IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES OF THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION UNDER SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. [From the Australian.] {Continued from our last.)

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 151, 9 January 1847, Page 4

IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES OF THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION UNDER SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. [From the Australian.] {Continued from our last.)

I Jeft the depot camp on the 4th June, taking with me Mr. Stephenson, ten men, all the horses, three light carts, a dray and the best team of bullocks, with four months' provisions, leaving with Mr. Kennedy, sixteen men, all the bullocks, and the remainder of the drays and provisions. I found that two tributaries joined the Maranoa from the west, but they arose in subordinate sandstone ridges, and contained little water 4 then, in seeking again the main channel, I found it dry and full of sand ; water being more readily found in the sandstone gullies, which theu enclosed the river, than in the main channel. I then set out on an extensive reconnoissaoce to the northward and ascending Mount Owen, (one of the cones in ; the range already mentioned,) I perceived that the main channel of the Maranoa came through this range from mountains beyond iv The most lofty part of these mountains was remarkable ifor its extreme flatness, and, having since intersected its salients from many points in my route, so as to determine its true place, I have named it Buckland's Table Land. Beyond Mount Owen, I fell in with another fiver, falling north-west in the midst of sandstone cliffs and gullies, but I found soon -that it turned south-west leading through fine open plains into a lower interior country, Continuing my ride north-west, while my party were still refreshing the horses in a grassy gully overVo^ing the Maranoa, I again found a chain of volcanic summits connected with a mass of table land, which I named (finding none of the aborigines there) Hope's Table Land. Between it and the still higher range towards the coast lay a very -broken sandstone country, which was difficult to pass through with carts, but when I had at length discovered beyond Hope's Table Land, the head of another promising river falling to the north-west, we soon found a way, through which my indefatigable party led the carts and bullock team without the least damage. Mount P. P. King, a pointed volcanic cone, in long. 147dg. 37' 40" E. lat. 25dg. 9' 10" S. is near the head of that river, which we followed down until it turned, as all the others had done, to the south-west, and I was again obliged to halt, and take a long ride to the northward, where another chain of summits extended westward nearly under the 25th parallel of latitude. Beyond that range, whose summits are all of trap rock, I found deep, gullies ; and in following down one of these, I reachedjatn extensive grassy valley, which terminated on a reedy lake in a more -open country. The lake was supplied by springs arising in a swamp at the gorge of the valley which supported a flowing stream of the purest water. This stream spread into the extensive reedy lake, and, to my surprise, was absorbed by it, at least so as to escape through some subterraneous outlet, for the 'Channel of the river in which the lake terminated was dry. The country is adorned by hills of the most romantic form, presenting outlines which surpass in picturesque beauty the fairest' creations of the painter. Several pyramids mark the «pot where the springs were first discovered (and whence I now write). Lower down, appear over the woods, isolated locks, resembling ruined castles, temples, and gothic cathedrals. Others have apertures through them, and the trees being also very varied and graceful in form, and rich in colour, contribute so -much to the beauty of the scecnery, that£ have been induced to distinguish the •river and lake by the name of a painter. Returning to the party, we soon brought the carts and dray down the sandstone cliffs to the banks of the Salvator, and pursued that river •■downwards ■until I discovered, which was soon •obvious, that its course turned to the eastward of north, consequently that we—were upon a liver falling to the eastern coast. We lost two days in vainly endeavouring to pass to the westward, through dense brigalow scrub, but on a ride which I next teok north-westward, I was more successful, for after forcing my way through ten miles of scrub, I came to what seemed to me the finest region on earth ; plains and downs of rich black mould, on which grew in profusion the Panicum Loivinode grass, and which was finely interspersed with lines of wood which grew in the hollows,' and marked the courses of streams ; columns of smoke showed that the country was. too good to be left uninhabited ; and, in fact, on approaching the nearest river channel I found it full of water. This river, I named the Claude, in honour of the painter of quiet pastoral scenery, and to the downs and plains sc favorable to flocks and herds, I gave the

name of the Mantuan Downs and Plains. I returned to the party on the Salvator, crossed that river with it in iat. 24dg. 31' 47" S., and conducted it, cutting our way through, ten miles of scrub to the banks of the Claude. These two rivers join at a considerable distance lower down, and form the Nogoa — a river which, according to the natives, pursues a north-east course to the sea, and therefore, probably, has its estuary on the shores of Broad Sound or its vicinity. We were obliged to make a bridge for the passage of our carts across the Claude, and then we crossed a plain upon which grass grew almost as thickly as it grew in Australia Felix ; then another stream also full of water "was crossed, and we ascended undulating | downs on which fragments of fossil wood were abundant in a very rich soil. Beyond these (the Mantuan Downs) a range of broken summits'appeared, and was certainly ornamental, but which we found to be only the upper part of a very intricate and difficult sandstone country, wherein the beds of the gullies were at a much lower level than the Downs and Plains. I endeavoured to penetrate to the westward of these but found the country on that side quite impervious, and we next descended by an open gently declining valley to the head of a creek falling north-west this creek soon took us into the heart of the sandstone gullies, so that we could only proceed by keeping its sandy bed:- Unwilling to continue such distressing work (for ihe cattle especially) as it soon became evident that this too belonged to the basin of the Nogoa, 1 went up a valley coming from the west, and followed it until I could reach the crest of the range, which was possible only by climbing with hands and feet. From it, I saw to the westward rocky ravines as impassable as those on the river Grose in the mountains west of Sydney: I found it, therefore, most expedient to continue down Balmy Creek (so called from the very fragrant shrubs found there) until it reached a more open country, through which we might pass to the north-west. Mr. Stephenson next day saw from a rocky height, an open country to the north-west, and I lost no time in extricating the party from the bed of Balmy Creek. We found a very favourable putlet from that difficult country, by a pass in the gorge of which stood a rock so much resembling a tower that at first sight, few would believe it the work of nature only. The glen we then entered (named from the tower at its entrance Glen Turret) was very extensive, contained abundance of good grass, and was bounded on the east and west by very broken topt ranges ; to the northward, the view was over -a more distant country. Ascending the most northerly surmxit of the range on the west, (and which I named Mount Mudge,) I } erceived the rise of a river in some ravines falling north-west, and that the very lowest part of the whole country lay in prolongation of its course. I could also distinctly trace a connexion between the Mudge Range, and other mountain masses to the eastward, which connecting feature separated the basin of the Nogoa from that of the river which I hoped would lead north-west. My first camp on the Belyando, was in long. 147dg. 17' E., lat. 24dg. S. The course of the river continued north-west to so great a distance, that when it at length turned to the north and north-east, we had traced it across two parallels of latitude, indeed to lat. 21 dg. 30' S. or two degrees within the tropics. Your Excellency may imagine with what disappointment I then discovered, that this river | which has brought us so far instead of leading to the Gulf of Carpentaria, was no other than that which Mr. Leichardt had called ! "the Cape, a river from the west." I I then ascertained that we were still on the seaward side of the division of the interior waters ; or rather that the eastern Coast Range, hitherto supposed to extend from Wilson's Promontory to Cape York is only imaginary ; while the estuaries of two important rivers affording easy access from the eastern coast to the rich plains of the interior, are realities which have remained undiscovered. That there was no feature deserving the name of a Coast Range to the westward of the Belyando was but too evident from the absence of any tributaries of importance ; the sandy channels of water courses from that quarter having had no effect in changing the course, or character of the river, which last was very peculiar and remarkable, especially in its habit of spreading into several chains of ponds, surrounded by Brigalow Scrub, apparently a provision of nature, for the preservation of surface water, resembling the net-work of rivers in the south. On the banks of one of these tributaries we found some trees seen by us no where else. One was a true fig treee, having small leaves, and with the fruit fully developed and ripening ; the water abounded with the Harlequin fish, identical with those in the Maranoa. I lost no time in retracing my steps back to this camp, with the intention of renewing my search for the" river of Carpentaria from three remarkable points of the range just be-

! hind ; in returning, I was able to perfect our track as a line of road cutting off circuitous parts, and avoiding the difficult passage in the bed of Balmy Creek, and other obstacles, so that a tandem might now be driven to the furthest point marked by our wheels. I ought to mention here that I have found the Syphon Barometer by Mr. Buntem, of Paris, and recommended to me by Colonel Mudge, of great utility in these researches, affording the only means of judging of the relative height of the various ranges ; thus I ascertained when far up the Balonne, that we were but little higher than the bed of the Darling ; that the Narran has scarcely any inclination at all ; that the Belyando at the lowest point attained by me, was not 600 feet above the sea ; and in the present case, that the range under the parallel of 25dg. S. is the highest we have crossed, extending into the western interior ; our route across it is in long. 147dg. 23' E., where the mean height above the sea exceeds 2000 feet ; yet this we were only made aware of by the extreme cold, or by the Barometer, for there is nothing in the appearance of the country to lead to such a conclusion : on almost every clear night, Farenheit's Thermometer fell to 9dg., and occasionally at 4 a. m. the Mercury was as low as 7dg. The height of this spinal range throwing off to the south-west all rivers south of it, and the course of the Belyando northward indicating an impulse so far in that direction, reduce the probability that the waters falling from that portion of it still further westward, form a river running to the gulf almost to a certainty, while the field of exploration has been so much narrowed that I am resolved to make another attempt to solve the question ; therefore, although my draught animals can be driven no further without having first some time to rest, and my stock of provisions is nearly exhausted, I intend to set out to morrow morning on this interesting excursion, with two men and Yuranigh, an aboriginal native, who came with me from Buree. I leave no more horses fit for work, when I take two laden with provisions. Our route has been measured by Mr. Kennedy with the chain from Cannonba camp to his present position on the Maranoa, and I have extended a trigonometrical survey beyond Mount Mudge, to some hills within the tropic. I have numbered those camps where the country was really good, and marked them by roman numerals deeply cut in trees, commencing from the Culgoa nortHward"; the lowest on the Belyando being LXIX ; this, whence I write XLIV. By this means I hope our survey will be found practically useful in the future occupation of the country. Whatever may be the result of the further exploration contemplated, I have the satisfaction to be able to assure your Excellency that this party has opened a good cart road through well watered pastoral regions, of greater extent than all those at present occupied by the squatters ; and, strange as it may seem to persons but [little] acquainted with the interior of this country, that since the exploring party crossed the Darling it has never suffered any inconvenience from heat or want of water. I have found in Mr. Kennedy a zealous assistant. Mr. Stephenson has ably performed his duties, especially as surgeon, and the conduct of all the men deserves my approbation, but that especially of the party with me has been admirable. We have had no collision with the aborigines, although parties of them on -different occasions visited my party at the camp during my absence, very significantly declared, brandishing their spears or clubs, that the country was theirs, and making signs to my men to quit and follow me. On such occasions the firmness and forbearance of my party have been such as to discourage any attempts of further annoyance. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your Excellency's most obedient humble servant, T. L. Mitchell, Surveyor General. To his Excellency the Governor i of New South Wales. (To be continued.)