Description of the Anaoteatua, or Cave of the Spirit. 273 



tlement of Rotomarama, on the path leading to Raraoraro, 

 It is situated at the bottom of a hill, in a stratified rock, 

 the entrance to which is 25 feet high, and 18 feet broad, of 

 an oval form, and in appearance something like the gateway 

 of an old castle. A thick foliage of shrubs conceals the 

 entrance, and a dark green creeper adheres to the limestone 

 rock, and covers the opening. The cave extends in a tor- 

 tuous direction underneath the hill for upwards of a mile, 

 and consists of several different passages. We reached the 

 end of one of these passages after having traversed along 

 for half a mile, according to measurement ; but the largest 

 we left unexplored. From the top and sides of the cave 

 there are numerous stalactites — some of them six feet long, 

 and composed of transparent calcareous spar, while others 

 had a red tint. In that part of the cave which we explored 

 there were three openings in the roof, at different places, of 

 from ten to fifteen feet each in circumference, through which 

 light was seen streaming in, one hundred and fifty feet 

 above the head. Immediately below these openings there 

 were heaps of wood and debris washed down from the sur- 

 face ; but these openings did not throw much light into the 

 cave, so that even during the day the cavern was perfectly 

 dark. There are numerous spacious chambers, picturesque 

 galleries, grottoes, and cells, in different parts of the cave. 

 The height of the roof is fifty feet in some parts, and in other 

 places not more than ten feet; the breadth varies from 

 twelve to forty feet. I saw no living creature in the interior 

 of this cave but a few glow-worms, which adhered to a high 

 dome-shaped part of the roof, and presented the appearance 

 of the starry firmament. The floor of the cave is made 

 up of different materials ; parts are composed of calc-spar, 

 parts are covered with a thick crust of soft limestone depo- 

 sited from the overcharged water ; and there are many large 

 masses of limestone which have fallen from the roof. There 

 are also large pools of stagnant water in some parts of the 

 cave, and a subterraneous stream of water runs through a 

 certain portion of the cave, and then disappears under the 

 rock. There was no opening at the other extremity of the 

 cave opposite the entrance, but there was an opening at the 

 end of one of the passages, which was almost blocked up 



