On the 20th July, the whole of the party bade adieu to the Macquarie,
which they had once trusted to so fondly, and commenced their journey to
the eastern coast, making in the first place for Arbuthnot's Range.
Before leaving, a bottle was buried on Mount Harris, containing a written
scheme of their proposed route and intentions, with some silver coin.
On July 27th, they reached the bank of the Castlereagh, after a hard
struggle through the bogs and swamps. The river was flooded, and must
have risen almost directly after Mr. Evans crossed it on his homeward
route. It was not until the 2nd of August that the waters fell
sufficiently to allow them to cross. Still steering for the range, their
course lay across shaking quagmires, or wading through miles of water;
constantly having to unload and reload the unfortunate horses, who could
scarcely get through the bog without their packs. Before reaching the
range, the party camped at the small hill, previously ascended by Mr.
Evans. Here they found the compass strangely affected: on placing it on a
rock the card flew round with extreme velocity, and then suddenly settled
at opposite points, the north point becoming the south.
Pages:
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136