PANDUA HILLS, NEAR SILHET, IN BENGAL. 51 1 



had been hurled together by an earthquake, or by the influence of 

 a volcano — Between two pieces of the detached rock, one person only 

 can enter at a time. One of the low ranges was covered, I observed, 

 with iron scoria, like the refuse of an iron foundery. On entering the 

 Cave, we descended about thirty yards over large broken pieces of 

 rock, some of them difficult to climb over, and reached a level. After 

 preparing our torches, and getting every thing in order, we followed 

 our Kdsia guide, and, leaving a large cavern unexplored on the left, took 

 a passage on the right — the roof formed a perfect natural arch on one side, 

 more perpendicular than the other — and the whole was incrusted with 

 stalactites. We proceeded on in a W. and N. W. direction. Sometimes 

 the passage was narrow and the roof low, then swelled into superb cham- 

 bers, the roof forty feet high — in some places, we walked along perfectly 

 smooth rock— in others over soft mud — and in others again, climbed over 

 broken, but huge fragments of rock— here and there, we came upon 

 water in rocky basons — and in many parts the rock was honey-combed by 

 the action of the dropping water. The variety and beauty of the shapes ; 

 into which the stalactite has formed itself, exceed description. In one 

 place was a remarkable specimen like a pine tree, about twelve feet high, 

 b yone and a half thick — except here and there, however, it did not sparkle 

 to the light as I had expected, being covered with a brown dirty coating — 

 though in particular spots it was very beautiful. After wandering through 

 numerous narrow passages and various splendid halls — sometimes des- 

 cending fifty feet, and sometimes ascending to a greater height, we were 

 at last stopped by a deep bason of water. Here, as it was getting late, 

 we turned, and by following another passage, found ourselves in our former 

 track again. We had tied a string to a rock at the mouth of the Cave ; 

 and let it run off a reel as we advanced, and three balls had been already 

 expended — here we joined the two strings ; and some of us remained, 

 while others retracing their steps to meet some of the people with oil pots, 

 who could not descend a precipice — rejoined us again at the same spot. 



