Fitzroy Downs, expressing hope and confidence as to the ultimate
success of the expedition. Since that date, neither tidings nor traces
have been found of the lost explorer, nor of any of his men or
belongings. Several search-parties were organised and a large reward
offered, but all in vain--and the scene of his disaster remains
undiscovered to this day. Many and various are the theories propounded
with regard to his fate. It is held by some that the whole party were
caught in the floods of the Cooper. This creek is now known to spread
out, after heavy rains at its source, to a width of between forty and
fifty miles. So heavy and sudden is the rain in semi-tropical Australia,
that a traveller may be surrounded by flood-waters, while not a drop of
local rain may fall. Leichardt, in those early days, would labour under
the disadvantage of knowing neither the seasons, nor the rainfall, and in
all likelihood would choose the valley of a creek to travel along, since
it would afford feed for his stock. It seems reasonable to suppose that a
flood alone could make so clean a sweep of men, cattle, and equipment
that even keen-eyed aboriginals have failed (so far as is known) to
discover any relics.

Another theory, and that held by Mr. Panton, is that the deserts of
Central and Western Australia hold the secret of his death. This theory
is based, I believe, on the fact that Gregory, in the fifties, found on
the Elsey Creek (North Australia) what he supposed to be the camp of a
white man. This in conjunction with some vague reports by natives would
point to Leichardt having travelled for the first part of his journey
considerably further north than was his original intention, with a view
to making use of the northern rivers. Supposing that his was the camp
seen on the Elsey, a tributary of the Victoria River, it would have been
necessary for him to alter his course to nearly due South-West to enable
him to reach the Swan River. This course would have taken him through the