ushes were perishing from
drought.

The animal life was very scanty. In the brief notes of the expedition
few forms are mentioned except pigeons and ducks, wild geese, pelicans
and certain other waders, parrots, snakes, fishes, and rats. They saw no
kangaroos--those curious jumping and springing animals which carry their
young for seven months in a pouch on the belly, and are as peculiar to
Australia as the llama to South America; nor do the travellers speak of
dingoes, the wild dogs of Australia, which are a terror to sheep
farmers.

They saw Australian blacks clad with shields, long spears, and
boomerangs, and nothing else. These naked, low-typed savages sometimes
gave them fish in exchange for beads, matches, and other trifles. They
were active as monkeys in the trees when they were hunting the beasts of
the forest, but when they saw the camels they usually took to their
heels. They had never seen such kangaroos before, with long legs both
back and front, and also humpbacked.

After the travellers had crossed a hilly tract they had not far to go to
the coast. From the last camp Burke and Wills marched through swamps and
woods of palms and mangroves, but they never caught sight of the waters
of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Forests hid them and swamps intervened when
they were quite close to the shore. Burke had attained his aim: he had
crossed Australia. But his exploit was of little use or satisfaction,
least of all to himself, for his return was a succession of disasters,
the most terrible journey ever undertaken in the fifth continent.
Thunder, lightning, and deluges of rain marked the start southwards. The
lightning flashes followed one another so closely that the palms and
gum-trees were lighted up in the middle of the night as in the day. The
ground was turned into a continuous swamp. In order to spare the camels,
the tents had been left behind. Everything became moist, and the men
grew languid; and when the rain ceased drought set in again and
oppressive, suffocating heat, so that they longed for night as for a
friend.

An emaciated horse was left behind. A snake eight feet long was killed,
and following the example of the savages they ate its flesh, but were
sick after it. Once when they were encamping in a cave in a valley, a
downpour of rain came, filled the valley, and threatened to carry away
themselves and their camp. Mosquitoes tormented them, and sometimes they
had to lose a day when the ground was tur