Haasr.— Address. 51 
painted at various times, because in many places the rock-surface below 
them has sealed off, and new ones pass over the thus exposed face. The 
whole interior of the rock-shelter being covered with these paintings, pass- 
ing first indiscriminately over the red ones as well as over each other, it 
was found impossible to make copies of the greatest portion of them. 
Moreover, they nearly all represent the human form, and we selected a few 
of the most characteristic ones, which will be sufticient to show their 
peculiar features. 
In the left-hand corner, close to a large shark-like animal, which, how- 
ever, was too much effaced to be properly copied, were two groups of 
animals in a sitting position, probably dogs, of which I had the best- 
preserved one copied. They evidently, are tearing something eatable 
between them. In the centre of the wall is a figure which might be 
taken for a Mantis, whilst close to it the figure of a seal is unmistakeable. 
The rest, with the exception of a three-pronged (eel?) fork, represent the 
human figure, of which one has a stick in his hand. When the hands and 
feet are represented, the former have generally four fingers and the latter 
five toes. One of these figures has two calabashes hanging from its thigh. 
It is most remarkable that none of these paintings are indecent, which is so 
characteristic of all Maori carvings and paintings of the human figure. 
These black paintings, although of such rude conception, are without doubt 
the work of full-grown men, as many of them are eight feet above the floor 
of the cave. 
The surface of the floor under this rock-shelter showed on both sides a 
gentle undulation separated towards the centre by about ten feet of lower 
ground, and which, as I had occasion to observe, stands under water 
during heavy rains, quite a streamlet running in from the higher ground to 
the west. At first sight the nature of the ground indicated that it had 
doubtless been accumulating during human occupancy. However, as I had 
not the time to stay in order to have the necessary excavations made under 
my eyes, I sent towards the end of February one of the museum staff, Mr. 
W. Sparks, junr., to do this. To test the ground, a trench was first dug 
from the centre of the cave, beginning at the wall and continuing the same 
for about thirty feet, and at right angles with it. Afterwards four more 
trenches were excavated on both sides of the first, running out for about 
sixteen feet from the interior. This done, the ground between these 
trenches and along the face of the wall was thoroughly searched. These 
excavations proved that kitchen middens of three distinct epochs existed 
below the rock-shelter, having their greatest depth of 1ft. 2in. close to the 
wall, and gradually thinning out, so that ten feet from the wall they had en- 
tirely disappeared, and the bed No. 3 of the annexed sections (fig. 2,) consisting 
