At 6.30 a.m. steered north 120 degrees east, but at 7.0 a.m. came on the river trending south, the country gradually became more rugged, and rocky hills closed in on both banks forming a deep gorge through which the river forced its way.  By keeping at the back of some hills we avoided much of the rocky ground, crossing at noon a high ridge, from which the view extended to the junction of the Burdekin and Suttor Rivers, Mount McConnell bearing 159 degrees magnetic, and the west end of Porter Range 334 degrees magnetic.  A long range seemed to extend south from Robey Range, and bound the valley of the Upper Burdekin, while a high range appeared to trend north-east from the eastern side of the Suttor Valley, and to turn the Burdekin to the north of east.  Continuing our route nearly south-east over steep rocky ridges, we encamped in a fine grassy flat, a quarter of a mile from the Suttor River, at 1.50 p.m., Mount McConnell bearing north 172 degrees east magnetic.  About 10.0 a.m. we heard some blacks calling in our rear, and soon after came in sight, but would not allow any of the party to approach them, till one of the horsemen cantering up quickly, some of the blacks climbed into trees, where, after making signs to them that it was desirable that they should pursue an opposite route to ours, we left them to descend at leisure.  The country passed this day was of a broken character, with deep gullies and rocky hills near the river, but was generally well grassed and openly timbered with ironbark and Moreton-Bay ash.  Granite rock forms the base of the hills, and was covered by masses of porphyry, forming hills with rocky summits of columnar structure, as at the head of the Gilbert River a dark-coloured trap changing into porphyry formed some of the lower ridges, and was largely developed on the bank of the Suttor.  Thin veins of calcareous spar and quartz intersected the granite.  The bed of the Burdekin where we last saw it, one mile above the junction of the Suttor, was about half a mile wide with a stream of water varying from twenty yards wide to the whole breadth of the channel, which was very level and sandy.  The Suttor is but a small river compared with the Burdekin.  Near the camp it formed some fine reaches of water 180 yards wide, but of no great depth.  The trees on its banks were much broken and bent by a violent flood which had occurred within the year.  Considering the number of miles we have travelled along the banks of the Burdekin, few impediments have been encountered, while the extent of country suited for squatting purposes is very considerable—­water forming a never-failing stream throughout the whole distance.

Latitude by a Gruis and a Pegasi 20 degrees 36 minutes 20 seconds; variation of compass 70 degrees east.

The first brigalow scrub.

31st October.