The previous year McIntyre had visited a water-hole in the Cooper some seventy-four or seventy-five miles from his camp on the Paroo, and now ordered the whole of his heavily-laden beasts and all the men to start for the distant spot.  The few appliances they had for carrying water soon became emptied.  About the middle of the third day, upon arrival at the wished-for relief, to their horror and surprise they found the water-hole was dry—­by no means an unusual thing in Australian travel.  The horses were already nearly dead; McIntyre, without attempting to search either up or down the channel of the watercourse, immediately ordered a retreat to the last water in the Paroo.  After proceeding a few miles he left the horses and white men, seven in number, and went on ahead with the camels, the Afghans and the black boy, saying he would return with water for the others as soon as he could.  His brother was one of the party left behind.  Almost as soon as McIntyre’s back was turned, the doctor said to the men something to the effect that they were abandoned to die of thirst, there not being a drop of water remaining, and that he knew in which packs the medical brandy was stowed, certain bags being marked to indicate them.  He then added, “Boys, we must help ourselves! the Leichhardt Search Expedition is a failure; follow me, and I’ll get you something to drink.”  Taking a knife, he ripped open the marked bags while still on the choking horses’ backs, and extracted the only six bottles there were.  One white man named Barnes, to whom all honour, refused to touch the brandy, the others poured the boiling alcohol down their parched and burning throats, and a wild scene of frenzy, as described by Barnes, ensued.  In the meanwhile the unfortunate packhorses wandered away, loaded as they were, and died in thirst and agony, weighed down by their unremoved packs, none of which were ever recovered.  Thus all the food supply and nearly all the carrying power of the expedition was lost; the only wonder was that none of these wretches actually died at the spot, although I heard some of them died soon after.  The return of McIntyre and the camels loaded with water saved their lives at the time; but what was his chagrin and surprise to find the party just where he had left them, nearly dead, most of them delirious, with all the horses gone, when he had expected to meet them so much nearer the Paroo.  In consequence of the state these men or animals were in, they had to be carried on the camels, and it was impossible to go in search of the horses; thus all was lost.  This event crushed the expedition.  Mcintyre obtained a few more horses, pushed across to the Flinders again, became attacked with fever, and died.  Thus the “Ladies’ Leichhardt Search Expedition” entirely fell through.  The camels were subsequently claimed by McIntyre’s brother for the cost of grazing them, he having been carried by them to Carpentaria, where he selected an excellent pastoral property, became rich, and died.  It was the same doctor that got into trouble with the Queensland Government concerning the kidnapping of some islanders in the South Seas, and narrowly escaped severe, if not capital punishment.