7th October.
Continued an east course at 5.50 a.m., and at 7.50 reached the large
creek, which was 100 yards wide with shallow sandy bed; the banks low and
thinly timbered with ironbark and a few box trees; the soil poor and
sandy, producing little grass. Large casuarina and flooded-gum trees grew
in the channel of the creek, which we followed three miles to the
north-east without finding any water, and only two spots where it could
be procured by digging; we therefore returned up the creek, and dug a
well at the most eligible spot, procuring an abundance of good water; at
2.20 p.m. commenced our return route towards the camp, and following up
the spurs of the range found a practicable route for the pack-horses;
passed the highest point of the range at 6.0, and bivouacked at a small
dry watercourse at 7.15 p.m.
8th October.
Resumed our route at 6.0 a.m., and deviating to the north of the outward
route, found a small pool of water in a rocky gully, and following it
down a mile came to a pool of sufficient size to supply the whole party.
At 10.30 reached Bowman's Spring at the foot of the range, and by digging
in the moist soil obtained a little water. As we approached the spring a
small party of blacks shouted to us from the summit of one of the hills,
but did not descend to us, though we halted till 12.30 p.m., and then
resumed our route, reaching the camp at 4.0, and found the party all
well; the horse-meat quite dry and fit for carriage. Bowman had also
replaced the shoes on all the horses. The geological character gradually
changes, in consequence of the larger development of the older rocks, as
we proceed to the eastward. At the camp gneiss, porphyry, and trap have
superseded the slates, and proceeding east, granite is visible at the
western base of the range. This is covered by a thick mass of porphyry,
containing large fragments of slate, gneiss and granite in its lower
part, and in its upper portion it has a fine grain and light colour.
Being deeply cracked by vertical fissures, it forms vertical columns of
rhomboidal form, resembling basalt. The summits of the higher hills are
formed by horizontal beds of white sandstone, containing water-worn
pebbles of quartz. Granite supersedes the other rocks as the east slope
of the range is approached, and is there occasionally intercepted by
veins of dark trap.
9th October.
Proposed to start from the camp at the usual time, but four of the horses
could not be found, and owing to the rocky nature of the country the
tracks were not found till late in the evening, when tracing them some
miles I found them at sunset in a secluded valley.
10th October.
This morning we were more successful in collecting the horses, and
started from the camp at 6.35 a.m., and steering an easterly course
reached the fate of the range at 10.20 and the summit at noon. Following
our previous track, reached the pool of water at 1.0 p.m. and camped.
Near the camp the xanthorrhoea first made its appearance.