HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
for centuries. The creatures they belonged to 
had probably been drowned in flobds higher up 
the valley, and washed down by the rapid stream. 
The volume of the current may have slackened at 
this place, and this would account for the deposit 
of bones there. 
These animals were represented; red, roe and 
fallow deer. Many antlers were found, some of 
which had been shed in the course of nature, while 
others had part of the skull attached to them, 
which showed the marks made by the knife in 
skinning the animal. Some of the red deer antlers 
were of considerable size. It has been stated 
that while the red and roe deer are indigenous 
to our country, the fallow deer was introduced 
by the Romans. Jaws, teeth, and other bones of 
deer were of frequent occurrence. 
The great wild ox of ancient Europe, which 
was known as the Urus, was also represented. 
This large bovine is distinct from the European 
bison still existing in Russia, and is now extinct. 
Julius Caesar mentions it as' inhabiting the vast 
Hercynian Forest of Central Europe in his time. 
He speaks of its size and ferocity towards man 
and beast, and tells us that it was captured in 
pits. We read of it existing in Europe during the 
Fourteenth Century. Its huge horns had a double 
curvature forwards and downwards. In a cavern 
there has been discovered a contemporary picture 
of a primaeval hunter stalking one of these huge 
wild bulls. It is engraved on ivory. The animal 
is shown grazing, while a man is creeping up 
behind him with a flint tipped spear in his hand, 
ready for striking his quarry in a vital part when 
he gets near enough. I recollect seeing lying on 
the bank of the Rennet parts of the skulls of the 
Urus with the great horn cores attached to them. 
Huge, indeed, they were ! No British ox carries 
such headgear now. 
The small domesticated ox of Roman British 
times was represented with his small horns, as 
was also the diminutive breed of sheep that in- 
habited our country. In fact, owing to the perils 
of wild carnivora, birds o7 prey, and robbers, the 
shepherd had a hard time in Britain until the 
introduction of strong government rendered it 
possible for sheep to be kept in large numbers in 
the open. 
Tusks, jaws, teeth and bones of the wild boar 
were also found. One fine tusk is now in Reading 
Museum. Piers Plowman's poem of the Four- 
teenth Century describes the farmer advising the 
knight to hunt the boars : — 
" Go and hunt hard 
The hares and the foxes, 
The boars and the badgers, 
That break down my hedges." 
Bones and teeth of the otter, and the fox, 
were, of course, present. 
An especially interesting discovery was the 
skull of a beaver. This animal was hunted in 
Wales during the Twelfth Century for its fur. 
The swan, wild goose, heron, and other birds, 
were represented. 
Some of these bones were collected and classi- 
fied, but, unfortunately, many were ground up for 
manure. Probably had a careful and systematic 
collection been made, bones of the brown bear, 
the eagle, and the bustard, would have been recog- 
nised, and the wild cat too. 
Most probably the wolf was among the num- 
ber. Teeth and bones of the canine race were 
numerous. This may provoke a smile, but these 
bones were ancient. Britain was long ago noted 
for its breed of dogs. I possessed a large jaw 
which I was told was possibly that of a wolf, but 
from what I have since seen of wolf's jaws, the 
teeth of this particular specimen do not appear 
large enough for a wolf's teeth. 
Discoveries such as the above indicate to us 
the antiquity of the globe we live on, and the con- 
tinuity of thought that runs through everything. 
It is remarkable how our knowledge of the past 
has been increased during the last fifty years. 
This is not mere speculation, nor is it an idle 
dream. We know what our country was like in 
that distant time. Perhaps the veil that hides the 
future will one day be uplifted too. 
The war that is now going on is a mere 
nothing in the story of the earth, appalling though 
the war is to this generation. 
WILD ANIMALS AS HOUSE PETS. 
By Robert Leadbetter. 
" JOHNNIE " 
(continued from No. 4, Vol. I.). 
"Johnnie's" affection for "The Tortoiseshell 
Lady" was extraordinary, and I soon found, if I 
wanted him to go anywhere, or do anything, I had 
only to pick up the kitten. 
If you put her in an arm-chair, he would clam- 
ber up immediately beside her, or follow you 
closely, as long as you carried her ! 
As "Johnnie" grew bigger and stronger, the 
servants began to fight rather shy of him — not 
because there was any harm in him, but just 
because he was a lion cub; so I had a little house 
made, to stand in a recess in my study, and here 
I put him each night to sleep with his kitten; but 
