At various times they had tried to learn from the blacks how to procure the nardoo grain, which is the seed of a small clover-like plant, but had failed to make them understand what they wanted.
Afterwards a supply of nardoowas given him; at which he ate until he could eat no more.
In one of their deserted mia-mias he found a large store of the nardoo seed, and, carrying it with him, returned to Wills.
The old fellow also described minutely the different waters passed by Burke, and the way in which the men subsisted on the seeds of the nardoo plant, all of which he must have heard from other natives.
Wills, who was now so weak as to be unable to move, was left lying under some boughs, with an eight days' supply of nardoo and water, the others trusting that within that period they would have returned to him.
Here many natives were observed pounding the nardoo seed between two stones, which was then baked and roasted on the ashes.
But a little experience proved that the nardoo cakes, although allaying the pangs of hunger, contained little nourishment, and the heroic sufferers had now fallen into the last stage of starvation.
Even if we got a good supply of fish, I doubt whether we could do much work on them and the nardoo alone.
It proved a most valuable addition to my otherwise scanty supper of nardoo porridge.
Coming to the gunyahs where we expected to have found them, we were disappointed, and seeing a nardoo field close by halted, intending to make it our camp.
Started with King to celebrate the Queen's birthday by fetching from Nardoo Creek what is now to us the staff of life; returned at a little after two P.
During his absence I gathered nardoo and pounded it, as Mr. Burke wished to lay in a supply in case of rain.
Mr. Burke and Mr. Wills then went down the creek for the remainder of the dried meat which we had planted; and we had now all our things with us, gathering nardoo and living the best way we could.
Found that the blacks had decamped, so determined on proceeding to-morrow up to the next camp, near the nardoo field.
In the evening they supplied me with abundance ofnardoo and fish, and one of the old men, Poko Tinnamira, shared his gunyah with me.
King went out for nardoo in spite of the wind, and came in with a good load; but he himself terribly cut up.
In the evening various members of the tribe came down with lumps of nardoo and handfuls of fish, until we were positively unable to eat any more.
We found the two gunyahs situated on a sand-bank between two waterholes and about a mile from the flat where they procured nardoo seed, on which they managed to exist so long.
Starvation on nardoo is by no means very unpleasant, but for the weakness one feels and the utter inability to move oneself, for, as far as appetite is concerned, it gives me the greatest satisfaction.
By many it is thought that this was the Nardoo which Burke and Wills thought came from the spores of a Marsilea.
They soon found the nardoo seed in abundance, on a flat, and congratulated themselves in the idea that on this they could subsist in the wilderness, if all other food failed, a hope in which they were doomed to a great disappointment.
They now began to inquire of the blacks after the nardoo seed, imagining it the produce of a tree; and received from the natives some of their dried narcotic herbs, which they chew, called pitchery.
They laid him softly within the hut, and placed at his head enough of nardoo to last him for eight days.
All day they toiled hard to prepare nardoo seed; but their small strength could not provide enough to support them.
As he could travel no farther, Burke and King left him in a native hut with nardoo seed and water by his side, while they sought assistance from the blacks, who had given Wills a meal of fish a few days before.
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.
Coming to the gunyahs where we expected to have found them, we were disappointed, and seeing a nardoo field close by, halted, intending to make it our camp.
From this time, she and her husband used to give me a small quantity of nardoo both night and morning, and whenever the tribe were about going on a fishing excursion, he used to give me notice to go with them.
At first they were very kind to me, and gave me plenty to eat; after that they tried to drive me away, but I stuck to them, and the women gave me some nardoo every day, and sometimes one of the men would give me some fish.
While we were doing this the rations were getting very short, and we began to cat nardoo the same as the blacks.
The nardoo which served to prolong the life of Burke and Wills for a considerable time is a small ground plant resembling clover in the shape of its leaves.
I found some nardoo in one of their camps, though, and with this and another crow I shot, I started back to Wills.
During the intercourse that of necessity they had had with the blacks during their detention on Cooper's Creek, they had noticed the extensive use the natives made of the seeds of the nardoo [See Appendix.
The nardoo grows in loose soil, subject to inundation, generally on polygonum flats.
I found some nardoo close by, and had the good luck to shoot a crow.
The blackfellow then described minutely the different waters passed by Burke, and the way the men lived on the seeds of the nardoo plant, which he must have heard of from other natives.
Mr. Burke and I were getting very weak, too, but I was not so bad as they were, and managed to collect and pound enough nardoo to keep us all from starving outright.
Starvation on nardoo is by no means unpleasant, but for the weakness one feels and the utter inability to move one's self.
On reaching it the almost destitute explorers were treated most generously--lumps of nardoo cake and handfuls of fish were forced on them till they could positively eat no more.
After supplying him with fish and nardoo cake, they brought him a couple of rats baked in their skins.
Even if we could get fish, I doubt whether we could do much on that and nardoo alone.
Fish finished, then came a supply of nardoo cake and water, till he was so full that he was unable to eat any more.
Two days after leaving the spot where Burke died he came across some gunyahs, in one of which the natives had left a bag of nardoo sufficient to last the hungry man a fortnight.
The native who called Wills to the camp allowed him a short time to recover himself, and then filled a large bowl with raw nardoo flour, and mixed it into a thin paste.
The next day, 17th of May, King found the nardoo plant.
For a meal, they boiled some of the nardoo seeds, and then made for the main creek.
The native women directed him to their camp, and he was soon afterwards overtaken by about twenty blacks, who were bent upon taking him to it, promising him nardoo and fish.
They found that the blacks had decamped from the place where Wills had last seen them, so they moved on to the camp near the nardoo field.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "nardoo" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
