When I told him the story of my adventures he was full of earnest sympathy for me, and told me that if ever I intended leaving those regions for civilisation again, my best plan would be to steer more south-east, as it was in that direction that Adelaide lay.
He also informed me that the great trans-Continental telegraph wire was being constructed from north to south.

This he advised me to strike and follow to civilisation.
I may be permitted a little digression here to give a few extracts from Giles's book, "Australia Twice Traversed" (Sampson Low & Company), for this contains the version of the leader of the expedition himself as to the circumstances under which Gibson was lost.

In all, it seems, Giles made five exploring expeditions into and through Central South Australia and Western Australia from 1872 to 1876.

Speaking of his second expedition, Mr.Giles says: "I had informed my friend, Baron Von Mueller, by wire from the Charlotte Waters Telegraph station, of the failure and break-up of my first expedition, and he set to work and obtained new funds for me to continue my labours.

I reached Adelaide late in January 1873, and got my party together.