388 Proceedings. 
of bones of small birds—paradise ducks, wekas, etc.—in excellent preservation ; 
above them many remains of Moas. 
“Dr. Haast wishing to have them, I left them with him. Their only 
value, I consider, is as evidence that the Moa remains are also very recent, as 
it seems impossible that such tender bones could have been preserved in this 
situation for any great lapse of time. Dr. Haast, however, does not agree in 
this. It must be remembered that the floor of the cavern is not always dry, 
as supposed ; during thaws and іп” violent rain storms there must be a good 
dealof water go down, as is evident from the drifted grass sticking to the 
shelving side of the lowest part of the chasm, evidently come in with water 
through the fissures. The dust does not consequently incommode one in 
digging, as usual in caverns where there is much aceumulation of old animal 
matter. The flat ground near had probably been a favourite camping ground, 
from the quantity of droppings—which are, no doubt, those of the large birds 
—swept in by the wind, the draught into the cavern being very great, even 
when a light breeze is blowing. Dr. Thomson and I had good evidence of this. 
* At times the Moas, taking shelter under the high rocks at the foot of 
which the fissure opens, may have slipped down in the snow drifts, which 
would aecumulate there and hide the aperture, and, from its shelving nature 
as well as narrowness, it would be utterly impossible for them to extricate 
themselves. This seems to be the most probable cause of the abundance of the 
remains of the great birds in this place. There is no watercourse that could 
have swept them in. Certainly the entrance may have become smaller, and 
the floor may have gone down. Subsidences of masses of the rocks in these 
bills, from the effect of water, are no doubt constantly occurring ; there are 
many great holes and caverns, but, as it is at present, an Emu once in this 
particular one could not get out. The skin that you have may possibly have 
lain for a long time in some higher dry ledge of the rock, and from thence 
fallen down to where it was lying on the first landing, where it must have 
been pretty damp at times. Captain Hutton had visited the place a few 
days previously, and Dr. Thomson showed me the head of a Tuatara they 
found. 
“There is another cavern about 150 yards from this one, but it was 
impossible for me to get into it without a rope and assistance. I wrote to 
Captain Hutton to tell him of it, and perhaps the Provincial authorities of 
Otago will be liberal enough to allow a proper examination of these places to 
be made. It would require men to bring up all the débris in buckets, and 
. sift it in the light. Lying in the position one has to ba at the bottom of the 
narrow, low hole, one cannot do much." 
3. *On the teeth of the Leiodon,” by Charles Knight, F.R.C.S. 
(Transactions, p. 
