gave the name "Cloncurry," and, by
following its course, they found that it entered a large river, on whose
banks they were delighted to perceive the most luxuriant vegetation and
frequent clusters of palm trees. They felt certain that its waters
flowed into the Gulf of Carpentaria, and therefore, by keeping close to
it, they had nothing to fear. But they had brought only three months'
provisions with them; more than half of that time had now elapsed, and
they were still 150 miles from the sea. Burke now lost no time, but
hurried on so fast that, one after another, the camels sank exhausted;
and, when they had all succumbed, Burke and Wills took their only horse
to carry a small quantity of provisions, and, leaving Gray and King
behind, set out by themselves on foot. They had to cross several patches
of swampy ground; and the horse, becoming inextricably bogged, was
unable to go farther. But still Burke and Wills hurried on by themselves
till they reached a narrow inlet on the Gulf of Carpentaria, and found
that the river they had been following was the Flinders, whose mouth had
been discovered by Captain Stokes in 1842. They were very anxious to
view the open sea; but this would have required another couple of days,
and their provisions were already exhausted; they were, therefore,
obliged to hasten back as quickly as possible. The pangs of hunger
overtook them before they could reach the place where King and Gray had
remained with the provisions. Burke killed a snake, and ate a part of
it, but he felt very ill immediately after; and when, at length, they
reached the provisions, he was not able to go forward so quickly as it
was necessary to do, if they wished to be safe. However, they recovered
the horse and camels, which had been greatly refreshed by their rest;
and, by taking easy stages, they managed to move south towards home. But
their hurried journey to the north, in which they had traversed, beneath
a tropical sun, about 140 miles every week, had told severely on their
constitutions; Gray became ill, and it was now necessary to be so
careful with the provisions that he had little chance of regaining his
lost strength. One evening, after they had come to a halt, he was found
sitting behind a tree, eating a little mixture he had made for himself
of flour and water. Burke said he was stealing the provisions, fell upon
him, and gave him a severe thrashing. He seems after this never to have
rallied; whilst the party m