doning the expedition he might feel assured that the explorers had
not returned.

Wright and Brahe reached the depot on May 8, a fortnight after the
others had left, and Brahe seeing nothing above ground in the camp to
lead him to think anyone had been there, did not trouble to disturb the
box which he had originally planted--as Wright suggested the blacks
would be more likely to find it; therefore, running their horses several
times over the spot, they completed by their thoughtless stupidity the
most terrible blunder the explorers had begun.

Wright and Brahe then rejoined the camp at Bulloo, when all moved back
to Menindie, and reached that place on June 18.

Brahe at once set off for Melbourne, and by this time everyone there
seemed to be alive to the necessity of sending out to look for the
explorers.

Two steamers were despatched to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and a relief
party, in charge of Alfred Howitt, up to the Cooper.

From South Australia an organised expedition of twenty-six men, with
McKinlay as leader, was already engaged in the search, as well as
several smaller parties from the neighbouring colonies.

* * * * *

Burke, Wills, and King, much revived with the rest of a few days and the
food they had found at the depot, left for Mount Hopeless, with the
intention of following as nearly as possible the route taken by Gregory
many years before.

Shortly after their departure Landa, one of the camels, bogged at the
side of a water-hole and sank rapidly, as the ground beneath was a
bottomless quicksand; all their efforts to dig him out were useless, and
they had to shoot him where he lay, and cut off what flesh they could
get at to jerk.

They made a fresh start next day with the last camel, Rajah, only loaded
with the most useful and necessary articles; and each of the men now
carried his own swag of bed and clothing.

In addition to these misfortunes they had now to contend with the blast
of drought that lay over the land; with the fiery sun, that streamed
from cloudless skies, beneath which the very earth shrunk from itself in
gaping fissures; with the wild night wind, that shrieked and skirled
with devastating breath over the wilderness beneath the cold light of
the crowding stars.

For a few days they followed the Creek, but found that it split up into
sandy channels which became rapidly smaller as they advanced, and sent
off large billabongs (or backwaters) to