Resumed our journey at 6.40 a.m.  Followed the Mackenzie south-east through level country with much scrub till 9.25 a.m., when we crossed a large creek from the south, which proved to be the Comet River of Dr. Leichhardt.  The whole bed of the Comet did not exceed seventy yards, and the smaller channel only five to six yards wide, and even below its junction the Mackenzie only had a channel ten to thirty yards wide in the bottom of a bed 150 yards wide from bank to bank.  Just below the junction of the Comet we found the remains of a camp of Dr. Leichhardt’s party on its second journey.  The ashes of the fire were still visible, and a quantity of bones of goats were scattered around.  A large tree was marked thus: 

Dig arrow pointing down L

but a hollow in the ground at the foot of the tree showed that whatever had been deposited had long since been removed.  We, however, cleared out the loose earth, but found nothing.  The river now turned east-north-east, and our course being east, we receded from it, and at noon we ascended a rocky hill of sandstone covered with scrub; we therefore steered north for an hour and came to the Mackenzie, and encamped in a fine grassy flat, but beyond the immediate flats of the river the country was covered with scrub.  Near the camp a large flooded-gum tree had been marked: 

Solid square [symbol ??]

some years before.  The day was cloudy with easterly breeze.  Marked a tree: 

120 solid Delta

this being the 120th camp since starting from the Victoria River.

18th November.

Rain commenced at 7.0 a.m. and continued till noon; at 6.25 steered east and soon entered a dense scrub of acacia, box, sterculia, and Moreton-Bay ash.  Ascending to the level tableland by a steep sandstone slope, at 11.25 passed a gully with deep waterholes which appeared permanent, and at 1.40 p.m. encamped at a deep creek with a small pool of water.  To the south-east of the camp about five miles distant a range of hills rose abruptly from the level country to a height of 800 to 1000 feet.  The summits were flat and surrounded by high cliffs of red sandstone (Expedition Range).

Latitude by Procyon 23 degrees 33 minutes 40 seconds; variation of compass 7 degrees 50 minutes east.

19th November.

Resumed our route at 6.30 a.m.; steered east through dense scrubs with open patches of grassy forest, the soil a light loam, very sandy in the open forest.  Small watercourses trended north; at 10.0 turned to south-east to avoid a large scrubby hill which lay detached from the principal range; at 11.0 again steered east, ascending a steep sandstone hill from which the country to the north and east appeared extremely level, we then crossed a series of ironbark ridges with scrub at intervals, and fine flooded-gum and box flats in the valleys; casuarina and cypress grew on some of the ridges, but the country generally was well grassed; at 3.30 p.m. encamped at a small pool of water in a shallow watercourse trending north-east.