THE VICTOEIAN NATURALIST. 31 



To force their way through this was no easy matter, and progress 

 was slow, as they had to go carefully with their photographic 

 cameras over the rocks. Presently they saw through the trees on 

 the left hand a great vertical cliff, a wall of naked rock, 400 or 

 500 feet high, towering above them in the distance. This cliff is 

 part of Mount Wellington proper and forms the south-east side of 

 the gorge. They stopped to take a photograph of this, which 

 we propose to call Dendy's Heights, and then made their way 

 until close under the foot of the precipice, when they photo- 

 graphed it again as best they could, for it was a difficult matter to 

 get anything like an uninterrupted view through the thick scrub, 

 and the camera had to be considerably inclined in order to take 

 in the top. They now found that it was getting late, and that 

 it was advisable to return to camp, so that, although they had 

 fancied for some time that they could distinguish the sound of 

 running water away below, they gave up the search for the after- 

 noon. In returning they kept to the left or south-east side of the 

 valley, and found the ascent here very much easier than on the 

 other side or in the middle. They came back to the lake over 

 the barrier again, close to the Mount Wellington side of the latter, 

 and past a great twin gum tree near the water's edge, which forms 

 a convenient indication of the best place to cross the barrier. 



28TH December (Sunday). — We were up early as usual, and 

 after breakfast looked after the horses, which were taken to a 

 gently sloping bank a Httle up the hillside, on which grew a little 

 grass and plenty of bushes of the everlasting, HeMchrysum 

 semipapposum, of which the animals appeared to be fond. Large 

 numbers of the pretty purple daisy, Brachycome scapiformis, grew 

 amongst the grass, and climbing amongst the bushes a pink or 

 purplish-tinged variety of Clematis aristata was remarked. This was 

 our day of misfortunes, and these soon began to show themselves. 

 It was found that Alfred's skewbald had staked himself or else 

 been cut by the rocks. Anyhow a gaping wound appeared on 

 his flank, some eight inches long and three broad at the widest. 

 Still he didn't seem to mind it, and we hoped for the best, and as 

 a matter of fact he never became at all lame, and got home quite 

 happily. Then, leaving Alfred in charge of the camp, we all 

 started at about 6 o'clock to make a determined effort to find the 

 place of issue of the water. Profiting by the experience of 

 yesterday, we went down easily enough as far as Dendy's Heights, 

 and then, after a long and steep descent, matters became more 

 exciting, for the rocky bed of the gorge became deeply channelled 

 into dry gullies, which showed clear indications of the presence 

 of running water at some time or other in the numerous rounded 

 boulders and pebbles. We rapidly scrambled down what 

 appeared to be the principal gully, but it was, even yet, an 

 exhausting business, for we were in a great hurry to get to the 



