He perused with care the records of various explorers, and went through a course of severe pedestrian exercise, to prepare himself for the privations inseparable from a journey into the wilds of Central Australia. Mr. G. J. LANDELLS, who had been entrusted with the importation of the camels intended for the service of the Expedition, was appointed second in command; Mr. W. J. WILLS to the post of astronomical and meteorological observer, and third in command; Dr. Beckler was named the medical adviser and botanist; Dr. Becker, artist, naturalist, and geologist; and as general assistants, ten suitable persons were chosen-Messrs. Ferguson and Hodgkinson, William Brahé, John King, William Patten, Charles Gray, Thomas M'Donough, Dost Mohammed a sepoy, and two natives named Belooch and Botan. The necessary stores and means of transport were liberally supplied; and nearly £5000 were expended in the purchase of large quantities of dried meats, flour, biscuit, sugar, forage for the camels and horses, and veterinary and other medicines. These were calculated to last for twelve months, and were not intended to be made use of until the expedition had progressed beyond the inhabited districts. It was decided that Cooper's Creek should be the base of operations; and Burke was requested to keep open a communication in his rear with the Darling, and thence with Melbourne, that help might be forwarded to the adventurers if it were needed. At Cooper's Creek a large depôt of provisions was to be established.

Amidst a perfect ovation, and a burst of enthusiasm "which seemed to pervade all classes," the Expedition quitted the Royal Park at Melbourne on the 20th of August 1860.

ARRIVAL AT MENINDIE.

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CHAPTER II.-THE EXPEDITION.

The Depôt at Menindie-Burke's Despatch-Cooper's Creek-A Description-To the North !-Excursions-Loss of Three Camels-A Letter to Bessy-Burke divides his Party-Instructions to Brahé-The Explorers leave Cooper's Creek - Wills' Diary-Australian Scenery - Christmas DayBilly's Creek-The Problem Solved-Burke and Wills in Search of the SeaReach the Vicinity of the Gulf of Carpentaria-Homeward!

THE Expedition arrived at Swan Hill on the 6th of September, where it was most hospitably entertained by the principal inhabitants. It then quitted the colony of Victoria, and entered New South Wales, proceeding towards the river Darling, a tributary of the Murray, and itself the recipient of many smaller tributaries. At Menindie, on the Darling, which was reached about the 23rd of September, Burke established his first depôt; and here the Expedition was deserted by Mr. Landells, who was impatient of his leader's authority, and by Dr. Beckler, whose courage appears to have failed him when he reached the confines of civilization. In how different a spirit the gallant Burke had undertaken his responsibilities, an extract from a letter to his sister will show: "I long to see you, the more now that it is likely to be so long before we meet again; but if I accomplish my task, I will go straight home to receive your congratulations in person. I am confident of success, but know that failure is possible, and I feel that failure would, to me, be ruin; but I am determined to succeed, and count on completing my work within a year at farthest." On losing the services of Mr. Landells, Burke appointed Mr. Wills his second in command; and he was fortunate enough at this juncture to meet with a Mr. Wright, an old settler, who undertook the task of guiding the party

by a practicable route towards Cooper's Creek,* about 400 miles farther on, where it had been determined to establish a permanent depôt. But as many of the inhabitants of Menindie declared that the proposed route was hazardous, Burke determined to test it himself before he led thither the whole Expedition. He accordingly requested Dr. Becker to remain awhile with a party in charge of the stores at Menindie, while he himself with another party pushed on for Cooper's Creek.

The exploring party left Menindie on the 19th of October, and at Torowoto, 200 miles further, Burke's first despatch was written, on the 29th :

:

"I have the honour to report," he wrote, "that I left Menindie on the 19th instant, with the following party : Messrs. Burke, Wills, Brahé, Patten, M'Donough, King, Gray, Dost Mohammed; fifteen horses and sixteen camels; and Mr. Wright, who had kindly volunteered to show me a practicable route towards Cooper's Creek for a distance of 100 miles from the Darling; and he has more than fulfilled his promise, for we have now travelled for upwards of 200 miles, generally through a fine sheepgrazing country; and we have not had any difficulty about water, as we found creeks or water-holes, many of them having every appearance of permanent water, at distances never exceeding twenty miles. Although travelling at the rate of twenty miles a-day, the horses and camels have all improved in condition; and the country improves as we go on. Yesterday, from Waunamotea to Paldrumati Creek, we travelled over a splendid grazing country; and to-day we are encamped on a creek or swamp, the banks of which are very well grassed, and

* All small inland streams in Australia are called creeks.

· PLANS AND PROJECTS.

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good feed all the way from our last camp, except for ten miles, and here the ground was barren and swampy.

"Mr. Wright returns from here to Menindie. I informed him that I should consider him third officer of the Expedition, subject to the approval of the committee, from the day of our departure from Menindie, and hope that they will confirm the appointment. In the meantime, I have instructed him to follow me up, with the remainder of the camels, to Cooper's Creek, and to take steps to procure a quantity of salt meat.

"I shall proceed on from here to Cooper's Creek. I may or may not be able to send back from there until we are followed up; perhaps it would not be prudent to divide the party. The natives here have told Mr. Wright that we shall meet with opposition on our way there. Perhaps I might find it advisable to have a depôt at Cooper's Creek, and to go on with a small party to examine the country beyond it. Under any circumstances, it is desirable that we should be soon followed up. I consider myself very fortunate in having Mr. Wills as my second in command. He is a capital officer, zealous and untiring in the performance of his duties; and I trust that he will remain my second as long as I am in charge of the Expedition."

It is evident that Burke had taken every precaution to secure the safety of his followers; and had Mr. Wright carried out his instructions, and followed immediately in his leader's track, unquestionably not a life would have been lost. Unhappily, he remained at Menindie from the 5th of November to the 26th of January, and his criminal delay was the cause of the deplorable catastrophe which I shall hereafter have to relate.

Burke and his party pushed on with all possible speed for Cooper's Creek. From their starting-point at Melbourne they had numbered each stage or encampment where they rested. Torowoto was the 35th, and the point where they first struck Cooper's Creek, on the 11th of November, Camp 57. The road from Torowoto to Balloo, or Wright's Creek, they found very good. The creek itself breaks into numerous small channels, and then runs in a southerly direction towards the great Cangapundy Swamp. The banks are bordered with box-trees, and fringed with spinach and marsh-mallow; the land on either side consists of sandy undulations, thickly sown with grass. Four or five miles further, the creek dwindles into a narrow water-course, winding through a grassy valley, which, in rainy seasons, is evidently the channel of a rushing torrent. Then comes an extensive plain, where almost all trace of the creek is lost; and beyond, among a clump of trees, lie two large water-holes or pools, stocked with fish. Here the explorers came upon an encampment of about sixty natives.

For the next twelve miles they traversed a fine pastoral country, and at thirteen miles beyond crossed the creek where it had excavated a deep but narrow channel, richly shaded with noble trees. They continued to advance through a most romantic region, ever and anon touching the creek in one of its sinuosities, or passing through groves of box, acacias, and gum-trees, with a range of sandstone hills swelling against the sky to the westward. Occasionally they met with some of the natives, while their rifles had abundant employment among the water-fowl that tenanted the creek and pools.