124 FOSSILS OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 



The men assured us they had found two skeletons 

 of birds, in a crumbHng state, in a narrow part of the 

 fissure, lying separate from every other substance ; 

 but this account should be received with caution. 

 Altogether, the Facts collected bear a curious and 

 striking analogy to those connected with the Oreston 

 caves and others of a like description. There are, 

 however, some circumstances which differ, and which 

 constitute additional information to what is already 

 known, respecting these deposits. It seems that the 

 Oreston caves, likewise, contained relics such as 

 have not been met with here — these are — bones of 

 the elephant, deer, and tiger ; but, being deficient in 

 many of those found in the Yealm Bridge cave, and 

 other circumstances in connexion with the latter 

 being at variance with those of the former, the con- 

 clusions arrived at, respectively, must likewise vary. 

 These considerations will induce the author of this 

 paper to discuss, on a future occasion, the conclusions 

 deducible from such facts. It is not possible to 

 enumerate and reflect on the natural productions of 

 a spot without perceiving and regarding the evident 

 connexions, dependencies, and relations, which they 

 bear to the entire series, and so here, when, by the 

 examination of fossil bones, we are enabled to look 

 back to former ages of the world, and to call up to 

 our view, by the magic aid of science, the former 

 aspect and condition of this small portion of the 

 earth ; we find the subject blended with, and insepa- 

 rable from, the theories and arguments concerning the 

 epochs of the world, the changes which it and its 

 inhabitants have undergone, the destinies of mankind 

 through successive generations, and the immutability 

 of the Laws of Nature. 



