668 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



easily recognisable. Bradford had the bad luck to see even more 

 of it than any of the previous travellers, and his description may be 

 regarded as the standard. Writing of the stage of his journey of 

 I9th July, 1883, after the crossing of the Batavia River, he says : 



" I steered N. 6 VV. In half a mile, over sandy country, ... we came on a narrow 

 gully. Wilson, who was just in advance of me, tried to cross this gully, but Samson, 

 the horse he was riding, got in a hole hidden by rushes and weeds and full of water, 

 but not much larger than his body, though apparently deep enough. There Samson 

 was, with no part of his body visible but his head. Wilson had a narrow escape, as he 

 was partly under the horse when he fell. We were detained here for two hours getting 

 the horse out of the hole. He either could not or would not help himself. The men 

 dug away the earth all round him and finally hauled him out with ropes." 



A mile further N. 6 W. a " creek of the third magnitude " 

 flowing to WSW. was named ELLIOT CREEK. This creek does not 

 appear on modern maps, but no doubt it was a tributary of the 

 Batavia River. The WATERSHED OF THE PENINSULA must have 

 been crossed soon after, on the SIR WILLIAM THOMSON TABLELAND, 

 as CAMP 22 is placed, approximately, in 142 47' E. long, and 

 12 28' S. lat., on the head of what is now called GLENNIE CREEK. 



A mile and a half beyond Elliot Creek, continues Bradford, 



" We passed over sandy ridges, in some places so undermined with ants as to be 

 absolutely dangerous, the horses going suddenly down to their knees in the sand. 

 These ridges are timbered with bloodwood, stringybark and ironwood, the spaces 

 between the trees being filled in with saplings and low undergrowth." 



Here the two POISONED HORSES had to be abandoned. 



Next day (2Otb July), the course was nearly north, on the 

 eastern side of the watershed, CAMP 23 being on the head of a 

 tributary of the Macmillan River. The country on the Sir 

 William Thomson Range did not improve. " The ridges were of a 

 reddish sandy soil and were terribly undermined by ants," says 

 Bradford, " my horse actually sinking on several occasions so deep 

 that his nose touched the ground," and this sort of travelling made 

 further havoc among the horses. An ant-hill 20 feet high was 

 noted near the camp. 



The journey was resumed on 2yd July, still in a northerly 

 direction. Bogs and " heather and pandanus swamps " alternated 

 with sandy ridges. Another of the riding horses had to be dug, and 

 hauled, out of a bog. CAMP 24 was pitched on what appears to be 

 the principal head of the MACMILLAN RIVER, which had been 

 followed down for the greater part of the day. 



On the 24^ and 2$th, the travelling, still northward, was of a 

 similar character. More HORSES showed signs of distress and one 

 had to be ABANDONED. CAMP 25 was still on tributaries of the 

 Macmillan River, and CAMP 26 was close to the watershed of the 

 Peninsula. On alighting from his horse at Camp 25, Bradford had 

 a severe attack of FEVER AND AGUE. 



