he direction of the ravine
which appeared to run directly into the heart of the mountain chain; I
therefore turned about to rejoin the party, with the intention of
continuing the same course the ensuing morning as we had done this
evening.

NARROW ESCAPE.

Both myself and the man who was with me had however a narrow escape of
being shot, for, as we were returning he let his rifle fall and it
exploded, the ball striking the rocks close to us before it glanced into
the air.

OTHER CAVES.

March 30.

At the earliest dawn we continued our course up the valley, which rapidly
became narrower and more inclined so that it formed, as it were, a series
of elevated terraces, at the edge of each of which was a little cascade.
We found two caves in the cliffs on the right hand, both of which were
painted all over but with no regularity of pattern: the only colours used
were red, yellow, and white. The largest of the caves exceeded in breadth
and depth any others I had seen, but it was only three feet high; in this
one there were several drawings of fish, one of which was four feet in
length; these I copied, although they were badly executed. The caves
themselves cannot be considered as at all analogous to those I have
before described.

INCREASING DIFFICULTIES OF ROUTE. IMPASSABLE SANDSTONE RANGES.

The difficulties of the road continued to increase rapidly, and the
dimensions of the ravine became so contracted that I hesitated whether I
should not turn up another which branched off to the right; previously
however to taking this step I sent a man forward to examine the one we
were in; he soon returned and reported that it terminated in a high
cascade a few hundred yards further on. This intelligence confirming my
previous opinion, I now moved up the ravine which came from the westward,
but we had not proceeded for more than half a mile when the rugged nature
of the country brought us to a complete stand; we found ourselves in a
rocky area, bounded on all sides by cliffs, the only outlet from which
was the path by which we had entered. I therefore halted the party for
breakfast whilst I prepared to ascend some lofty pinnacles which lay to
the south of us.

The state of my wound rendered this exertion one of great pain and
difficulty; I however accomplished it, and found myself on the top of a
high rocky eminence which bore the appearance of having fallen into
ruins; the prospect from it was cheerless in the extreme; to th