THE RETURN JOURNEY 401 



PETER BOTTE rises to the height of 3,311 feet, and slopes steeply- 

 down to Captain Cook's " CAPE TRIBULATION." 



The BLOMFIELD RIVER, which is barely 30 miles long, reaches 

 the Pacific on a north-easterly course. Hann's idea was, without 

 crossing this river, to follow it up in the hope that it would take 

 him some way on his course, and lead him into better country. 

 The word " country" is used here as Hann regarded it from his 

 point of view, that is, country fit to travel over. As " country," 

 from an agricultural point of view, the Blomfield is good enough. 

 Its cleared scrub land, in the present day grows SUGAR-CANE and is 

 a valuable asset of the State. 



CAMP 55 was pitched on the left bank of the BLOMFIELD on 

 yd October. 



The river, indeed, followed a course which would have taken 

 the expedition for some distance south, had it been possible to 

 follow it. The banks, however, were so steep and so scrubby that 

 it became necessary to leave it at Camp 55, and take to the hills. 



It would be unprofitable, even if it were possible, to follow 

 minutely the daily record of Hann's wanderings in the SCRUB. 

 His one idea was to GET AWAY SOUTH, and to this end he and his 

 companions toiled, and struggled day after day. Paths were 

 laboriously hewn through the jungle and the horses were led on ; 

 and as often as not it was labour lost, as some insurmountable 

 obstacle would force them back on their tracks, or round in a 

 direction that was not at all to their liking Until he tackled the 

 Annan (which he called the Endeavour), Hann, looking back, forgot 

 all his previous troubles, and declared that " THE EXPEDITION HAD 

 BEEN A PLEASURE TRIP." He added that SINCE CROSSING THE 

 Endeavour (ANNAN) " there have been NOTHING BUT TROUBLES 

 AND DIFFICULTIES, with still more ahead, and how they will end 

 remains to be proved." Above all, there was no time for anything 

 like careful charting. Already on the second day from Camp 55 

 ($th October) Hann had LEFT THE waters of the BLOMFIELD BEHIND 

 and was on those of the DAINTREE RIVER, without knowing it. 

 The course of the DAINTREE was at that time unknown to him and 

 all the world, and as for landmarks, he might as well have been 

 travelling through a dark tunnel. The DAINTREE RIVER was dis- 

 covered and named after Richard Daintree, then Agent-General for 

 Queensland, formerly Government Geologist, by G. Elphinstone 

 Dalrymple in 1 873.* On the fourth day (fth October) his CAMP 59 

 was on the " WEST NORMANBY," one of the heads of the river 

 which he had himself named, but he never suspected the fact. 

 By this time he had gained, from Camp 55, at most 4 miles of the 

 desired southing and something like 23 miles of westing. Probably 

 the actual distance travelled was not less than 40 miles. 



The party had hardly gone a mile west of Camp 59, on 8th 



1 Queensland North Coast Expedition of 1873, par. 436. 



ii 4 



