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 (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 6½ feet in
length. The cavity afterward imperceptibly widens, and, at a depth of
12 yards, reaches 6½ 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