We have been delving, among the sands of ancient river bottoms for a proof of man’s existence in far remote times. Slight and unsatisfactory as they may be to some, they are the materials with which we reconstruct a wondrous story of life and times removed from us by many a cycle of years. Men have frequently resorted to the caverns of the earth for protection. In places we find caves that served this purpose during the Paleolithic Age. The men of the Drift, however, do not appear to have used them, save as temporary places of refuge, perhaps as a protection from bands of savage enemies, or from unusually inclement weather. But yet most surprising results have attended the exploration of caves in England, France, and Belgium. We find in those gloomy places that the men of the Drift were not the only tribes of men inhabiting Europe during the Glacial Age. In fact, living at later date than the Drift tribes, but still belonging to the Paleolithic Age, were tribes of people who appear to have utilized caverns and grottoes as places of permanent resort, and, judging from their remains, they had made considerable advance in the arts of living as compared with the tribes of the Drift. But before pointing out the grounds upon which these conclusions rest, it may be well to give a slight review of the history of cave research. The dread and awe which kept people away from caves during the Middle Ages preserved their contents for later discoverers. In the seventeenth century, some adventurous spirits began to search in them for what they called Unicorn horns, which were deemed a most efficacious remedy for various diseases. This search served the good purpose of bringing to light various fossil bones of animals, and calling the attention of scientific men to the same. The cave of Gailenreuth, in Bavaria, was explored by Dr. Goldfuss in 1810. He came to the conclusion that the bones of bears and other extinct animals were proofs of the former presence of the animals themselves. Dr. Buckland, a celebrated English writer, visited the cave in 1816, and became much interested in the work; so much so that when Kirkdale Cavern, in England, was discovered in 1821, he at once repaired to the spot and made a careful exploration. The results satisfied him that hyenas and other extinct animals had once lived in England. He followed up his explorations in a number of cases, and published a work on this subject in 1822, which marks the commencement of a new era in cave research.