ish miserably.

. . .

Much as I approve of and admire my son's steady obedience to
his leader, I cannot but regret and wonder that in this particular
instance he was not more resolute in remonstrance. It bears out
what I said to Mr. Burke on taking leave of him: "If you ask his
advice, take it; but he will never offer it; and should he see you
going to destruction, he will follow you without a murmur."

The party, before they left Cooper's Creek, buried my son's
journals in the cache, with the subjoined note from Mr. Burke,
which were dug out and brought up by Brahe.

Depot 2, Cooper's Creek Camp 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 to 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 think, restore our strength. We have discovered a
practicable route to Carpentaria, the chief position of which lies
in the 140 degrees of east longitude. There is some good country
between this and the Stony Desert. From thence to the tropics the
land is dry and stony. Between the Carpentaria a considerable
portion is rangy, but well watered and richly grassed. We reached
the shores of Carpentaria on the 11th of February, 1861. Greatly
disappointed at finding the party here gone.

(Signed) ROBERT O'HARA BURKE, Leader.

April 22, 1861.

P.S. The camels cannot travel, and we cannot walk, or we should
follow the other party. We shall move very slowly down the creek.

. . .

My son's journal is now written in a more complete and
consecutive form. He had no instruments for observation or mapping,
so that his time and mind were concentrated on the one employment.

APRIL, 1861.--JOURNAL OF TRIP FROM COOPER'S CREEK TOWARDS ADELAIDE.

The advance party of the V.E.E., consisting of Burke, Wills, and
King (Gray being dead), having returned from Carpentaria, on the
21st April, 1861, in an exhausted and weak state, and finding that
the depot party left at Cooper's Creek had started for the Darling
with their horses and camels fresh and in good condition, deemed it
useless to