OR THE WIND-HOLE. 377 



my head, and crowding to the two orifices, another 

 being perceptible on my right, to which I advanced, 

 as it was the nearest to me. 



I was followed now by my man with pleasure, who 

 seeing the light, lost his fear of traversing the cavern. 

 It proceeded from a hole in a hollow projection of the 

 rock above us, which looked, with the stalactites on all 

 sides of it, like the inside of the steeple of a church. 

 Here we had no difficulty in procuring specimens of 

 the bats, which we knocked down with our caps in 

 numbers. I then returned to the centre of the cave, 

 and followed the direction of the greater orifice before 

 me, which I rightly judged to be the main opening 

 of the cavern on its southern side. This we approached 

 with some difficulty, on account of our feet being 

 without shoes, the slippery nature of the wet limestone 

 at the entrance of the cavern having caused us to throw 

 them aside for the greater safety in walking on it. 

 This hole was a considerable height above the cavern, 

 and could only be reached by climbing up the ridges of 

 limestone, which had been worn by water until the 

 edges were so sharp as much to endanger our hands 

 and feet. I was encouraged to ascend by seeing many 

 land shells, which had been brought into the cavern 

 by water, and I hoped to find some live and perfect 

 specimens of them on the outside. At last I succeeded 

 in reaching it; but could not prevail upon my man to 

 follow. 



On the shrubs which were growing amongst the 

 fragments of rock, I found four or five specimens of a 



