Geological Survey of Canterbury. 11 



searches, and remained camped in the same spot ; every change in the 

 weather, sunshine and clouds, morning and evening, giving us new- 

 opportunities of admiring the astonishing scenery around us. 



On March 18th we returned to Mesopotamia to give our horses rest 

 and food, they disliking the snow grasses, having when camped near the 

 head of the valley principally fed on the leaves of the Celmisia coriacea, 

 the cotton plant of the settlers. After laying in a new supply of 

 provisions we started again on March 22nd, selecting this time the 

 eastern main tributary of the Clyde, which I had named the Lawrence. 

 The bed of this river for several miles offered fair travelling ground 

 over shingle reaches, after which, either large morainic accumulations 

 or enormous shingle cones obstructed the course of the river to such 

 an extent, that the water was confined to a narrow channel, through 

 which we found it impossible to advance with the horses. We 

 therefore camped about seven miles from the head of the valley, and 

 started on the 25th of March in the early morning towards the 

 glacier, the terminal face of which, after considerable difficulties, was 

 reached about noon. Owing to the fact that the river had 

 now assumed the character of a wild mountain torrent, often 

 running between perpendicular rocky banks, or foaming over 

 and between enormous blocks of rocks, we were often ob^ged 

 to seek our road through the sub-alpine vegetation on the 

 mountain sides. The growth of the scrub was in many places so 

 dense, that it was necessary to walk literally on the top of it, the 

 natural consequence being that we broke occasionally through, and 

 then could only release ourselves with the greatest trouble and 

 exertion. This denseness of vegetation occurs principally in those 

 localities where the north-west winds have bent the branches in one 

 direction, giving them the appearance of clipped hedge-rows. 



Returning on the next day to the Clyde, I remained camped near 

 the junction of the Lawrence with that river, in order to make a 

 collection of fossils in the Mount Potts Range which I had discovered 

 in my way up ; whilst Dr. Sinclair with my servant returned with our 

 horses to Mr Butler's station for provisions. It was when 

 crossing one of the main streams of the Rangitata, which was 

 rising rapidly, that my deeply lamented, friend lost his life, trusting 

 too much to his own strength. My servant returning to me with 

 the sad intelligence that he had seen Dr. Sinclair enter one of 

 the branches, but not observed that he reached the other bank, we 

 started immediately to see if it were not too late to give any assistance, 



