THE GEELONG NATURALIST. A (of 
up. This is a huge mass, of 500 feetin height, running up for 
about 300 feet at an angle of about 60 degrees, while the remaining 
200 is vertical. We start up the creek, but the dense undergrowth 
soon stops us, and while we are debating our course a very large 
native bear is seen, so we secure his hide for stuffing. 
The birds seem very scarce on the Cumberland, what few 
there are being, as might be expected, much the same as at the 
St. George. We leave on our return to camp at about 2 o'clock, 
and then some of the party go to the township for letters. One 
member got a letter of 16 pages and was much overjoyed. He said 
he would have been pleased to;pay double. One of our party had 
expressed a great wish to see a snake as he had never come across 
one. One having been reported this afternoon started him thinking 
of them, and while we were having a quiet puff outside after tea, 
he rushed out to us from the tent declaring that there was a snake 
in his blankets. After turning everything upside down, we found 
that the cause of all the turmoil was an innocent daddy long legs. 
Dec. 31st.—Being Sunday, one of our party brings out an 
unsuspected razor. A snapshot is taken of him in the middle of 
the operation, he being totally ignorant of it till afterwards, when 
he was rather disgusted. Two of us go to church to the town- 
ship treading very gingerly on the logs as they crossed the 
creek, in their Sunday clothes. Where they had stowed these latter 
away was rather a mystery to us, as we had not suspected their 
existence hitherto. ‘hey made the rest of the party look decidedly 
disreputable by comparison. They arrived back rather late, and ex- 
plained that they had gone to see the breakers and get some fresh 
air, but in his note book one of them gave himself away, as his entry 
was— missed track coming home.” f 
As usual there are an immense number of small lizards of two 
or three varieties about. We noticed a shining fly-extcher (Miagra 
nitida) flying about this morning. A gorgeous thurist of the 
summer exeursion genus passes our tent, we are not sure of his 
species. In the afternoon we start for the Phantom Falls; this 
takes us up the creek till we are stopped by the undergrowth first 
and then the steep banks of the creek, so we start across country. 
This is also very rough, and we are not at all sorry to reach an 
orchard, where we demolish some raspberries and cream, and then 
continue our journey. From here we have easy walking to the 
falls, a great part of the way being along the bed of the creek, 
which for some distance below and above the falls consists of a long 
series of shelving rocks, with a dip of about 10 degrees, with occasional 
slight breaks: these constitute the rapids. The bush, as we advance, 
is quite silent, birds being almost absent, except an occasional 
fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa). This is no doubt due to its being a 
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