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Updated: May 22, 2025
The river was followed down to-day for 9 miles through a complete net-work of ana-branches, gullies, and vine scrubs to another branch, which may be called the true stream. It was 30 yards wide, deep, and running strongly. Here the party had to camp for about 3 hours, whilst the Brothers searched for a good crossing.
This stream was correctly surmised to be the long desired Mitchell, the two last creeks being only its ana-branches. Although 10 miles higher up in latitude 15 degrees 51 minutes 56 seconds it is described by Leichhardt as being 1 1/2 miles wide. It here measured as before described only about 600 yards. A number of fish were caught at the camp. 'December' 17.
Should a northern branch eventually be discovered, which the delta and numerous ana-branches make a probable hypothesis, the stream explored by the brothers might with propriety retain the name they gave it. At eight miles from the start the character of the country changed from the prevailing flats, to a kind of barren sandstone and spenifex ridges.
After crossing the Archer two ana-branches were passed, the route laying over loamy black and chocolate flats, and fine long sloping ridges, very thickly grassed, quite free from stones, well-watered, and despite the heavy rains that had fallen, perfectly sound. The range seen from the table-land was low, and of much the same description. 'January' 6.
The general course of the river was slightly to the north of west, but very winding, some of its reaches extended for nearly four miles. Numerous ana-branches occurred, the flats separating them, being three miles in breadth, timbered with flooded box and tea-tree, their banks well grassed. It would be a dangerous country to be caught in by the floods.
Crossing the creek immediately after leaving the camp, the party still continued to follow the windings of the river through similar country to that of yesterday, save that the ground was more boggy, the swamps, ana-branches, and small lagoons more numerous. On the latter some Coromandel geese were seen, of a species different from those found near Rockhampton.
During the floods the stream must be eight or ten miles wide, for, two miles back from it, a fish weir was seen in a small gully. Altogether it would have been a frightful place for the party to have been detained at. 'December' 20. The river was still followed down to-day, the party keeping about four miles from it, to avoid its scrubs and ana-branches.
Like most of the northern rivers, it is a torrent stream, whose bed is insufficient to carry off its waters during the flooded season, causing the formation of lagoons, back-waters, and ana-branches, and yet in the dry months, containing only a thread of water trickling along a waste of sand, sometimes three or four hundred yards wide, and at intervals loosing itself and running under the surface.
They could hardly have been caught in a worse place, being on the side of a scrubby ridge, close to one of the ana-branches of the river. It would seem that the natives calculated on taking them at a disadvantage, for they chose this spot for an attack, being the first instance in which they attempted open hostility.
Should the northern branch which was seen to join amongst the ana-branches near its debouchure prove to be the larger stream, that followed by the party might still retain the name of "the Ferguson," given to it by the Brothers, in honor of the governor of Queensland.
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