ACROSS THE McILWRAITH RANGE 537 



general east-north-east direction, we camped on a ridge on the left 

 Dank of a gully (with a little water) falling into CHRISTMAS CREEK. 

 [CAMP 17 : mahogany tree, J. 2jD. 79.) 



About a mile back from the camp some REEFS were seen, 

 :ontaining galena and iron oxide. They were considered very 

 * promising," but yielded NO GOLD on being crushed and washed. 

 December 28. The horses were all abroad in the morning, the 

 ank grass at the camp not being to their liking. One of ours had 

 >one back nearly to Camp 16, and it was late in the afternoon 

 oefore the last of Crosbie's was recovered. I went with Charlie 

 :o a mountain (mica-schist, with numerous REEFS on the eastern 

 I lope) between the Peach and Christmas Creek, to see if there was 

 Lny practicable route to the east. The only way at all open was to 

 iouth-south-east. 



December 29. Leaving Hamil and Love in the camp, we went 

 >ut to the south-east to try to penetrate to the upper reaches of 

 he Peach Crosbie, Hume and Layland making the attempt by 

 nother route. We threaded our way through openings in the 

 CRUB for about 4 miles to the right wall of the valley of the north 

 ranch of the Peach (above the defile previously visited). Here we 

 ame on the prospecting party at the further end of a pocket, and 

 s it was now evident there was only one (if any) way we kept 

 gether for the rest of the excursion. With a good deal of trouble 

 path was partly cut and partly found through the scrub sidling 

 .own the wall of the valley into an open plain, which we crossed 

 quarter of a mile) over to a tributary (a third-magnitude 

 reek) of the north branch of the Peach, on which we camped. 

 AMP 173 : J.C. 79.) 



The creek, which was running, with a bed full of boulders on 

 are granite bars, was prospected, but without success. 



Crosbie and I went on, over ridges lightly timbered, but flanked 

 y densely scrubby gullies, about I mile southward to the north 

 ranch of the Peach River, above the hill which we had reached on 

 e 26th. We found a strong current running, apparently quite 

 large as below the defile, and yet above the defile it receives both 

 e south branch and the creek with the large waterfall. The 

 ottom was of granite to which the detritus carried over it by the 

 rent had imparted a fine polish. 



From the size of the river here I should not expect to reach 

 :s source for 20 miles at least, 1 and yet its course is so tortuous, 

 e country so hilly, and all the water-courses, large and small, so 

 ually clothed with SCRUB, that it was impossible to trace the valley 

 >r half a mile, even from eminences from which an extensive 

 rospect could be obtained. The river could, as a rule, only 

 e approached by cutting paths through the scrub taking the 



1 The head of the river cannot have been much more than two miles distant after 

 L R. L. J. 



1113 



