(rare), the aurochs, the ox, the horse, and the stag--the
last four in abundance.

At the extremity of the grotto there is a well with vertical sides
which is no less than 65 feet in depth. It is called the Gargas
Oubilettes. Its mouth is from 15 to 24 inches in diameter, and
scarcely gives passage to a man (Fig. 1). Mr. Borderes, in the hope of
discovering a new grotto, was the first to descend into this well,
which he did by means of a rope ladder, and collected a few bones that
were a revelation to me. Despite the great difficulty and danger of
excavating at this point, I proceeded, and found at the first blow of
the pick that there was here a deposit of the highest importance,
since all the bones that I met with were intact. The first thing
collected was an entire skull of the great cave bear, with its
maxillaries in place. From this moment I began a series of excavations
that lasted two years.

The descent is effected through a narrow vertical passage 61/2 feet in
length. The cavity afterward imperceptibly widens, and, at a depth of
12 yards, reaches 61/2 feet in diameter, and at 15 yards 10 feet.
Finally, in the widest part (at a depth of 62 feet) it measures about
16 feet (Fig. 1).

A glance at the section of the well, which I have drawn as accurately
as possible (not an easy thing to do when one is standing upon a rope
ladder), will give an idea of the form of this strange pocket formed
in the limestone of the mountain through the most complex dislocations
and erosions. Two lateral pockets attracted my attention because of
the enormous quantity of clay and bones that obstructed them. The
first, to the left, was about 15 feet from the orifice. When we had
entirely emptied it, we found that it communicated with the bottom of
the well by a narrow passage. An entire skeleton of the great cave
bear had stopped up this narrow passage, and of this, by the aid of a
small ladder, we gathered the greater part of the skeleton, the state
of preservation of which was remarkable.

The second pocket, which was almost completely filled with clay, and
situated a little lower than the other, likewise communicated with a
third cavity that reached the bottom of the well. The clay of these
different pockets contained so large a quantity of bones that we could
hardly use our picks, and the excavation had to be performed with very
short hooks, and often by hand. In this way I was enabled to remove
the bones without accident. The