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16.

We were quite satisfied with our explorations, even though we made no remarkable or valuable finds. Negative evidence is sometimes of as much value as affirmative. While we had examined many caves, both limestone and sandstone, in the two localities we visited, they were sufficient to show either that man never had occupied them, or that, if he had, all traces thereof had been destroyed or effaced. If we had failed, to some extent, in finding traces of human occupation, we had also failed to find animal occupation, and yet we knew all these caverns to be occupied by animals at the present time, not only could we see their tracks on the sand, but we were assured by the neighboring people that these caves were thus occupied. This demonstrated, if it need any demonstration, the occupation at the present, of [[strikethrough]]the[[/strikethrough]] modern animals; and that they must have died and their remains left somewhere. The fact that we found none of the animal remains in these caves, is no evidence that the animals did not occupy them. Why, then, should it be any more evidence with regard to man? We were, though, more than ever satisfied with our ex-