792 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION I. 



obstructing; brandies sufficiently wide to allow tlie body and 

 knapsack to squeeze through ; the rest follow closely, one 

 after another, and render friendly assistance when necessary. 

 The compass has to be consulted every few yards and on one 

 or two occasions such was the darkness in our vegetable 

 cavern that a match had to be struck to show the bearing of 

 the needle. 



" One incident alone in this forced retreat produced the 



utmost merrunent to some of our number. In descending 



ithrough a hole into a dim, gloomy chamber of the scrub, 



tone member of the party immediately in front of me fell, 



and, striking some rotten mossy-covered branches of the 



i. floor, he sank down through the latter out of sight, and only 



; by his cries could I find where he had disappeared. I could 



only see his boot, vainly jerking at the mossy sheet, which, 



; after he had fallen through, had sprung back, concealing the 



deeper recess where he was lodged. In hurrying to his 



assistance I attempted to descend a sudden dip of some twelve 



J feet, but before I could clear my knapsack from the branches 



L which pressed upon me my foot slipped off a treacherous 



Ini OSS-covered trunk, and falling, I found myself suddenly 



fuspended by my knapsack. Our united cries for help 



t brought our companions upon the scene ; but the ridiculous 



and helpless picture we both presented so excited their mirth 



that it was some minutes before they recovered calmness to 



extricate us from our curious and perilous situation. Minor 



incidents of this character were of frequent occurrence on 



this memorable descent ; but although nearly exhausted with 



fftigue, steady determination at last enabled us to emerge 



ujtan the small open space of ground already referred to, 



where we camped for the night, having been engaged over 



twelve liours in piercing a distance little over a mile. At the 



close of the third day succeeding this we managed to reach 



our supplies at the Picton, having been two days without 



fpod. Although faint with exhaustion on this memorable 



urney, we resisted all temptations to throw away our knap- 



cksand collections, and only the abundance of water supply 



enabled us to successfully overcome the trials of the weary 



march, which reduced all of us to the appearance of 



skeletons." 



In 1873 Mr. Scott fitted out a party for the purpose of 

 exploring the country in the neighbourhood of Lake St. 

 Clair, the Murchison and Eldon Valleys, Sec, in which I took 

 part. Mr. Scott had a boat built expressly for exploring the 



