Page:Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, volume 2.djvu/130

 their difficulties, without being absolutely obliged to retrace their steps to the point whence they had originally set out, was to proceed, in the first instance, more to the westward, before they attempted to make any southing. This they effected without material injury to their burdened cattle, and having passed to the westward of the meridian of 148°, they found no further impediments in their route to the south-west, having broadly on their left hand, or a little to the eastward of them, the great Warragong Chain. In latitude 36°, the party crossed a river, which derived its source from those snow-clad mountains, and was flowing with considerable rapidity among the hills towards the north-west. To that stream, which, in consequence of its depth and width, (exceeding one hundred yards,) they had some difficulty in passing, they gave the name of 'Hume.' Their journey was now conducted through a fine, open, thinly-timbered country; its surface was, for the most part, hilly, or moderately undulated, and occasionally, to diversify the scene, there broke upon the view a patch of plain, without a tree, but abundantly clothed with a grassy vegetation. This pastoral country was found, even in the summer months, well watered by streamlets from the hills around, the waters of which, collecting, had formed a second river, to which our travellers gave the name of 'the Ovens,' upon fording it in latitude 36° 40'. This was described as being of less magnitude than the Hume, but its stream was of equal velocity, and the direction given it by a break in the hills, and the apparent inclination of the country, was also to the north-west; in which bearing, wherever a commanding position on the hills afforded the party a view, a declining wooded country was observed, with scarcely a single elevation.

Southerly, the land continued equally good, but rising in altitude, presented a more broken, irregular surface to our travellers, who, however, patiently surmounting the difficulties which lay in their way, at length came to a third stream, to which they gave the name of 'Goulburn.' This river, which was formed by a junction of several streamlets, which came from the hills to the eastward, ran southerly in the direction of the course pursued by the expedition as far as latitude 37°, when it also took a decided bend towards the north-west.

The exploring party now passed the meridian of 146°, and beheld before them the coast range of hills. This proved to them a source of no small encouragement to continue their journey, for they had began to despair of reaching the sea-coast, in consequence of the exhausted condition of their burdened beasts, and of the loss which they had sustained in their stock of provisions, by accidents and the great heat of the weather. A beautiful country, however, appeared before them, and as it exhibited an alternation of plain and woodland of like interest, as affording an unlimited range of