BURKE AND WILLS, THE EXPLORERS. 149 



stores had quite given them up for lost, and breaking 

 up their camp, they started south for Melbourne on 

 the morning of the very day that the footsore and 

 worn-out explorers returned to it. 



Seeing the word " DIG " cut into a tree, they dug 

 down only to find a bottle with a paper enclosed, tell- 

 ing them that the camp had been abandoned that very 

 morning. 



Wills was too much exhausted to proceed further. 

 Burke, accompanied by King, one of their exploring 

 companions, attempted to reach the settlement further 

 south. The third day Burke died. King returned to 

 the old camp, where he found poor Wills had also 

 succumbed. 



King succeeded in reaching friendly natives, who 

 cared for his wants for many weeks, till he was able 

 to make his way back to civilization, and make known 

 the fate of his unfortunate leaders. To quote the 

 words of Sir Henry Barkley, Governor of Victoria, 

 " So fell two as gallant spirits as ever sacrificed their 

 lives for the extension of science. Both men were in 

 jheir prime, and both resigned comfort and competency 

 to embark in this worthy enterprise." 



A well-executed statue of these brave men, of which 

 the cut at the head of this chapter is a picture, erected 



