All this Howitt learned after his arrival at the rendezvous, where he observed cut in the bark of a tree the word “Dig,” and on throwing up the earth found an iron casket deposited by Brahe, giving the date of his departure and reasons for withdrawal before the appointed time.  Of far deeper interest were papers written by Burke, announcing that he had reached the Pacific coast, and retraced his steps as far as Cooper’s Creek—­that for two months the little party had advanced rapidly, making constantly new discoveries of fertile lands, widespread prairies, gushing streams and well-watered valleys.  Occasionally they had found lagoons of salt water, hills of red sand, trees of beautiful foliage, and mounds indicating the presence at some unknown period of the aboriginal inhabitants.  They had discovered a range of high mountains in the north, and called them the Standish Mountains, while at their foot lay outspread a scene so lovely, of verdant groves and fertile meadows, of well-watered plains and heavy forest trees, that they christened it the Land of Promise.  Then they reached again more sterile lands, parched and dry, without a rivulet or an oasis.  They suffered for water and food grew scarce, but, sure of relief at Cooper’s Creek, they pushed bravely on, and reached the rendezvous to learn that the men who could have saved them had passed on but seven hours before!  After having accomplished so much, so bravely battled with heat and hunger, serpents and cannibals, to perish at last of starvation, seemed a fate too terrible; and we cannot wonder that the little band fought their destiny to the last.  Little scraps of the journal of Burke and his friends tell the sad tale of the last few weeks of agony.  On March 6th, Burke seemed near dying from having eaten a bit of a large serpent that he had cooked.  On the 30th they killed one of their camels, and on April 10th they killed “Billy,” Burke’s favorite riding-horse.  On the 11th they were forced to halt on account of the condition of Grey, who was no longer able to proceed.  On the 21st they reached an oasis—­a little squad of human skeletons, scarcely more than alive.

[Illustration:  Course of the Tamar, Van Diemen’s land.]

Far and wide their longing eyes gazed in search of succor:  they called aloud with all their little remaining strength, but the oasis was deserted, and the echo of their own sad voices was all the reply that reached the despairing men.  Then, at their rendezvous, finding the word “Dig” on the tree where Howitt found it at a later day, they opened the soil, and so learned the departure of Brahe on that very morning.  How terribly tantalizing, after their exhausting march and still more exhausting return, after having killed and eaten all their camels but two, and all their horses, after making discoveries that unlocked to the world the vast interior of this hitherto unknown continent, to find that they were