i6o 



AUSTRALIAN PICTURES. 



would probably have escaped, or some weapon or some piece of their 

 equipment would have been found, and would have furnished a clue to the 

 mystery. But the earth gives no more trace of him than the deep sea of a 

 vessel that has foundered, or the air of a bird that has passed by. 



The Kennedy disaster was on a large scale. Edmund Kennedy had 



explored the course of the 



Barcoo with success, and in 



1838 he was landed with 



twelve men at Rockingham 



Bay, to strike across 



country, to a schooner at 



Cape York. The dense 



jungle of the tropical bush 



and the vast swamps checked their progress. He left eight men at 



Weymouth Bay, and proceeded with three men and a black boy, Jacky, 



on his journey to the schooner. The blacks were numerous and hostile, and 



the bush gave them shelter. Kennedy was speared by an unseen hand, and 



died in the arms of Jacky. The three men were never heard of, and only 



