BY COL. W. V. LEGGE, E.A., F.G.S. 117 



track over Mount Arrowsmith across the beautiful Franklin 

 and Collingwood Eivers, and along the picturesque stream 

 called the Cardigan, to a point ten miles from the King River. 

 The next day Mr. Piguenit and myself, wishing to see more 

 of the beautiful scenery in the vicinity of Lake St. Clair, and 

 taking no interest in the King Eiver mines, returned to King 

 William, while the rest of the party continued their journey 

 to the "West. A warm wind blew over the endless gorges 

 lying between the Frenchman and Mount Arrowsmith and 

 suddenly turned to rain, which continued more or less all 

 the next day, and it was not until the morning of the 23rd 

 that the weather was clear enough to ascend Mount King 

 William. The range, which I shall presently describe, towers 

 up in the form of three bold rounded bluffs connected by two 

 saddles, immediately behind the Hut. 



A shepherd of Mr. King's, who owns sheep on the Navarre 

 Plains, was my guide, and making an early start we ascended 

 a long spur which holds a sloping button-grass plain or field 

 about the middle and runs out to the east of the eastern 

 peak. Passing up along the edge of the plain we entered 

 the low bush and scrub which always surrounds the green- 

 stone cliffs of these mountains, and climbing up through it 

 soon reached the rocky slope forming the northern face of 

 the peak. Selecting this for our attack so as to avoid the 

 precipitous southern face, we shortly gained the summit after 

 a walk of two and a-half hours from the Hut which, however, 

 included a halt of three-quarters of an hour under the 

 precipice for a sketch of Lake George and the Grordon Valley. 

 The altitude of this peak, taken with the aneroid, was 4,100 

 feet, and that of the second peak, to which we climbed directly 

 afterwards, about 60 feet lower. From this end of the King 

 William Range one of the finest mountain views that can be 

 imagined is obtained. It may be said to be a complete pano- 

 rama, for although it is intercepted to the southward by the 

 plateau of the mountain itself, yet this is so beautiful that 

 instead of being an obstruction it forms a lovely foreground 

 to the scene. I may therefore digress to give a short 

 description of the scenery. 



Looking first to the north, close at hand and just beyond 

 the moor of Mount Arrowsmith, rises up the picturesque 

 Mount Gell, which is backed by the lofty Eldon Ranges, and 

 skirtedon the east by the romantically wooded valley of the Upper 

 Franklin, running into the heart of the mountains near the 

 Coal Hill, and holding in its depths the pretty lakes, Dixon and 

 Undine. Flanking this valley on the east are the heights of 

 Mounts Rufus and Hugel, towering up beyond which come 

 the crags of Mounts Olympus and Byron, with a back- 



