During his journey down the Lachlan he returns to this idea again, and
his remarks are decidedly inconsistent with his former statements. On
turning back from following the Darling down, his words were:--
"The identity of this river with that which had been seen to enter the
Murray, now admitted of little doubt, and the continuation of the survey
to that point was scarcely an object worth the peril likely to attend
it."
On the Lachlan, he writes:--
"I considered it necessary now to ascertain, if possible, and before the
heavy part of our equipment moved further, whether the Lachlan actually
joined the Murrumbidgee near the point where Mr. Oxley saw its waters
covering the country, or whether it pursued a course so much more to the
westward, as to have been taken for the Darling by Captain Sturt. Should
I succeed in reaching the Lachlan at about sixty miles west of my camp, I
might be satisfied that it was this river which Captain Sturt mistook for
the Darling, and then I might seek that river by crossing the range on
the north. Whereas, should I find sufficient reason to believe that the
Darling would join the Murray, I might continue my journey down the
Lachlan until I reduced the distance across to the Darling as much as the
scarcity of water might render necessary.
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