have remarked that these
sorts of retreats in grottoes are generally rich in bones. Currents of
water rushing through the entrance to the grotto carry along the
bones--entire, broken, or gnawed--that lie upon the ground. These
remains are transported to the depths of the cave, and are often
stopped along the walls, and lie buried in the chambers in
argillaceous mud. Rounded flint stones are constantly associated with
the bones, and the latter are always in great disorder. The species
that I met with were as follows: the great cave bear, the little bear,
the hyena, the great cat, the rhinoceros, the ox, the horse, and the
stag.

The stalagmitic floor is 11/2, 2, and 21/4 inches thick. The bones were
either scattered or accumulated at certain points. They were generally
broken, and often worn and rounded. They appeared to have been rolled
with violence by the waters. The clay that contained them was from 3
to 6 feet in thickness, and rested upon a stratum of water-worn
pebbles whose dimensions varied from the size of the fist to a grain
of sand. A thick layer of very hard, crystalline stalagmite covers the
Hall of Columns, and it was very difficult to excavate without
destroying this part of the grotto.

I found that there anciently existed several apertures that are now
sealed up, either by calcareous concretions or by earthy rubbish from
the mountain. One of these was situated in the vicinity of the present
mouth, and permitted of the access to Bear Hall of a host of carnivora
that found therein a vast and convenient place of shelter.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--SKELETON OF THE CAVE HYENA.]

These excavations revealed to me at this entrance, at the bottom of
the declivity, a thick stratum of remains brought thither by primitive
man. This deposit, which was formed of black earth mixed with charcoal
and numerous remains of bones, calcined and broken longitudinally for
the most part, contained rudely worked flint stones. I collected a few
implements, one surface of which offered a clean fracture, while the
other represented the cutting edge. According to Mr. De Mortillet,
such instruments were not intended to have a handle. They were capable
of serving as paring knives and saws, but they were especially
designed for scraping bones and skins. The deposit was from 26 to 32
feet square and from 2 inches to 5 feet deep, and rested upon a bed of
broken stones above the stalagmite. The animals found in it were the
modern bear