THE Queensland Government having made arrangements for forming a settlement at Cape York, it became necessary to adopt some plan by means of which Cape York settlers could be supplied with fresh meat and other necessaries. Mr. Frank Jardine then agreed to take a herd of cattle overland to meet the wants of the settlement, and at the same time to open up the unexplored country of the peninsula without going out of his road. I was appointed to accompany the party as surveyor; and a grant of 150l. was made by the Government to supply me with horses and necessaries for the trip. A sextant, artificial horizon, prismatic compass, Gregory-compass, and barometer were also supplied. My duties were defined in a letter from A. C. Gregory, Esq., the Surveyor-General. They were as follows:—To keep a field-book of the route, and in it to notice the nature of the soil, timber, grasses, and so forth; also the abundance or scarcity of water, any suitable place for settlement.