McILWRAITH AND MACROSSAN RANGES 723 



Up to ijth September, various heads of SURPRISE CREEK were 

 prospected. Several places were found where the prospects of GOLD 

 were almost payable, or might have been payable under more 

 favourable conditions. Cutting scrub, burning grass and the 

 care of the horses which had to be tied up in the day and taken 

 back to grass in the moonlight took up a good deal of the time. 

 The reconnoitring party returned to the " VALLEY OF HILLS 

 CAMP " (No. 37) on the I7th. 



Dickie went to Dodd's Camp on the i8th and returned on the 

 1 9th with 50 Ib. of flour. On the 2oth, the party moved out to 

 SURPRISE CREEK (CAMP 50). Before they left their camp in the 

 morning, a man arrived from the Coen and also two men from 

 Granite (Hull) Creek on their way to Dodd's Camp. 1 



On 2ist September, the party passed APPEL'S PINNACLES, and 

 crossing PINNACLE CREEK, camped in a grassy pocket (CAMP 51). 

 The afternoon was spent in cutting scrub, burning grass and 

 prospecting. A QUARTZ outcrop in a scrub showed galena and 

 pyrites and also gave " colours " of GOLD. The " nest " of a 

 SCRUB TURKEY a mound of earth and vegetable mould in which 

 a colony of birds leave their eggs to be hatched by the fermentation 

 of the vegetable matter measured 120 feet in circumference and 

 rose to a height of 12 to 15 feet. 



APPEL'S PINNACLES, which Dick regarded as the eastern portal 

 of the Mcllwraith Range, are five in number, rising to a height of 

 over 1,000 feet above their surroundings. They were named in 

 honour of the Minister for Mines. In PINNACLE CREEK, which 

 comes from the \vest and falls into Surprise Creek, " fine 

 colours " of GOLD were obtained on 22nd September. The 

 party tried to reach a range to the north, which had been seen 

 from the Pinnacles, but were turned back by the density of 

 the SCRUB. 



From Camp 51, an unsuccessful attempt was made to penetrate 

 the SCRUB to NE. on 23^ September. Two tributaries of Pinnacle 

 Creek were named HUMBUG and PUZZLE CREEKS. 



In showery weather, the party left Camp 51 on 24th September 

 and struck north. After traversing good country, with grass two 

 months old, a creek " as large as the Lockhart " was met with at 

 the same place where it had been crossed on the outward journey 

 (about I9th July). It came out of the scrub and took a NNE. 

 course. Dick called it " DR. JACK CREEK." The CAMP at the 

 crossing would be numbered 52. 



A very careful study of the diary leads me to place the group 

 of creeks shown on Dick's map, including CHERRY, SURPRISE and 

 JACK CREEKS in all of which GOLD was met with NORTH OF MY 

 GREYHOUND CREEK, and south of the creek improperly called by that 



1 The documents at my disposal do not enable me to locate Camps 38 to 49 

 inclusive. 



