230 WILSON ON THE NORTH AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITION. [Dec. 8, 1856. 



of the river, 10 miles beyond, which enabled me to lay down its 

 course for a distance of 40 miles, and its probable course full 20 

 - miles farther in the same general direction. 1 could also see the 

 Newcastle Eange, extending unbroken until the view was cut off by 

 a projection of the Murchison Eange. I hurried back to my com- 

 panions, and by walking at intervals during the night, though 

 travelling was very difficult, I reached the boat after twenty hours' 

 absence. We returned to the camp on the 28th of May, having been 

 just ten days away. 



The table-land over which Leichhardt passed at the heads of the 

 Koper and South Alligator rivers, I feel satisfied is similar, in every 

 respect, to the table-lands of the Victoria, and is, in fact, the eastern 

 extremity of the same continuous and extensive sandstone formation. 

 He gives an estimate of its elevation in his journal on the I7th of 

 November, when he says, *' We stood, with our whole train, on the 

 brink of a deep precipice, of perhaps 1800 feet descent." This I 

 suspect to be a typographical error ; what he wrote may have been 

 800 to 1 000 feet, which would correspond very well with the ranges of 

 the Victoria. Capt. Stokes remarks (Vol. II. page 141), that he was 

 forcibly struck with the resemblance between Moresby's Eange on 

 the west coast, 2 So 60' S., Sea Eange at the Victoria, Cape Flattery 

 on the north-east coast, 15° S. ; and he adds Flinders' description of 

 the coast-range at the head of the Australian bight. They exhibit 

 great similarity in elevation, all being between 500 and 700 feet ; 

 and I may add my conviction that the table-land of the South Alligator 

 is no more than 800 to 1000 feet, or corresponding to that of the 

 Upper Victoria. Mr, Gregory found it as difficult to descend 

 from Sea Eange as Leichhardt did from the ranges of the South 

 Alligator. 



On the 21st of June, Mr. Gregory started on his journey to the 

 Albert, taking with him, besides his brother. Dr. Mtiller, Mr. Elsey, 

 and three stockmen. The schooner was ordered to be taken to 

 Timor, to get a supply of fresh provisions for the ship's people, and, 

 if possible, to leave the sick in hospital before sailing to the Gulf. 

 Mr. Baines is in command of the expedition people on board, and 

 takes with him Mr. Flood, myself, and seven men, with instructions 

 to assist in taking the vessel there. 



After Mr. Gregory and party left, ten days were necessary to take 

 the camp-fittings, &c., down the river to the schooner. Finding 

 myself unoccupied for that time, I determined to extend my investi- 

 gations, and started next morning alone and on foot to go to Duke 

 Mount. Two objects I had in view were, first to discover the 

 source from whence a recent but extensive calcareous formation in 



