King, on his examination before the Royal Commission, finding that Mr. Burke was censured for chastising Gray, at first denied it strongly. My son only relates in his diary what Mr. Burke had told him; "I have given Gray a good thrashing, and well he deserved it." King blamed my son for mentioning this, but admitted that Mr. Burke gave Gray several slaps on the head; afterwards, seeing that Mr. Burke was found fault with for not keeping a journal, King was made to appear to say that Mr. Wills's journal was written in conjunction with and under the supervision of Mr. Burke; and thus accounted for the absence of one by Mr. Burke. I was present at King's examination, and can bear witness that he said nothing of the kind. His answers, as given in the Royal Commission Report, were framed to suit the questions of the interrogator, which appeared to astonish King, and he made no reply. King's statements, as far as he understood what he was asked, I believe to have been generally very truthful, and honestly given.
After March 25th, an interval of three days occurs, in which nothing is noted. Gray's illness, attending to the maps, with extra labour, may account for this omission.
March 29.--Camels' last feast; fine green feed at this camp: plenty of vines and young polygonums on the small billibongs.
March 30.--Boocha's rest.--Poor Boocha was killed; employed all day in cutting up and jerking him: the day turned out as favourable for us as we could have wished, and a considerable portion of the meat was completely jerked before sunset.
March 31.--Mia Mia Camp.--Plenty of good dry feed; various shrubs; salt bushes, including cotton bush and some coarse kangaroo grass; water in the hollows on the stony pavement. The neighbouring country chiefly composed of stony rises and sand ridges.
April 5--Oil Camp.--Earthy and clayey plains, generally sound and tolerably grassed, but in other places bare salt bush, and withered.
April 6 and 7.--Earthy flats, cut into innumerable water courses, succeeded by fine open plains, generally very bare, but having in some places patches of fine salt bush. The dead stalks of portulac and mallows show that those plants are very plentiful in some seasons. Towards noon came upon earthy plains and numerous billibongs. The next day the water and feed much dried up, and nearly all the water has a slightly brackish taste of a peculiar kind, somewhat resembling in flavour potassio-tartrate of soda (cream of tartar).
On the 8th, poor Gray, suffering under the bad odour of his peculations, was thought to be pretending illness, because he could not walk, and my son, when he was himself ill, much regretted their suspicions on this point; but it appears from King's evidence, that Gray's excuse for using the provisions surreptitiously, that he was attacked by dysentery, was without foundation.
Monday, April 8.--Camp 50R.--Camped a short distance above Camp 75. The creek here contains more water, and there is a considerable quantity of green grass in its bed, but it is much dried up since we passed before. Halted fifteen minutes to send back for Gray, who pretended that he could not walk. Some good showers must have fallen lately, as we have passed surface water on the plains every day. In the latter portion of to-day's journey, the young grass and portulac are springing freshly in the flats, and on the sides of the sand ridges.