flats of the river the country was very poor and stony; the late rains had not extended so far, and the grass had the dry and parched appearance which characterised the country on the banks of the Gilbert

Latitude by a Pegasi 19 degrees 14 minutes 2 seconds

FRIENDLY NATIVES

21st October

615 am, resumed our journey and traversed an inferior country of sandstone and porphyry; box, silver-leafed ironbark, and triodia characterized the vegetation; in crossing one of these gullies, in which were some pools of water, Bowot some severe bruises; at 1015 ca a succession of rapids, belohich it spread out into a broad sheet of sand a quarter of a mile wide, and turned to the south As Bowman had fallen some distance in the rear, I selected the first suitable spot, and at 110 encaory came in with Bowins, who climbed a tree on our approach, and in the afternoon caible conversation departed; they had neither clothes or weapons, except a throwing-stick of the same form as those used by the blacks of the southern shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria The geological character of the country has been sandstone, much altered by contact with porphyry which has been forced through it; both dip and strike are confused, and could not be ascertained to have any general angle or direction, except in the bed of the river, where the strata dipped 10 degrees to the north, but in the hills, on the left bank below the camp, the strata was horizontal; the river is now 150 yards wide at the narrowest parts, a small stream of water, one foot deep and ten to twenty yards wide, running in a winding course through the sand, and so the whole breadth of the channel

Latitude by a Pegasi 19 degrees 16 minutes 22 seconds

22nd October

At 615 aht bank of the river; for the first hour the country was hilly on both banks, with deep gullies; it then becarassed; the tiht brown loam in some parts, sandy and very soft from the numerous excavations of the funnel ant These flats extended one to two es of poor land, ti froht bank of the river A short distance froin and a child; the man cli a small water vessel, hollowed out of a piece of wood, and a calabash full of water The rocks near the last camp were sandstone or porphyry; in the only exposed section the sandstone dipped to the north 5 degrees to 15 degrees We also crossed a hill of porphyry which was ree into thick lamina, which were vertical, with a north and south strike; but though it had the appearance of a stratified rock, its structure was perfectly crystalline About noon, granite, containing large plates of ullies

Latitude by e Pegasi 19 degrees 29 minutes 43 seconds

23rd October

At 70 aes of sandstone, tirassed, for an hour and a half; again struck the river and passed at the foot of so the course to south, traversed fine open flats half a mile to a es of li the limestone and sandstone The steep slope which fored; but the level surface was covered with black soil and well grassed At 1255 prassy flat, walled in by steep rocks of basalt We experienced so the horses, as the bank of the river was so steep that they frequently fell back into the river in ascending it The limestone rocks seen on this day's journey appear to rise from beneath the sandstones, sorained; it dips about 10 degrees to the west and sorees west, in well-defined strata The basalt covers all the other rocks, filling up the for a perfectly level plain; where the softer sandstones were in contact, they were only baked into a coarse brick-likebeen formed froasi and a Gruis 19 degrees 42 rees 15 minutes east

DUCKS, GEESE, AND PELICANS

24th October

Leaving our carassed basaltic flats, timbered thinly with ironbark, etc; the soil a red loaoon or sith considerable patches of shallow open water, on which were great nueese, pelicans, etc A broad and deep streahty yards in width, with a thick belt of reeds along the round rose about fifty feet to the level surface of the basaltic plain Following the winding of the streae of basaltic rocks, when it forht to ten feet Beyond the running channel a dry sandy creek ran parallel at a distance of 80 to 100 yards from it Our course was noeen the creek and the steep rocky edge of the basaltic plain, which was too rugged for the horses to ascend till 1120 a the basalt, we passed to the south of a shallow lake about half a mile in diarass Altering the course ain entered an open ironbark forest; at 20 pe dry sandy creek, beyond which the country was poor and sandy, with pandanus growing on the ridges On the bank of the creek we observed the e party of blacks, and a patch of ground twenty yards by thirty yards cleared of grass, and the surface scraped up into ridges, the whole covered with footprints, which showed that soe number of men At 330 pm