for the year 1864. lxxi 



orders to return ; and as it was well known that if the Gulf 

 of Carpentaria were reached, the safest and easiest route home 

 would be by the watered and grassed north-east coast line 

 leading down to the settled districts of Queensland — and this 

 route had actually formed the subject of their last conversa- 

 tion — Brahe felt at last that there was a probability that 

 Burke was already at home by that route, and that at any 

 rate the time had arrived, not only when he had overstaid 

 the period allotted him by Burke, but when the provisions 

 had become so far reduced (as Wright and the reserve party 

 had not come up), that he had only enough left to carry his 

 party down to the next depot, and leave a sufficient supply 

 buried to bring down Burke and his companions also, if 

 they should come. 



This reasoning was approved at the time by the Committee 

 and the public, and it was obvious, apparently (not then 

 having the knowledge of after events), that the party could 

 do no good by remaining beyond this point, but, on the con- 

 trary, that further delay would diminish the stock of food 

 already reduced to the lowest point of safety for both parties ; 

 yet, when subsequent misfortunes became known, this man 

 was assailed with almost inhuman cruelty and injustice. by 

 the press and the public, as the direct cause of the calamity 

 which followed, and I was almost alone in raising my 

 voice in his defence, by showing that his conduct was 

 approved when the public knowledge of following events 

 was no greater than his at the time. 



But now comes the sad story of the unaccountable chapter 

 of unlucky mischances which clouded all the glories of the 

 Expedition, by the loss of the leader and his second. Brahe 

 buried the stores at the foot of a tree, and put a notice 

 with the word " dig " upon it, and the better to conceal 

 the cache from the natives, he lit a fire over the spot, 

 and then tied some camels during the last night over the 



