23rd November.
Preparing equipment for the party proceeding to explore the Victoria
River, towards the upper part of its course; the grass has become quite
green and fresh water is also abundant, which has caused some of the
horses to stray beyond the usual feeding ground on the Whirlwind Plains.
24th November.
Mr. H. Gregory and Mr. Flood brought in the stray horses, having found
them beyond Sandy Island. The timber party returned to the camp with four
logs of timber, which are intended to strengthen the keelson. While at
work at the creek where the timber was procured the party had been twice
visited by the blacks; these intrusions were neither decidedly friendly
or hostile, but they stole some small articles which had been imprudently
left lying near one of the logs of timber while the party was employed
elsewhere; about 10.0 a.m. the blacks set fire to the grass about 200
yards from the camp, and then retired. At 2.0 p.m., left the camp,
accompanied by Messrs. H. Gregory, Wilson, and Mueller, with seven horses
and twenty days' provisions, the object being to examine the country
through which the exploring party will have to travel on the route to the
interior; at 6 a.m. bivouacked at Timber Creek; in the principal channel
of the creek there were many small pools of water, and the grass was
fresh and green on the flats. Except on the banks of the river and
creeks, the country is very poor and stony; the geological structure of
the country is the same as at Sea Range--the same bands of sandstone
cliff resting on soft shales, the strata being horizontal; but beneath
the shales chert and coarse siliceous limestone were exposed, and
fragments of jasper are frequent. The principal timber is white-gum of
small size, and the cotton-tree (cochlospermum), which sometimes attains
the thickness of nine to twelve inches. Though grass is abundant on every
description of soil, yet the greater part is of inferior descriptions and
dries up completely at this season.
Latitude by altitude of Achernar, 15 degrees 39 minutes 43 seconds.
25th November.
Started at 5.45 a.m., and followed the creek to the south-south-east; it
rapidly decreased in size, branching into small gullies, so that we had
some difficulty in finding water for a midday halt. The flats on the bank
of the creek are in some parts nearly a mile wide, well grassed and
openly timbered; the hills are of sandstone, but chert and coarse
limestone were frequently seen on the lower ridges. At noon halted at a
small pool of rainwater. The day was cloudy and cool, the thermometer
only 90 degrees at 2 p.m. At 3.0 resumed our route up the creek, which
soon terminated in small gullies rising in stony ridges; as there was no
appearance of water to the south, the course was changed to south-east
and east, in which direction we followed down a gully, and at 7.20 halted
at a small waterhole.
26th November.
Starting at 6.15 a.m., steered first north 70 degrees east and then 60
degrees till 3 p.m., traversing a level grassy box-flat extending along
the northern side of a rocky sandstone range. At 3.0 p.m. reached the
south-west end of the Fitzroy Range, which is a narrow ridge of sandstone
hills ten miles long and one to two miles broad; at the north end of the
range we found a small pool of rainwater, and, having watered the horses,
pushed on towards the Victoria River, at the base of Bynoe Range; but
although the country was level, we were so much retarded by the soft
nature of the soil that the river was not reached till sunset, and the
banks of the river were so steep that the water was not accessible for
the horses, and we therefore encamped at a small hole of muddy rainwater.
Our camp was about four miles above the furthest point attained by
Captain Stokes, and consequently in Beagle Valley which we had traversed
for more than thirty miles, the greater part of which was well grassed
and openly wooded with box, bauhinia, and acacia. The Fitzroy Range is
almost isolated, and there is a level plain five or six miles wide to the
south-east, beyond which there is a high sandstone range surmounted by an
almost unbroken cliff of sandstone near the summit, and which appeared to
be quite impassable.
27th November.
Steering east-south-east through grassy flats for one hour and a half,
found that the river had turned to the northward round a steep hill, but
continuing our course, crossed a low stony ridge and again approached the
river, the banks of which were so steep that the horses could not get to
the water, and therefore followed it two miles and encamped on a stony
bar where the water was easy of access. The valley of the river is much
contracted by the steep sandstone hills, which come close on both banks.
In the bed of the river several fragments of jasper and black shale were
found, the latter appearing to belong to the coal formation. A slight
shower in the afternoon cooled the air, and the temperature was only 92
degrees at sunset, and the wet bulb 79 degrees.
Latitude by Achernar 15 degrees 36 minutes 29 seconds.