Chap. XIV. WILD CATTLE HUNTING. 401 
ever the land has been cleared, a very rich natural 
pasturage lias sj>rung up among the bleached trunks of 
the dead trees, chiefly consisting of a grass resembling 
our " timothy," and of yellow trefoil ; and the presence 
of the cattle seems to have improved its growth and 
luxuriance. 
The first day was employed in finding the recent 
tracks of the herd, and making ourselves acquainted 
with their favourite haunts and the formation of the 
country. We only got one peep at them, and then 
became sufl&ciently aware of their timid and sagacious 
nature, and of the great caution which we must ob- 
serve in order to get within shot. We had beaten 
and explored every corner south of the Peak to no 
purpose, except a single small gully at the south-west 
corner. This gully, filled with tall shrubs rather 
than trees, was only separated from the sea by a 
narrow ridge of rocky ground, clear of timber, and 
just broad enough, between the wood and the perpen- 
dicular cliff, to allow the passage of a single man or 
beast, except where a terrace, about thirty yards in cir- 
cumference, projected over the surf, which whispered 
hoarsely four hundred feet below, f laving walked up 
the narrow ridge an hour before and round the head 
of the gully, after beating some valleys higher up and 
following some fresh tracks towards the Peak, we con- 
cluded that the herd had crossed the high dividing ridge 
to the north end of the island, and were on our way back 
to the boat, looking upon it as impossible that they could 
be hidden close in this small gully. We were thus 
advancing towards it from a large clearing on its inner 
or land side, in order to descend along the edge of the 
wood which obstructed our view of the " breakneck 
" path," as we christened it. In order to form a more 
accurate idea of tlie size and shaj>e of this gully, Mr. 
VOL. I. 2d 
