452 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



he camped on the TATE RIVER opposite the mouth of REVOLVER 

 CREEK. CAMP 35. In the afternoon the river was prospected in 

 the vicinity of the camp, and " numerous colours of GOLD and a 

 fair sample of TIN ORE " were obtained. 



The TATE RIVER was followed down westward for 9 miles on 

 8th July and CAMP 36 was fixed a quarter of a mile above the infall 

 of BLACK GIN CREEK. The afternoon's prospecting in the river 

 showed both GOLD and TIN, but the gold was only represented by- 

 slight colours and the tin was not so plentiful as at the previous camp 

 or as in Black Gin Creek 20 miles above its junction with the Tate. 



[Mulligan had previously camped on BLACK GIN CREEK, first 

 on 22nd June, 1873 (Camp 6) and second on 28th August, 1873, 

 on his first trip to the Palmer. It must have been at his Camp 6 

 that he had noted the occurrence of tin, although the diary says 

 nothing of it. He was, of course, under no obligation to disclose 

 the discovery.] 



Three miles west of Camp 36, on yth July, Mulligan crossed 

 the water-course which Hann had named PINT POT CREEK, and 

 prospected it for GOLD, but only got " colours of the finest descrip- 

 tion." On this he remarks (having forgotten the JARDINE 

 BROTHERS) : " We are now OUTSIDE ALL TRAVELLERS, OLD LEICHHARDT 

 EXCEPTED." In the course of the day the party followed the river 

 down westward for 10 miles, to CAMP 37. The sand of the river 

 bed was covered with the footprints of NATIVES, and in one place 

 Mulligan lighted on an accumulation of their property, consisting 

 of shells, nets, chalk, dilly-bags and bags of resin, besides IRON NAILS 

 AND SPIKES, the metallic articles showing that some of the blacks 

 had travelled. CAMP 37A, of loth July, was on the right or north 

 bank of the TATE, at its junction with the LYND. 



Mulligan had now traversed the Tate from the Mount Surprise- 

 Palmer road to its junction with the Lynd, thus CONNECTING 

 HANN'S WORK WITH LEICHHARDT'S. He had already explored a 

 higher portion of the valley (between his Camps 4 and 5) on his 

 first trip to the Palmer. 



Between his Camps 35 and 37A, he had mainly travelled on the 

 left, or southern, bank, when not actually in the bed of the river. 

 He describes the river itself as flowing over Palaeozoic or Meta- 

 morphic rocks, while on his left, i.e., to the south, was a tableland 

 of horizontal sandstone, broken into or cut through by Pint Pot 

 and other creeks. There can be no doubt that the northern side 

 of the river, which he did not see, was of a similar structure. 



Mulligan and others had often speculated on the possibility of 

 finding a more direct ROAD FROM THE ETHERIDGE TO THE PALMER 

 than the roundabout one which goes ENE. from Georgetown to 

 Fossilbrook and then follows Hann's return route (Camps 76 to 88) 

 northward to Palmerville. With the object of solving this 

 problem, Mulligan, accompanied by Warner and Moran, penetrated 



