A "gin." U 
The light of the fire proved the cave to be some hundred 
feet high^ gradually narrowiug to the top from the bottom, 
which near the entrance is about 12 feet wide, thus showing 
it to have been formed by two gigantic rocks or cliffs flung 
against one another at the time these limestone mountains 
were thrown up from the bottom of the sea, which in remote 
ages doubtless flowed over them. On both sides of the 
Straits, i. e. at Gibraltar and Abyla, these fissures or caves 
are common in the limestone ; but this particular one fairly 
rivals the well-known St. MichaeFs Cave at Gibraltar, 
and had, from the marks of fire, been inhabited at some 
not very distant period. The floor in places was quite a 
foot deep with the guano of Rock-Doves {Columba livia), 
numbers of which flew out from the nooks and crannies of 
the rock. 
As far as I could understand from the Moors, who, living 
near Ceuta, spoke a few words of broken Spanish, there was 
a story of a Moor having ascended this cave till he came out 
somewhere at the top of the mountain ; be this as it may, 
there was a fine breezy draught of air blowing dovmwards, 
which sent the smoke of our fire towards us till we, instead 
of the beast for whose benefit it was intended, were nearly 
suffocated. 
Having no means of getting torches to further explore the 
cave, with heavy hearts we left the unknown animal to growl 
himself to sleep ; the Moors insisted, by the way, that what 
we heard was a " gin,^^ or evil spirit ! 
The south-east part of the range of the Sierra BuUones is a 
different formation, showing symptoms of volcanic action ; and 
I could trace signs of lead-ore and antimony in more than one 
place. Whether any mines will ever be worked in Morocco is 
doubtful : there is plenty of ground ; but at present it is for- 
bidden to look for minerals by the enlightened and despotic 
Moorish government. 
The track or road from Ceuta to Tetuan, after quitting the 
mountainous district, passes through the interminable scrub 
usual to the Mediterranean coast ; and bad as are the roads 
in Spain, this one beats them all in roughness ; and, owing to 
