This trip, which recalls one of the purposeless and impetuous exploits of Grey, resulted in the death of Gibson and the loss of several horses. Giles' horse soon knocked up, and he had to return on foot. Having, with really astonishing prudence, left a keg of water buried on his way out, he made for that. To his dismay, after proceeding some distance he saw Gibson's track turn off on the trail of one of the horses that had been abandoned, instead of keeping to the outward track. Hoping still that he might have found his way back, Giles hastened on to the buried keg, but it was untouched, and he knew that the unfortunate man's fate was sealed. Giles made his way back to where the rest were encamped, and they immediately went in search; but it was fruitless. Neither man nor horse were ever seen again, and the scene of his death is now marked on the maps as "Gibson's Desert." During his excursions in various directions, trying to find a westward route, Giles discovered and traversed four different ranges of mountains. The party suffered much from the hostility of the blacks, who on several occasions attacked them; and the leader, in his journal, complains, like Warburton, of the sleepless nights caused by the myriads of ants that infested the desert country. The farthest point reached was the 125th degree of east longitude. He returned to Adelaide after an absence of twelve months, during which he had gone through much hardship and danger.
The tract of country between the overland telegraph line and the western settlements now became the battlefield of the explorers; few of them, it is true, hoped to find much available country, the accounts of those who had penetrated a short distance being so depressing; but they struggled for the honour of being the first to cross the gap of unknown land, often to the neglect of careful inspection.
One of the expeditions that led to the western half of the continent being condemned as a hopeless desert was that commanded by Colonel Warburton, It was promoted by two South Australian colonists whose names have been always to the front when exploration has been concerned—Messrs. Thomas Elder and Walter Hughes. They jointly fitted out the expedition, which, it was hoped, would lead to the advancement of geographical knowledge; unfortunately, the result was not at all commensurate. The original idea was that the party should start from about the neighbourhood of Central Mount Stuart, and make for Perth, this course, however, was not adhered to. In spite of being fitted out solely with camels, Warburton suffered so much delay in getting through the sandhills that his provisions were all consumed and his camels knocked up before he got half-way through, compelling him to bear up north to the head waters of the Oakover River, discovered by F. Gregory.
The party consisted of the leader and his son Richard, Mr. Lewis (surveyor), one white man, two Afghans, and a black boy. They had seventeen camels, and six months' rations. On the 15th of April, 1873, the explorers left Alice Springs, one of the stations on the overland telegraph line, and on the 17th reached the Burt, where they left the line and struck out west. Warburton's course at first lay some seventy miles south of Central Mount Stuart; but after a vain search for the rivers Hugh and Fincke, which were supposed to flow through the M'Donnell Ranges, he altered his direction, steering to the north-west, meaning to connect with A. C. Gregory's most southerly point on Sturt's Creek. Their way for some distance was through good pastoral country, and in some of the minor ranges beautiful glens were discovered, with deep permanent pools of water in their beds. So frightened were the camels at the appearance of the rocks that surrounded these water-holes, that they would not approach them to drink, and, in fact, even refused the water when it was brought to them.
On the 22nd of May, after being some days in poor sandy country, they came to a good creek, the head of which was running, and the whole flat where the creek emerged from the hills was one spring. This spot, the best camp they had yet seen, was named Eva Springs. Leaving the main party resting at these springs, Warburton, with two companions, started on ahead, and were successful in finding some native wells, that enabled him to break up his camp and move on with the whole of the men and material.
On the 5th June they crossed the boundary line between Western Australia and South Australia; but their progress was now monotonous and most uninteresting, being through the scrubby, sandy tableland common to the interior.
At some native wells, called by them Waterloo Wells, they had an enforced spell of more than a month, and in addition lost three camels, and one of the Afghans nearly died of scurvy. Afterwards they soon got fairly into the salt-lake country, and on the 12th August, at the end of a long and exhausting march, were relieved by one of the small native wells, on which the blacks of this region exist. They were now by their reckoning within ten miles of Sturt's Creek; but although Warburton made two separate attempts to find it, he was unable to see any country that at all resembled the description given by Gregory.
He concluded there was some error in the longitude, and proceeded on his westerly course. The record of the day's journey now becomes a simple tale of traversing a barren country, and an incessant search for native wells; added to that, the excessive heat, caused by the radiation of the sandhills during the day induced the leader to spare his camels as much as possible, by travelling at night. This naturally led to a most unsatisfactory inspection being made of the country, and it is impossible to say what clues or indications to better country or more permanent waters were passed by. In fact, he more than once during this part of his journal mentions the fact of wild geese flying over the camp, although they never found any surface water to account for their presence.
Starvation was shortly looming ahead; the constant halts and delays had so protracted their journey that they were almost at the end of their resources, and still surrounded by a most inhospitable waste. Sickness, too, came on then, and the full brunt of the search work ahead fell upon Lewis and the black boy, Charley; their time was taken up in watching for the smoke of the natives' fires, or looking for their tracks. In the evening they could travel a little, and in the early morning; at night the myriads of ants proved an unbearable plague, and prevented the wearied men getting their natural rest. Their position was as well nigh hopeless as it was possible for any party to be in; if they stopped to relieve their camels they starved themselves, and without rest the camels could not carry them to look for native wells ahead. At last, on the 9th of October, they reached a small waterhole that the camels themselves had found when straying, and here perforce, they had to rest, for with the exception of Lewis and the black boy, the remainder of the party were too weak to do anything. At this camp they slaughtered another of their precious camels, and for a time satisfied their gnawing hunger with the fresh meat; they were also lucky enough to get some galar parrots and pigeons. Here they stayed for nearly three weeks, and then shifted to another well to the south.
Warburton now decided to make a desperate push to the head of the Oakover River, and effect his escape if possible from the desert; on the evening of the fourth they started, and but for the black boy would have doubtless all marched on to death. The boy had left the camp in the morning, after their first night's tramp, and coming across the tracks of some natives, ran them up, finding another well at their camp, by the time he got back, the party had been obliged to start without him; fortunately, he heard the tinkle of the camel bell as he crossed the sandhills, and by cooeeing loudly managed to attract attention. He then led the way to this new source of relief, which, but for him, the party would have missed.