Geology 



of tents were pitched near the bank of the river, and we 

 proceeded with our investigation. 



Several other chimneys were examined, but most of 

 them proved to contain only very small quantities of ore, 

 and on further investigation it became rather doubtful 

 if our original find would pay the expenses of working. 



Before leaving the locality it seemed well to climb to 

 the top of the uppermost terrace, to get as wide a view 

 as possible of our surroundings. To reach the top, 

 however, we found to be no easy matter. Everywhere 

 the screes seemed to be topped by an almost vertical 

 face of limestone which was so rotten as to render 

 climbing extremely dangerous, if not impossible. The 

 chimneys were worse than the open faces, as the vein- 

 stone was in an even more friable condition than the 

 limestone, and further they were filled for the most part 

 with fine screes, which commenced to run as soon as they 

 were disturbed by the feet. At last a wider and deeper 

 scree was found, which obliterated at least three of the 

 terraces, and appeared to run farther back into the hill 

 than the others. This we climbed with difficulty to a 

 height of 300 feet above the river, and found it to be 

 held together to some extent by small bushes of various 

 kinds which had found a root-hold between the frag- 

 ments. At its upper end the scree proceeded from a 

 chimney similar to those we had examined below, but 

 running in a different direction, cutting the cliff 

 obliquely to its face. Entering this gulley we found 

 ourselves in a great rift-like opening with walls of 

 limestone some 30 feet in height, and closed at its 

 upper end by a moss-grown scree reaching to the 

 summit. This we climbed and emerged on the plateau, 



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