FIRST EXPEDITION 507 



which I ascended. This was our NORTHMOST POINT, and I named 

 it BIRTHDAY MOUNT, as I reached it on my birthday. From this 

 point I took a series of bearings. A range dimly descried to the 

 westward I named the GEIKIE RANGE, after the Director of the 

 Geological Survey of Scotland [now Sir Archibald Geikie. 

 R. L. J.j. The Peach River could be seen to the north-west, 

 making its way through a gap in this range. 



The whole of the country traversed on this day's journey was 

 very poor, with scanty spmifex grass (recently burnt) and grass- 

 tree and teatree. The NATIVES were busy burning the country 

 between the Geikie Range and Birthday Mount. 



Having now penetrated as far to the north as was prudent, 

 considering the quantity of rations remaining, we turned our faces 

 HOMEWARD with the intention of striking the Palmerville and 

 Cooktown road about the bend of the Kennedy. In 2 miles 

 S. 2 W., through teatree and grasstree country, we reached 

 IRVINE CREEK, and camped on its right bank, where the horses 

 had good feed among lagoons. We prospected the creek at the 

 camp, but found no gold. (CAMP 40 : trees marked broad arrow, 

 J. 16/9/79, and " Irvine Creek.") 



September 17. We found it rather difficult to get away from 

 Irvine Creek, which had high sandy banks fringed with scrub and 

 a chain of lagoons on both sides. In 2$ miles S. 2 W. from the 

 creek, we came on tracks of thirteen horses which had come and gone 

 north and south in wet weather. In another mile we came to the 

 Peach River, here flowing to the north-west. We prospected here 

 and found no gold ; but there remained in the bottom of each 

 dish about 2 ounces of a very fine grey sand which, on being 

 examined afterwards, turned out to be amber-coloured TIN ORE l 

 in microscopic grains. Some very large Leichhardt trees were seen 

 in the scrub here. 



In 2 miles more on the same course, we reached CROLL CREEK, 

 running nearly north, with a wide, shallow, bare bottom, partly 

 of sand and partly of cement. After crossing it, we kept for half 

 a mile on the same course within sight of its left bank. As we did 

 not cross HORNE CREEK, it must have fallen into the Peach between 

 our upper and lower crossings of that river. 



Eight miles further, we entered a well-grown forest of stringy- 

 bark, bloodwood and ironbark trees, on red soil, rising gently to 

 the range on the left. 



In 2 miles more we crossed a low watershed and continued 

 our course by gullies falling to the south, with low stony ridges on 

 which the grass had been burned. Bush fires were raging within 

 half a mile of our route. It was now near sunset and our march 



1 Mr. James Dick's Mineral Resources of the Cook District contains (p. 27) a reference 

 to the ' ' Archer River Tinfield, 40 miles from the Coen ." The distance given would place 

 the tinfield about 10 miles down the Peach (Archer) River from where I saw tin. 



