aged
with either pick or shovel. A little of the gravel had no doubt fallen
from the roof; but nearly all of this mingled material had washed down
from the interior, as it was entirely similar, except for its dark
color, to that forming the floor farther in. Consequently it was
necessary to limit the explorations to that part of the deposit which
lay above the wet black mass. Numerous attempts were made to ascertain
the thickness of the latter; but water, gravel, and slush oozed or
slid into the hole as fast as they could be removed, and it was
impossible to reach the bottom. The eastward dip of the rock floor, as
noted on the western side of the cave, no doubt continues entirely
across. If such be the case, then the original drainage line was
against the foot of the eastern wall. Later, because the channel was
obstructed by talus, the stream was forced more and more to the west,
saturating, up to the level of its final outlet, the earth and ashes
which had accumulated. It may be, however, that either this line of
drainage, or the mass of talus in front of the cave, is of
comparatively recent origin. Such accumulations as those described
would be impossible under present conditions. At any rate, this
deposit of muck, then dry, started from the floor of the cave with the
earliest occupation; for artificial objects of the same character that
occurred in the dry deposit above were found in it to a depth of 3 or
4 inches. They may continue to the bedrock, but on account of the
standing water no satisfactory observations could be made below the
level indicated.

Lying above the muck and, as intimated, practically continuous with
it, was an accumulation of ashes with which here and there some earth
was mingled, though the latter made only a small proportion of the
entire mass, and was sometimes entirely lacking from top to bottom.
They were principally in strata or irregular layers, lying undisturbed
where fires had been made; but there were also many scattered piles,
usually small, where they had been thrown to get them out of the way.

The excavation on the eastern side began with a trench 25 feet wide.
When this had been carried about the same distance toward the wall,
rocks and earth rolled and washed in from the outside were encountered
on the right, the side toward the mouth of the cavern. These reached
from the bottom to the surface, and were continuous with the bank of
talus. As results had been meager along here, t