being,
besides those already mentioned, twelve ordinary members, with eighteen
horses and provisions for twenty-four weeks. A depot was formed at
Wellington Valley, and men sent ahead to build two boats.

On June 6th, the start was made from the depot, and for the first 125
miles no obstacles nor impediments were met with. Elated by this, Oxley
sent two men back to Bathurst, in accordance with instructions, bearing a
favourable despatch to Governor Macquarie. But Fate was again deriding
the unfortunate explorer. No sooner had the two parties separated, one
with well-grounded hopes of their ultimate success, the other bearing
back tidings of these confident hopes, than doubt and distrust entered
into the mind of the leader. Twenty-four hours after the departure of the
messengers, Oxley wrote in his journal:--

"For four or five miles there was no material change in the general
appearance of the country from what it had been on the preceding days,
but for the last six miles the land was considerably lower, interspersed
with plains clear of timber and dry. On the banks it was still lower, and
in many places it was evident that the river-floods swept over them,
although this did not appear to be universally the case...These
unfavourable appearances threw a damp upon our hopes, and we feared that
our anticipations had been too sanguine."

And still, as Oxley went on, he found the country getting flatter and
more liable to inundation, until at last, with a heart nearly as low as
the country, he found himself almost hemmed in by water. In fact, it was
necessary to retrace steps in order to find a place where they could
encamp with safety. Upon this emergency, Oxley held a consultation with
Evans and Harris, and it was decided to send the baggage and horses back
to a small and safe elevation that stood some fifteen miles higher up the
river, thus making a subsidiary depot camp. Oxley himself, with four
volunteers in the largest of the two boats, would take a month's
provisions and follow the stream as long as there was enough water to
float their craft. Meanwhile, Evans, during Oxley's absence, was to make
an excursion to the north-east, and return by a more northerly route,
this being the direction the party intended to take, should the river
fail them as the Lachlan had done on the previous journey.

It was a wet and stormy day on which Oxley started on the river voyage.
For about twenty miles there was, as Oxley expresses