We searched about and found a few small patches of nardoo, which I
collected and pounded, and with a crow, which I shot, made a good
evening's meal. From the time we halted, Mr. Burke seemed to be getting
worse, although he ate his supper. He said he felt convinced he could
not last many hours, and gave me his watch, which, he said, belonged to
the Committee; and a pocket-book, to give to Sir William Stawell, and in
which he wrote some notes. He then said to me: "I hope you will remain
with me here till I am quite dead--it is a comfort to know that some one
is by; but when I am dying, it is my wish that you should place the
pistol in my right hand, and that you leave me unburied as I lie." That
night he spoke very little, and the following morning I found him
speechless, or nearly so; and about eight o'clock he expired. I remained
a few hours there, but as I saw there was no use in remaining longer, I
went up the creek in search of the natives. I felt very lonely, and at
night usually slept in deserted wurleys, belonging to the natives. Two
days after leaving the spot where Mr. Burke died, I found some gunyahs,
where the natives had deposited a bag of nardoo, sufficient to last me a
fortnight, and three bundles containing various articles. I also shot a
crow that evening, but was in great dread that the natives would come
and deprive me of the nardoo.
I remained there two days to recover my strength, and then returned to
Mr. Wills. I took back three crows; but found him lying dead in his
gunyah, and the natives had been there and had taken away some of his
clothes. I buried the corpse with sand, and remained some days; but
finding that my stock of nardoo was running short, and being unable to
gather it, I tracked the natives who had been to the camp by their
foot-prints in the sand, and went some distance down the creek, shooting
crows and hawks on the road. The natives hearing the report of the gun,
came to meet me, and took me with them to their camp, giving me nardoo
and fish. They took the birds I had shot and cooked them for me, and
afterwards showed me a gunyah, where I was to sleep with three of the
single men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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