CHAPTER LXII 



MULLIGAN'S THIRD EXPEDITION, 1874 

 FROM THE PALMER TO THE WALSH 



LEAVES PALMERVILLE. PINE CREEK. BUSY DIGGERS. PROGRESS OF THE RUSH. 

 TOUGHT'S BUTCHERY AND STORE. RANGE BETWEEN PALMER AND ST. GEORGE. 

 PROSPECTS FOR GOLD ON ST. GEORGE FALL. TIN ON TIN CREEK. CROSSES ST. 

 GEORGE AND MITCHELL RIVERS. CATTLE COUNTRY. HODGKINSON RIVER 

 NAMED. MOUNT MULLIGAN. COAL AND A RAILWAY. TIMID NATIVES. 

 ALLUVIAL GOLD, BUT NOTHING PAYABLE. SITE OF THORNBOROUGH, NOW CENTRE 

 OF HODGKINSON GOLD-REEFING DISTRICT. LITTLE HODGKINSON RIVER. WHY 

 WAS SUCH A COUNTRY CREATED ? WALSH RIVER. HOT SPRINGS. DOWN THE 

 WALSH. WEST OF HANN'S FURTHEST EAST. WAS EDWARDS BEFORE HANN? 

 BOWLER CREEK. NOLAN CREEK. SANDSTONE TABLELAND. " TAYLOR'S CARBONI- 

 FEROUS RANGE." DIFFICULT DESCENT. BACK TO PALMERVILLE. 



(SEE MAP G.) 



ATTER a stay of ten days in Palmerville, Mulligan again 

 set out on 6th August., 1874, with the intention of extend- 

 ing his observations in the valley of the St. George River. 

 About WHITE HORSE CREEK, he left the track by which 

 he had approached Palmerville on his second trip and shortly 

 afterwards, on an ESE. course crossing McGANN CREEK, reached, 

 on loth August, a camp where he had already worked, " getting 

 a little gold." This must have been PINE CREEK, on which he 

 camped from i$th June to qth July. So rapidly had occupation 

 progressed that the site of that camp was now covered by " Tought's 

 BUTCHERING ESTABLISHMENT " AND STORE, and all the surrounding 

 gullies were being worked for GOLD, including some which drain 

 into the St. George. Among the latter was FINE GOLD CREEK, 

 which is shown on the 4- mile map. Mulligan, who had evidently 

 intended to pick up a little more gold here, confesses to a dis- 

 appointment that the RUSH had set in so soon. 



Having procured two fresh horses at Tought's camp, Mulligan 

 and his party left on i$th August, and keeping on the whole a 

 little to the south of east, crossed the watershed between the 

 PALMER AND ST. GEORGE and prospected the drainage area of the 

 latter river up to z\th August, when they camped on TIN CREEK. 

 The country was so rough that it was frequently necessary to travel 

 30 miles to gain 10. Every gully contained GOLD, " but not 

 enough to satisfy us." 



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