The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-22 00:00:00

should have thought more of it if the pigeons had
made a more decided start. Last night the wind
changed from N.E. to S.W., and brought up a slight
shower.
S.W., with heavy clouds,
threate T
n inghrias morning
in. King improving slowly, but very
weak. Turned out the white pigeon again this after-
noon ; he flew into a gum standing in the camp, and
has taken up his quarters there—not a proper pro-
ceeding for a carrier pigeon according to my idea.
21st September.—Finding that it would not be
prudent for King to go out for two or three days, I
could no longer defer making a search for the spot
where Mr. Burke died ; and with such directions as
King could give, I went up the creek this morning
with Messrs. Brahe, Welsh, Wheeler, and Aitken.
We searched the creek upwards of eight miles, and
at length, strange to say; found the remains of Mr.
Burke lying among tall plants under a clump of
box trees, within 200 yards-of our last camp, and
not 30 paces from our track. It was still more ex-,
traordinary that three or four of the party and the
two black boys had been close to the "apt without
noticing it. The bones were entire, with the`excep-
tion of the hands and feet ; and the body had been
removed from the spot where it first lay, and where
the natives had placed branches over it, to about
five paces distant. I found the revolver which Mr.
Burke held in his hand when he expired, partly
covered with leaves and earth, and corroded with
rust. It was loaded and capped. We dug a grave
close to the spot, and interred the remains wrapped
in the union jack, the most fitting covering in which
the bones of a brave but unfortunate man could take
their last rest. On a box tree at the head of the
grave the following inscription is cut:—

R. O'H. B.
21 I 9 I 61
A.H.

The following is King's narrative, which gives a
clear and apparently truthful account of the straits
to which the party were unfortunately reduced :

Mr. Burke, Mr. Wills, and I, reached the depot at
Cooper's Creek, on 21st April, about half-past 7 in the
evening, with two camels—all that remained of the six
Mr. Burke took with him. All the provisions we then had
consisted of a pound and a half of dried meat. We found
the party had gone the same day, and looking about for
any mark they might have left, found the tree with DIG,
April 21. Mr. Wills said the party had left for the Dar-
ling. We dug, and found the plant of stores. Mr. Burke
took the papers out of the bottle and then asked each of us
whether we were able to proceed up the creek in pursuit of
the party ; we said not, and he then said that he thought it
his duty to ask us, but that he himself was unable to do so,
but that he had decided upon trying to make Mount Hope•
less, as he had been assured by the committee in Melbourne
that there was a cattle station within 150 miles of Cooper's
Creek. Mr. Wills was not inclined to follow this plan, but
wished to go down our old track, but at last gave in to Mr.
Burke's wishes ; I also wished to go down by our old track.
We remained four or five days to recruit, making prepara-
tions to go down the creek by stages of 4 to 5 miles a day,
and Mr. Burke placed a paper in the plant, stating what
were our plans. Travelling down the creek, we got some
fish from the natives, and some distance down one of the
camels (Landa) got bogged, and although we remained
there that day (and part of the next trying to dig him out
we found our strength insufficient to do so. The evening
of the second day we shot him as he lay, and, having cut
off as much meat as we could, we lived on it while we staid
to dry the remainder. Throwing all the unnecessary things
away, we made one load for the remaining camel (Rajah),
and each of us carried a swag of about 251 b. We were
then tracing down the branches of the creek running S.,
but found that they ran out into earthy plains. We
had understood that the creek along Gregory's track
was continuous ; and finding that all these creeks ran out
into plains, Mr. Burke returned, our camel being com-
pletely knocked up. We then intended to give the camel
a spell for a few days, and to make a new attempt to push
on 40 or 50 miles to the south, in the hope of striking the
creek. During the time that the camel was being rested,
Mr, Burke and Mr. Wills went in mare)} of the natives, to 1
endeavour to find out how the nardoo grew. Having
found their camp, they obtained as much nardoo cake and
fish as they could eat, but could not explain that they
wished to be shown how to find the seed themselves. They
returned on the third day, bringing some fish and nardoo
cake with them. On the following day the camel Rajah
seemed very ill, and I told Mr. Burke I thought he could
net linger out more than four days; and as on the same
evening the poor brute was on the point of dying, Mr.
Burke ordered him to be shot. I did so, and we cut him
up with two broken knives and a lancet. We cured the
meat and planted it; and Mr. Burke then made another at-
tempt to find the nardoo, taking me with him. We went
down the creek, expecting to find the natives at the camp
where they had been last seen, but found that they had
left ; and not knowing whether they had gone up or down
the creek, we slept in their gunyahs that night, and on the
following morning returned to Mr. Wills. The next day
Mr. Burke and I started up the creek, but could see nothing
of them, and were three days away, when we returned and
remained three days in our camp with Mr. Wills. We
then made a plant of all the articles we could not carry
with us, leaving 51b. of rice and a quantity of meat, and
then followed up the creek, to where there were some good
native huts. We remained at that place a few days, and
finding that our provisions were beginning to run short,
Mr. Burke said that we ought to do something, and that if
we did not find the nardoo we should starve, and that he
intended to have a little dried meat and rice to carry us to
Mount Hopeless. The three of us then came to the
conclusion that it would be better to make a second
attempt to reach Mount Hopeless, as we were then as
strong as we were likely to be, our daily allowance being
then reduced. Mr. Burke asked each of us whether we
were willing to make another attempt to make the South
Australian settlements, and we decided on going. We
took with us what remained of the provisions we had plan-
ted—two and a-half pounds of oatmeal, a small quantity of
flour, and the dried meat—this, with powder and shot, and
other small articles, made up our swags to 301 b. each, and
Mr. Burke carried one billy of water, and I another. We
had not gone far before we came on a flat, where I saw a
plant growing which I took to be clover, and, on looking
closer, saw the seed, and called out that I had found the
nardoo. They were very glad when I found it. We tra-
velled three days, and struck a watercourse coming south
from Cooper's Creek. We traced this, as it branched out
and ;reformed.: on the plains, until we lost it in
was
were t
mcoade,
try. Sandhills were in front of us, fotrerwhNicvhe
all
and travelled all day, but found no
greatly fatigued, as our rations now cwoansis.ted of only one
small johnny cake and three sticks of dried meat daily. We
camped that evening about four o'clock, intending to push
next day until two o'clock p.m., and then, should we not
find water, to return. We travelled and found no water,
and three of us sat down and rested for an hour, and then
turned back. We all felt satisfied that, had there been a
few days' rain, we could have got through. We were then,
according to Mr. Wills's calculation forty-five miles from
the creek. We travelled on the day we turned back, very
late, and the following evening reached the nearest water
at the creek. We gathered some nardoo, and boiled the
seeds, as we were unable to pound them. The following
day we reached the main creek; and knowing where there
was a fine waterhole and native gunyahs, we went there,
intending to save what remained of our flour and dried meat,
for the purpose of making another attempt to reach Mount
Hopeless. On the following day, Mr. Wills and I went
out to gather nardoo, of which we obtained a supply
sufficient for three days ; and finding a pounding stone
at the gunyahs, Mr. Burke and I pounded he
seese
which was such slow work that we were compelled.llt thenu
half flour and half nardoo. Mr. Burke and Mr.dWriedi
meat
went down the creek for the remainder of the
which he had planted, and we had nowbaeleltourwaythings with
we could.
us, gathering nardoo, and living the
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 h
ks
fiouajnourney to
ing stated that we were on our road to South Australia.
He was also to bury there the
fieg
o t d
3-19117.0 f of thred 41b. of
the Gulf. Before starting he
nard
aboutoan eight days.
a pound of meat, as he expected to be ab-
sentght days. During his absence I gathered nar-
doe and pounded it, as Mr. Burke wished to lay in a supply
in case 6f rain.
A few days after Mr. Wills left, some natives came down
to the creek to fish at some waterholes near our camp. They
were very civil to us at first, and offered us some fish ; on
the second day they came again to fish, and Mr. Burke took
down two bags, which they filled for him ; on the third day
they gave us one bag of fish, and afterwards all came to our
camp. We used to keep our ammunit on and other articles
in one gunyah, and all three of us lived together in another.
One of the natives took an oilcloth out of this gunyah, and
Mr. Burke seeing him run away with it, followed him with
his revolver and fired over his head, and upon this the na-
tive dropped the oilcloth. While he was away the other
blacks invited me away to a waterhole to eat fish ; but I de-
clined to do so, as Mr. Burke was away, and a number of
natives were about who would have taken all our things.
When I refused, one took his boomerang and laid it over
my shoulder, and then told me by signs that if I called out
for Mr. Burke, as I was doing, he would strike me. Upon
this I got them all in front of the gunyah and fired a re-
v aver over their heads, but they did not seem at all afraid,

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until I got out the gun, when they all ran ally. n Thai?,
hearing the report, came back, and we saw no more of thet
till late that night, wheß they came with some cooked fish
and called " white fellow." Mr. Burke then went out with
his revolver and found a whole tribe coming down, all
painted, and with fish in small nets carried by two men.
Mr. Burke went to meet them, and they wished to surrourA
him, but he knocked as many of the nets of fish out of their
bands as he could, and shouted out to me to fire. I did so,
and they ran off. We collected five small nets of cooked
fish. The reason he would not accept the fish from them
was, that he was afraid of being too friendly, lest they should
be always at our camp. We then lived on fish until Mr.
Wills returned. He told us that he had met the natives
soon after leaving us, and that they were very kind to him,
and had given him plenty to eat both on going up and re-
turning. He seemed to consider that he should have very
little difficulty in living with them ; and as their camp was
close to ours he returned to them the same day and found
them very hospitable and friendly, keeping him with them
two days, They then made signs to him to be off. He came
to us and narrated what had happened, but went back to
them the following day, when they gave him his breakfast,
but made signs to him to go away. He pretended not to
understand them, and would not go, upon which they made
signs that they were going up the creek, and that he had
better go down. They packed up and left the camp, giving
Mr, Wills a little nardoo to take to us.

During his absence, while Mr. Burke was cooking some
fish, during a strong wind, the flames caught the gunyah,
and burnt so rapidly that we were unable, not only to put
it out, but to save any of our things, excepting one revolver
and a gun. 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 encamped on the
opposite side of the creek to them. He said he knew
where they were 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 -empleyed gathering nartleo,, 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 asbefore, nor even strong enough
to pound it, so that in a few days he became almost help-
less. I still continued gathering, and Mr. Burke now also
began to feel very weak, and said he could be of very little
use in pounding. I had now to gather and pound for all
three of us. I continued to do this for a few days, but
finding my strength rapidly failing, my legs being very
weak and painful, I was unable to go out for several days,
and we were compelled to consume -six days' stock which
we had laid by. Mr. Burke now proposed that I should
gather as much 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 onr 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. Mr. Wills said that, in case of my surviving Mr.
Burke, he hoped that I would carry out his last wishes, iu
giving the watch and letter to his father.
In travelling 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 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
on him 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
pocketbook, to give to Sir Wm. Stawell, and in which he
wrote some notes. He then said to me, " I hope you will
remain with me here till lam 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 ho spoke
very little, and the following morning I found him speech-
less or Dearly so • and about 8 o'clock he expired. I re-
mained a fethl - ; but talaaw, the e At Drutejli --'''''`
enkrttlete
remaining longer, ant tip ibe , , settreltefthe ----
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 gun-
yahs, where the natives had deposited a bag of nardoo,
sufficient to last me a fortnight, and three bundles contain-
ing 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 re-
mained there 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 footprints in the sand, and went some dis-
tance down the creek, shooting crows and hawks on the
road. The natives, hearing the report of a 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. The
following morning they commenced talking to me, and put-
ting one finger on the ground, and covering it with sand,
at the same time pointing up the creek, saying, "White-
fellow," which I understood to mean that one white man
was dead. From this I knew that they were the tribe who
had taken Mr. Wills' clothes. They then asked me where
the third white man was, and I also made the sign of put-
ting two fingers on the ground and covering them with
sand, at the same time pointing up the creek. They ap-
peared to feel great compassion for me when they under-
stood 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 down-
wards ; but I pretended not to undershnd them. The same
day they shifted camp, and I followed them ; and on reach-
ing 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 mutter-
ing 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 ell', crying out, " Mokow I mokow 1" (Fire I fire 1)
From this time she and her husband used to give me a small
quantity of nardoo both night and morning, and when-
ever the tribe ware about going on a fishing excursion, he
used to give me notice to go with them. Tbey also used to
assist me in making a gourley, 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.
Every four or five days the tribe would surround me,
and ask whether I intended going up or down the creek—
at last I made them understand that if they went up I
should go up the creek, and if they went down I should
also go down, and from this time they seemed to look upon
me as one of themselves, and supplied me with fish and
nardoo regularly. They were very anxious, however, to
know where Mr. Burke lay—and one day when we were
fishing in the waterholes close by I took them to the spot.
On seizing his remains the -whole party wept bitterly, and
covered them with bushes. After this they were much
kinder to me than before—and I always told them that the
white men would be here before two moons—and in the
evenings, when they came with nardoo and fish, they used
to talk about the " whitefellows" coming, at the same time
pointing to the moon. I also told them they would receive
many presents, end they constantly asked me for toma-
hawks, called by them " Bomayko." 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 re-
leased, one of the tribe who had been fishing came and told
me that the whitefellows were coining, and the whole of
the tribe who were in the camp sallied out in every direc-
tion to meet the party, while the man who had brought
the news took me across the creek, where I shortly saw the
party coming d2va—

The subjoined extract of a letter from a merchant
of high standing in the Northern States indicates senti-
ments which, it is believed, would be extensively avowed
if freedom of opinion had not been suppressed :—" Unless
the war is soon ended, the time is not distant when the
Government will not be able to buy anything for their
paper money. What comes nest? It then only remains
to be seen whether they will tak by force of arms food,
clothing, &0., for their armies. It may not come to this,
but it can only be prevented by the assertion of an indep
dence on the part of the intelligent portion of the people of
the North, which they have so far shown but littlepedoisposi-
tion to display. Whether they are influencedlshing in their
action by hatred of the South or base fear cf the Washing-
, Government is a question yet to be determine \red'a '
'