GEOLOGY OF MATHIAS BAY, 713 



dunes piled into rounded banks and softly- 

 moulded ledges, like snow-drifts. Landing 

 the next day at a bold bluff marked Cliff End 

 on the charts, he found the lower stratum to 

 consist of a solid mass of tertiary fossils, chiefly 

 immense oysters, mingled, however, with sea- 

 urchins. Superb specimens were secured, — 

 large boulders crowded with colossal shells 

 and perfectly preserved echini. From the top 

 of the cliff, looking inland, only a level plain 

 was seen, stretching as far as the eye could 

 reach, broken by no undulations, and covered 

 with low, scrubby growth. The seine was 

 drawn on the beach, and yielded a good har- 

 vest for the fish collection. At evening the 

 vessel anchored at the head of the bay, off the 

 Port of San Antonio. The name would seem 

 to imply some settlement ; but a more lonely 

 spot cannot be imagined. More than thirty 

 years ago, Fitzroy had sailed up this bay, par- 

 tially surveyed it, and marked this harbor on 

 his chart. If any vessel has broken the loneli- 

 ness of its waters since, no record of any such 

 event has been kept. Of the presence of man, 

 there was no sign. Yet the few days passed 

 there were among the pleasantest of the voy- 

 age to Agassiz. The work of the dredge 

 and seine was extremely successful, and the 



