Union Jack which he had
carried with him. A record of their arrival, contained in an air-tight
case, was then buried at the foot of the impromptu staff, and Stuart cut
his initials on the largest tree he could find. The tree has since been
found and recognised, but the buried memorial has not been discovered.
More fortunate than the ill-fated Burke, Stuart surveyed the open sea
from his point of contact with the ocean, instead of having to be content
with some mangrove trees and salt water.

McDouall Stuart, whose last expedition we have thus followed out to its
successful end, is rightly considered the man to whom the credit for the
first crossing the continent is due. His victory was all his own; he had
followed in no other person's footsteps; he had crossed the true centre,
and he had made the coast at a point much further to the north than that
reached by Burke and Wills, their journey having been considerably
shortened by its northern end being placed on the southern shore of the
great gulf that bites so deeply into north Australia. Along Stuart's
track there is now erected the Overland Telegraph Line, an enduring
monument to his indomitable perseverance.

Stuart's health was fast failing, and his horses were sadly reduced in
strength. He therefore started back the day after the consummation of his
dearest ambition. On his way south, after leaving Newcastle Waters, he
found the water in many of the short creeks heading from the Ashburton
Range to be rapidly diminishing; in some there was none left, in others
it was fast drying. The horses commenced to give in rapidly one after the
other, and more were lost on successive dry stages. Stuart himself
thought that he would never live to see the settled districts. Scurvy had
brought him down to a lamentable state, and after all his hard-won
success, it seemed as though he would not profit by it. His right hand
had become useless to him, and his eyes lost power of sight after sunset.
He could not undergo the pain of riding, and a stretcher had to be slung
between two horses to carry him on. With painful slowness they crept
along until they reached Mount Margaret, the first station. Here the
leader, reduced to a mere skeleton, was furnished with a little relief;
and after resting and gaining a little strength, he rode on to Adelaide.

This was Stuart's last expedition; for he never recovered his health nor
former eyesight. He was rewarded by the government of the colony