riod. Palm trees are numerous, and some bear an abundance of
small, round dates (nuts) just ripening. These palms give a most
picturesque and pleasant appearance to the creek.

Wednesday, 30th January, 1861.--Started at half-past seven A.M.,
after several unsuccessful attempts at getting Golah out of the bed
of the creek. It was determined to try bringing him down until we
could find a place for him to get out at; but after going in this
way two or three miles it was found necessary to leave him behind,
as it was almost impossible to get him through some of the
waterholes, and had separated King from the party, which became a
matter for very serious consideration when we found blacks hiding
in the box trees close to us.

. . .

Having reached the point indicated by the last date and passage in"
Field Book 7," Mr. Burke and my son determined to leave Gray and
King there in charge of the camels, and to proceed onwards to the
shores of Carpentaria, themselves on foot and leading the horse.
The river or creek down which they passed is named in the journal
the Cloncurry. The channel making a sudden turn, my son remarked
that it might be a new river. "If it should prove so," said Mr.
Burke, "we will call it after my old friend Lord Cloncurry."

With reference to this locality, marked in the map as Camp 119,
King was asked in his examination before the Royal Commissioners:

Question 815. Was the water salt?--Quite salt.

816. Who first made the discovery of reaching the sea, or did you
all come upon it together; that is, reaching the salt water where
the tide was?--Mr. Wills knew it; he had told us two or three days
before we reached the salt water that we were in the country that
had been discovered by Mr. Gregory and other previous explorers.

817. Some days before you got upon it he told you that?--Yes, and
showed us on the chart the supposed place where Mr. Gregory crossed
this small creek.

It will be seen by these answers of King, that Mr. Burke assumed no
topographical knowledge of the position. The Melbourne Argus stated
and repeated that he had mistaken the Flinders for the Albert. Now
the river in question was never mentioned as either, and the
mistake, if made, was Mr. Wills's and not Mr. Burke's. This portion
of the map was said to have been lost on the morning of its arrival
in Melbourne; and this I can readily believe, as also that more
might have met with the same fate had I not fortunately been there.