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The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888

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King and Burke did not go far; on the second day Burke had to give in
from sheer weakness, and the next morning when his companion looked at
him, he saw by the breaking light that his leader was dead.

This was the sad and bitter end of the high-spirited captain of this
luckless expedition; an almost solitary death on the wide western plain,
after enduring weeks of hunger and starvation. What must have been King's
feelings at finding himself thus left without a companion to cheer his
last hours when his turn, as he then thought, must inevitably soon come?

After wandering in search of the natives, and not finding them, the
solitary man returned to Wills, who was also dead, and all he could do
was to cover the body up with a little sand, without any hope that the
same would be done by him.

Burke's last notes in his pocket book are as follows:--


"I hope we shall be done justice to. We have fulfilled our task, but we
have been aban----. We have not been followed up as we expected, and the
depôt party abandoned their post."


He winds up:--


"King has behaved nobly. He has stayed with me to the last, and placed
the pistol in my hand, leaving me lying on the surface as I wished."


Left to himself, King, after a few days, made another effort to find the
natives, and this time succeeded, living with their assistance until
rescued by Howitt's relief party on September 15th, having for nearly
three months subsisted on the hospitality of the natives.

Meanwhile that these unfortunate men were slowly starving to death on
Cooper's Creek, parties were soon to be dispatched from north, south and
east in quest of them.

Left at the depôt on Cooper's Creek, Brahe remained from the 14th of
December, 1860, until the 21st of April, 1861. Then he left, his
instructions, according to his own account, being (verbally) to remain at
the depôt three months, or longer, if provisions and other circumstances
would permit. Before leaving he buried, as before stated, a small supply
of provisions and a note, which in full ran:--


"Depôt, Cooper's Creek, April 21, 1861. The depôt party of V.E.E. leaves
this camp to-day to return to the Darling. I intend to go S.E. from camp
60 to get on to our old track at Bulloo. Two of my companions and myself
are quite well; the third--Patton-has been unable to walk for the last
eighteen days, as his leg has been severely hurt when thrown by one of
the horses. No person has been up here from the Darling. We have six
camels and twelve horses, in good working condition.

"WILLIAM BRAHE."


Unfortunately this was worded in such a way as to leave Burke, who got it
that night, under the impression that they were all, with one exception,
fairly well, and would probably make long stages, whereas, on the evening
of the day that Burke returned, they were camped but fourteen miles away.

Wright, meantime, with the main body of the party had been camping and
wandering between the Darling and Bulloo; his men sickened and died of
scurvy, and he consumed his rations, and reduced the condition of his
stock to no purpose. On Brahe's return he made an extraordinary display
of energy, and returned with him to the depôt on Cooper's Creek, at which
place they arrived on the 8th of May, whilst Burke and Wills were making
their futile attempt to reach Mount Hopeless. Wright and Brahe came to
the conclusion that no one had visited the caché since Brahe's departure,
although the fact seems almost incredible. Brahe states, however:--


"Mr. Burke's return being so soon after my departure caused the tracks of
his camels to correspond in the character of age exactly with our own
tracks. The remains of three separate fires led us to suppose that blacks
had been camped there. The fires had burned to mere ashes, and left no
perceptible evidence from the position of the sticks as to whether they
were black men's fires or not. The ground above the caché was so
perfectly restored to the appearance it presented when I left it, that in
the absence of any fresh sign or mark of any description to be seen near,
it was impossible to suppose that it had been disturbed."


Wright and Brahe rode away again, and when Wills afterwards visited the
depôt to bury the journals, he says that he could not perceive any sign
of it having been visited; a series of singular and fatal oversights that
almost seem to have been pre-ordained.

On the 18th of June, Wright reached the Darling and sent in his
dispatches. As may be imagined they occasioned great consternation, and
no time was lost in instituting search parties to scour half the
continent for the missing men. Fortunately a light party, under Mr. A. W.
Howitt, had already been equipped, to follow on Burke's tracks, for the
long absence and silence of Wright had already caused people to feel
anxious. Howitt's party was doubled and he made all speed to Cooper's
Creek. Meantime the other colonies took the matter up and three more
parties were in the field. Howitt, whose fortunes we must follow, started
early in July; the VICTORIA, steam sloop, was sent up to the mouth of the
Albert River, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, from Brisbane, having Mr. W.
Landsborough on board. Another Queensland expedition, under Mr. Walker,
left the furthest out station, in the Rockhampton district, to proceed
overland to the Gulf, and from South Australia, started M'Kinlay.

On the 8th of September Howitt, having with him Brahe, reached Cooper's
Creek, and on the 13th arrived at the fatal depôt, but like all the
others, he says that he could not see any sign of the caché having been
touched; nor did he stop to examine it. On the 15th, while trying to
follow Burke's outward track down the creek, Howitt says:--


"I crossed at a neck of sand, and again came on the track of a camel
going up the creek; at the same time I found a native, who began to
gesticulate in a very excited manner, and to point down the creek,
bawling out, 'Gow! gow!' as loud as he could. When I went towards him he
ran away, and finding it impossible to get him to come to me, I turned
back to follow the camel track, and to look after my party, as I had not
seen anything of them for some miles. The track was visible in sandy
places, and was evidently the same I had seen for the last two days. I
also found horse tracks in places, but very old. Crossing the creek I cut
our track, and rode after the party. In doing so I came upon three pounds
of tobacco, which had lain where I saw it for some time. This, together
with the knife-handle, the fresh horse tracks, and the camel track going
eastward, puzzled me extremely, and led me into a hundred conjectures. At
the lower end of the large reach of water before mentioned, I met Sandy
and Frank looking for me, with the intelligence that King, the only
survivor of Mr. Burke's party, had been found. [See Appendix.] A little
further on I found the party halted, and immediately went across to the
black's wurleys, where I found King sitting in a hut that the blacks had
made for him. He presented a melancholy appearance-wasted to a shadow,
and hardly to be distinguished as a civilised being, except by the
remnants of clothes on him."


So soon as King had recovered sufficient strength to accompany the party
they went to the place where Wills had died, and found his body in the
gunyah as King had described it, there it was buried. On the 21st,
Burke's body was found up the creek, he too was buried where he died.

Howitt then, after rewarding the blacks who had cared for King, started
home again by easy stages taking the rescued man with him. On his return
to Melbourne, Howitt was sent back to disinter the remains of the
explorers, and bring them down to Melbourne, which task he safely
accomplished. A public funeral then took place, and subsequently a statue
was erected to their memory.

Dr. Beckler, and Messrs. Stone, Purcell, and Patton were the others whose
lives were sacrificed on this unfortunate trip, the first three were
members of Wright's party, the last one was with Brahe at the depôt.

Before ending the narration of this journey of Burke and Wills, it will
be remembered, that an account of Stuart's expedition to Central Mount
Stuart, and Attack Creek was forwarded to the leader; these papers were
entrusted to Trooper Lyons to take from Swan Hill to Wright's camp.
Wright ordered him on to follow the tracks of Burke, who he supposed was
about two hundred miles away; he was accompanied by the saddler of the
party, McPherson, and a black boy, Dick. They followed Burke's tracks for
some days but never reached him, their horses gave in, and they being
insufficiently provided with provisions nearly perished, finally they
were picked up by a relief party under Doctor Beckler.

The nardoo which served to prolong the life of Burke and Wills for a
considerable time is a small ground plant resembling clover in the shape
of its leaves. These leaves are covered with silvery down, and the seeds,
too, have this down on them. When fresh the seeds are flat and oval. The
nardoo grows in loose soil, subject to inundation, generally on polygonum
flats.

Whilst this tragedy had been enacted, Stuart was endeavouring to force
his way across Australia, and at the time his fellow explorers were
slowly starving to death on Cooper's Creek, he was making gallant efforts
to cross the dry tableland that separated him from the heads of the coast
rivers.

Stuart followed his old track by the way of the Fincke and the Hugh, and
on the 12th April arrived at their former acquaintance, the Bonney, which
they found running strong, with abundant green feed on its banks. They
followed it down until it spread out and was lost in a large plain; so
striking north, the party on the 21st April reached Tennant's Creek, and
four days after, they came to the scene of their skirmish with the
natives, on Attack Creek. This time, although the tracks of natives were
numerous, they were permitted to pass peacefully onwards. Still pushing
to the north, along the base of the line of broken range, that in that
locality runs north and south, Stuart found and named many creeks, all of
them heading from the range and forming for a considerable space good
defined channels, but becoming lost on entering the low country. At last,
on the 4th of May, he came to the end of the range, which he there called
the Ashburton Range. Here he made several attempts to the north-west, but
could discover neither water nor watercourses in that direction; nothing
but flooded plains, beautifully grassed, but heavy and rotten to ride
over; beyond this, the country changed for the worse, becoming sandy and
scrubby.

On the 16th of May, he first encountered a new kind of scrub, which is
now known as Stuart's hedgewood. It spreads out in many branches from the
root upwards, interlacing with its neighbours on either side, forming an
impervious hedge. On the 23rd, he found the magnificent sheet of water,
which he called Newcastle Waters, and which at first seemed to promise
him good assistance in getting to the north, but it proved delusive.
Beyond the Newcastle he could not advance his party at all; north,
north-cast, and north-west, it was all the same endless grassy plains,
terminating in thick scrubby forest, until at last he had again to give
up hope, and return to Adelaide.

Such, however, was the confidence of the authorities in him, and such his
own energy, that in less than a month he was on his way to Chambers'
Creek, to make preparations for a fresh start. His last journey had
proved the existence of a long line of good country, fairly well-watered,
and although beyond it he had not been able to proceed, still, there was
no knowing what a fresh trial might bring forth. He had, at any rate,
brought back his party in safety, with the loss of only a few horses; and
in no way deterred by the fate of the Victorian explorers, he started
once more, this time destined to meet with success.




CHAPTER X.



Stuart's last Expedition--Frew's Pond--Daly Waters--Arrival at the
Sea--The flag at last hoisted on the northern shore--Return--Serious
illness of the Leader--The Burke relief Expedition--John M'Kinlay--Native
rumours--Discovery of Gray's body--Hodgkinson sent to Blanche Water with
the news--Returns with the information of King's rescue by Howitt--
M'Kinlay starts north--Reaches the Gulf coast--Makes for the new
Queensland settlements on the Burdekin--Reaches the Bowen River in
safety--Mystery of the camel's tracks--Landsborough's expedition--
Discovery of the Gregory River--The Herbert--Return to the Albert depôt--
News of Burke and Wills--Landsborough reduces his party and starts home
overland--Returns by way of the Barcoo--Landsborough and his critics--His
work as an Explorer--Walker starts from Rockhampton--Another L tree
found on the Barcoo--Walker crosses the head of the Flinders--Finds the
tracks of Burke and Wills--Tries to follow them up--Returns to
Queensland--Abandonment of the desert theory--Private expeditions--
Dalrymple and others.


On leaving the settled districts, Stuart followed his old track, now so
familiar to him, until on the 14th April, 1862, we find him encamped at
the upper end of Newcastle Waters, once more about to try to force a
passage through the forest of scrub to the north. On the second day he
was partly successful, finding an isolated waterhole, surrounded by
conglomerate rock. This he called Frew's Pond, and it is now a well-known
camping place on the overland telegraph line.

Past this spot he was not able to make any progress; twice he tried hard
to reach some tributary of the Victoria River, but failed, and had to
spend many long days in fruitlessly riding through dense mulga and
hedgewood scrub. At length, after much hope deferred, and finding a few
scanty waterholes that did not serve his purpose, he succeeded in
striking the head of a chain of ponds running to the north. These being
followed down, led him to the head of the creek, called Daly Waters
Creek, and finally to the large waterhole bearing that name, where the
telegraph station now stands.

Beyond this point the creek was lost in a swamp, and Stuart was unable to
find the channel where it re-formed, now known as the Birdum. Missing
this watercourse, Stuart worked his way to the eastward, to a creek he
called the Strangways, which led him down to the Roper River. This river
he crossed, and followed up a northern tributary named by him the
Chambers, a name he was so fond of conferring out of gratitude to his
constant friend, John Chambers.

His troubles regarding water were now over, but his horses began to fall
lame, and he had to carefully husband his stock of spare shoes to carry
him back to Adelaide. From the Chambers he came to the Katherine, the
lower course of the Flying Fox Creek of Leichhardt, called by Stuart as
above, the name it now bears. Thence he struck across the tableland, and
descended to the head waters of the river he christened the Adelaide,
although at first he thought that he was on the Alligator River.
Following the Adelaide, he soon found himself travelling amongst rich
tropical scenery, that told him he was at last approaching the coast.

On the 24th July, he went to the north-east, intending to make the sea
shore and travel along the beach to the mouth of the Adelaide River. He
only told two of the party of the eventful moment awaiting them. As they
rode on, Thring, who was ahead, called out, "The sea!" which so took the
majority by surprise, that they were some time before they understood
what was meant, and then three hearty cheers burst forth.

At this, his first point of contact, Stuart dipped his hands and feet in
the sea, and the initials J.M.D.S. were cut on the largest tree they
could find. He then attempted to make the mouth of the Adelaide, but
found the route too boggy for the horses, and not seeing the utility of
fatiguing them for nothing, had a space cleared where they were, and a
tall sapling stripped of its boughs for a flagstaff; on this he hoisted
the Union Jack he had carried with him. A memorial of the visit was then
buried at the foot of the impromptu staff. It was an air-tight tin case
containing the following paper:--


"South Australian Great Northern Exploring Expedition.--The exploring
party, under the command of John M'Dowall Stuart, arrived at this spot on
the 25th day of July, 1862, having crossed the entire continent of
Australia, from the Southern to the Indian Ocean, passing through the
centre. They left the city of Adelaide on the 26th day of October, 1861,
and the most northern station of the colony on the 21st day of January,
1862. To commemorate this happy event., they have raised this flag
bearing his name. All well. God save the Queen."


Stuart and the party signed their names to this document. The tree has
since been found and recognised, but this memorial has not been
discovered.

More fortunate than the other travellers who reached the Gulf shore,
Stuart was able to survey the open sea, instead of having to be content
with the sight of some mangrove trees and salt water.

Next day Stuart started on his return. His health was failing, and his
horses were sadly weakened. After leaving the Newcastle, the water in the
many short creeks coming from the range was found to be at the last gasp;
in some there was none, in others but a scanty supply. The horses
commenced to give in rapidly, and one after another they were left on
successive dry stages. Stuart, too, began to think that he would never
live to reach the settled districts. Scurvy had brought him down to a
terrible state, and after all his success, he scarcely hoped to profit by
it. His right hand was nearly useless to him, and after sunset he was
blind. He could not stand the pain caused by riding, and a stretcher had
to be made to carry him on. Slowly and painfully they crept along until
the first station, Mount Margaret, was reached, and here the leader, who
was only a skeleton, was able to get a little relief, and finally
recovered sufficiently to ride to Adelaide.

This was the last exploration conducted by Stuart. He was rewarded by the
Government of the colony he had served so well, and went to reside in
England, where he died. He never recovered from the great suffering of
his return journey.

At a re-union of returned Australians, held at Glasgow shortly before his
death, he had to speak, and it was evident to all that he had quite
broken down. He said that "his eyesight and his memory were so far gone
that he was unable to compose a speech, or, indeed, to recollect many of
the incidents that happened throughout the course of his explorations."
This was the sad ending of one of our greatest explorers. Eight full
years of his life had been spent in exploring Australia, and neither his
means nor resources had ever been great--in fact, on some occasions they
had been dangerously small--but he always brought his party back in
safety, through every difficulty.

In following up Stuart's last expedition, we have lost sight for a time
of the three parties sent out after Burke and Wills, which, although they
were unsuccessful in their first aim, yet did sterling service in the
field of discovery.

John M'Kinlay started from Adelaide-the scene of so many departures on
similar errands--on October 26th, 1861. On arriving at Blanche Water, he
was informed that a report was current amongst the natives that some
white men and camels had been seen at a distant inland water, but knowing
the little reliance to be placed on such statements, he did not at the
time pay much attention to it. On the 27th of September, he crossed Lake
Torrens--a feat which would have excited great interest a few years
ago--and made for Lake Pando, or Lake Hope, as it is better known. From
here he went north, crossing the country so often described, wherein
Cooper's Creek is lost in many watercourses. He now got more definite
details about the whites that he had formerly heard of, and pressed
forward to the place indicated by the natives, and on the 18th October,
formed a depôt camp for his main party, and started ahead in company with
two white men and a native.

Passing through a country full of small shallow lakes, of all of which
M'Kinlay has faithfully preserved the terrible native names, such as Lake
Moolion--dhurunnie, etc., they came to a watercourse, whereon they found
a grave and picked up a battered pint pot. Next morning they opened the
grave, and in it was the body of a European, the skull being marked, so
M'Kinlay says, with two sabre cuts. He noted down the description of the
body, and, from the locality and surroundings, it has been pronounced to
have been the body of Gray, who died before reaching Cooper's Creek.

If the reader will remember what was the result of the circumstantial
accounts of Leichhardt's murder retailed to Hely by the natives, he will
not be astonished at what follows.

The native that M'Kinlay had with him thus described the manner of the
white man's death, which, of course, was all pure fiction. First, that
the whites were attacked in camp by the natives, who murdered the whole
party, finishing up by eating the bodies of the other men. Next, that the
journals, saddles, etc., were buried at a fake a short distance away.
Naturally, under the circumstances, M'Kinlay believed this story;
particularly as further search revealed another grave (empty) and other
small evidences of the presence of whites.

Next morning a tribe of blacks appeared, and although they immediately
ran away, one was captured, who corroborated the story told by M'Kinlay's
native. The prisoner had marks both of ball and shot wounds on him; he
stated that there was a pistol concealed near a neighbouring lake, and he
was sent to fetch it; but instead, he appeared the following morning at
the head of a host of others, well armed, and bent on mischief. The
leader was obliged to order his men to fire on them, and it was only
after several discharges that they ran away.

M'Kinlay was now quite satisfied that he had found all that remained of
the Victorian expedition; and after burying a letter for the information
of any after comers, they left Lake Massacre, as he called it, and
returned to his depôt camp. The letter hidden was as follows:--


"S.A.B.R. Expedition,

"October 23rd, 1861.

"To the leader of any expedition seeking tidings of Burke and party:--

"Sir,--I reached this water on the 19th instant, and by means of a native
guide discovered a European camp, one mile north on west side of flat.
At, or near this camp, traces of horses, camels, and whites were found.
Hair, apparently belonging to Mr. Wills, Charles Gray, Yr. Burke, or
King, was picked from the surface of a grave dug by a spade, and from the
skull of a European buried by the natives. Other less important
traces-such as a pannikin, oil can, saddle stuffing, &c., have been
found. Beware of the natives, on whom we have had to fire. We do not
intend to return to Adelaide, but proceed to west of north. From
information, all Burke's party were killed and eaten.

"JNO. M'KINLAY.

"[P.S.--All the party in good health.]

"If you had any difficulty in reaching this spot, and wish to return to
Adelaide by a more practicable route, you may do so for at least three
months to come, by driving west eighteen miles, then south of west,
cutting our dray track within thirty miles. Abundance of water and feed
at easy stages."


M'Kinlay next sent Mr. Hodgkinson with men and packhorses to Blanche
Water, to take down the news of his discovery, and to bring back rations
for a prolonged exploration. Meantime he remained in camp. From one old
native, with whom he had a long conversation, he obtained another version
of the supposed massacre, which evidently had a certain admixture of
truth.

This was to the effect that the whites repulsed an attack of the natives
on their return journey; that in the affair, one white man was killed;
he was buried after the fight, and the others went south. The natives
then dug up the body and ate the flesh. The blackfellow then described
minutely the different waters passed by Burke, and the way the men lived
on the seeds of the nardoo plant, which he must have heard of from other
natives.

After waiting a little over a month, Mr. Hodgkinson returned, and brought
back with him the news of Howitt's success in finding King. This
explained M'Kinlay's discovery as being that of Gray's body, the adjuncts
of the fight turning out to be exaggerations of the natives. He made an
excursion to the eastward, and visited the graves of the two men buried
by Howitt, on Cooper's Creek, then he started for the north.

The perusal of his journal, containing the account of his first few
weeks' travel, is hard work to accomplish. The native names of every
small lake and waterhole are all given in full, and as the course of each
day's travel is omitted, it becomes rather difficult to follow the track
of the expedition, excepting on the map.

A fairly northerly course was, however, maintained, and M'Kinlay speaks
highly of the country for pastoral purposes. As it was the dry time of
the year, immediately preceding the setting in of the rains, it shows
what a severe season must have been encountered by Sturt when on his last
struggle north, as that explorer finally turned his-back in much the same
locality.

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