roceeded down the Morumbidgee in the whale boat, with a
complement of six hands, independent of myself and Mr. M'Leay, holding
the skiff in tow. The river, for several days, kept a general W.S.W.
course; it altered little in appearance, nor did any material change
take place in the country upon its banks. The alluvial flats had
occasionally an increased breadth on either side of it, but the line of
reeds was nowhere so extensive as from previous appearances I had been
led to expect. About twelve miles from the depot, we passed a large
creek junction from the N.E. which, from its locality and from the
circumstance of my having been upon it in the direction of them, I
cannot but conclude originates in the marshes of the Lachlan.

On the 11th, the Morumbidgee became much encumbered with fallen timber,
and its current was at times so rapid that I was under considerable
apprehension for the safety of the boats. The skiff had been upset on
the 8th, and, although I could not anticipate such an accident to the
large boat, I feared she would receive some more serious and
irremediable injury. On the 14th, these difficulties increased upon
us.--The channel of the river became more contracted, and its current
more impetuous. We had no sooner cleared one reach, than fresh and
apparently insurmountable dangers presented themselves to us in the
next. I really feared that every precaution would have proved
unavailing against such multiplied embarrassments, and that ere night
we should have possessed only the wrecks of the expedition. From this
state of anxiety, however, we were unexpectedly relieved, by our
arrival at 2 p.m. at the termination of the Morumbidgee; from which we
were launched into a broad and noble river, flowing from E. to W. at
the rate of two and a half knots per hour, over a clear and sandy bed,
of a medium width of from three to four hundred feet.

During the first stages of our journey upon this new river, which
evidently had its rise in the mountains of the S.E., we made rapid
progress to the W.N.W. through an unbroken and uninteresting country of
equal sameness of feature and of vegetation. On the 23rd, as the boats
were proceeding down it, several hundreds of natives made their
appearance upon the right bank, having assembled with premeditated
purposes of violence. I was the more surprised at this show of
hostility, because we had passed on general friendly terms, not only
with those on the Morumbidgee, but of