BY FRANK HANN. 28 



it is a blank on the map, but the bearing fixes its position. The 

 Phillips Range now goes back about six miles south-west from 

 the Isdell, and there joins the Isdell Range, which is a spur of 

 the Leopol'l. Thus it will be seen that all this country is, so to 

 speak, fenced in by ranges, and there is actually only one pass 

 by which stock may be brought into it from Hall's Creek, and 

 that is down the M'Naniara. I never saw better watered country 

 in my life, and such splendid water — better could not be found 

 anywhere. The Isdell flows west from here, and I intended to 

 find out where it went to. At the Divide, which is really a 

 splendid plain, I found the elevation by my aneriod to be 1200 

 feet above Derby. Mt. Ord, which is one of the Leopold group, is 

 by far the highest mountain about. Mt. House is the most remark- 

 able, as it stands out conspicuously alone in its glory. Mt. 

 ■Clifton is the largest in extent, having a length of some seventeen 

 miles by a breadth of ten miles, yet, as far as I could see, there 

 is not one single track by which a horse could be taken to the 

 summit. Here I saw more blacks' tracks than I have ever seen 

 in Western Australia before. These tracks were as broad as if 

 made by a mob of cattle. All the country along the range at 

 the head of the Adcock was on Are, set alight no doubt by the 

 blacks for hunting purposes. I could easily have found their 

 camp, but did not wish to attempt it, as I thought they, being 

 so numerous, would show fight, and in that case I should have 

 been compelled to drop some of them, a thing I particularly 

 wished to avoid, so we passed peacefully on our way. It is very 

 cold here now, the thermometer in the morning registering 

 .36deg. Fahr. That night we camped on the Isdell again, 

 having got over the Phillips Range. It was very rough work 

 reaching the top, which the barometer showed to be 1600 feet 

 above Derby. Our camp was situated 1200 feet above that town. 

 In one of the gorges on this side of the range, we got two of 

 our horses bogged, but we took their packs off and they quickly 

 struggled on to dry land. This creek now came from the 

 west, whilst forty miles below us it flowed towards the west, 

 when the country opens out once more. I went by myself 

 ■down the creek to see what became of it, and after riding 

 for eight miles, I found it entering another gorge, where 

 I saw a number of blacks' fires. As darkness was 



rapidly coming on, I decided to give them a wide berth, 

 and it was pitch dark as I rode campwards. Riding 

 slowly along, I saw a small fire which I took to be our camp 

 fire, and thought it strange I could hear no horse bells, All at 



