108 IIOUN EXPEDITION — NARUATIVE. 



Fruni our cainji al tlio Ijasc of IMoiiiit Sunder \vc t'ullosvcd tlic L)avcini()rt Itafk 

 for a sliorl. tlistancc^ iiiLo tlic lloni Valk'y and tlicii iuruud e'listwards aloiiL;- the 

 lalttT. Ill this part tlio valley was about a (juai'tei' of a uiilc wide; t.lic ridge to 

 the north had a somewhat steeiily .sloping side corresponding to the dip of the 

 ridge, l)ut that to tiie south had a higli escarpment, the rucks forming wliich have 

 spHt into l)locl<s which lia\e tumhled o\er on to one anotiier in such a way that 

 tlie a)>iieara.nce of horizontal sti-atilication is produced. 



After travelling some twenty-live miles we came to tJic main stream of the 

 Finke running straight from north to soutli across the narrow valley, wliich was 

 here not mure than three or four hundred yards wide. 



The streams wliicli unite to fi^rm tlu; river rise jtartly in the counti-y lying to 

 the north of the liigher Pre-Cainbrian hills, sucli as Mount Sonder, j)artly in the 

 valley between the latter and tlie northern range Ijounding the Horn Valley, and 

 partly but only to a small extent in the Horn Valley itself. The various small 

 tributaiies some of which, such as the Redl>ank and the Davenport, j)a,ss by d(H^p 

 gorges through the mountain ridges, uiiit(; t(.)gcther not far from the base of Mount 

 Sonder on its southern side. After running a few miles eastward and being joined 

 by other small creeks the main stream turns southwards and, as detailed before, 

 cuts across the ranges one after the otliiu'. 



The northern gorge as represented in the illustralion (Plate 10) is a short one, 

 and only aliout twenty or thirty yaids in width, the entrance to it being at the time 

 of our visit completely closed by a, dci'p wa-ter-hule str(;tcliing right across between 

 the rocks.* 



The southern gorge was considtnvibly larger and much wider and the sandy 

 bed of the river was bordered by steep l)anks covered with scrub, bcliind which 

 ruse the steep clilis. Along the sandy bed were^ fair sized pools of water, some 

 decidedly brackish, others more fresh and lined with rushes. The only really fresh 

 water was in a small spring on the steep western bank and this only held about a 

 bucket-full of water at a time. We camped ))y the river on a wide, open Hat in 

 the Horn Valley, whence^ we could work easily in liotli directions as we were 

 hopeful that the ju'esence of the water-holes might be associated with the ])reserva,- 

 tion of foi'ins typical of the McDonnell district cand not yet secured. 



Though a ftnv interesting f(jrms were fuund yet un the whole the result was 

 very disappointing. At the northern entrance to the gorge, upon the rocks, was 



* 111 tlio map the tiaiiic of this (Jorffr is printed " Pike" instead of "Finke." 



