Interior of New South Wales. 
175 
soon became evident that this too belonged to the basin of the 
Negoa, 1 went up a valley coming from the west, and followed it 
until I could reach the crest of the range, which was possible only 
by climbing with hands and feet. From it I saw to the westward 
rocky ravines, as impassable as those on the River Grose, in 
the mountains west of Sydney; I found it, therefore, most 
expedient to continue down Balmy Creek (so called from the 
very fragrant shrubs found there), until it reached a more open 
country, through which we might pass to the north-west. Mr. 
Stephenson next day saw from a rocky height an open country to 
the north-west, and I lost no time in extricating the party from 
the bed of Balmy Creek. We found a very favourable outlet 
from that difficult country by a pass, in the gorge of which 
stood a rock so much resembling a tower, that at first sight 
few would believe it the work of nature only. The glen we then 
entered (named, from the tower at its entrance, Glen Turret) was 
very extensive, contained abundance of good grass, and was 
bounded on the east and west by very broken top ranges; to the 
northward, the view was over a more distant country. 
Ascending the most northerly summit of the range on the west, 
(and which I named Mount Mudge,) I perceived the rise of 
a river in some ravines falling north-west, and that the very lowest 
part of the whole country lay in prolongation of its course. I 
could also distinctly trace a connexion between the Mudge Range 
and other mountain masses to the eastward, which connecting 
feature separated the basin of the Negoa from that of the river, 
which I hoped would lead north-west. My first camp on the 
Belyando was in long. 147° 17' E., lat. 24° S. The course of 
the river continued north-west to so great a distance, that when 
it at length turned to the north and north-east, we had traced it 
across two parallels of latitude; indeed to lat. 21° 30' S., or two 
degrees within the tropics. Your Excellency may imagine with 
what disappointment 1 then discovered that this river which 
has brought us so far, instead of leading to the Gulf of 
Carpentaria, was no other than that which Mr. Leichardt had 
called “ the Cape,” a river from the west. 
1 then ascertained that we were still on the seaward side of the 
