ly had a channel ten to thirty yards wide in the
bottom of a bed 150 yards wide from bank to bank. Just below the junction
of the Comet we found the remains of a camp of Dr. Leichhardt's party on
its second journey. The ashes of the fire were still visible, and a
quantity of bones of goats were scattered around. A large tree was marked
thus:
DIG arrow pointing down L
but a hollow in the ground at the foot of the tree showed that whatever
had been deposited had long since been removed. We, however, cleared out
the loose earth, but found nothing. The river now turned east-north-east,
and our course being east, we receded from it, and at noon we ascended a
rocky hill of sandstone covered with scrub; we therefore steered north
for an hour and came to the Mackenzie, and encamped in a fine grassy
flat, but beyond the immediate flats of the river the country was covered
with scrub. Near the camp a large flooded-gum tree had been marked:
Solid square [symbol ??]
some years before. The day was cloudy with easterly breeze. Marked a
tree:
120 solid Delta
this being the 120th camp since starting from the Victoria River.
18th November.
Rain commenced at 7.0 a.m. and continued till noon; at 6.25 steered east
and soon entered a dense scrub of acacia, box, sterculia, and Moreton-Bay
ash. Ascending to the level tableland by a steep sandstone slope, at
11.25 passed a gully with deep waterholes which appeared permanent, and
at 1.40 p.m. encamped at a deep creek with a small pool of water. To the
south-east of the camp about five miles distant a range of hills rose
abruptly from the level country to a height of 800 to 1000 feet. The
summits were flat and surrounded by high cliffs of red sandstone
(Expedition Range).
Latitude by Procyon 23 degrees 33 minutes 40 seconds; variation of
compass 7 degrees 50 minutes east.
19th November.
Resumed our route at 6.30 a.m.; steered east through dense scrubs with
open patches of grassy forest, the soil a light loam, very sandy in the
open forest. Small watercourses trended north; at 10.0 turned to
south-east to avoid a large scrubby hill which lay detached from the
principal range; at 11.0 again steered east, ascending a steep sandstone
hill from which the country to the north and east appeared extremely
level, we then crossed a series of ironbark ridges with scrub at
intervals, and fine flooded-gum and box flats in the valleys; casuarina
and cypress grew on some of the ridges
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