Latitude by Capella 18 degrees 49 minutes 13 seconds.

The Burdekin river.  A camp of Leichhardt’s.

16th October.

The rain having passed away, the morning was clear and cool, and at 6.35 a.m. resumed our journey, steering average south-east, crossing the creek several times, and at 11.0 reached the bank of the Burdekin River, which had a strong stream of water flowing in its channel, which is here about 100 yards wide, but full of casuarina and melaleuca trees; the banks steep and cut with deep gullies.  Following the river to the south-east, at 2.0 p.m. camped in a large open grassy flat a mile from the river, obtaining water from a small pool filled by the rain last night.

Latitude by e Pegasi 18 degrees 57 minutes 48 seconds; variation of compass 5 degrees east.

17th October.

At 6.30 a.m. resumed our journey, steering east and south for two hours over level flats; then turning east crossed a steep range of sandstone hills, the strata nearly vertical; the strike north and south; thin veins of quartz intersected the rock in every direction, forming a complete network.  The steepness of the country compelled us to turn north-east to the bank of the river, which we followed to the south-east; the banks were high and cut by deep gullies.  At 12.30 p.m. the hills receded, and we entered some fine flats.  Here I picked up a fragment of the shoulder-bone of a bullock, and observed several trees that had been cut with iron axes; and as the latitude corresponds with that of Dr. Leichhardt’s camp of the 26th April, 1845, the bone doubtless belonged to the bullock he killed at this place.  At 1.5 camped on the bank of the river.  The Moreton-Bay ash, poplar gum, and a rough-barked gum-tree with very green leaves, were added to the ironbark, bloodwood, and other eucalypti which constituted the forest, while casuarina and Melaleuca leucodendron grow in the beds of the larger watercourses.  The channel of the river is about 150 yards, with a small stream winding along the sandy bed; much of the running water is due to the late rain, but it is evident from the character of the vegetation that it continues to run throughout the dry season.

Latitude by a Cygni 19 degrees 37 seconds.

18th October.

Continued our route at 6.25 a.m., steering nearly east till 8.30, when the river turned to the north round a range of sandstone hills, crossing which, reached the river again at 10.5 flowing south, with fine openly-timbered flats on the banks; steering south till 1.0 p.m., camped on the bank of the river just below a ridge of slate rock which crossed the channel.  From the hills, at 9.0, we saw a fine valley joining that of the Burdekin from the east; it was bounded by a steep range to the south, which terminated two miles from the river.  South-west of our position were several flat-topped hills, which appeared to be a continuation of the range crossed