The Newport plain talk. (Newport, Tenn.) 1909-1939, 1913-01-23
A DESERT ENIGMA
Mystery Of a Vanished Party Of
Australian Explorers.
LEFT NOT A TRACE BEHIND.
TIE Leiehhardt Expedition Disappear
ed as Though II Had Been Swallowed
Up by the Earth. Which May Indeed
Have Been Its Fearful Fate.

Have Been Its Fearful Fate.
There u have been recorded many
strange tragedies OF exploration in lone
and distant lands but no one event of
the kind has ever 80 stirred mems minds
us did the. disappearance of the
well found and splcndidly equipped ex.
| petition which Dr. Ludwig LEIGH
hardt. the Franklin of Australia. led
into the central deserts of Australia in
lS4S
Lcichhardt'S design was to march
| right across the continent from the east
coast 10 The west. and as lie had al.
! ready led Il successful expedition near,
~ 5000 miles through IL previously I'M
known part Of Australia. it was gener-
ally thought that he would be able to
accomplish The task.
Still. there were some who doubted
and prophesied disaster. and more than
one wealthy friend of the doctors re-
fused TO subscribe toward the expedi.
ton on the ground that they were not
going to help him to commit suicide.
The members OF the expedition num-
bered six whites and two blacks. an
unusually large number for an expior.
ing expedition Of this nature. and be.
sides being amply provided with -four,
biscuit. tea. sugar and so Oh. they drove
along with them fifty bulocks and 30
goats. They also had spare horses and
mules in abundance.
At that time the most westerly sta
ton in southern Queensland was oc-
cupied by Il squatter named McPher.
! son. who dwelt on Cocoon creek. From
there Leichhardt wrote a brief letter as
he was about to start into the unknown
land beyond
| That was The last ever heard of him
or Of any OF his companions. and this
Notwithstanding the fact that exped-
ton after expedition was afterward
sent out in search Of them.
As completely as though they had
been swallowed up by the earth. they
vanished
This is the most puzziing part Of the
mystery-its completeness. Had they
beeu killed by the natives. as was Mt
! first wrongly reported. some relics Of
the explorers would long since have
been recovered from them. In some
| shape the iron work Of the implements
aud arms they had with them would
have survived.
And what of the stock: Some Of the
| goats. at all events. must Shave been
, left alive. one would have imagined.
| for these are VIGOROUSLY hardy ami
mails. able IL pick mp n living almost
anywhere. Yet none Of these. nor any
of the horses. miles or bullocks were
ever traced.
The probability Is that the i'll fated
expedition struck one OF those water
less patches Of country common in
parts of Australia. into which the
blacks never venture. 1t is not difficult
in this case to prophesy what would
have been their fate
Their reserve barrels once emptied Of
their precious contents. the little water
carried by the men in their canteens
would not last more than Il day or so.
In the shadeless bush. in that terrific
heat. death comes swiftly under such
circumstances. About forty eight hours
is the limit OF human endurance.
Usually half that time suttices
The explorers, we may be sure. would
struggle on to the last. however. huS-
banding their water to the uttcrmoSt
drop The animals would he the first to
60 and the desperate expedient of
drinking their blood would he resort
ed to.
Hotter land hotter grows the mir as
the doomed men stagger further and
further into the raineSs desert
Some lose their reason: all lose hope.
Then comes the end. They separate
and fall and die
Day after day the terrible and pitiless
sun looks down upon them lying there
and sees them dry and shrivel into
mummies.
And still no rain falls.
But one day. 1t may be years after
ward. there arises Il sandstorm of eX-
ceptional violence. The wind blows
with all the strength and fury Of an
arctic blizzard. but driving before it
sand. not snow.
When it ceases the desert is there as
before; the same. yet different Noun
tains of sand exist where before were
valleys.
The mummies have vanished from
human ken forever. --Pearson's Weekly
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