1850.] APPEARANCE OF THE SERRA. 153 



underwood, with which every part of these rocks were covered, 

 we could only see an interminable succession of ridges, and 

 chasms, and gigantic blocks of stone, with no visible termina- 

 tion. As it was evident the boys had lost their way, I resolved 

 to turn back. It was a weary task. I was already fatigued 

 enough, and the prospect of another climb over these fearful 

 ridges, and hazardous descent into those gloomy chasms, was 

 by no means agreeable. However, we persevered, one boy 

 taking my gun ; and after about an hour's hard work we got 

 back to the place whence we had started, and found the rest 

 of the party expecting us. We then went down by the proper 



path, which they told me was the only known way of ascending 

 and descending the mountain, and by which we soon arrived 

 at our cave. 



The accompanying sketch gives a section of this mountain, 

 as near as I can make it out. The extraordinary jaggedness 

 of the rocks is not at all exaggerated, and is the more surprising 

 when you get into it, because from a distance it appears one 

 smooth forest-covered hill, of very inconsiderable height, and 

 of a gradual slope. Besides the great caverns and ridges 

 shown above, the surfaces of each precipice are serrated in a 

 most extraordinary manner, forming deep sloping gutters, cut 

 out of the smooth face of the rock, or sometimes vertical 

 channels, with angular edges, such as might be supposed to 



