One of these caverns, called by the New Zealanders ‘Te Anaoteatua,’ or the Cave of the Spirit, was visited by Dr. Thomson,[30] who describes it as very remarkable. It is situated in the tertiary, extremely cavernous, and undermined limestone mountain chain which extends along the west coast of the northern island, and whose picturesque beauties and natural curiosities are destined to occupy a conspicuous place in some future guide-book. Its entrance, resembling the gateway of an old castle, is concealed by a thick foliage of shrubs, and a dark green creeper adheres to the limestone rock and covers the opening. The cave extends in a tortuous direction underneath the hill for upwards of a mile, and consists of several different passages. From its roof and sides numerous stalactites are hanging, some of them six feet long, and composed of transparent calcareous spar, while others have a red tint. In that part of the cave which Dr. Thomson explored, there were three openings in the roof at different places, each from ten to fifteen feet 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 _débris_ washed down from the surface; but these openings did not throw much light into the cave, so that even during the day it was perfectly dark. A subterranean stream of water runs through part of it, and then disappears under the rock. Footnote 30: ‘On the Moa Caves of New Zealand.’ Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, vol. lvi. 1854. Before the introduction of Christianity, this cave was held in the greatest terror by all New Zealanders, and no one would have ventured to enter it; but as Moa bones fetch a high price, the love of money at length conquered the superstitious fears of some Christian natives, and their boldness was rewarded by a tolerably rich harvest of bones, although their search was made in a very hasty and imperfect manner. Another cave situated in the same neighbourhood, and bearing the indigenous name of ‘Te Anaotemoa’ or the Cave of the Moa, did not enjoy the privilege of spiritual protection, and the Maories were in the habit of resorting to it to procure the skulls of the Moas, to keep the powder which they used for tattooing, and their long bones for the manufacture of fish-hooks, before they became acquainted with the use of iron.