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 61/2 feet in length. The cavity afterward imperceptibly widens, and, at a depth of 12 yards, reaches 61/2 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 ladder), will give an idea of the form of this strange pocket formed in the limestone of the mountain through the most complex dislocations and erosions. Two lateral pockets attracted my attention because of the enormous quantity of clay and bones that obstructed them. The first, to the left, was about 15 feet from the orifice. When we had entirely emptied it, we found that it communicated with the bottom of the well by a narrow passage. An entire skeleton of the great cave bear had stopped up this narrow passage, and of this, by the aid of a small ladder, we gathered the greater part of the skeleton, the state of preservation of which was remarkable. The second pocket, which was almost completely filled with clay, and situated a little lower than the other, likewise communicated with a third cavity that reached the bottom of the well. The clay of these different pockets contained so large a quantity of bones that we could hardly use our picks, and the excavation had to be performed with very short hooks, and often by hand. In this way I was enabled to remove the bones without accident. The lower pocket was dug out first, and with extreme care, the bones being hoisted out by means of a basket attached to a rope. Three or four candles sufficed to give us light. The air was heavy and very warm, and, after staying in it for two hours, it was necessary to come to the surface to breathe. After extracting the bones from the lower pocket, and when no more clay remained, we successively dug out the upper ones and threw the earth to the bottom of the well.