470 POKTLAND. 



western districts of the south side of Jamaica with 

 which I am familiar. I often heard it spoken of as 

 inhabiting the mountain regions of Manchester, a 

 district characterised by red earth and honeycombed 

 limestone rock. Mr. Andrew G. Johnston, in a com- 

 munication to Mr. Hill, describes the animal as pe- 

 culiar to a similar region in Portland : — 



" I have not heard " he says, *' of its inhabiting 

 hollow trees. It is taken generally from under rocks ; 

 and that range of the John Crow Hills which furnishes 

 the beasts in abundance, is broken limestone : high 

 mountains on the north eastern side of the Rio Grande, 

 from its source to Moore Town. The other range, 

 which divides the valley of the Rio Grande from Blue 

 Mountain Valley, has no limestone and no Conies. 

 Both ranges are very lofty ; from 3000 to 4000 feet in 

 height. They form a sort of wedge at the sources of 

 the Rio Grande and Island River (which last flows to 

 Bath), from which wedge probably this district of 

 wilderness derives its name Cuna-Cuna. This is 

 conjecture only. The two chains unite at the point 

 of the wedge and form a saddle ; on the north rises 

 Rio Grande ; on the south. Island River. The 

 broken limestone is in a great measure honeycomb 

 rock, though some of it is compact limestone. 

 De la Beche has misunderstood the whole chain. I 

 suppose he never explored it. The other chain he 

 has well described: transition and trap, with immense 

 masses of conglomerate boulders; — but no Conies ; 

 nor did I ever hear of one in the lowlands at all, 

 neither in woods nor hedges." 



Mr. Hill, in his correspondence with Mr. Johnston 



