30 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 



the fate of his companions ascertained, it seemed worth while to test 

 their homing powers. The first thing to be done was to repair their 

 tails, and to enable me to do this I shot several crested pigeons and 

 spliced the necessary parts of their tail feathers on the stumps of the 

 carrier pigeons' tails, the splices being secured with waxed thread. 

 This proved to be a complete success, as the birds could now fly about 

 the aviary we made with a tent apparently as well as ever. Next 

 morning we started the pigeons on their journey, having previously 

 tied a message on the leg of each bird. On throwing them up in the 

 air they commenced by wheeling round, but separated, one being 

 chased by a large hawk. The others, after flying round in various 

 directions for some time with great speed, drew across the creek south- 

 wards and disappeared. The fourth bird, after making a Avide circle, 

 pitched into a tree about half a mile off. Afterwards one was found 

 under a bush, where a kite was watching it. One had been killed 

 after we lost sight of the three, for the feathers were seen some distance 

 from the camp. Nothing was ever heard of the others, but in all 

 probability they were killed by some of the birds of prey which are 

 always on the lookout for food. 



Another of my reminiscences of Central Australia may find a place 

 here as a comparison to a somewhat similar case which happened when 

 despatches were sent from the Exploration Committee for Burke from 

 Menindie by Mounted Constable Lyons and MacPherson, one of Burke's 

 party. About three weeks after I reached Blanchewater, when I came 

 through to open a route from Cooper's Creek, despatches for me were 

 received at the Angepina Mounted Police Station, with instructions to 

 convey them to me. Supplied with a lithograph of my route plan, 

 they started to run my tracks back, with the help of a Dieri blackboy. 

 He followed them till they were three days' distance from the creek, 

 and then lost them in the drift-sand. Fortunately Corporal Wauchop 

 and Trooper Poynter were both good men in the bush, and took the 

 necessary measures to get through. To secure the blackboy he was 

 handcuffed to one of them at night, and the corporal told him from 

 time to time from my ro^ite plan what the country would be ahead of 

 them, so that by-and-by the blackboy would say " What name that 

 paper yabber now ? " They were three days crossing waterless country, 

 having only a little for themselves in their water-bags. At the end of 

 the last day, when they reached the first water at Cooper's Creek, and 

 the blackboy had had a long and welcome drink, he said to the corporal, 

 " No blooming gammon alonga that one blooming paper ! " But his 

 expressions were somewhat stronger. 



