We lost no time in
instituting inquiry, and found that the report was certainly not
unfounded. It was stated that a police trooper in the north had
sent down information, derived through a black, that at a long
distance beyond the settled districts some white men were living,
and that the black had obtained a portion of their hair. The white
men were described as being entirely naked, and as living upon a
raft on a lake, supporting themselves by catching fish: that they
had no firearms nor horses, but some great animals, which, from the
description given by the native, were evidently camels. There
could, therefore, be but little doubt as to this being Burke's
party, or a portion of it; and as soon as it was ascertained that
the rumour had some tangible kind of foundation, public curiosity
for fuller and more authentic details speedily rose very high. On
the assembling of Parliament, the Commissioner of Crown Lands,
desirous of allaying the anxiety of the public, read from his place
the letter brought by the native, of which the following is a copy:
--
Wirrilpa, September 12, 1861,
SIR,
I have the honour to forward the following particulars gathered
from the blacks, seeming to refer to Mr.
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