near Punduah, m the Cossyah Mountams. 55 



hou rs' walk, in a north-east direction from the Bazaar of Pun- 

 duah, and at an elevation, probably of six hundred feet above 

 the adjacent plains. The access to it is by no means difficult, 

 though the passage of three hills, which occur in the last 

 hour's journey towards it is fatiguing, as the ascents, though 

 short, are singularly steep, oue of them actually subtending an 

 angle of 46°. These hills are composed of sandstone, but 

 their bases are strewed with fragments of various rocks, 

 chiefly granite and limestone, apparently the debris from the 

 higher regions of the mountain chain. The mouth of the ca- 

 vern, which is found in the face of a limestone mountain, is 

 not in itself remarkable, neither do any external circumstan- 

 ces indicate the existence of the vast hollows to which it affords 

 access. The aperture is small, its dimensions precluding the 

 intrusion of more than one person at a time, and the entrance 

 is completed by a scrambling descent of about thirty feet over 

 masses of rock to a comparatively level space, which, however, 

 is involved in total darkness. By the aid of lighted torches 

 it may be here seen that the cavern has already expanded 

 considerably, and that its sides are covered with numerous 

 stalactites, crystals, and petrifactions, all, however, of the 

 limestone family, of which rock alone the cavern is entirely 

 formed. The passage here is about twelve to fifteen feet 

 in width, and the height varies from about twenty to forty 

 feet, estimated from the base to the highest part of the natu- 

 rally arched roof. In advancing, this latter dimension of the 

 cavern is found to vary greatly, sometimes increasing to seven- 

 ty or eighty feet, and at others diminishing to ten or twelve. 

 The breadth, however, continues nearly uniform. These re- 

 marks apply solely to the branch which appears to have been 

 always followed by the few Europeans who have visited the 

 cavern, and which has been explored from the entrance to the 

 distance of about a mile, where a steep and wide cavity fills 

 up the whole breadth of the passage, and presents an obstacle 

 to further ingress, which, owing either to want of time or pro- 

 per conveniences, no one has yet surmounted. 



When the party had run out one mile of the rope they were 

 stopped by this cavity, which resembled the interior of a ca- 

 thedral. About fifty yards from this all farther passage was 



