The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-03-27
AUSTRALIAN EXPLORER GONE.
Ernest Giles, Hero of Many PeriIous
feats, Passes Away.

From the Pail Mall Gazette.
One of the greatest of Australian ex-
p!orers has passed away. if not union
cred and ~unsung," at least In unde-
served obscurity. For Ernest Giles well
and truly did his share Of the work of
lifting the veil of mystery that for so
long enshrouded the interior of the ISL
and continent and his name stands
high with those of such gallant and I'M
daunted hardy pioneers of colonization
as the Inflated Burke and Wills, who
persisted so miserably. Sir Thomas
Mitchell, Stuart. Kennedy, DIR. LEIGH
hardt, and Sir George Grey. His con-
tributions to our geographical knowl-
edge of the interior of Australia were
such as should have earned him sub
SANTA reward and honorable recogni-
ton; for he devoted the best years of
his life to his work. Tall, muscular and
commanding, sitting his horse as only
a born bushman sits, he was the beau
ideal or a leader of men bent on des-
perate and daring enterprise-to fight
with the terrors of the unknown desert
and the agonies and horrors of thirst.
Twenty-Five years ago he made his
first success as an explorer. when he
led "A party through an unknown coun-
try 300 miles westward from the tele-
graph line that traverses the center of
Australia from north to south. A sec
ond journey. initiated by Baron Won
Muller, who a formed a high opinion
of Giles resourcefulness and daring un-
der the most trying circumstances, re-
suited in his adding to the blank map
of the interior a knowledge of 600 miles
OF new country. In this journey he
was accompanied by only four other
white men, some aboriginals and %
horses. h ~hardships they endured
were terrible, N before reaching the
west coast (after being out nearly a
year from their starting point they
had to kill n live upon the few horses
that remained alive.
In 1875 the generosity of Sir Thomas
Elder enabled him to start on a third
expedition, which was amply equipped
and provisioned for is months. For
hundreds of miles the route of the ex-
petition lay through a succession of
fearful waterless deserts. Fortunately.
on this occasion he had camels or else
he and his party would never have re-
turned. Once they Travelled for is days
over one sandy stretch OF $50 miles
without discovering water. Yet he
brought this daring trip of 2.40O miles
to a successful issue by reaching one
of the outlying settlements in western
Australia, n then, after resting, he
struck north about 200 miles of his first
route and returned to south Australia.
For this feat he was rewarded with the
somewhat barren honor of the gold
medal of the Royal Geographical soci-
ETY..
Early in 1889 he published one of the
most interesting of the many books
written on Australian exploration.
Australia Twice Traversed." His
knowledge of the wild black tribes OF
the interior was not eXcelled by any
other man in Australia, and equaled
only by that of Ernest Favenc, another
gallant fellow. who has done great
work for his adopted country, and. like
Giles and the rest of these devoted
men, earned nothing for the benefits he
conferred upon the Australian people.
Poor Giles. a year ago, was given an
official position on ~Coolgardie gold field
by the government of western Austria
liza. A severe cold which developed
into pneumonia, carried off. on Nov. IA.
one of the most resolute and undaunt-
ed men that ever locke across the
heart-breaking expanse of an Australi-
an desert.