556 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION E. 



7.— IN SEARCH OF LEICiHARDT IN 1882. 



By WILLIAM N. FBAYNE. 



While prospecting in the country around Limmen Bight Ranges- 

 I came across a paragraph in an old paper where the New South Wales 

 Government was offering a reward of £1,000 for any relic of the lost 

 explorer Leichhardt, and having plenty of time at my disposal, and 

 also well equipped with horses and plenty of rations, and being my owa 

 master, I came to the conclusion that I would make the attempt. 

 Knowing of a tree on the divide near a small creek running into the 

 McArthur River (by the Nicholson Creek) marked with a big " L " 

 and other lettering, I made that my starting point ; and knowing, 

 through reading extracts of papers on the subject, that Leichhardt's 

 destination, if possible, was the west coast of the continent, 1 came to 

 the conclusion that he would naturally follow any watercourses trending 

 in that direction. 



Having reached the tree on the Nicholson Creek, we followed the 

 trend of the water to Anthony's Lagoon, which in most seasons is a 

 permanent waterhole surrounded with rich pastoral country. We 

 still go west and follow the Boyd Creek, and there is another tree marked 

 " L," and other lettering which is indistinct. Our next start was for 

 Turkey Creek, where there are some small waterholes, with good grazing 

 country and flooded flats with stunted gums and coalbars (a kind of 

 boxwood), and following one of the numerous creeks down we came 

 to a large area of flooded country extending, as far as I know, for over 

 60 miles long and, in places, over 30 miles wide, and the greater portion 

 covered with a soft silt, which I know to my sorrow, for when crossing 

 it in several places my horses used to sink into it over their fetlocks 

 at every stride. On reaching this floodf^d country, and the country 

 looking none too promising for water, and the season getting late, we 

 came to the conclusion to camp here and wait for the wet season be- 

 fore proceeding further. We looked around and found the best water- 

 hole we could get, and after satisfying ourselves about the locality we 

 built a camp and made ourselves comfortable till the rain came, which 

 it did in due course and with a deluge. We had selected our camp 

 where we thought we should be safe from the flood-waters, but we found, 

 when too late, that we were surrounded by water for miles, and that 

 our dry ridge was gradually getting covered with water, and we were 

 caught in the flood. 



Now, this lake or swamp is where the flood- waters of the Attack, 

 Tomkinson, and numerous other rivers and creeks empty their waters 

 over an area of 60 miles north and south and about 30 miles east and 

 west. The greater part of it is covered by a heavy silt that has been, 

 deposited for centuries, and the highest parts must have been at times 

 covered with water, as the trees have got flood-marks of driftwood 

 lodged in the branches. Westward there is some high country ; some 

 of it (around MilUe Spring) is of limestone and schistose rock, with. 



