THE EAST COAST AND THE COAST RANGE 211 



2jth July. The greater part of the day was occupied in cutting 

 scrub and little progress was made. Eventually the creek was re- 

 crossed and a path was cut to the top of a high hill on which there 

 was grass for the horses. Here the party spent the night, the horses 

 being tethered lest they should fall down the steep bank of the 

 creek. A high granite range lay ahead. 



2%th July. No sooner had the HORSES been untethered than one 

 of them fell down 30 feet and was KILLED (twenty-four left). The 

 party cut through the scrub down the hill to the foot of the range, 

 and camped. 



2<)tb July. Kennedy was out exploring the range, which was 

 densely scrubby. The following day being Sunday was spent in the 

 usual manner. On Monday, Kennedy took out Jackey-Jackey and 

 four others, clearing a way up the mountain through the scrub, 

 a task which occupied them till Wednesday, 2nd August. 



On $rd August, the party climbed a spur of the range by the 

 cleared track. One horse was unable to do his part and was tied 

 up to a tree and left behind, the party going on a little further and 

 CAMPING in the scrub. Next morning (^.th August), the whole of 

 the horses, including the weak one, and the sheep, were driven back 

 to grass by Carron, Mitchell and Dunn, who camped beside them. 

 At the main camp, Niblet and three others remained to watch over 

 the stores, while Kennedy, Jackey-Jackey and four others formed an 

 advance party cutting scrub. The main camp was on the creek 

 by which the party had camped on 24th July. 



On 6th August, the party camping with the horses and sheep 

 were visited by seven or eight NATIVES, who ran away on seeing 

 Carron shoot a bird which had opportunely perched on a neighbour- 

 ing tree. 



Carron left his camp on jth August with the sheep and horses, 

 widening and improving the partially cleared track made by the 

 advance party, whom they overtook on the 9th. At Carron' s 

 camp on the night of the 8th, great difficulty was experienced in 

 lighting a fire, everything having been saturated with rain, and he 

 and his companions were copiously bled by LEECHES. I may say 

 that I have had a similar experience on the coast range further north, 

 and that the annoyance is something frightful. Carron left one 

 horse, which was too weak to travel, at his camp on the morning 

 of the 7th, thus reducing the number to twenty-three. 



