Mr. Gilbert and Brown had, on their excursion, found a rushy lagoon on the left bank of the Isaacs, at a short half-mile from its junction with Hughs’s Creek.  Here they encamped; and, about 10 o’clock at night, the loud voices of Blackfellows travelling down the river were heard; these also encamped at some small water-holes, not very distant from Mr. Gilbert, of whose presence they were not aware.  Mr. Gilbert kept the horses tied up in case of any hostility; but was not molested.  The blacks continued their loud conversations during the greater part of the night; and Mr. Gilbert departed very early in the morning without being seen by them.  He continued to follow the river further down, and found that four large creeks joined it from the northward.  Another creek also joined it from the southward; as subsequently observed by Mr. Roper.  Beyond these creeks, several lagoons or swamps were seen covered with ducks, and several other aquatic birds, and, amongst them, the straw-coloured Ibis.

Feb. 15.—­We travelled down to the above-mentioned lagoon, which was about ten miles east by north from our camp; its latitude, was by calculation, about 22 degrees 20 or 21; for several circumstances had prevented me from taking observations.  As the river turned to the eastward, I determined to trace it up to its head; and set out with Mr. Gilbert and Brown to examine the country around the range which I had observed some days before and named “Coxen’s Peak and Range,” in honour of Mr. Coxen of Darling Downs.  We passed the night at a small pool, but were not successful in discovering water in any of the numerous watercourses and creeks, which come down from Coxen’s Range, or out of the belt of scrub which intervened between the range and the river.  A loose variegated clayey sandstone, with many irregular holes; cropped out in the beds of the creek.  Coxen’s Peak and Range were found to be composed of horizontal strata of excellent sandstone, rising by steep terraces, on the western side, but sloping gently down to the east; its summit is covered with scrub, but its eastern slope with groves of grass-trees.  The view from the top of Coxen’s Peak was very extensive:  towards the south-west and west, Peak Range was seen extending from Scott’s and Roper’s Peaks to Fletcher’s Awl; and, beyond the last, other mountains were seen, several of which had flat tops.  Mount Phillips seemed about thirty or forty miles distant; and a very indistinct blue hill was seen to the W.N.W.  To the northward, ranges rose beyond ranges, and to the eastward, the country seemed to be flat, to a great extent, and bounded by distant mountains.  To the southward, the eye wandered over an unbroken line of horizon, with the exception of one blue distant elevation:  this immense flat was one uninterrupted mass of forest without the slightest break.  Narrow bands of scrub approached the river from the westward, and separated tracts of fine open forest country, amongst which patches of the Poplar-gum forest were readily distinguished by the brightness of their verdure.  A river seemed to come from the south-west; the Isaacs came from the north-west, and was joined by a large creek from the northward.  There was no smoke, no sign of water, no sign of the neighbourhood of the sea coast;—­but all was one immense sea of forest and scrub.