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 1½, 2, and 2¼ 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,