Source.—Papers relating to the Burke and Wills Exploring Expedition, 1861. Published in the Argus, pp. 2-5, 19-20
In the year 1860 an expedition was planned to travel from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The leader was Robert Burke, and though with Wills, Gray, and King he reached the Gulf, the return was fatal owing to the desertion of the Cooper's Creek Depot by the other members of the expedition.
In the course of his evidence before the Commission of Inquiry Mr. King, the sole survivor, said:
The day before we arrived at Cooper's Creek we were allowed to consume as much provisions as we chose, in expectations of finding supplies so soon. We had only one pound of dry meat when we got there. If we had found no provisions there, we should all have died. It was as much as any of us could do to travel along the side of the creek. We had been so weak, that for ten days before, we had scarcely been able to make much distance, or to walk about. I seemed to be worse than
either Mr. Burke or Mr. Wills, but after we arrived at the Depot I improved much more than they did. We had no difficulty in finding the provisions there. We arrived in the moonlight at half-past seven o'clock at night, after having pushed on thirty miles that day. Mr. Burke rode on one of the camels, and I and Mr. Wills on the other. We had our revolvers with us, and had been continually shooting at the crows and hawks. When we got to the Depot Mr. Burke was a little ahead
of Mr. Wills and myself. He had often before said, "I think I can see their tents ahead," and made several remarks like that until we arrived there. When we got near, he said, "I suppose they have shifted to some other part of the creek." It was Mr. Wills who first saw the tree-mark, and saw the things scattered about the stockade. He saw the words, "Dig three feet to the north-east," or north-west; I am not certain which. When he saw the date at which they came to the camp,
and the date at which they left, he said at once, "They have left here to-day. If they had shifted to any other part of the creek, they would not have marked this." We set to work digging up the plant. We did not know where they had gone to, but thought they had left some instructions. Mr. Burke was too much excited to do anything, and Mr. Wills and myself dug up the plant. I got the bottle there and Mr. Burke said: "Whatever instructions they have left are in this bottle." I
then opened it and handed it to him. When he had read it, he informed us that the other party, except Paton, and that the animals were in good working order, and that on account of no person coming up to them, they had made a start for Camp 60, taking a course S.E. for Bulloo. Mr. Burke then said it was madness to attempt to follow them, as their men were in good order, and their camel too. He said we could not expect to make forced marches, and catch them up. Had the latter
said they were in a weak state, as it appeared they were, we should have tried at any rate to overtake them. We remained at the creek a few days, and Mr. Burke and Mr. Wills had a consultation as to what was best to be done.
We left no provisions behind us, but took everything with us. When we had consumed all the sugar but 12 lb. we gave some balls of it to the camel. For a few days our principal food was porridge, which we preferred to anything else. We boiled it with water and sugar. In going down towards Mount Hopeless, we found we could not carry all the things we brought with us. We had to leave the camel-pads and such things. We made two attempts to get to Mount Hopeless. After losing one
camel we remained at the creek some short time, till we recovered strength to start for Cooper's Creek again. We had only the clothes we stood in, and no bed-clothing but the camels' pads and two oilcloths. We had boots and trousers, such as they were.
Burke's Last Letter
The following is the dispatch of Mr. Burke, left at the Depot at Cooper's Creek:
Depot No. 2, Cooper's Creek, Camp No. 65.—The return party from Carpentaria, consisting of myself, Wills and King (Gray dead) arrived here last night, and found that the depot party had only started on the same day. We proceed on to-morrow slowly down the creek towards Adelaide by Mount Hopeless, and shall endeavor to follow Gregory's track; but we are very weak. The two camels are done up, and we shall not be able travel faster than four or five miles a day. Gray died on the
road from exhaustion and fatigue. We have all suffered much from hunger. The provisions left here will, I think, restore our strength. We have discovered a practicable route to Carpentaria, the chief portion of which lies on the 140th decree of east longitude. There is some good country between this and the Stony Desert. From there to the tropic the country is dry and stony. Between the tropic and Carpentaria a considerable portion is rangy, but it is well watered and richly
grassed. We reached the shores of Carpentaria on 11th February, 1861. Greatly disappointed at finding the party here gone.
(Signed) Robert O'hara Burke, Leader.
April 22nd, 1861.
P.S.—The camels cannot travel, and we cannot walk, or we should follow the other party. We shall move very slowly down the creek.
King's Narrative
Mr. Burke requested Mr. Wills to go up the creek as far as the Depot, and to place a note in the plant there, stating that we were then living on the creek, the former note having stated that we were on our road to South Australia. He also was to bury there the field-books of the journey to the Gulf.
Mr. Wills being returned, it was decided to go up the creek and live with the natives, if possible, as Mr. Wills thought we should have but little difficulty in obtaining provisions from them if we camped on the opposite side of the creek to them. He said he knew where they had gone, so we packed up and started. Coming to the gunyahs where we expected to have found them, we were disappointed, and seeing a nardoo field close by, halted, intending to make it our camp. For some
time we were employed gathering nardoo, and laying up a supply.
Mr. Wills and I used to collect and carry home a bag each day, and Mr. Burke generally pounded sufficient for our dinner during our absence, but Mr. Wills found himself getting very weak, and was shortly unable to go out to gather nardoo as before, nor even strong enough to pound it, so that in a few days he became almost helpless. Mr. Burke now proposed that I should gather as much nardoo as possible in three days, and that with this supply we should go in search of the
natives—a plan which had been urged upon us by Mr. Wills as the only chance of saving him and ourselves as well, as he clearly saw that I was no longer able to collect sufficient for our wants. Having collected the seed, as proposed, and having pounded sufficient to last Mr. Wills for eight days, and two days for ourselves, we placed water and firewood within his reach and started. Before leaving him, however, Mr. Burke asked him whether he still wished it, as under no other
circumstances would he leave him; and Mr. Wills again said that he looked on it as our only chance. He then gave Mr. Burke a letter and his watch for his father, and we buried the remainder of the field-books near the gunyah.
In traveling the first day, Mr. Burke seemed very weak and complained of great pain in his legs and back. On the second day he seemed to be better, and said that he thought he was getting stronger, but, on starting, did not go two miles before he said he could go no further. I persisted in his trying to go on, and managed to get him along several times, until I saw that he was almost knocked up, when he said he could not carry his swag, and threw all he had away. I also
reduced mine, taking nothing but a gun and some powder and shot and a small pouch and some matches. On starting again we did not go far before Mr. Burke said we should halt for the night, but, as the place was close to a large sheet of water, and exposed to the wind, I prevailed to go a little further, to the next reach of water where we camped.
We searched about and found a few small patches of nardoo, which I collected and pounded, and with a crow, which I shot, made a good evening's meal. From the time we halted, Mr. Burke seemed to be getting worse, although he ate his supper. He said he felt convinced he could not last many hours, and gave me his watch, which, he said, belonged to the Committee; and a pocket-book, to give to Sir William Stawell, and in which he wrote some notes. He then said to me: "I hope you
will remain with me here till I am quite dead—it is a comfort to know that some one is by; but when I am dying, it is my wish that you should place the pistol in my right hand, and that you leave me unburied as I lie." That night he spoke very little, and the following morning I found him speechless, or nearly so; and about eight o'clock he expired. I remained a few hours there, but as I saw there was no use in remaining longer, I went up the creek in search of the natives. I
felt very lonely, and at night usually slept in deserted wurleys, belonging to the natives. Two days after leaving the spot where Mr. Burke died, I found some gunyahs, where the natives had deposited a bag of nardoo, sufficient to last me a fortnight, and three bundles containing various articles. I also shot a crow that evening, but was in great dread that the natives would come and deprive me of the nardoo.
I remained there two days to recover my strength, and then returned to Mr. Wills. I took back three crows; but found him lying dead in his gunyah, and the natives had been there and had taken away some of his clothes. I buried the corpse with sand, and remained some days; but finding that my stock of nardoo was running short, and being unable to gather it, I tracked the natives who had been to the camp by their foot-prints in the sand, and went some distance down the creek,
shooting crows and hawks on the road. The natives hearing the report of the gun, came to meet me, and took me with them to their camp, giving me nardoo and fish. They took the birds I had shot and cooked them for me, and afterwards showed me a gunyah, where I was to sleep with three of the single men.
They appeared to feel great compassion for me when they understood that I was alone on the creek, and gave me plenty to eat. After being four days with them, I saw that they were becoming tired of me, and they made signs that they were going up the creek, and that I had better go downwards; but I pretended not to understand them. The same day they shifted camp, and I followed them; and on reaching their camp, I shot some crows, which pleased them so much that they made me a
breakwind in the centre of their camp, and came and sat round me until such time as the crows were cooked, when they assisted me to eat them. The same day one of the women to whom I had given part of a crow, came and gave me a ball of nardoo, saying that she would give me more only she had such a sore arm that she was unable to pound. She showed me a sore on her arm, and the thought struck me that I would boil some water in the billy and wash her arm with a sponge. During the
operation the whole tribe sat round and were muttering one to another. Her husband sat down by her side and she was crying all the time. After I had washed it, I touched it with some nitrate of silver, when she began to yell and ran off, crying out, "Mokow! Mokow!" ("Fire! fire!"). From this time, she and her husband used to give me a small quantity of nardoo both night and morning, and whenever the tribe were about going on a fishing excursion, he used to give me notice to
go with them. They also used to assist me in making a wurley, or breakwind, whenever they shifted camp. I generally shot a crow or a hawk, and gave it to them in return for these little services.
From this time to when the relief party arrived—a period of about a month—they treated me with uniform kindness, and looked upon me as one of themselves. The day on which I was released, one of the tribe who had been fishing came and told me that the white fellows were coming, and the whole of the tribe who were then in camp sallied out in every direction to meet the party, while the man who had brought the news took me over the creek, where I shortly saw the party coming
down.
A Source Book of Australian History, 1919 |
