286 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



brought the news of Hewitt's rescue of King. McKinlay next 

 found Hewitt's camp and visited the graves of Wills and Burke. 



Leaving the region which had already yielded up its story, 

 McKinlay determined to get on the track of Burke further north. 

 According to his diary he ran up the " Mueller River " (the 

 DIAMANTINA) to its head (22 40' S. lat., 8tb April, 1862). It is 

 now understood that he actually came up the HAMILTON RIVER, 

 east of Boulia, crossed the SELWYN RANGE by " McKiNLAY's 

 GAP," and ran for some distance northward down the " McKiNLAY 

 RIVER." (SEE MAP R.) He probably followed the McKinlay 

 (which, lower down, is called the Gilliat) down to its junction 

 with the CLON CURRY ($oth April), which latter river here, and 

 here only, runs, as described by him, from west to east, its general 

 course being from south to north. Twenty-five miles below the 

 junction, viz., at Caroline Creek, the CLONCURRY River approaches 

 the FLINDERS RIVER (which lies east of it), and for the next 

 32 miles of their northerly course the two rivers are seldom as 

 much as 4 miles apart. In fact, now that the rivers have deployed 

 on the coastal plains, the usual " anastomosis " has commenced, 

 and from the Cloncurry eastward, high floods would connect that 

 river with channels running into the Flinders, the Saxby and 

 the Norman Rivers. 



Keeping the left, or western, bank of the Cloncurry River, 

 McKinlay crossed and named the DUGALD RIVER (2nd May, 1862). 

 He had been practically on Burke and Wills' track since he struck 

 the Cloncurry, but observed no trace of the lost expedition. By 

 the time he crossed the Dugald, however, he must have been fully 

 convinced that the river he was following, lead where it might, 

 was not taking him to the Albert Inlet, although Burke and Wills 

 had believed they were on the Albert when they reached the sea 

 72 miles east of that inlet. He, therefore, steered north-west 

 from the Dugald River and, on 6th May, struck Gregory's 

 LEICHHARDT RIVER in 18 55' S. lat. (7 miles below the modern 

 LORRAINE cattle station). He then followed the Gregory down 

 to the north (past the modern AUGUSTUS DOWNS station) to the 

 sea (Camp 60, i8th-2ist May, 1862). (SEE MAP M.) This camp 

 was probably between the ALBERT INLET and LANDSBOROUGH 

 INLET, the latter of which connects the Albert with the Leichhardt. 

 In spite of the mistake which he was now aware Burke must have 

 made, McKinlay had to visit the Albert Inlet, where he might 

 chance to meet the parties which were to come by sea and commence 

 the search from the Gulf. He saw a tree which had marked 

 LANDSBOROUGH'S Camp 5 in February, 1862. 



He had now proved that the Albert was not the river which 

 Burke and Wills had followed to the sea : the ship which had con- 

 veyed ^Landsborough's expedition had already left the inlet. His 

 provisions were diminishing to danger-point ; he knew that the 



