Dec. 8, 1856.] WILSON ON THE NORTH AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITION. 225 



The President stated that he had received a commimication from Mr. 

 Wilson, geologist of the North Australian expedition. A large portion of the 

 letter related to details not absolutely connected with the Physical Geography 

 of the region, but with the arrangements of the expedition. Mr. Wilson had, 

 however, made an exjjloration of some importance in the neighbourhood, and 

 had sent home a tracing of this part, which might be seen in the map-room. 

 There were moreover some geological details in the communication, and those 

 portions of the paper which related to the geography of the district would be 

 printed in the " Proceedings " of the Society. Owing to the lateness of the 

 hour, he would only direct the title of the paper to be read. 



3. Extracts from Notes on the North Australian Expedition,* By 



Mr. J. S. Wilson. 



Communicated by Sir Roderick I. Murchison. 



Victoria River, July 11, 1856. 

 Dear Sir, — As I am to accompany the vessel to Timor, I shall take 

 the opportunity to convey to you a concise account of the North 

 Australian expedition since its arrival at Point Pearce. The horses 

 were landed and encamped at a swamp by Mount Providence, and 

 the sheep were put on board the schooner. Mr. Gregory arranged 

 that himself and brother, accompanied by Dr. Miiller, our botanist, 

 and six men, should proceed with the horses round the head of the 

 Fitzmaurice, across the Macadam and Sea Eanges, to Kangaroo 

 Point on the Victoria River, while I was to take charge of the 

 vessel, proceed up the river, and encamp where I should find it 

 most suitable, at or above Kangaroo Point. I was accompanied by 

 Mr. Elsey, surgeon and naturalist; Mr. Baines, artist and store- 

 keeper ; Mr. Flood, collector of natural history ; and four men. We 

 left Treachery Bay on the 25th of September, and got on well till 

 we came to the shoals in front of the Musquito Flats ; and here, 

 through not knowing the passage sufficiently, the vessel grounded 

 at high-water and high spring-tide, and could not be got off. The 

 great danger at this place, in going up the river, results from the 

 singular fact that the tide falls a foot to eighteen inches, while there 

 is still a strong current running upward. This arises from the dis- 

 tance which the tide flows upward, as it does not reach the end of 

 its course before the ebb has commenced at the mouth of the river. 

 A vessel, therefore, going up the river, and groimding on one of these 

 banks, cannot be got off until a higher tide carries her right over the 

 bank. The spring-tides were declining at the time we thus got 

 fixed, and we were within 12 miles of Kangaroo Point, but the 

 river nearly all that distance is choked with sandbanks. There was 

 only one cask of water on board for the sheep and people. I had 



* See Proceedings R. G. S., No. I., pp. 5, 10 : No. II., pp. 31, 32, 33, 49.— Ed, 



