40 J. WATSON : EXTINCT ANIMALS OF THE LAKE DISTRICT. 



abundance (Dawkins). Ours, as already stated, are in the mountain 

 limestone, and in two instances front upon the sea or upon an ancient 

 sea-bottom, and have been formed by its agency. A moment's 

 general description of a bone-cave will describe the whole of the 

 local ones. The floor is covered with stalagmitic matter, stalactites 

 depending from above. Beneath is a pulverised red loam. Much 

 of this, from its fineness, might consist of ground bone, to which 

 substance it bears considerable resemblance. It is in this layer that 

 the first remains are found, the parts best preserved being teeth and 

 the harder bone-cases. These are usually found matted and massed 

 together in confused heaps, whilst others are loosely strewn throughout 

 the loam. In one or two exceptional cases bones were found on the 

 surface, embedded in the stalagmitic matter that had been brought 

 down from above. Few of the bones found are entire, and most 

 have been gnawed (Buckland). 



Probably the best portion of the finds are the remains of a Beaver 

 and two species of bear. One of these latter was the common Brown 

 Bear, still found in the wilder portions of northern and middle Europe, 

 and the Grizzly Bear, now restricted to its American habitat in the 

 Rocky Mountains. It is possible that the hinder part of the skull of 

 a bear found at Helsfell may turn out to be that of the Cave Bear, 

 an animal never known in the flesh, and therefore long extinct prior 

 to historic times. Although this Cave Bear is described as Ursiis 

 fossilis, it may be well to clear the ground by stating that none of the 

 remains are in a fossilized condition, but are preserved by reason of 

 their being embedded in the stalagmitic matter of the cave floor — are 

 found in such deposit, in short, as to betoken an animal not long gone. 

 The historic period to which the animals now enumerated belonged 

 may be referred to roughly as from the invasion of Caesar, 55 b.c, to 

 the time when the last of the creatures became extinct. The evidence 

 now to be adduced can refer only to a period extending from the 

 date just mentioned to 500 — 1000 a.d. Some year in the interval of 

 these latter dates marks that of the extinction of the Brown Bear in 

 Britain (Harting). In fact, the Brown Bear and the Reindeer are the 

 links between Historic and Prehistoric times. The first is found in 

 Roman refuse-heaps and in our local caves, side by side with 

 remains of animals introduced by the Romans. Of this huge creature 

 an almost perfect skull was found in the Arnside Cavern by the late 

 John Ruthvin, when on a geological ramble with Sedgwick. Its 

 remains have been found at Helsfell, too, and at Whitbarrow, and 

 we know from documentary evidence that it occurred in the vast 

 Caledonian Forest which stretched over an area much less local than 

 the name would imply, and certainly comprehended Cumberland and 



Naturalist, 



