532 
be mentioned that this part of the tableland is fair pastoral country, to which the term 
of “Desert” by no means a 2 )p]ies. 
The base of the tableland is here considerably higher than the watershed of the 
Cape York Peninsula crossed by us to the north-west. 
The Bail way from Cooktown to the Palmer (now open as far as the Laura) passes 
to the south of the Battle Camp Bange. After passing the Palmer Bead Station (thirty- 
one miles), and traversing granite country for a few miles (intrusive through the Desert 
Sandstone, or forming a very nneven bottom, over which it was laid down), for six miles, 
gritty, white, and brownish sandstones, with grey and dark shales, are seen in the rail- 
way cutting, dipping at about 15° to the west. Similar strata continue to be seen in the 
railway cuttings at least as far as forty-one miles and three-guarters, dipping on the 
whole to the west. At forty-one miles sixty-two chains, I was informed by Mr. "Webb, 
that a two-inch coal seam was ex^msed by a man engaged in quarrying railway ballast, 
but the water was so high that I was unable to see it. 
A mile south-west of the thirty-nine miles sixty chains peg a branch of Welcome 
Creek exposes some black shales with coaly streaks. Two miles south-east of this place 
a shaft has been sunk in the bed of a gully below a waterfall, and on the banks and in 
the bed of the gully were seen ten feet of grey gritty sandstone, with dark seams and 
coaly streaks, overlying eight inches of black gritty sandstone, with coaly streaks. The 
shaft was said to have been sunk eight feet on coal, but when I visited the place (in 
February, 1887) the creek was, unfortunately, in flood, and I could only grapple for a 
few samples. The coal had a specific gravity of 1’83, and on analysis gave the following 
results : — 
Per cent. 
Moisture 
Volatile liyclrocarbons 
Vixed carbon 
Asb ... 
8-25 
30-42 
42-31 
19-02 
Buckley’s Creek (which crosses the Bailway near the thirty-seven mile peg), 
about two miles south of the railway, falls about fifty feet over a wall of granite, which 
is capped by horizontal gritty sandstone. A mile above the fall, I saw grey sandstone 
with bands of dark argillaceous sandstone containing imperfectly preserved plant- 
remains, and little kernels of very good coal dipping down the creek (north) at about 
7°. A mile further up, Mr. Webb pointed out a place where he informed me that 
there was a seam of coal eight inches thick, then under water. About a mile further 
up the stream the following section was seen dipping slightly down stream (north) : — • 
Ft, in. 
Gritty sandstone 
Coal 
Black sandstone ' 
Coal, said to be 
0 0 
0 1 
0 10 
1 6 
Into the last-mentioned coal-seam I could only grapple for samples, owing to the high 
level of the water in the creek. The coal had a specific gravity of 1-55, and gave the 
following results on analysis : — 
Per cent. 
Moisture 
Volatile liydrocarbons 
Fixed carbon 
Ash ... 
7-16 
20-96 
35 - 35 
36 - 53 
It will be observed from the two analyses that the proportion of ash is very high, 
but it is quite possible that owing to the floods I may not have succeeded in procuring 
good, or even fair samples. The samples, however, resemble closely enough some which 
