THIRD PRELIMINARY REPORT 619 



which had been falling for about an hour previously, had fallen 

 low enough to allow us to cross. About a mile beyond the last 

 mouth we saw seven or eight BLACKS who had recently landed 

 from a large CANOE, and met their gins carrying their luggage 

 overland. Both parties retired into the sand-hills on our approach. 



ORFORD BAY has a broad stretch of sandy beach, bordered with 

 low sand-hills which extend a long way inland. We camped on 

 the (Low) " RED CLIFFS " of sandstone marked on the chart in 

 latitude 11 12' S. (CAMP 59.) 



Next day (i^tb March), as precipitous cliffs frequently overhung 

 the sea, we had to travel for the most part on the sandstone ledge. 

 Some THICK SCRUBS had to be cut behind the first tier of sand-hills 

 at the back of the " REMARKABLE RED CLIFFS." [SEE MAP A.] 

 From this point northward to TURTLE REEF the sandstone is mostly 

 replaced by a coarse pisolitic rock of sandy-brown haematite. We 

 camped about a mile south of No. n POINT. (CAMP 60.) The 

 next day (i$th March) GALES and heavy RAIN made it impossible 

 to move the camp. 



We found good travelling on the i6th March, on the top of 

 high cliffs of sandstone and pisolite, as far as the bay south of FLAT 

 HILL, where we had to wait two hours for the fall of the tide at 

 the mouth of a large creek skirted by mangroves [HENDERSON CREEK]. 

 We camped at night opposite an uncharted island, on a point bear- 

 ing S. 26 W. from the south-east end of TERN ISLAND. (CAMP 61.) 



It had now become necessary to leave the coast and strike for 

 the valley of the Jardine River, with the view of HEADING THE 

 ESCAPE AND KENNEDY. The horses were indulged with one day's 

 spell before starting. Mr. Crosbie walked to SHADWELL POINT 

 and saw the ALBANY PASS. Our camp lay about 22 MILES FROM 

 SOMERSET, and yet we had to make a JOURNEY OF 117 MILES before 

 we could reach that haven. 



On the i8th March we struck inland. The first 4 miles led 

 us WNW. by soft red-soiled ridges, well timbered with bloodwood, 

 box and stringybark, and well grassed. Then a ridge of white 

 sand, with a scrub to the left and a lagoon to the right, carried us 

 a mile to the NW. For 2 miles further (W. 10 N.) we had 

 low forest country, with narrow belts of scrub, till we came, to 

 our chagrin, on a small salt-water creek, a branch of the ESCAPE 

 which we had hoped to head. We had to run the mangrove 

 swamp up for a mile to the SW., when the salt-water creek was 

 replaced by a deep and narrow fresh-water stream, to whose left 

 bank we crossed. Shortly afterwards a narrow GULLY had to be 

 substantially BRIDGED with saplings, but one of the prospectors' 

 horses got off the bridge, and lightened his burden by DISSOLVING 

 a large quantity of SUGAR, besides damaging cartridges, clothes, etc. 



After 3 miles (W. 10 S.) of well-grassed forest land, we were 

 again arrested by a MANGROVE SWAMP and camped. (CAMP 62.) 



