SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, KJJS 59 



natives worshipped as a saint. At the base of many of the stalagmites 

 were crude carvings of faces, and occasional ones had legs and arms 

 attached to the body. In almost every cave these stalagmite masses, 

 with their carvings, were used as shrines for worship. Many coins of 

 small denomination were found which had been placed in tiny crevices 

 or buried in pits on the face or side of these shrines. Various articles 

 of food and gourds were usually placed on or near the base of the 

 shrines as an offering. In five of the eight caves in which I worked 

 were shrines and carvings, all of which showed evidence of recent use. 



On December 29 I visited the second group of caves known as the 

 San Francisco group consisting of three separate caves. The largest 

 one, having two openings at the top. was divided for working pur- 

 poses into two sections. These caves, numbered i, 2, 3, and 4, are 

 situated about three miles to the west of L'Atalaye and about one mile 

 east of the village of St. Michel, and are all fairly well up on the 

 side of the limestone ridge, but not on top of the ridge as were the 

 Atalaye group. Cave No. i which had an entrance only three feet 

 in height by five feet in width, o])ened up into a fair-sized chamber 

 about 50 feet long and 40 feet wide. The ceiling was quite low, and 

 the bats did not appear to be as numerous as in some of the other 

 caves with higher ceilings. It proved, however, to be the best cave in 

 variety and value of material. Here we excavated the entire floor to 

 a depth of several feet. The greater part of the material was found 

 near the base of the walls, at depths of only a few inches below the 

 surface to about three feet. Besides the numerous animal bones, 

 human remains were also found here. The place of worship in the 

 rear of this cave differed somewhat from those in the others. The 

 loose rocks from the floor had been piled up on a protrusion of 

 rock, and on and around these rocks were placed many things as 

 oft'erings, such as hens' eggs, gourds, plantains, oranges, and small 

 coins. Native-made candles were burned on these altars. About two 

 weeks were spent in completing work in this cave. 



On January 16 work was started in No. 2, the largest one of either 

 group. This cave had a much more spacious entrance and two large 

 openings from the top, one near the entrance, the other at the rear. 

 It extended back about 175 feet with a width varying from 50 to 80 

 feet ; the ceiling low in front and rear, but high in the middle, some 

 of the fissures being about 100 feet in height. Most of the ceiling 

 had the appearance of a huge honey-comb. Bats were more plentiful 

 in this cave than any of the others. The floor was quite level except 

 for pits caused by the removal of guano. Most of the time during 



