SECOND EXPEDITION 529 



Macdonald. [MULLIGAN'S ROUTE (1875) from his Camp 71 to 

 Camp 74 was about 3 miles east of mine, and he came down to 

 the Lukin River by a branch of Macdonald Creek. R. L. J.] 



December 14. We did not move camp to-day, as the prospectors 

 wished to examine the country, which they did, but without 

 success. I ascended the range forming the left wall of the valley ; 

 quartzite and greywacke, with intrusive porphyry, predominate 

 on the hills, while slates and mica-schists occupy the valley. The 

 right wall of the valley is also composed for the most part of slates 

 and mica-schists. 



December 15. We continued our journey due north down the 

 MACDONALD VALLEY to its junction with the Lukin [HOLROYD] 

 River (7 miles). The Macdonald has extensive alluvial flats, with 

 beautiful grass. There are large and numerous water-holes from 

 our Camp 8 downwards. The soil is reddish, from the decomposi- 

 tion of ferruginous mica-schist. The Macdonald valley would 

 make a fine cattle run, as there is fine " country " (in a grazier's 

 sense of the word) from the source to the mouth of the creek, as 

 well as in several parallel valleys. [The modern TARA VALE station 

 is about midway between our Camp 8 and the Holroyd. R. L. J.] 



At the mouth of the Macdonald the Lukin [HOLROYD] falls to 

 west-south-west. We only saw one small water-hole in a wide 

 sandy bed overgrown with teatrees, and divided into four or five 

 channels. 



On crossing the Lukin [HOLROYD], two GINS were surprised. 

 One made her escape, but the other took to a tree, which she 

 ascended or descended with astonishing agility, with her hands 

 and the soles of her feet only, as her fears increased or diminished. 

 She was very suspicious, and apparently very indignant. She 

 scolded us violently and pointed in the direction in which her com- 

 panion had fled, at the same time squeezing her breasts as if to 

 indicate that she was or might be a mother. She had curly hair, 

 and a front tooth knocked out. The want of a tooth is said to be 

 a characteristic of the coast tribes in the north. She had no 

 clothing, but left a dilly-bag with a few roots at the foot of the tree, 

 together with a long climbing- vine and a tomahawk made from a 

 pick cut through at the thickest part and hefted with a cleft stick. 



[The LUKIN RIVER was so named by Mulligan, 8th September, 

 1875. It is, however, the river named the HOLROYD by the Jardine 

 Brothers in 1864, and this name should be restored to it. R. L. J.] 



From the Lukin [HOLROYD] we kept due north for 6 miles, the 

 \\ last three with hills appearing occasionally on the left. The country 

 ; : was generally flat, with stringybark and bloodwood. Occasionally 

 we crossed teatree flats with " graveyard " ant-hills. We crossed 

 two gullies with water. At the last of these we camped, as a 

 thunderstorm was impending. (CAMP 9. Latitude, by observa- 

 tion of Achernar, 14 13' 30" S.) 



