A small stream ran out of a large hill of guano, and if you
left the track you sank over your knees in guano. The vastness of the
interior of this cave impressed me beyond words. It was stupendous,
and to describe it properly would take a better pen than mine. One
could actually see the very roof overhead, as there were two or
three openings near the top (reminding one of windows high up in
a cathedral) through which broad shafts of light forced their way,
making some old hanging rattan ladders high up appear like silvery
spider webs. Of course there were recesses overhead where the light
could not penetrate, and these were the homes of millions of small
bats, of which more presently. As for the birds themselves, this
was one of their nesting seasons, and the cave was full of myriads
of them. The twittering they made resembled the whisperings of a
multitude. The majority of them kept near the roof, and as they
flew to and fro through the shafts of light they presented a most
curious effect and looked like swarms of gnats; lower down they
resembled silvery butterflies. Where the light shone on the rocky
walls and roofs one could distinguish masses upon masses of little
silver black specks. These were their nests, as this was a black-nest
cave.
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