Indeed It Would Have Been Strange If
We, Who Had So Lately Come Through The Desert, And Knew Its Dangers,
Had
not been eager to help the poor fellows in distress, although from the
first we were morally certain there
Could be no hope for them; the only
theory compatible with their being still alive, was that they were camped
at some water easy of access, and were waiting for relief, keeping
themselves from starvation by eating camel-flesh.
For many reasons, that need not be gone into, it was thought best by the
promoters of the expedition in Adelaide that we should remain where we
were; and, thanking me very heartily for our proffered assistance, they
assured me they would be very glad to avail themselves of it should the
search-parties already in the field meet with no success. Had we felt any
hope whatever of the men being alive we should certainly have started off
then and there; since, however, the chances of finding any but dead men
were so very infinitesimal, I agreed to wait and to put myself at their
command for a given time. It will be as well to give here a short
account, as gathered from letters from Wells and others to the
newspapers, of the unfortunate expedition.
This expedition, fitted out partly by the Royal Geographical Society,
South Australia, and partly by a Mr. Calvert, was under command of L. A.
Wells, who was surveyor to the Elder Expedition (1891-92). The party,
besides the leader, consisted of his cousin, C. F. Wells, G. A.
Keartland, G. L. Jones, another white man as cook, two Afghans, and one
black-boy, with twenty-five camels.
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