5 o8 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



had become a hurried scramble to get water before nightfall. In 

 3 miles from the watershed, the hills receding to our left to form 

 the north wall of the valley west of the Two- Mile Diggings, we 

 were fortunate enough to find beautiful green feed and three little 

 water-holes in a gully running south. Here we camped. When 

 night fell we could hear the sound of running water, and it turned 

 out that we were only half a mile from the Coen (or Kendall) [the 

 SOUTH COEN. R. L. J.]. (CAMP 41 : bloodwood, broad arrow, 

 J. 17/8/79. Latitude 13 53' 48" S.) 



On this day's march, as far as Croll Creek, the country was a 

 desert, of the same description as that passed through yesterday. 

 It slightly improved southward and became more open, with 

 a few bloodwood and stunted ironbark trees. South of Croll 

 Creek for about 2 miles, there were several unwooded plains with 

 tolerable grass, but with innumerable little ant-hills among the 

 roots of the grass. Then there* was a relapse into grasstree and 

 spinifex desert hardly so poor as yesterday's, however to the 

 beginning of the forest. 



After the ridgy country on the south side of the divide between 

 the Peach and Kendall [i.e., South Coen] waters was passed, we 

 had about a mile of fair open bloodwood country. 



On the ridges north of the divide there are some outcrops of 

 ferruginous schist and a good deal of quartz, with one PROMISING 

 REEF. 



September 18. In the morning, while the horses were being 

 rounded up and packed, I went back to the reefs on the ridges. 

 They run generally north and south and are well defined, but 

 have not much appearance of iron oxide, which is usually character- 

 istic of auriferous reef. The low country at the base of the hills 

 is of ferruginous mica-schist. The mountains are granite. I 

 heard a party of NATIVES chanting among the rocks. 



On leaving Camp 41, we steered S. 6 W. (true), and in half 

 a mile came to the Kendall [SOUTH COEN]. The river here has 

 a bottom of fine-grained decomposed granite. On prospecting 

 we got fine " colours " of GOLD, much black sand and many small 

 garnets. On the left bank of the river was a large white QUART? 

 REEF with red joints and cavities filled with brownstone. 



From the Kendall [South Coen] we struck S. I5W. (true). 

 In the first mile we passed three large white QUARTZ REEFS striking 

 NW. and SE. Three miles from the river, over rolling stony 

 country, with ironbark, stringybark and a few bloodwood trees, 

 we touched some low hills of ferruginous mica-schist on the left, 

 almost detached from the main range. I ascended one of the 

 hills and had a look ahead. [LOCHINVAR PROVISIONAL GOLDFIELD 

 must be about 4 miles WSW. of this hill. R. L. J.] 



We now shaped our course to the south [or so I intended and 

 tried to do, but the Lands Department maps show that the 



