The Camp Fault again Lead Ore 



The crew of the smaller launch, who had been away 

 collecting firewood, knew nothing of our discoveries, and 

 on their return we at once dispatched them to Lyell 

 with a private note to the Premier, informing him of our 

 discovery and suggesting that he should send up a party 

 to open up the mine. As we thought he might wish to 

 keep the knowledge in the hands of the Government for 

 the present, we were careful that no communication was 

 held between the crew of the launch and our men on 

 shore, the former supposing that they were sent down 

 for a further supply of provisions, rendered necessary by 

 our prolonged stay on the plateau. 



The circular pit proved on investigation to be filled 

 with fine sands and clays, which we penetrated to a 

 depth of 1 6 feet, when we came upon a layer of red earth, 

 similar to that with which we were already familiar as 

 occurring in the caves beneath the plateau. 



Beneath this "cave earth" we found numerous 

 gigantic bones which appeared to have belonged to one 

 of the large extinct elephants. So far as we could judge 

 from the bones obtained from the first trial shaft, this 

 was the Mammoth (Elephas primigenius), which lived 

 during the cold Pleistocene Period. 



In a long trench which we had made we later dis- 

 covered several teeth, which confirmed our previous 

 determination of the other bones. 



The pit would appear to have been a sink hole, 

 formed on the plateau in pre- Pleistocene times, which 

 had become choked up by fallen blocks and earth. Into 

 this pit the unfortunate mammoth must have fallen, and 

 being unable to climb out, have eventually been buried 

 by the Pleistocene sands and clays. 



201 



