assistance.

Thursday, 20th June, 1861.--Night and morning very cold, sky clear.
I am completely reduced by the effects of the cold and starvation.
King gone out for nardoo; Mr. Burke at home pounding seed; he finds
himself getting very weak in the legs. King holds out by far the
best; the food seems to agree with him pretty well.

Finding the sun come out pretty warm towards noon, I took a
sponging all over; but it seemed to do little good beyond the
cleaning effects, for my weakness is so great that I could not do
it with proper expedition.

I cannot understand this nardoo at all--it certainly will not agree
with me in any form; we are now reduced to it alone, and we manage
to consume from four to five pounds per day between us; it appears
to be quite indigestible, and cannot possibly be sufficiently
nutritious to sustain life by itself.

Friday, 21st June, 1861.--Last night was cold and clear, winding up
with a strong wind from north-east in the morning. I feel much
weaker than ever and can scarcely crawl out of the mia-mia. Unless
relief comes in some form or other, I cannot possibly last more
than a fortnight.

It is a great consolation, at least, in this position of ours, to
know that we have done all we could, and that our deaths will
rather be the result of the mismanagement of others than of any
rash acts of our own. Had we come to grief elsewhere, we could only
have blamed ourselves; but here we are returned to Cooper's Creek,
where we had every reason to look for provisions and clothing; and
yet we have to die of starvation, in spite of the explicit
instructions given by Mr. Burke--"That the depot party should await
our return;" and the strong recommendation to the Committee "that
we should be followed up by a party from Menindie."

About noon a change of wind took place, and it blew almost as hard
from the west as it did previously from the north-east. A few
cirrocumulus continued to pass over towards east.

Saturday, 22nd June, 1861.--Night cloudy and warm; every appearance
of rain; thunder once or twice during the night; clouds moving in
an easterly direction; lower atmosphere perfectly calm. There were
a few drops of rain during the night, and in the morning, about
nine A.M., there was every prospect of more rain until towards
noon, when the sky cleared up for a time.

Mr. Burke and King out for nardoo; the former returned much
fatigued. I am so weak to-day as to be unable to get on my feet.