15th October (Sunday).

Resumed our journey; passed two parties of natives; a few of them followed us some distance, and having overcome their first surprise, commenced talking in their own language, which, as far as we could understand it, had great affinity to that spoken by the natives in the York and Toodyay districts.  After a smart ride of seven hours we arrived at the encampment, found the rest of the party all well, and the horses much improved by their few days’ rest.

The Geraldine lead mine discovered. The Hutt river.

16th October.

The two horses we had ridden up the river requiring a day’s rest, which was also acceptable to Mr. Burges and myself, we remained at the camp and made preparations to move on to the Hutt River the next day.  Mr. Walcott brought in some specimens of galena, which, on farther observation, proved to be abundant.

17th October.

Leaving our encampment at 9.10 a.m., we steered a southerly course, passing over a succession of low granite hills, thickly covered with acacia, to the exclusion of almost every other kind of vegetation, save a few scattered tufts of grass.  At noon entered the sand-plains which occupy the high lands in this district; observed a patch of grassy land bearing south-west; proceeding in that direction, at 1.0 p.m. came on it, but found it to be a very small spot of grassy granite country, encircled by sand-plains and scrub.  Continuing our course, at 2.5 struck a small stream-bed trending west-south-west; the valley in which it runs is bounded on both sides by sandy hills, covered with scrub; some patches of grass and wattles occupied the lower ground wherever the granite rock showed itself; tracing the stream-bed downwards, we found many brackish pools.  At 3.45 crossed the left bank—­found it running, but brackish; and at 4.20 we bivouacked at its junction with the Hutt River, which was here about ten yards wide, with narrow grassy flats on both banks.  The hills are of sandstone and sand, producing little besides scrub.

18th October.

Started at 7.50 a.m., steering north 140 degrees east magnetic up the valley of the Hutt, which gradually widened and improved, the hills being grassy for an average distance of two miles back from the stream, of granite formation, and thinly sprinkled with wattles; behind the grassy land the country rose into sandy plains, covered with short scrub.  At 9.20 crossed to the left bank; the river trended to the eastward.  At 11.10 sighted King’s Table Hill, bearing south magnetic.  We then descended into the rich and grassy valley of the Bowes River; this we traversed till 4.0 p.m., when we bivouacked in a small stream tributary to the Bowes.  As the country passed over this day had not been previously examined, we were much pleased to find it equal to the best land on the southern branch of the Bowes, visited by the Surveyor-General and myself on former occasions.