CROSS THE CAMPASPE.

Beyond the clay-stone range we entered on another open and grassy tract where trap-rock again appeared; and at four miles and a half we descended into a grassy ravine in which we found another river flowing northward; this being apparently the second river crossed in my ride to Mount Macedon and which I now named the Campaspe.  It was difficult to find in this stream any fordable place where the banks could be approached by the carts, one side or the other always proving too steep; but at length we succeeded.  Strata of clay-slate inclined almost perpendicularly to the horizon projected at parts of the left bank, and over this clay-slate I found trap-rock.  Beyond the Campaspe we crossed plains and much open land.  At length on descending a little from a sort of table the trap was no longer to be seen, and we entered a wood where sandstone seemed to predominate, the strata dipping to the south-west.  Fine grassy slopes extended through this forest, which was also so open that we could see each way for several miles.  A rich variety of yellow flowers adorned the verdure among which the Caladenia and Diuris aurea, and also a large white Anguillaria, were very abundant.

AN ENGLISH RAZOR FOUND.

Piper found at an old native encampment a razor, and I had the satisfaction of reading on the blade the words “Old English” in this wild region, still so remote from civilised man’s dominion!  In the afternoon a remarkable change took place in the weather, for we had rain with an easterly wind, the thermometer being at 68 degrees.  We encamped on a chain of deep ponds falling to the northward; reeds grew in them and we endeavoured to catch cod-perch but without success, probably because the natives of the country were too expert fishers to leave any in such holes.

ASCEND MOUNT CAMPBELL.

October 6.

At two miles on we reached the summit of the range near Mount Campbell which had partly bounded my view eastward from Mount Byng.  A slight scrub grew on this range but not so thickly as to be impervious to carts; and after crossing it, as well as a succession of lower ridges, a good valley at length appeared on the left, while another which was very wide and green lay before us.  At the further side of this and under another range ran a deep mountain stream which was joined a little lower down by one from the valley on the left:  thus by following this stream I might have turned the range, but it was not too steep to be crossed, and I required some angles with the surrounding hills and the country before us.  We ascended it therefore and comparatively with ease; and from amongst the trees on a hill I saw and intersected more points than I expected to see; even Mount Macedon was visible and, to the eastward, summits which I was almost certain lay beyond the river Goulburn.  The descent from this ridge to the eastward was rather steep; but we immediately after entered an open forest in a valley which led very nearly in the direction of my intended route.