434 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



his 2 ist camp. Mulligan then ascended the sandstone tableland 

 known as the " CONGLOMERATE RANGE," and here, of course, the 

 prospect of alluvial gold ended. The whole of the country to 

 the west, visible from the summit, was ablaze with FIRES lighted 

 by the NATIVES. About n miles east of the encampment, 

 " MACMILLAN'S ROAD " from Cooktown to Frome and Palmerville, 

 following up the KENNEDY RIVER, was crossed, and 10 miles further 

 east, " MACKENZIE'S NEW ROAD," which follows up the LITTLE 

 KENNEDY RIVER by HANN'S RETURN TRACK of 1872 (Camps 74 to 76). 

 As neither the Kennedy nor the Little Kennedy had carried the 

 process of erosion down through the horizontal sandstone to the 

 underlying auriferous foundation, the quest for alluvial gold was 

 abandoned and Mulligan and his party RETURNED TO PALMERVILLE. 

 A FRESH START was made on 22nd October, and the MITCHELL 

 RIVER was reached, via MOUNT MULGRAVE, on 24^. This camp 

 on the Mitchell was probably a little above that of I7th September 

 (3rd trip). 



From this point the party travelled and prospected up the 

 ST. GEORGE RIVER to the camp of 29th August, at the infall of 

 TIN CREEK, which was reached on 2%tb October. " A little GOLD " 

 was obtainable anywhere in the river and the presence of " good- 

 looking QUARTZ REEFS " was noted. Travelling up the river on 

 ^otb and $ist October, "good-looking country for GOLD" and 

 " numerous QUARTZ REEFS " were observed on the south side. On 

 the latter date the river, flowing through slate country, was hemmed 

 in by granite mountains forming the divide between the St. George 

 and the Palmer on the north and the McLeod on the south. 



On 2nd November, to SSE. with " really good travelling " and 

 " magnificently grassed country, level box flats, open forest," the 

 party reached a river, which at first was taken for the main Mitchell, 

 but was afterwards ascertained to be a branch and named the 

 McLsoD, after one of the party. The CAMP for the night was 

 where, on following the river up, it bends, according to the modern 

 map, from north-east to south-east. A creek falling in from the 

 north side, probably ESCAPE CREEK, was prospected. Mulligan 

 mentions that in crossing the river, which was chest deep, they 

 stripped to the skin and waded. " Our appearance," he observes, 

 " must be very annoying to the DARKIES, as well as theirs is to us, 

 for they immediately abandoned a laborious piece of work they 

 were engaged at, in making a wing-dam across a back bend or 

 wing of the river in order to poison the water with branches and 

 leaves to catch fish." The creek yielded " a little GOLD, but not 

 enough to pay, and also a little TIN." Mulligan remarks on the 

 magnificent soil and vigorous growth of trees on both the creek 

 and the river. " Colours " of gold were got in every dish on the 

 river itself. 



On yd November, Mulligan and his companions continued 



