.If '.vy/i'. ILASIA. 



1215 



discoveries. An expedition fitted out by the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, 

 in 1885, led by Captain Everill, ascended and explored one arm of the Fly River. 

 They named the branch of this stream that they had traversed the Strickland River, in 



honour of the President of the New South 

 Wales branch of the Society. The Fly 

 River was ascended and explored by the 

 Administrator and party in January, 1890. 

 They reached a point six hundred and ten 

 miles from the mouth, in south latitude five 

 degrees twenty-five minutes, and east longi- 

 tude one hundred and forty-one degrees fifty- 

 three minutes, close to the German boun- 

 dary, and at the foot of a mountain range 

 one thousand five hundred or two thou- 

 sand feet high, which was named Mount 

 Donaldson. Between this Mountain and the 

 more distant Victor Emanuel Range was 

 the bold western end of a steep rugged 



range of about five thou- 

 sand feet high. This 

 was named Mount Blu- 

 cher. There are three 

 bifurcations of the River, 

 the first at two hundred 

 miles from its mouth 

 into the Fly and the 

 Strickland, the second at 

 four hundred and sixty 

 miles from its mouth in- 

 to the Fly and the Alice, 

 the third about five hun- 

 dred and forty miles 

 from its mouth into the 

 Fly and the Palmer. 

 The last two are equal 

 in size, and the one fol- 

 lowed by Sir William he 

 named the Palmer, sup- 

 posing the other to be 

 the main stream. The 

 first real grass was seen 

 nearly four hundred 

 miles from the mouth, 

 THE HOUSE OF A NEW GUINEA CHIEF. and the last cocoa-nut 



