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old shaft about three miles northwest of Eagle Flat Station, from where we began to work the Carboniferous strata and underlying older rocks of this part outlaying from the Carboniferous cliffs of the Sierra Diabolo.

After Mr. Wyschetzki had finished the topography of the Quitman Mountains through the pass, I directed his camp to Allamore, at the northeast slope of the Carrizo Mountains, where we connected the topographical work already done with the 105th meridian and began the topography of this mountain group. After this I joined Mr. Taff, whom I had directed to go to camp at the pass through the Carrizo towards the Hazel mine and the cliffs of the Sierra Diabolo, to compare the metamorphic rocks and brecciatic conglomerations with those farther west, near Eagle Flat.

Moving the camp farther towards the Diabolo Cliffs, and thence passing the Hazel mine to the Van Horn Pass, intending to take in the east side of the mountains south of the Sierra Diabolo proper. Here the wagon broke down on the rough road. I left Mr. Taff in charge of the camp and went to Toyah, where I took the old wagon left there by Mr. Tarr and sent the same, after some hasty repairs and makeshifts, for Mr. Taff, and being instructed to quit field work I hastened to make arrangements for the storage of instruments and camp outfit at the railway depot at Sierra Blanca, as the safest place in reach, and turned the animals loose at "Uncle Charley's" ranch, where I expect they will find enough water and grass to winter through.

Having put up rock piles on the level of many horizontal curves at the points at which we left off work, the topographical work (the indispensable base for geological observations in Trans-Pecos Texas) can easily be resumed.

There are many difficulties to be overcome besides the want of reliable maps; as for instance, the excessive metamorphoses of older deposits, destroying and obliterating all organic remains—metamorphoses evidently due to forces and influences of varied character, acting at different periods and under different conditions. Another difficulty is that even if we could neglect the work referring to the economic features, the observations can only be made by sacrificing much time in hunting or waiting for grass and water in one or the other locality, or by putting in the field more expensive outfits for carrying water, etc., than I had at my disposal. Some of the difficulties will be removed by the triangulation of the country along the Rio Grande, which will be started this winter by a United States Coast Survey party, and which will establish a number of points connected with our Texas base and with each other, enabling the geologist for west Texas to work at such points where at different seasons of the year water can be found. We can therefore leave out temporarily the large flats without losing the connections, and study the relations of the mountain ranges and groups closer to the Rio Grande independently from each other.