THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIE HENRY BARKLY 109 



21st. But Burke was obdurate, and the loyalty of Wills to his 

 leader cost both their lives. They started on the south-east trail 

 after a few days' rest, but two months of helpless wanderings saw 

 them, defeated and despairing, back near the dep6t; their two 

 camels dead, and life barely kept in themselves by gifts of fish 

 from the natives, and bread from the ground seeds of the nardoo 

 plant. Before starting on their trying journey Burke had planted 

 a letter in the cache, stating where they had gone and their object- 

 ive. Brahe, on his retreat to the Darling, was met by Wright 

 tardily setting out for the depot. When they met it was agreed 

 that some of the party should turn back to Cooper's Creek for a 

 final look round before abandoning all hope of finding their leader. 

 They reached the depot some four weeks after Burke had started 

 towards Adelaide, and so reprehensibly superficial was their exami- 

 nation, that they hastily concluded no one had been there since 

 Brahe left they assumed that the provisions they had buried were 

 untouched and as they did not open the cache, Burke's letter 

 remained undiscovered. Being satisfied that the explorers had 

 never returned from the north, Brahe and Wright once more 

 retraced their steps to Menindie and sped the doleful story to 

 Melbourne. 



When the three ragged shadows once more reached the depot, 

 there was nothing to indicate that a well-equipped rescue party had 

 come and gone in the interval, and after a hard struggle to prolong 

 life on the innutritions nardoo, they resigned themselves to the in- 

 evitable. The last pathetic entry in the journal of the gallant young 

 Wills is dated 29th June, 1861, and he died alone, probably within 

 twenty- four hours. Two days later Burke breathed his last, and 

 the attenuated survivor King, having no strength to dig a grave, 

 was fain to cover his body with boughs, and leave him where he 

 fell. Then despondingly he attached himself to a wandering tribe 

 of natives, and being of a hardy constitution, managed to keep alive 

 on the food which his comrades had found so deficient in sustaining 

 power. 



All Australia was stirred to its depths by the story which Wright 

 carried to Melbourne. Blame was prodigally distributed all round. 

 It fell perhaps loudest on the Exploration Committee ; then on the 



