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Show SIERRA VENT AN A. Sept. 1833. 126 f H t d 't well deserves its name o ur a o, desolate pile of rock ;-1 . . t ep extremely rugged, and or separate d · The mountam .1 S s e f ' trees and even b us h es, . d t' rely destitute o h broken, an so en 1 fi d skewer to stretc out our that we actually could not fn h' atl * stalks. The strange meat over t h e fi re ma. de. o t 1S et d by the sea-li. ke Pl am. , h. tam 1s contras e 'k . aspect of t IS moun . . t steep sides, but li ew1se which not only abuts agamst ~~e uniformity of the colourseparates the parallel ranges. uietness to the view ;-the ing gives, also, an extreme kq d the light brown of the whitish gray of the qua.r tz broecin ' aunn relieved by any b n.g h te r withered grass of the plam, g 'n the neighbourhood xpects to see 1 tint. From custom, one e . broken country, strewed over of a lofty and bold mountam a t e shows that the last t Here na ur ' with huge fragmen s. b d f the sea is changed into dry movement before the e o f 'llity Under these . be one o tranqm . land, may sometimes . b erve how far from I was curwus to o s h circumstances, ebbles could be found. On t e the parent rock any p th ettlement there were h' Bl and near e s ' . shores of Ba Ia a~ca, . l ust have come from this some of quartz, whiCh certam y m . d' t · s forty-five m1les. , source : the IS. an~e I arl art of the night wetted the The dew, whiCh m the e Y p · the morning der which we slept, was m saddle-cloths, un f th ld I supposed we were th h rpness o e co ' frozen. From ~ s a l vation although, to the eye, the already at a consider~bl~ e e t l In the morning (9th Sep-plain had appeared orizon a . d the nearest ridge, which b ) h 'de told me to ascen h tern er t e gm d to the four peaks that crown t e he thought would ~ea . me h rough rocks was very summit. The chmbmg u~ dsuct d that what was gained . th . des were so m en e ' ' fatigumg, e ~I often lost in the next. At last, in one .five mmutes, .was disa ointment was extreme when I reached the ndge, my ..l pp the plain which cut in finding a preci·p 1· t ou~ va lley as du.e ep aas t ed me fro' m the four the chain transversely m two, an separ • I ca1 1 these t' histle stalks . for the want o f a mor· e correct name. I believe it is a species of Eryngmm. Sept. 1833. SIERRA VENTANA. 127 points. This valley is very narrow, but flatbottomed, and it forms a fine horse-pass for the Indians, as it connects the plains on the northern and southern sides of the range. Having descended, and while crossing it, I saw two horses grazing: I immediately hid myself in the long grass, and began to reconnoitre ; but as I could see no signs of Indians, I proceeded cautiously on my second ascent. It was late in the day, and this part of the mountain, like the other, was steep and rugged. I was on the top of the second peak by two o'clock, but got there with extreme difficulty; every twenty yards I had the cramp in the upper part of both thighs, so that I was afraid I should not have been able to have descended. It was also necessary to return by another road, as it was out of the question to pass over the saddle-back. I was therefore obliged to give up the two higher peaks. Their altitude was but little greater, and every purpose of geology had been answered ; so that the attempt was not worth the hazard of any further exertion. I presume the cause of the cramp was the great change in the kind of muscular action, from that of hard riding to that of still harder climbing. It is a lesson worth remembering, as in some cases it might cause much difficulty. I have already said the mountain is composed of white quartz rock, and with it a little glossy clay-slate is associated. At the height of a few hundred feet above the plain, patches of conglomerate adhered in several places to the solid rock. They resembled in hardness, and in the nature of the cement, the masses which may be seen daily forming on some coasts. I do not doubt these pebbles were, in a similar manner, aggregated, at a period when the great calcareous formation was depositing beneath the surrounding sea. We may believe that the jagged and battered forms of the hard quartz yet show the effects of the waves of an open ocean. I was, on the whole, disappointed with this ascent. Even the view was insignificant ;-a plain like the sea, but without its beautiful celour and defined outline. The scene, however, was novel, and a little danger, like salt to meat, gives it |