I am
certain that in perpendicular depth it exceeds three thousand feet. The
slopes from the edges were so steep and covered with loose stones that
any attempt to descend even on foot was impracticable. From either side
of this abyss, smaller ravines of similar character diverged, the
distance between which seldom exceeded half-a-mile. Down them trickled
small rills of water, derived from the range on which we were. We could
not, however, discern which way the water in the main valley ran, as the
bottom was concealed by a thicket of vines and creeping plants."
This barrier turned them to the south, and afterwards to the west again;
on the way, they met with a grand fall one hundred and fifty feet in
height, which they named Becket's Cataract. At the head of the glen they
found another fall which they estimated at two hundred and thirty feet in
height; crossing above this cataract, which was called Bathurst's Fall,
the eastern course was once more resumed, and tempests and storms found
them wandering amongst the deep ravines and gloomy forests of the coast
range, seeking for a descent to the lower lands.
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