420 



From a rough sketch and description Mr. G. A. Barnes 

 has evolved the accompanying pictures (r>l. xxx.). They 

 are intended to illustrate the relative conditions, and not to 

 represent the actual scenes. No range of hills comparable to 

 those sketched, even in the upper picture, can be seen 

 anywhere near Hergott Springs. It may also be pointed out 

 that a very extensive foreground, which would throw the 

 scene away into the distance, has been omitted, only the 

 actual zone subject to the mirage being portrayed. The 

 reader should assume that the picture was taken with a tele- 

 photo lens. 



Burke's and Lewis' Trees. 



The tree under which Burke was buried (pi. xxiii., fig. 1) 

 stands on the left bank of the Cooper, about two miles above 

 Innamincka. At the time of our visit the greater part of the 

 trunk was hidden by river silt, which all but covered the blaze 

 upon which the following letters had been inscribed by 

 Howitt after burying the body on September 21, 1861. The 

 South Australian Relief Expedition arrived at the tree on 

 December 7, 1861, when the leader, McKinlay, cut his initials 

 above the others. The "MK" only was visible at the time 

 of our visit (pi. xxiii., fig. 2). The complete inscription is said 

 to be as follows : — 



MK (conjoined) 

 R. O'H. B. 

 21. 9. '61. 

 AH. 



It was Howitt' s party that found King living with the 

 blacks, and the member who actually first discovered him was 

 Edwin J. Welch, an old friend of mine in Sydney. Just 

 before leaving Adelaide for the interior I received a letter 

 from him dated September 3, 1916. He wrote as follows: — 

 "Dear Waite — I congratulate you, and fervently wish I could 

 be one of the party. It's just 55 years since we buried Burke 

 in latitude 27° 43' S., longitude 140° 46' E., and Wills about 

 15 miles to the westward, both on the Cooper." When at 

 Innamincka I received a letter from my wife in which she 

 informed me that Welch died on September 24, aged 77, 

 exactly three weeks after the letter was written, and on the 

 date when my party was within a few miles of the spot of which 

 he wrote, the scene of one of Australia's most historic fatali- 

 ties. The tree under which Wills was buried appears to have 

 disappeared, and knowledge of the exact site lost. Since 

 returning to the city I have advocated the better preservation 

 of Burke's tree, and recommended that a cast of the inscribed 

 blaze be obtained. 



