658 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



CREEK, which runs westward for 75 miles, falling into the Gulf 

 of Carpentaria in 15 5 2 ' . l at '> i ts lower part incorrectly known 

 as the Nassau River (Nassau River, de facto}. The whole of the 

 delta country of the Mitchell has thus been surveyed by Mr. 

 Embley, and the survey is important if it were only for the precision 

 with which it enables us to chart the travels of LEICHHARDT and 

 the JARDINE BROTHERS. 



For 36 miles up the MITCHELL from the infall of the Palmer 

 (MAPS H AND G), the survey of the river was made by MR. W. A. 

 MARKWELL. It shows an interesting feature, viz., the leakage of 

 the Jardines' MARAMIE CREEK from the south bank of the Mitchell 

 and its junction, after a course of 72 miles to WSW., with the 

 STATEN RIVER, de facto (= Nassau River, de jure). Markwell 

 also surveyed the LYND RIVER (first traversed by Leichhardt) from 

 its source to its junction with the Mitchell. 



In 1886, from a point 14 miles W. by N. of the infall of 

 Leichhardt's Lynd River, EMBLEY surveyed the MITCHELL RIVER 

 eastward to its head (Sheets i8D and i8C), a distance of over 240 

 miles, as well as its great TRIBUTARIES, the Little Mitchell, St. 

 George, McLeod, Rifle Creek, the Walsh, and the Hodgkinson. 

 This survey is invaluable, as it enables us to locate a great part of 

 the wanderings of LEICHHARDT, KENNEDY, the JARDINE BROTHERS, 

 HANN and MULLIGAN. 



Mr. Embley next surveyed a portion of the STATEN RIVER, 

 de facto (MAPS H AND L), and the so-called RED RIVER (Jardines' 

 BYERLEY CREEK) from its source in the ranges to where it " peters 

 out " on the plains, thus defining an important section of the 

 Jardine Brothers' route in 1864. 



He also surveyed (SEE MAPS M AND N) the upper reaches of 

 most of the RIVERS falling into the SOUTHERN and SOUTH-WESTERN 

 PART of the GULF OF CARPENTARIA, his surveys connecting with 

 the marine surveys made by the officers of the " Beagle " in 1841 

 and contributing largely to the correct understanding of the land 

 travels of LEICHHARDT (1845), GREGORY (1856), BURKE AND WILLS 

 (1861), WALKER (1861), McKiNLAY (1862), LANDSBOROUGH (1862) 

 and MACDONALD (1864). 



In 1889, he connected, by surveys of run-boundaries, etc., the 

 Nicholson River and Lawn Hill Creek, both of which water-courses 

 had been surveyed by Twisden Bedford in 1882. Both of these 

 water-courses, as well as the Gregory River, have beds which are 

 generally dry until they cross a belt of limestone country, which, 

 itself almost horizontal, unconformably overlies an older formation 

 composed mainly of upturned quartzites and flaggy sandstones. 

 As both rivers reach the base of the limestone their dry beds are 

 filled with copious streams, of which, however, only the Gregory 

 continues to flow for a long distance, Lawn Hill Creek losing its 

 waters on entering into the plains. The latter, with a small stream, 



