Nov. 8, 1858.] GASCOYNE RIVERS, IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 35 



oz. of tea per diem, the party being all well armed and furnished 

 with ammunition. 



The mean of our obsci'vations with the aneroid barometer gives 

 575 feet for the elevation of this part of the river above the sea. 



llth to 26th April was occupied ih ascending the Murchison 

 Eiver by easy stages to the junction of the Impey, the highest point 

 attained by me last year. The only observations worthy of remark 

 were, that the inundation had not been so great as that which 

 occurred the previous summer, the grass up to this point not being 

 by any means so abundant as I had found it on my former visit ; 

 the volume of water now running in the bed of the river being, 

 however, at this time about the same, although none of the tribu- 

 taries, including the Eoderick and Impey, had been in flood, little 

 or no rain having fallen to the W. of the 117th degree of longitude, 

 except to the N. of latitude 26°. 



I availed myself of the opportunity afforded to make several addi- 

 tions and corrections to the map of this part of the country, verifying 

 the correction made by me last year in the latitude of Mount Mur- 

 chison and adjacent hills. By an improved series of triangulation 

 and a carefully observed set of lunar distances, I am inclined to 

 place Mount Murchison in about longitude 116° 30' E., which makes 

 it more nearly approximate to the longitude formerly given by Mr. 

 Austin. 



The variation of the compass I found by several amplitudes to 

 be 2° 30' W. The bed of the Murchison River is here about 1077 

 feet above the sea. In addition to the fish and game formerly ob- 

 served on this part of Ihe river, we met with large flocks of the 

 gallinule, which have for so many years excited the curiosity of the 

 colonists as to their habitat; from subsequent observations it is 

 evident they come from much farther to the north-eastward. But 

 one party of natives had as yet been seen, consisting of eight or ten, 

 who chased our native Dugel to the camp while out shooting, but 

 it was difficult to ascertain whether with hostile intentions. From 

 this time to our return we regularly mounted sentry during the 

 night, and no one was allowed to quit the party any distance alone, 

 a precautionary measure, the necessity of which was fully borne out 

 by the sequel. 



26th April. — From our camp, which was situated about 8 miles 

 west of Mount Murchison, we fairly commenced the exploration 

 of unknown country. Following the river nearly N.N.E. for 14 

 miles, it turned abruptly to the east; we, however, held our course, 

 which, at 4 miles farther, brought us to the foot of Moimt Narryer, 

 which we ascended, and procured a valuable round of angles from 



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