INAUGURAL ADDRESS. It 



that they had halted where I had crossed, and as I came in sight the 

 blackboYS left them and rode toward me. As we met the elder one 

 said, " Find em whitefella ; two fella dead boy and one fella livo." 

 Hastening on and crossing over to the native camp, I found John 

 King sitting in one of the wurleys. He was a melancholy object, and 

 hardly to be distinguished as a civilised being by the remnants of the 

 clothes on him. He was not only very weak, but much overcome by 

 our arrival, and it was at first difficult to make out what he said. It 

 seemed that we were expected, for two of the young blacks who came 

 to our first camp on Cooper's Creek travelled down to bring the news 

 of white men having come. 



It was Mr. Welch who, riding in the lead, first saw a strange figure 

 sitting on the bank and said, " Who are you ^ " To which the reply 

 was, " John King, the last survivor of Burke's party. Thank God, I 

 am saved ! " 



I was pleased that this part of the rescue fell to Mr. Welch's share, 

 for he was a pleasant companion, a good comrade, and a man whom 

 I was sincerely sorry to part with when I was starting on my second 

 expedition. 



We remained in camp where we found King for ten days, to enable 

 him to recover strength, and even in two days there was a marked 

 change in his appearance for the better. He had plenty to eat, and 

 sugar and fat seemed what he craved for most. I may anticipate by 

 saying that by the time we reached Menindie the clothes which I found 

 for him became too small, and had to be let out. During this time 

 there were several important matters to attend to. "WTiile he was 

 too weak to go far from the camp I employed the time in •writing down 

 all that he could tell me about their journey to the gulf and the return 

 to the depot. This is what has been printed as " King's Narrative." 

 Then there were two melancholy duties, namely, to go to the places 

 Avhere Burke and Wills died, and to see that their remains were decently 

 interred. I first went to Brierili, where Wills died while King was 

 away with Burke on his last march. I took with me Brahe, W^elch, 

 Dr. Wheeler, and King. Brierili is about seven miles lower down than 

 ■Goyapidri, where we found King and were camped, and in going there 

 we crossed the branch which leads from the main channel, southward, 

 and is probably the feeder of Strzelecki's Creek. Here we found a 

 native path, which led us to where the explorers camped after their 

 unsuccessful attempt to reach Mount Hopeless. 



We found the two native wurleys, in which they took shelter, 

 pretty much as King had described them, situated on a sandbank 



