Is EXPLORATION IX WESTERN AUSTRALIA 



Bluff shuts it out, and a north-east line from Mt. Broome will 

 pass right through the middle of the good country. My next 

 business, on leaving Derby, was to see if I could find a dray track 

 to a port, and to see if there was any more good country, but 

 found I should not be successful by taking the Leopold Rang& 

 en route, so I determined to try to find one to Secure Bay. I 

 now returned to the west end of Mt. Clifton. For ten miles 

 down the creek the mountain reaches to within one mile of the 

 creek (Adcock) on the north-east side, and the main range to 

 within three miles on the south-west side. All between is good 

 cattle country. There is a most singular mountain commencing 

 here (where Mr. Ord, who had accompanied me from Derby, left 

 me). I have named it Mt. Hamilton, after Mr. Hamilton, who 

 was with Mr. Ord. I also named a big mountain after the latter 

 gentleman. 



Looking at Mt. Hamilton one would almost take it ta 

 consist of a single mountain. At each end there is an isolated 

 bluff about 600ft. high, precipitous on all sides, and between 

 these lies the main mountain, also very precipitous, about four 

 miles long, but only a quarter mile wide. At the upper end of 

 the range, the Adcock takes sharp turns to the south-west, so- 

 that the Hamilton is between the Adcock and Mt. Clifton. I 

 left it on my right. In four miles I came to the south-east end 

 of Mt. Clifton. Here there are two peculiar peaks, which I have 

 named the Estaughs, after Mr. Estaugh, of Derby. The 

 Adcock now runs south-east. The main range, about a mile oft'^ 

 is here quite impassable. Some six miles from Mt. Hamilton I 

 crossed a large creek, one might really term it a small river, 

 flowing from the north-east. This I have named the Throssel,. 

 in honor of the Commissioner for Lands, who has written a very- 

 sensible, useful little book on " Advice to Selectors." 



Going forward another four miles I reached another very 

 fine creek, running strongly, which, in honour of Mrs. 

 Cunningham, relict of the late Mr. E. Cunningham, of Wood- 

 house, Queensland. I named the " Annie." Another four miles- 

 brought me to the junction of the Adcock and the Fitzroy. 

 Half-a-mile below the junction the river enters a gorge, which 

 appears to be fairly open, but terribly stony, with very high 

 ranges on either side. At the head of the gorge there is a 

 splendid water-hole. There is a little very good country between 

 the rivers, but it is very little. A high and impassable 

 range runs north-east and south-west on the south-east side of 

 the Fitzroy. The river looks at this place as large as where I 



