24 APPROACH LIVERPOOL RANGE, [CH. I. 



highly charged with decomposed felspar, and containing im- 

 pressions of spirifers. The hill nearest to the part on fire, 

 on the south-west (b), consists of basalt with grains appa- 

 rently of olivine ; and on a still higher hill, on the east (a), I 

 found ironstone. A small hill (c), connecting these two, and 

 nearest to the part actually burning, appears to consist of 

 trap-rock, and is thickly strewed with agates. The hills on the 

 opposite or south side of the valley are composed of com- 

 pact felspar, with acicular crystals of glassy or common fel- 

 spar and grains of hornblende, crevices of the stone being 

 coated with films of serpentine or green earth. 



Z)ec. 3. — The party in proceeding, crossed several deep 

 gullies in the neighbourhood of the burning hill ; and the 

 road continued to be well marked. At length we beo;an to 

 ascend the chain of hills, which connects Wingen with Mount 

 Murulla and the Liverpool range. On gaining the summit 

 of this range, w^e overlooked Wingen, whose situation 

 was faintly discernible by the light blue smoke. Three 

 years had elapsed, since my first visit to these slumbering 

 fires. The ridge we were crossing w^as strewed with fallen 

 trees ; and broken branches with the leaves still upon them, 

 marked the effects of some violent and recent storm. We de- 

 scended to a beautiful valley of considerable extent, watered 

 by Page's river, which rises in the main range. We reached 

 the banks of this stream at four p. m., and encamped on 

 a fine flat. The extremities from the mountains on the north, 

 descend in long and gradual slopes, and are well covered 

 with grass. This was already eaten short by sheep. Two 

 babbling brooks water the flat, at the part where we pitched 

 our tents, and which is opposite to Whalan's station ; one of 

 these being the river Page, or " Macqueen's River ;" the 

 other known only as " the creek." The space between them 

 is flat, and apparently consists of a soil of excellent qua- 

 lily. Th(! heat of the day was excessive, the thermometer 

 80° at sunset. 



fJec. 4.— Mount Murulla i.s a remarkaljle cone of the 



