410 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [ Mar. 23, 
There was one deep dark defile which much tempted exploration ; 
but the only possible means of access seemed to be far from agreeable. 
The mouth of the gorge was very narrow; two precipitous cliffs 
hung over a dark pool, at the base of a high slippery rock, over 
which the diminished summer stream fell in spray. We succeeded 
in creeping on our hands and knees along a narrow ledge, along the 
side of the cliff, and climbed the precipice; and the extraordinary 
scene alone would have rewarded us. Gigantic walls of rock 
ascended on either side 600 or 700 feet precipitously, from which 
threateningly projected the great indurated masses, circular, pear- 
shaped (some double, like huge hourglasses), ready apparently to fall 
at the slightest touch and add to the mass of fallen blocks, piled upon 
each other, which choked up the ravine to the depth of 50 feet and 
more, most of them containing fossil remains. In one lay displayed 
to view on the surface fifteen caudal vertebre of a great Plesiosaurus : 
another had the cervical vertebra and two forearms, with paddle- 
bones and digits, which we gazed at with longing eyes; but the size and 
hardness of the rocks rendered their extrication impracticable with 
such small tools as we had been able to bring. From the middle of 
another projected a small suspicious-looking bone, which might 
chance to prove a portion of what I so desired to obtain, the skull 
of the creature. Underneath the Septaria-clays lies a small seam 
of brown coal, having immediately above it a shell-bed some 18 
inches in thickness, in which I found remains of fishes (palatal teeth 
of Rays &c.). I broke out with a hammer and wedge one large mass 
of oyster-shells, carbonized wood, and rolled quartz-pebbles cemented 
together, containing, along with several small lacertian teeth, two 
very perfect large vertebre of proccelian character. 
Returning on the next and several following days, we conveyed to 
the place large sledgehammers and crowbars, and brought additional 
arms to help us. Leaving a stonemason to cut out the vertebre, 
Mr. Innes and I set to work.at the large boulder; and when at last 
we managed with wedges to effect a fissure and get our heavy 
crowbar inserted, we had the infinite gratification of splitting it in 
half, and found that it divided along the surface of a magnificent 
skull in splendid preservation, with all the teeth complete, of a 
Teleosaurian 2 feet 8 inches in length from the point of the snout 
to the base of the cranium. 
After a day’s hard labour we succeeded in breaking it out of its 
erystalline matrix, in three portions, weighing about 100 lbs. each. 
On returning to where the stonemason was at work, it was not a 
little mortifying to find that he had smashed the specimen to pieces ; 
however, it was a consolation that we had not intrusted the dis- 
engagement of the more valuable prizes to his hands. ‘These we 
carried, step by step, to the edge of the precipice, and, lowering them 
with ropes, placed them where we were able to bring a packhorse up 
the river-bed. The collection obtained subsequently in this spot 
included several vertebra of Ichthyosaurus, bones of the pelvis, also 
a femur and humerus of large dimensions. 
From a rock by itself we also obtained portions of the skeleton of 
