DISAPPOINTED IN A SIIOAVEK-BATn. 
341 
of it as it fell clear and sparkling in the shape of a 
picturesque-looking cascade, and, before it was suf- 
ficiently settled to be drunk, there would have col- 
lected a teaspoonful of a greasy, paste-Iikc sediment 
in the bottom; and, when we once went to take a 
refreshing shower-bath, as we flattered ourselves, under 
said pictui'esque cascade, it filled our eyes, ears, and 
Itair to such an extent that we -were glad to take a dip 
in the less-promising surf that was rolling at our feet. 
The soil which existed on this sandstone as a base 
was of a loose sandy nature, and was sprinkled about 
quite liberally with patches of the “bootjack clay,*’ which 
rendered running, leaping, and jumping along the 
mountain-side any thing but comfortable. AYe soon 
learned, however, to detect the presence of '“a bog,” 
as they shortly came to be called, and to guide our 
steps accordingly. These patches on the hillsides almost 
invariably supported a hoarfrost-like growth, which, 
seeing nowhere else, we bad but to walk around and 
keep on firm ground. Having no such warning along 
the beach, however, we did not faro so well. There it 
not only came up in the shape of a ridge of rock, as I 
have already observed, but it also existed in quick- 
sand-like formations which there was no avoiding. 
Then, if you did not recover yourself with active 
readiness, you would soon be “boot-top under.” t 
myself once “got my foot into it” so deep that, in 
bracing myself on the other to haul out by, the edge 
of the hard sand that supported me caved in and left 
me knee-deep, with a very small prospect of getting out 
without foreign help. I could lift either foot half-way 
