nd. He brought
forward proof that it had been inhabited by hyenas, and that the broken
and gnawed bones of the mammoth, rhinoceros, stag, bison and horse
belonged to animals which had been dragged in for food. He pointed out
that all these animals had lived in Yorkshire in ancient times, and that
it was impossible for the carcases of the rhinoceros, hyena and mammoth
to have been floated from tropical regions into the places where he
found their bones. He subsequently investigated bone caves in
Derbyshire, South Wales and Somerset, as well as in Germany, and
published his _Reliquiae Diluvianae_ in 1822, a work which laid the
foundations of the new science of cavehunting in this country. The
well-known cave of Kent's Hole near Torquay furnished McEnery, between
the years 1825 and 1841, with the first flint implements discovered in
intimate association with the bones of extinct animals. He recognized
the fact that they proved the existence of man in Devonshire while those
animals were alive, but the idea was too novel to be accepted by his
contemporaries. His discoveries have since been verified by the
subsequent investigations carried on by Godwin Austen, and ultimately by
the committee of the British Association, which worked for several years
under the guidance of Pengelly. There are four distinct strata in the
cave. 1st, The surface is composed of dark earth, and contains medieval
remains, Roman pottery and articles which prove that it was in use
during the Iron, Bronze and Neolithic Ages. 2nd, Below this is a
stalagmite floor, varying in thickness from 1 to 3 ft., and covering
(3rd) the red earth, which contained bones of the hyena, lion, mammoth,
rhinoceros and other animals, in association with flint implements and
an engraved antler, which proved man to have been an inhabitant of the
cavern during the time of its deposition. 4th, Filling the bottom of the
cave is a hard breccia, with the remains of bears and flint implements,
in the main ruder than those found above; in some places it was no less
than 12 ft. thick. The most remarkable animal found in Kent's Hole is
the sabre-toothed carnivore, _Machairodus latidens_ of Owen. While the
value of McEnery's discoveries was in dispute the exploration of the
cave of Brixham near Torquay in 1858 proved that man was coeval with the
extinct mammalia, and in the following year additional proof was offered
by the implements that were found in Wookey Hole. Similar remains have