318 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



judge of the relative " values " of water-courses, a " creek of the 

 fourth magnitude" being indistinguishable from a "river." 



In these circumstances, with the aid of the charts now existing, 

 I am obliged to attempt to HARMONISE THE NARRATIVE of the 

 explorers WITH THE TOPOGRAPHY of the district, as the latter is 

 now understood. I take it for granted that the water-courses 

 laid down on modern maps actually exist and are in the positions 

 assigned to them. The survey incidental to the construction of 

 the Cape York Telegraph line (Cooktown to Cape York) in 1884-7 

 gives firm data for the intersections of the line by numerous creeks. 

 The country is now partly taken up in pastoral " juns " and 

 partly reserved for the aborigines or the police. In 1885-6 and 

 1895-7, Mr. Embley traversed and surveyed most of the important 

 creeks and rivers as well as the boundaries of reserves and pastoral 

 leases within the region now under consideration. 



On the western or Gulf side of the peninsula, between 11 45' 

 and 12 5' of south latitude, modern maps, viz., the Admiralty 

 Chart, the 4-mile map (Sheet 21 A), the 12-mile " Tenure Map " 

 and the 1 6-mile map of Queensland, show a GROUP of RIVERS 

 named in their order from north to south, the SKARDON, DALHUNTY 

 and DUCIE. A critical examination of the narratives of the Jardine 

 Expedition leads to the conclusion that the so-called DALHUNTY 

 (the Dalhunty River, de Jacto) is the river to which the Brothers 

 gave the name of the SKARDON ; that the Jardines' DALHUNTY is 

 the so-called SOUTH ALICE CREEK, a tributary of the NORTH ALICE, 

 which falls into the Ducie ; and that the so-called SKARDON, with 

 its head east of the McDonnell station of the Cape York Telegraph 

 line, falls into the Gulf in 11 45' south latitude, at the inlet where 

 a boat's crew from the " Pera " landed on I2th May, 1623, 

 which Carstenszoon (who obviously followed the " Duyjkeifs " 

 chart) then identified as the " CARPENTIER REVIER," " which the 

 men of the ' Duiffken* anno 1606, went up with a boat, and one 

 of them was killed by the projectiles of the savages " (Heeres, p. 42). 

 It would, however, be impossible to substitute the original name of 

 the " Carpentier," bestowed 314 years ago, for the de Jacto name of 

 " Skardon," which has been confirmed by thirty-three years of usage. 

 The de Jacto name of '.* Skardon " was unalterably fixed by the 

 telegraph surveyors in 1887. Mr. Embley informs me that the 

 river at the McDonnell Telegraph Station has a large deep channel 

 and carries a large volume of water in flood times. 



The mistake by which the Carpentier River, de jure, became 

 fixed as the Skardon River, de Jacto, made it necessary to find 

 another water-course to bear the Jardines' name of " Dalhunty," 

 and accordingly the river (falling into Port Musgrave) which was 

 the Jardines' SKARDON, DE JURE, became the DALHUNTY, DE FACTO. 



With these observations, we return to the NARRATIVES OF THE 



EXPLORERS. 



