THE TRIUMPH OF LIFE 



the struggle for existence, the widely reaching 

 battle of life for room drive him in here like 

 the blind cave crickets and salamanders? 



But it could not have remained constantly 

 shut up in here like this. The mental picture 

 of the mammoth must have been obtained out- 

 side. I recall those animals who only bury 

 themselves at certain times in deep, dark hollows 

 in the earth like the marmot of the high moun- 

 tain. It is the winter that drives it into the 

 caves where it sleeps long months while outside 

 the snow piles up mountain high. This mam^ 

 moth here bears, unlike the present elephant of 

 the tropics, a heavy coat of wool like a polar 

 musk-ox or bear. That signifies a hard winter 

 at that time. Then that being might well have 

 crept deeper and deeper into the narrow throat 

 of the cave to escape the raging snow storm out- 

 side. There he has dreamed away a half year 

 like the marmot. But it could not lie down in a 

 hibernating sleep for so long, like the marmot, 

 it has painted these pictures on the wall. How 

 has it overcome the cold that certainly must 

 have crept devouringly even in here so that 

 strength and desire remained to pass away time 

 with the practice of art. 



In the stalactite roof there in the corner there 



is a partially loosened broken bone, ancient as 



everything here. It appears to be artificially 



split and the split edges are perceptibly black- 



136 



