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 despatch 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 endeavour 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