Journal of Proceedings. xxxi
saved. Over the midst of the hole is an arch of 200 feet of chalk. These
holes lie near the highway, within the compass of 6 acres of ground,
leading from Stifford to Chadwell."
Morant adds that " in East Tilbury there is a field called Cave-field, in
which there is a horizontal passage to the cavern." This latter, Mr.
Spurrell says, is not now visible.
An amusing account of a visit to the Hangman's Wood "Denes" is
given in the article in the ' Cambrian Register' for 1818, before
quoted:—
" A gentleman of the cathedral of Canterbury, distinguished for his
taste for Natural History, and his knowledge in the antiquities of his
country, formed the extraordinary resolution of descending into one of
these caverns. He was attended by an eminent surgeon from the neigh-
bourhood, with the intention, no doubt, in case of accident, of availing
himself of his advice and assistance.....A rope was procured and
thrown over a pully, attached to a neighbouring tree. To the lower
extremity of the rope a strong piece of wood was horizontally fastened.
Seated on this, and bearing a light, an intrepid peasant, who undertook
to precede them, first descended. He had scarcely reached the bottom
when, by some accident, the light was extinguished. His boasted courage
forsook him, and he became terrified with horror at the apprehension of
evils with which he was unacquainted, and dangers against which he was
unprepared; and he thought he saw another pit still more profound and
more tremendous yawning to receive him! Light having been again
procured from a neighbouring farmhouse the other adventurers, unterri-
fied at the peasant's fear-born exclamations, successively descended. - The
depth was about 70 feet. The different strata were accurately examined
as they were passed, and found to consist chiefly of earth, gravel, and
sand, and at the bottom appeared a bed of chalk. At the lower extremity
of the shaft four excavations were horizontally made in four different
directions ; they were continued but a few yards, and were of no consider-
able depth. The fears of the peasant, that had been excited in obscurity,
were not calmed at the appearance of the light, when he found himself
standing on a human skeleton of gigantic size, most of the bones of which
in his agitation he had trodden to pieces. At some distance lay on the
ground the skeletons of several badgers, rabbits and hares, which were
supposed to have fallen accidentally into this hideous gulf, as they
gambolled through the woods or roved in quest of food. The human
skeleton, it was conjectured, had remained there many years, as on being
rudely touched it crumbled to pieces. No marks could be discovered on
it that could lead to the decision whether it was the skeleton of a person
who had been murdered and thrown there, or of one who, at some remote
period, had fallen into this terrific cavern. The mouth of the pit is
obscured by the shade of a tree, and the sides concealed by weeds and
low brush-wood ; an unfrequented path leads to a field from the road
within a yard of the aperture; it is not covered, the ground is uneven
and sloping towards the mine: 'Facilis est descensus averne' can hardly
to any place be more applicable. That such an accident should happen
is not so much the object of astonishment, as that similar misfortunes do
not more frequently occur. The head of the human skeleton appearing
to be considerably above the common size, the Esculapian adventurer
enveloped it in his handkerchief, but in his ascent he was more careful to
preserve his own skull than that of the skeleton from coming into contact
with the sides of the shaft, so on examining this capital object of