20 EXPLORATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 



I followed the river for ten miles, and found that it came 

 out of another gorge, impassable, but nothing to compare in 

 wiklness, ruggedness, and savage grandeur with the Sir John 

 Gorge. To the former I gave the name of AVarton (iorge, after 

 Mr. Warton, Resident Magistrate at Broome. The range here I 

 found trending to the north west. To it, also, 1 have given the 

 name of Warton. Subject to Sir .John Forrest's permission, I 

 have called the high range on the south-west of the Adcock the 

 Lady Forrest Range. 



These ranges form three sides of a gigantic square, through 

 which I think it would be possible to pass to the left of the 

 Warton Gorge. Far away up the gorge is a blutf range, and 

 judging by the look of the formation of the hills in that direction, 

 I think that good cattle country is pretty sure to be found there. 



On my return I took the opposite side of the river Fitzroy, 

 and I could see in the back country some small plains, splendidly 

 grassed, and not so stony as that last seen. Both these rivers 

 are large and appear to be much of the same size. 



At the point where I first struck the river, I found a tree 

 marked " R.B. 44," by Mr. Robert Buttons, the 44 standing for 

 the 44th camp. He has been a great traveller and explorer, and it 

 is a pity he has not published any account of his explorations in 

 these regions, for he is an excellent man for such work. 



The river from the north-north-west falling into the Fitzroy, 

 which I had just discovered, I called the Phillips, in recognition 

 of the assistance afforded to me by the Commissioner of Police, 

 and for which my best thanks are due to him. 



I now ran the river up, and after going seven miles I 

 dropped on a third river flowing from the Warton Range, and 

 promptly assigned to it the name of Traine, after Mrs. Traine, 

 of Condon, as she was the first native born Western Australian 

 I had ever met, and a very nice, pleasant lady I found her. I 

 ran this river up, and found that, as per usual, it came out of 

 one of those tantalising, impassable gorges, where I also found 

 numbers of blacks, who proved to be exceedingly wild. I then 

 got back, and running the Phillips up, found that at ten miles 

 from its junction with the Fitzroy the Warton Range came down 

 to it, whilst there was a chain of stony hills running along its 

 left bank for about six miles, when they break off. The river at 

 this place is a quarter mile wide, and I doubt if in all Australia 

 there is a river better adapted for watering stock. It is always 

 running with clear water, has low banks, no bogs, the margins 

 solid sand, and the stream opening up every now and then into 



