1 64 AUSTRALIAN PICTURES. 



was made to reach the depot to see if relief had arrived, but the strength 

 of Burke and of Wills gave out. Wills was the first to sink. As he could 

 travel no farther, Burke and King left him in a native hut with nardoo 

 seed and water by his side, while they sought . assistance from the blacks, 

 who had given Wills a meal of fish a few days before. When King 

 returned a few days later with three crows which he had shot, the pure and 

 gentle spirit of Wills had taken its flight. Burke had only tottered a few 

 miles from the hut. He laid down to die, asking King to place his pistol 

 in his hand, and not to bury him. The strong man had become as a child. 

 He sent many messages to friends. Then he was silent ; and the early 

 morn saw the earthly end of a generous, ardent, manly leader, whose faults 

 were of the head and are forgotten, while his virtues were of the heart and 

 endear his memory. 



King made his way to the natives, with whom he lived many months, 

 until he was rescued. The Government granted him a substantial pension. 

 A married sister devoted herself to his care. But those who looked upon 

 his face saw his fate there. Thirst, hunger, and privation had smitten him 

 too severely, and very soon he also fell asleep. 



Great energy was shown in sending expeditions to the relief of Burke 

 and Wills, when Wright returned to the Darling without them. One party 

 under M'Kinlay started from Adelaide, another under Walker from Queens- 

 land ; Landsborough led a third, which was landed at the Gulf of Car- 

 pentaria to reach Melbourne, and Howitt proceeded from Melbourne via 

 Cooper's Creek. The knowledge these expeditions gave of the country was 

 great, and when McDouall Stuart, in 1862, crossed the continent, interest in 

 exploration lapsed. Ten years afterwards a series of efforts were made by 

 Giles, Gosse, Lewis, Forrest and Colonel Warburton, to cross from South 

 Australia to the western seaboard. Forrest pushed his way through from 

 the west, and Warburton from the east. This latter party had a terrible 

 battle for life, and without the camels, and without an intelligent black fellow 

 who hunted for the native clay-pans, all must have perished. The men 

 abandoned everything, even their clothing, down to shirts and trousers; and 

 Warburton arrived, strapped to a camel's back, rapidly sinking from ex- 

 haustion. 



Still there are vast territories in Australia untrodden by the foot of the 

 white man, but the task of filling up the blanks is now left to the pioneer 

 settler. One squatter pushes out beyond another, as the coral insect builds 

 on its predecessor's cell. Without any stir a district that was once in the 

 desert is occupied, and then the blocks beyond are attached. The process 

 is sure, though without sensation. 



