June t, 1888.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST, 
807 
wator perfectly good for the engines. Thero are along 
the route Boveral Springs, good soakages, and permanent 
watorholcs and waters miglit be obtained almost every- 
where, probably at shallow depths. As one who has 
crossed and recrossed the country, I believe most 
thoroughly in the railway for developing our interior. 
If the railway were made it would open up a belt 
running right through the heart of the continent, 
some <500 miles on each side of the line ; virtually 
all of which could be profitably occupied. Feeders to 
the railway could be found from that occupied country 
by means of roads, in the construction of which there are 
no ranges to act as obstacles to easy traffic. The lay 
of the country is nearly all east and west. There 
have been some new waters discovered lately 50 or 60 
miles west of the telegraph on this side of Powell's 
Creek, and plenty more will reward the search. There 
is only one well of bad water on the whole road, and 
that is at Taylor's Greek, about 40 miles north of 
Barrow's Greek, and even that is good stock water. I 
would not like to express an opiuiou whether the land 
would be good for agriculture. If artesian water could 
be found for irrigation, no doubt a great deal of stuff 
would bo grown, but without irrigation no agriculture 
will probably be prolitably attempted south of Powell's 
Greek. 
" You were the original discoverer of our South 
Australian rubies, were you not?" 
'' I was. On March Sth 183(5, I was following the 
Elder .River down in search of water. Whilst scratch- 
ing a hole under a rocky cliff I fouud a lot of gem sand 
and concluded that it contained rubies, a great bulk 
of the stones being garnets. I mentioned my opinion 
to some of my party as they came riding up on the 
camels. Latter on on the same day were we at the 
now famous Glen Annie George — I named the glen 
after my wife — on which are now the claims of tho 
original Companies. I left the party for a day and 
a half whilst I started looking for a new road over 
the ranges to the eastward. During my absence my 
men gathered a lot of these red stones. Before I left 
the place I took some with me, and afterwards sub- 
mitted them to experts in Adelaide, Melbourne, and 
Eugland, but only got a report that they were 
gamete. Therefore I did not do anything further in 
the matter." - 
" You want to know my own opinion about the 
prospects of the ruby-6elds ? I think that a great 
quantity of stones which have been gathered from 
the different parts of the district will prove to be of 
no value, but a fair proportion have been pronounced to 
be rubies. The latter may be found in many dif- 
ferent parts of the field, which extends altogether 
some 25 miles long by 20 miles wide, taking in the 
Elder, the Florence, and the Maud Rivers. There is 
a range about 1,500 feet high running ou one side of 
this field. That is Hart's range. All the country at 
the foot of this range answers to the descriptions I 
have read of the Burmah ruby-fields — gneiss peaks, 
mica schist, schistose rocks, crystalline limestoue, 
diorite, granite, saudstoue, &o. The heavy rains io 
denuding the hills wash tho rubies into the creeks, 
nml the floods carry the stoues dowu into tho main 
crock (the Eldor), and at the entrance to and in the 
gorge, tileu Annie, to which I have previously refer- 
red — 5 chains wide, with dills from 300 to 500 feet 
perpendicular— there are heavy boulders, coarse gravel, 
and tin detritus washed Iroin the low hills at the 
foot of Hart's Range. This wash contains great quant- 
ities of precious htoio s, garnets and others. Here are 
the claims of Lindsay's l'rospecting, the MacDounoll 
Range's, the Halo Kiver, .m l the Eider Kivrr (\uiip noes. 
Tlie«<i claims all join, and all have precisely similar de- 
posits. Stoues have been discoverod, and claims taken 
out some 25 miles further down the Elder. I discovered 
some stonoi in the creek furtlior to the eastward, but 
still coming out from the low bills at tho south of 1 1 irt's 
Range, ami I secured rUims for my Company. A 
mouth afterwards other prospectors found a lew other 
patches in the same locality, but at present those are 
tho furthest eastern points at which any of the stones 
have becu found. All the way up tho Elder, Florence, 
Maud, and Illuvicko, wherevor this course gravel is seen, 
thero too tho precious stoues are discovered. Hart's 
Range has been examined by myself and others, but 
not thoroughly. Wo have only fouud course d irk 
garnets there. On some of the spiuit'eX rises 
wherever wo could see surface stones, we Sauk, and 
by sinking and washing could get stones. The 
deepest hole so far is 4 ft. d in., and that is iu the 
creek bed. In no other part of the country traversed 
in my extensive travels across and zigzaggiug the 
continent have I found any ruby country." 
"I would like to impress on the public one or two 
facts about the ruby fields. There have been no 
stones sent out from tho range south of tho Elder. 
They all seem to be found in the valley between 
Hart's Range and the Elder River. No doubt the matrix 
is in the low hills striking Hart's Range, and formed 
of primitive rocks and mica schist. The supply of 
good souud stones of fair size and quality will be large, 
but it is a mistake to suppose that every red stone picked 
up is valuable. I have tested a great many of 
them and found numerous different varieties, show- 
ing varied degrees of hardness, even amongst stones 
which to the ordinary observer appeared to be the 
same. The largest true ruby I have seen has about a 
diameter equal to that of a shilling were it stretched 
into an oblong shape. Up till the last month only 
tho original Companies had sent stones which they 
could be certain were from their own claims. You 
cannot blame any Company for that, or charge them 
with dishonesty, because no Company was sure of 
the position of its claims, and consequently the stones 
were gathered from other part3 of the field. 
" On my way down I visited the auriferous field at 
Maude Creek, near the Catherine River, 200 miles 
from Palmerston, and 7 miles off the telegraph line. 
This place will be on the most direct route for the 
railway on account of the favourable gradients and 
tho shorter distance. -I was much str uck with tho 
richness of the stone. About twenty-five men were 
working when I was there. They had got to a depth 
of 23 feet. The reef crops out upon the surface. 
There are, indeed, dozens of parallel reefs. The 
country is very settled, and the run of the lode seems 
to be continuous. The width varies from 1 to 5 
feet, and the prevailing rocks are ironstone and qnartz. 
The country is similar to that of the famous Charters 
Towers in Queensland. Gold is to be seen in nearly 
every piece of stone broken. As showing the vast ex- 
tent of gold country iu the Northern Territory, let me 
mention that I noticed whilst at Maude Creek a strong 
resemblance between the land there and that which I 
had seen iu three places between 30 and 50 miles apart 
iu my Aruheim Land expedition, and it is clear to me 
that what I saw so far north was the continuation of 
the same line of country. Its farthest north-eastern 
point in Arnheim Laud is at the Liverpool River, and its 
southerly extent seems to bo about 12 or 15 miles below 
Maude Creek." 
"This South Australia is a very valuable country 
from north to south and from oast to west. The railway 
already made will have a wonderful effect iu develop- 
ing various places. Take tho MacDonm ll Ranges for in- 
stance. It is only the ditnculty;of sending cattle over the 
dry strip of country which the railway is now bridging 
which has prevented muchmagnificont pastoral land being 
profitably occupied. Tho land is clothed with splendid 
grass and our best Australian herbs and bushes. 
Water can be easily obtained aud conserved by 
sinking ut a moderate cost. Eventually all that 
tract will bo occupied. So I believe will be nearly 
all our vaBt interior lands, excepting patches of sand 
bill aud spinifex, which may bo said to be almost 
unfit for any kind of occupation, aud, so far as I 
could see by a cursory glance, no nso for minerals. 
But as to "the MacDounoll Range country I bftVe 
very good authority for eayiug that gold besides 
various minerals, is deposited to the west of the 
telegraph line. Our ruby claims, as you aro aware, 
lie to the eadt. I rest once more from my travels a 
greater believer thau over iu the wealth of South 
Australia. '—A'. Australian Rcyitttr, April 9th. 
