By KATHARINE ELIZABETH DOPP, Ph. D.
The Extension Division of The University of Chicago.
Author of “The Place of Industries in Elementary Education.”

———————————

Book I. THE TREE-DWELLERS. THE AGE OF FEAR.
Illustrated with a map, 14 full-page and 46 text drawings in half-tone by Howard V. Brown. Cloth. Square 12mo. 158 pages.
For the primary grades.

Book II. THE EARLY CAVE-MEN. THE AGE OF COMBAT.
Illustrated with a map, 16 full-page and 71 text drawings in half-tone by Howard V. Brown. Cloth. Square 12mo. 183 pages.
For the primary grades.

Book III. THE LATER CAVE-MEN. THE AGE OF THE CHASE.
Illustrated with 27 full-page and 87 text drawings in half-tone by Howard V. Brown. Cloth. Square 12mo. 197 pages.
For the primary grades.

Book IV. THE EARLY SEA PEOPLE. FIRST STEPS IN THE CONQUEST OF THE WATERS.
Illustrated with 21 full-page and 117 text drawings in half-tone by Howard V. Brown and Kyohei Inukai. Cloth. Square 12mo. 224 pages.
For the intermediate grades.

Other volumes, dealing with the early development of pastoral and agricultural life, the age of metals, travel, trade, and transportation, will follow.

TO

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK

“A feeling of awe came over them while they worked.”—Page [172].

Copyright, 1906
By Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
Entered at Stationers’ Hall
Edition of 1928

Made in U. S. A.

The series, of which this is the third volume, is an attempt to meet a need that has been felt for several years by parents and physicians, as well as by teachers, supervisors, and others who are actively interested in educational and social progress. The need of practical activity, which for long ages constituted the entire education of mankind, is at last recognized by the elementary school. It has been introduced in many places and already results have been attained which demonstrate that it is possible to introduce practical activity in such a way as to afford the child a sound development—physically, intellectually, and morally—and at the same time equip him for efficient social service. The question that is perplexing educators at the present time is, therefore, not one regarding the value of practical activity, but rather one of ways and means by which practical activity can be harnessed to the educational work.

The discovery of the fact that steam is a force that can do work had to await the invention of machinery by means of which to apply the new force to industrial processes. The use of practical activity will likewise necessitate many changes in the educational machinery before its richest results are realized. Yet the conditions that attend the introduction of practical activity as a motive power in education are very different from those that attended the introduction of the use of steam. In the case of steam the problem was that of applying a new force to an old work. In the case of practical activity it is a question of restoring a factor which, from the earliest times until within the last two or three decades, has operated as a permanent educational force.

The situation that has recently deprived the child of the opportunity to participate in industrial processes is due, as is well known, to the rapid development of our industrial system. Since the removal of industrial processes from the home the public has awakened to the fact that the child is being deprived of one of the most potent educational influences, and efforts have already been made to restore the educational factor that was in danger of being lost. This is the significance of the educational movement at the present time.

As long as a simple organization of society prevailed, the school was not called upon to take up the practical work; but now society has become so complex that the use of practical activity is absolutely essential. Society to-day makes a greater demand than ever before upon each and all of its members for special skill and knowledge, as well as for breadth of view. These demands can be met only by such an improvement in educational facilities as corresponds to the increase in the social demand. Evidently the school must lay hold of all of the educational forces within its reach.

In the transitional movement it is not strange that new factors are being introduced without relation to the educational process as a whole. The isolation of manual training, sewing, and cooking from the physical, natural, and social sciences is justifiable only on the ground that the means of establishing more organic relations are not yet available. To continue such isolated activities after a way is found of harnessing them to the educational work is as foolish as to allow steam to expend itself in moving a locomotive up and down the tracks without regard to the destiny of the detached train.

This series is an attempt to facilitate the transitional movement in education which is now taking place by presenting educative materials in a form sufficiently flexible to be readily adapted to the needs of the school that has not yet been equipped for manual training, as well as to the needs of the one that has long recognized practical activity as an essential factor in its work. Since the experience of the race in industrial and social processes embodies, better than any other experiences of mankind, those things which at the same time appeal to the whole nature of the child and furnish him the means of interpreting the complex processes about him, this experience has been made the groundwork of the present series.

In order to gain cumulative results of value in explaining our own institutions, the materials used have been selected from the life of Aryan peoples. That we are not yet in possession of all the facts regarding the life of the early Aryans is not considered a sufficient reason for withholding from the child those facts that we have when they can be adapted to his use. Information regarding the early stages of Aryan life is meager. Enough has been established, however, to enable us to mark out the main lines of progress through the hunting, the fishing, the pastoral, and the agricultural stages, as well as to present the chief problems that confronted man in taking the first steps in the use of metals, and in the establishment of trade. Upon these lines, marked out by the geologist, the paleontologist, the archæologist, and the anthropologist, the first numbers of this series are based.

A generalized view of the main steps in the early progress of the race, which it is thus possible to present, is all that is required for educational ends. Were it possible to present the subject in detail, it would be tedious and unprofitable to all save the specialist. To select from the monotony of the ages that which is most vital, to so present it as to enable the child to participate in the process by which the race has advanced, is a work more in keeping with the spirit of the age. To this end the presentation of the subject is made: First, by means of questions, which serve to develop the habit of making use of experience in new situations; second, by narrative, which is employed merely as a literary device for rendering the subject more available to the child; and third, by suggestions for practical activities that may be carried out in hours of work or play, in such a way as to direct into useful channels energy which when left undirected is apt to express itself in trivial if not in anti-social forms. No part of a book is more significant to the child than the illustrations. In preparing the illustrations for this series as great pains have been taken to furnish the child with ideas that will guide him in his practical activities as to illustrate the text itself.

Mr. Howard V. Brown, the artist who executed the drawings, has been aided in his search for authentic originals by the late J. W. Powell, director of the United States Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C.; by Frederick J. V. Skiff, director of the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, and by the author. Ethnological collections and the best illustrative works on ethnological subjects scattered throughout the country have been carefully searched for material. Many of the text illustrations of this volume are reproductions of originals found in the caves and rock shelters of France.
K. E. D.
October, 1906.

“Pigeon boiled meat and gave it to the men, and they all sounded her praises.”—Page [166].

THE LATER CAVE-MEN

THE AGE OF THE CHASE

I

The Reindeer Start for their Summer Home

Every winter the reindeer came to the wooded hills where the Cave-men lived. No matter how deep the snow, they always found food. Sometimes they stretched their slender necks and ate moss from the trees. Again they scraped up the snow with their forefeet and found dry grass.

The reindeer liked cold weather. They liked the north wind that brought the snow. As soon as the snow began to melt, they started toward the mountains. In the high valleys among the mountains, there was snow all the year round.

One morning the Cave-men awoke and found the south wind blowing. All the people were glad; for they knew it would drive the winter away.

The reindeer sniffed the warm wind and knew it was time to go. Each leader signaled to his herd. And soon the wooded hills were dotted with small herds moving toward the ford.

Straightshaft saw what the reindeer were doing and he signaled the news to the men. Then the Cave-men gathered around Scarface, who was to lead them in the hunt.

A reindeer.

The children had listened to all that was said about the great herd. They could scarcely wait to see it. Fleetfoot pulled his grandmother’s hand and started up the cliff. Chew-chew wanted to see the herds meet at the reindeer ford. All the women wanted to see the great herd before it went away. So they all climbed the cliff where they could get a good view.

When the children saw a herd near the river, they clapped their hands and shouted. Then Chew-chew pointed out many herds and they all danced for joy.

The scattered herds were coming slowly down the little valleys. Each followed a handsome leader headed toward the ford.

“Look!” said Chew-chew as the leader of a herd plunged into the river.

The herd plunged too, for reindeer know it is best to follow their leader. The reindeer swam through the deep water and waded out to the opposite bank. Then the frightened creatures hurried on toward the well-known ford.

“The reindeer swam through the deep water and waded out to the opposite bank.”

“Why did the reindeer jump into the river?” asked Fleetfoot of Chew-chew. Before she could answer Eagle-eye pointed to a big cave-bear. The cave-bear was going into a thicket when Fleetfoot heard his mother say, “Cave-bears and hyenas hide in the thickets. They lie in wait for the herds.”

Scarface seemed to be lying in wait on some rocks by an evergreen tree. He had stopped on his way to the reindeer pass to see what had frightened the herd.

While the men were going to the pass, the reindeer were gathering at the ford. Several herds of two or three hundred each were already there. Other herds were coming. The flat sandy banks on one side of the river were already covered with reindeer. Soon the ford was filled, and the reindeer began to press up the narrow river valley.

When at last all the herds from the wooded hills were gathered at the ford, the handsomest leader of all stepped forth to lead the way. After looking around to see if an enemy was near, he started up the well-trodden trail through the narrow river valley.

Slowly the great herd began to move. To those watching from the cliff, it looked like a moving forest. Those in advance were soon out of sight, and were going toward the pass.

Meanwhile the men had reached the pass where the bravest ones hid at the farther end. There they waited to spear the reindeer, while others hid behind rocks near the entrance to drive the reindeer on.

While the women and children watched from the cliff a signal came from the men. It was a call for the women to come and carry the reindeer to the cave. The younger women went, but Chew-chew stayed and watched with the children.

At length the Cave-men returned. The men brought trophies and the women brought heavy loads of meat. They found Chew-chew and the children still watching from the cliff. There they all watched for a long, long time; for not until the sun was low down in the sky had the last of the reindeer left the ford.

THINGS TO DO

Model a large river valley with many little valleys in it. Show where the small herds were. Model the cliffs along the river and show the flat sandy banks on one side, and the narrow valley with steep sides on the other.

Find rocks and make the reindeer pass. Make the trail from the ford through the narrow valley to the pass.

Play the story this lesson tells.

Draw one of these pictures:—
The reindeer stretched their slender necks and ate moss from the trees.
The reindeer sniffed the warm wind and knew it was time to go.
Fleetfoot pulled his grandmother’s hand and started up the cliff.
The cave-bears and hyenas hide in the thickets.
Hunting at the reindeer pass.

Show how Eagle-eye loaded a reindeer upon her back. Model Eagle-eye in clay so as to show how she carried the reindeer.

II

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

If you have read the story of “The Early Cave-men,” tell how the cave that was flooded was made.

Can you think of any other way in which a cave might be made?

If you have ever seen a shallow hole in a cliff, see if you can find out how it was made. If such a hole was made in a very soft rock what would happen to it? What would happen to a hole made in a hard rock?

See if you can find a piece of limestone. What do we use limestone for?

If we wanted a house of limestone, what would we do to get it? When the Cave-men wanted a limestone house, what did they do?

Chew-chew

Chew-chew was the oldest woman in the cave at the Fork of the River. She was not as strong as she once had been; but she was still able to lead the women in their work. Her sons’ wives carried the heaviest burdens, but Chew-chew still carried heavy loads.

Chew-chew was the wisest woman in the cave. When the other women did not know what to do, they always asked Chew-chew. The bravest men were always glad to get Chew-chew’s advice. The children thought nobody could tell such stories as Chew-chew told.

Chew-chew and all of her children belonged to the Horse clan. All the children in those days took the clan name of their mother. Chew-chew’s sons had captured wives from the Reindeer clan. And so the children in Chew-chew’s cave belonged to the Reindeer clan. It thus happened that in every cave there were people of different clans. But since Chew-chew was the oldest woman in the cave, we shall call the people at the Fork of the River by the name of the Horse clan.

Chew-chew telling stories to Fleetfoot.

Chew-chew often told the children about her first home. She told them about the cave near the River of Snow, which was much like the cave which sheltered them. She told them about the wide shelving rocks which were like the ones above their cave. And she told how frightened her people were the day a rock fell near the mouth of their cave.

No one knew at the time what made the rock fall. No one knew there was no need of being afraid. Some one said that the god of the cliff was angry and that he had pushed the rock down. Everybody believed the story. So nobody dared go near the cave.

But the Cave-men needed a shelter. So they offered gifts to the god of the cliffs. When they thought he was satisfied, they all went back to the cave. And after a while they used the big rock as a table for their work.

Chew-chew wanted the children to grow to be brave and wise. So she told them stories of the bravest and wisest people of her clan. She told them stories about their grandfathers who were the heroes of the olden times. And Fleetfoot never grew tired of hearing about the wonderful things which his grandfathers did.

And so Chew-chew taught the children all she thought they ought to know. And they looked into her eyes and listened to all that she said.

THINGS TO DO

If there are cliffs or shelving rocks near by, go and see them. Find places where you think caves may form. Find out why it is that the rocks shelve. Why does a shelving rock sometimes break and fall to the ground?

Model the cliffs which you find. Model a cave which is formed in a cliff.

Tell a story which you think Chew-chew might have told to the children.

Play one of these plays:—
Chew-chew telling stories to the children.
What the people did when the rock fell near the mouth of the cave.

Draw a picture of something which you have played.

III

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Why did Chew-chew tell the children stories about their forefathers?

Why do we like to hear such stories?

Do you think that the later Cave-men will hunt in just the same way that the early Cave-men did?

What change took place in the animals while the Cave-men were learning to be good hunters? What change did the Cave-men have to make in their hunting on account of this?

Of all the animals you know, which are the fastest runners? Can you think how they became fast runners?

Fleetfoot’s Lessons

When the men were at home, Fleetfoot liked to stay with them. He liked to watch them make spears; he liked to watch them run races; he liked to listen to the stories they told about the wild animals.

A stone ax.

When the men went out to hunt, Fleetfoot wanted to go with them. But he was a little boy, and had to stay at home. Sometimes he went with his mother when she went to dig roots; sometimes he went with her to gather twigs for baskets. But the safest place for little children was not far from the fire. So Fleetfoot stayed at home nearly all the time.

While the children played near the cave, Chew-chew broke fagots with a stone ax. When she was ready to sit down, they all gathered around her. They knew that that was one of the times when Chew-chew told them stories.

This time Chew-chew began with a story of the early Cave-men. She told of animals that stood their ground and fought instead of running away. She told about the strong spears and axes made to conquer the wild beasts. She told of brave and daring deeds of the heroes of olden times.

None of the animals feared man before he had fire. And for a long time afterward none of them feared him without a torch. But the early Cave-men made strong weapons after they had fire. They struck hard blows with their stone axes, which the animals learned to fear.

Grass-eating animals feared beasts of prey long before the Tree-dwellers lived. Wild horses learned to run fast by trying to escape from packs of wolves. They learned to keep sentinels to watch while the herd fed. All the grass-eating animals learned to do this. The sentinels signaled at a sign of danger, and then the herd ran; and so their enemies learned to hunt by following the chase.

When Chew-chew was tired of telling stories, she marked out a path for a race. Then she showed the children how to get a fair start, by standing abreast and holding a stick.

The children learned to keep in step until they reached the real starting place. Then they dropped the stick and ran. And they all clapped their hands and cheered the one who won the race.

Then Scarface threw, and all the horses took fright.

After the children had raced a long time, they came back to Chew-chew for another story. And this time she told them stories about the men of their own clan. They often chased the animals from early morn until noon. At first they got very tired when they went on a long chase. But the more they practiced running, the better they hunted in the real chase.

When the story was ended, the children climbed the cliff. Chew-chew went with them and they all looked at the wild horses going up the trail.

The horses had been to the river to drink and now they were going away. They were following their leader up the trail which led to the grassy plains.

Chew-chew knew where the men were lying in wait and she pointed out the spot. The children looked just in time to see Straightshaft throw his spear. Then Scarface threw, and all the horses took fright.

Up hill and down, through bushes and briars, the horses galloped away. The Cave-men followed the wounded ones, hurling their spears as they ran.

The chase was long and weary, and some of the wounded horses escaped. But the men returned with many trophies and the women brought heavy loads of meat.

The trophies the Cave-men prized the most were the heads of the wild horses. They kept these trophies near the cave, and they thought that they were charms. The Cave-men thought that the horses’ heads would bring more horses to the hunting grounds.

THINGS TO DO

Tell a story about the age of combat. Tell a story about the age of the chase. Draw a picture to illustrate each story.

Show on your sand-map where the men were lying in wait for the horses. Model the trail which the horses followed.

What chasing game do you know how to play? Can you think how some of these games first started?

Why do people not try to run as fast in a long race as in a short one?

Model in clay something which you might name “The Age of Combat.”

IV

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

How do you feel after you have had a long, hard chase?

What does your mother tell you to do when you come in dripping with sweat?

How do you think the Cave-men learned to take care of themselves?

When they were lame and stiff, do you think they would know what made them so? Think of as many things as you can that they might do to make themselves feel better.

After the Chase

When the long, hard chase was over, the Cave-men were tired and dripping with sweat. All but Scarface threw themselves upon the cold ground to rest.

It was Scarface who blew the whistle which called the women to the spot. It was he who guarded the carcasses until the women came. And while the women skinned the horses he sat on a log to rest.

It was sunset when they reached the cave. All joined in a feast upon horse flesh, then they slept until break of day. It was then that the men groaned with pain. Their muscles ached, and they were so lame that they could scarcely move. Scarface alone of all the men was not suffering with pain.

Perhaps you can tell what made the men lame. None of the Cave-men knew. Everybody thought that an angry god was trying to punish them.

And so the men tried to drive the god away by raising fearful shouts. Then they asked Chew-chew’s advice, and Chew-chew took her basket and started up the dry ravine. There she found bitter roots which she gathered and carried home.

No one knew at that time how to steep roots, for people had not learned how to boil. So Chew-chew chopped the roots with a stone chopper and laid them upon hot stones. And while the men breathed the bitter fumes, Chew-chew threatened the angry god and commanded him to go away.

In a few days the men were well and it was almost time to go hunting again. Straightshaft feared the angry god. He talked with the men and they wondered why it was that Scarface escaped. They looked at his deep scar which a tiger’s claw had made. And then they looked at the trophies of Scarface which he wore about his neck.

Every Cave-man admired the deep scar of the bravest man in the clan. Every man wished that he, too, could show such a scar as that. And the men began to wonder if the scar was a kind of a charm.

Chew-chew took her basket and started up the dry ravine.

The more the men talked about the scar, the more they wanted scars. They talked with Chew-chew about it, and at last decided to let her make scars.

So Chew-chew muttered prayers to the gods, and asked them not to hurt the Cave-men. Then she took a flint point and scratched the men’s arms until she made big scars.

Years afterward, when people made scars, they stained them with all sorts of things. Sometimes they stained the scars with juices of plants, and sometimes they colored them with paints.

The Cave-men thought they could protect themselves by scars, and by all sorts of charms. So they kept on making scars, and they hunted for all sorts of charms.

But no matter how many charms they wore, they often were lame and stiff. Some one must have noticed that they were more apt to be lame after sitting on the cold ground while they were warm. For after a while the custom grew of never sitting on the bare ground while they were warm.

THINGS TO DO

Draw or paint a pattern which you think the Cave-men might have tattooed upon their arms. Where do we put the pictures which we make?

Find and name as many roots and herbs as you can that are used as medicines.

What animals have you seen eating herbs?

What mistakes did the Cave-men make when they tried to cure themselves?

“She took a flint point and scratched the men’s arms until she made big scars.”

V

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

What way can you use a spear besides thrusting it with one or both hands?

What changes do you think the Cave-men made in their spearheads when they began to throw spears? What changes do you think they made in the shafts?

How do you think the Cave-men made straight shafts for their spears? What do we do with wood when we wish to bend it?

Why the Cave-men made Changes in their Weapons

A stone knife.

While the Cave-men were resting from the hunt, they did a great many things. They practiced running; they hunted for stuff to make new weapons; they worked upon their weapons and trophies; they learned new hunting dances. No matter what they did, they always asked their gods to help.

(l) A laurel leaf. (r) Laurel leaf-shaped spear point.

All the later Cave-men learned to make light spears and javelins. The clumsy spear which served Strongarm so well was not what Scarface needed. But in the days of the early Cave-men the heavy spear was a good weapon. Strongarm cared as much for his spear as you do for your dog. It was like a friend in time of need. Few animals could withstand Strongarm’s blow when he grasped his spear in one or both hands and lunged forward with all his might. His spear was a powerful weapon. But Strongarm lived in the age of combat when people fought animals at close range.

The later Cave-men did not make light spears and javelins all at once. They began by throwing heavy spears. Chew-chew could tell of many a hunter who lost his life throwing a spear. Sometimes it was because the spear was too heavy to throw with enough force. Sometimes it was because the shaft was crooked and the spear did not go to the right spot.

When the Cave-men practiced throwing, they did not stand still and throw. They took aim and threw as they ran. That was the kind of practice they needed for the real chase.

The mark, too, was a moving mark. It was made of a bundle of branches, or an old skin stuffed with leaves. While one man dragged it by a long cord, the others ran after it, throwing their spears.

A Cave-man could wound an animal with a spear, but he could not give a deadly blow. There was always danger of the wounded animal turning upon the hunter. A skilled hunter with a good spear ran little risk in throwing it. But not all the Cave-men had enough skill. Not all of the Cave-men made good enough weapons to be thrown with a sure aim.

And so the Cave-men learned new ways of making and using spears. Perhaps they did not want to do it. But they had to do it or die. So you see why the men and boys spent most of their time in learning to follow the chase. Even the women and girls learned to hunt and to make all sorts of weapons.

Long before Scarface lived the Cave-men began to make lighter spears. The straighter they made the shaft, the easier it was to hit the mark. And so the Cave-men began to vie with one another in making the straightest and smoothest shafts.

A stone scraper.

When they cut the sticks for the shafts the Cave-men made gifts to the wood-gods, and asked for the straightest and toughest branches that grew on the trees. Then they cut the branches carefully and carried them home to the cave. There they peeled them from butt to tip and smoothed them with stone scrapers. Sometimes they rubbed them with fat and laid them away to dry. It was hard work to make a crooked stick straight. But the Cave-men tried many ways and at last they learned to make as beautiful shafts as ever have been made.

A shaft-straightener.

When the Cave-men pulled the shaft back and forth on the sandstone, they made deep grooves in it. We have found pieces of grooved sandstone that the later Cave-men used. Sometimes they would clamp a crooked stick between a grooved piece of sandstone and a flat bone. Then they would pull and twist, and pull and twist, and pull and twist that stick back and forth until the crooked place was made straight.

When Scarface was very old he made a shaft-straightener of a piece of reindeer horn. He carved the head of the reindeer upon it, and made a hole for the shaft. Then he thrust the crooked stick through the hole and turned the shaft-straightener round and round as we turn a wrench, until he straightened the shaft.

THINGS TO DO

See if you can find a good branch for a shaft. If you have a right to cut the branch, see if you can make it into a shaft.

Find a stone which you can use for a scraper. What else can you use as a scraper?

If you do not care to make a shaft, make something else out of the stick which you straighten.

Name the things which you have at home or at school made of wood.

Make a collection of the different kinds of wood which you know.

Which of these are soft wood? What do we use soft wood for? Which are hard? What do we use hard wood for?

VI.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Can you think why the Cave-men used stone for their spear points and knives before they used bone or horn?

What tools did the Cave-men need in making flint spear points?

Why did the Cave-men have to learn to strike gentle blows in making their weapons? Can you think of any way of removing little pieces of flint besides striking them off?

How the Cave-men made Delicate Spear Points

Perhaps you have seen very beautiful Indian arrows. Perhaps you have wished you could make such arrows yourself. The later Cave-men first made such weapons and no people since have ever been able to make more beautiful ones.

The early Cave-men did not need such beautiful spear points. Rough points of flint and heavy stone axes were the weapons they needed most. It was not until the Age of the Chase that people shaped stone into beautiful forms.

Scarface always used flakes of flint for the points of spears and javelins. But in earlier times, people did not know how to strike off flakes of flint. They put the flint on a hard rock and struck it with a heavy blow. They smashed the flint, for the hard rock did not yield. They had not learned to let the flint break in its own way.

When the Cave-men held the flint in the hand, the hand yielded to the light blow. The flint broke in its own way. But the sharp edges cut the men’s hands. So they covered the palms of their hands with rawhide and kept from getting hurt. When they worked in this way, they had no trouble in striking off flakes for spear points and knives.

When the men worked on their flint points, Fleetfoot liked to play near the workshop. He liked to watch Straightshaft strike off flakes with a hammer-stone and punch. He liked to listen to the song that Scarface and Straightshaft sang.

“When the Cave-men held the flint in the hand, the hand yielded to the light blow.”

Scarface and Straightshaft always sang when they worked with the hammer-stone and punch. While Scarface placed the punch he sang in low tones. And when he was ready for Straightshaft to strike, he sang so as to let him know. Then Straightshaft took up the song and marked the time for each blow.

“While Scarface placed the punch he sang in low tones.”

The men always sang when they worked together. If one man stopped when it was his turn to sing, the other did not know what to do. Besides marking the time, the song helped the men to measure the force of each blow. It helped them to strike off tiny flakes so as not to break the point. So, at length, the Cave-men began to think that the song they sang was a charm.

While the men struck off large flint flakes, Fleetfoot played not far away. He played while they hafted long narrow flakes for knives, but when they began to chip spearheads, he came and watched them at their work. He listened to the song of Scarface and Straightshaft, while they shaped a fine spearhead.

At length the spearhead was ready for the finishing touches. So Straightshaft dropped his hammer-stone and picked up a queer little tool. He called it a flaker, and he used it to press off tiny flakes from the beautiful point.

When Straightshaft had finished, he dropped the flaker and Fleetfoot picked it up. And he asked Straightshaft if he might use it to press off little flakes.

Straightshaft using a flaker.

Straightshaft let him try, but Fleetfoot was not strong enough to press off hard flint flakes. So he listened to the story that Scarface told of the young man who first made a flaker.

Holding up a little bone flaker, Scarface turned to the men and said: “When I was a boy, no one pressed off flakes of flint. No one had a flaker. We hammered off flint flakes.

“One summer when there were plenty of salmon, the neighboring clans had a great feast. Nimble-finger came. I saw him. I heard him speak. The third day of the feast I saw him flake flint.”

A flaker.

As Scarface went on he told how Nimble-finger invented the flaker. He did it one day when he was making a bone handle for a knife. When he was scraping a bone with a flint scraper he happened to press off a flint flake.

Nimble-finger did not know how it happened. He tried again and again. At last he pressed off another flake; and this time he knew that he did it by pressing the point of the bone against one edge of the flint.

Nimble-finger never finished that bone-handled hunting knife. But he showed the people how to make a flaker. He became an inventor; for he gave the world a tool it had never had before.

When the people returned from the feast many forgot about the flaker. Others longed for delicate spear points like those Nimble-finger made. So, at length, they tried to make flakers of their own. Some tried to make them of wood; but the wood was too soft to break the stone. Others tried to make them of ivory; but ivory was too hard to get a hold. At length all the Cave-men made flakers of antler and bone, for they were hard enough to break the stone and soft enough to get a hold.

When Scarface finished, Fleetfoot began to talk about Nimble-finger. He asked Scarface, “Where does Nimble-finger live? Does he always come to the great feasts?”

To the child’s questions Scarface replied, “While Nimble-finger was still a young man he went far away. For many years he lived far north in a cave beside the River of Stones. But years have come and gone since then. If he still lives, he is an old man; but of that I know not.”

THINGS TO DO

If you can find a piece of flint strike off a flake with a hammer-stone. Strike off a flake with an angular stone. Strike off a flake by using a hammer and punch.

Sort out the flakes that are good for knives. Put handles on them. Sort out the flakes that are good for making into spearheads. See if you can strike off tiny flakes until the large flake looks like a spearhead.

Find something which you can use as a flaker. When you have made one, see if you can use it.

Make a collection of stones which you can chip or flake. Tell all you know about each of those stones.

Think of Scarface as he was telling the story. Draw the picture.

VII

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

What do our horses and cattle eat? Where do we get their food? What do wild cattle and horses eat? See if you can find out whether wild cattle or horses have ever lived in a place where the ground is covered with snow part of the year.

Did you ever see cattle pawing the ground? Did you ever see horses pawing the ground? Did you ever see them paw the snow?

See if you can find out something about the great herds of bison that used to live in this country. What has become of them?

Can you think why bison live in herds? What officers does a herd of bison have? Can you think how the officers of a herd of bison are chosen?

The Return of the Bison

Ever since the reindeer went away the Cave-men had been looking for the return of the bison. Each summer the herds came up the valley to feed on green grass and tender shoots. Each winter they went to the forests of the lowlands where they found shelter from the cold.

The snow was now gone from the wooded hills and the days were warm again. The dingy brown coats of the hillsides were changing to the palest green. The buds were beginning to swell. Everything seemed to say that summer was coming.

Each day the Cave-men watched for signs of the coming of the great herd. Each night they danced the bison dance and tried to make the bison come.

One morning Straightshaft climbed the cliff and looked far up and down the valley. Looking north he could see the River of Stones with high cliffs on one or both banks. He could see dense forests of evergreen that grew on the low banks. He could see hills and valleys beyond the cliffs where many wild animals lived.

Looking south, near at hand, was the Fork of the River where Little River joined the River of Stones. Here the cliffs were not very high; farther down, they became lower, and at last there were no cliffs. The edge of the lowland forest where the bison wintered could be seen far away. Grassy lowlands near the forests stretched farther than the eye could see. It was here that the bison and cattle found the best winter pastures. It was in the lowland forests that they found shelter from the cold.

“Straightshaft saw the herd at sunrise and made a sign to the men.”

Straightshaft looked toward the lowlands, hoping to see a bison. Mammoths were feeding not far away, and beyond were woolly rhinoceroses. But there was not one bison.

An ibex.

As Straightshaft watched the second day, chamois and ibexes played on the hills. Herds of horses came from the grassy uplands and returned after drinking at the ford. But no sign of a bison yet appeared.

The third day Straightshaft saw a black spot in the distance. It was far down on the river trail. As he watched, it became larger and larger. And then Straightshaft knew that it was a bison coming in advance of the great herd.

The morning of the fourth day the great herd came. A powerful bison led the way. Strong sentinels guarded either side. The herd followed blindly, galloping eight or ten abreast.

Straightshaft saw the herd at sunrise and made a sign to the men. Those who saw it passed it along, and soon all the people had seen the sign. Then everybody climbed up a hill or a high cliff and watched the coming of the bison.

Nearer and nearer the great herd came, like a sea of tossing manes and horns. The earth trembled beneath their tread and the air was filled with their bellowing.

When the bison reached the ford, the foremost creatures stopped to drink. But the solid mass, pressing on from the rear, crowded them up the river. Soon the ford was packed with struggling beasts. Some tried to escape by swimming up the river. Others swam down the stream. And still the solid mass from the rear kept crowding on and on.

At length the herd divided. One part followed the river trail, while the other went up the narrow valley. Whenever a herd reached a branching valley, a big bison led off a small herd. This happened many a time. And at the close of the day there was not a little valley in the surrounding country that did not have a herd of two or three hundred bison.

THINGS TO DO

Play you are a herd of bison, and show how the herd marched. Show how it divided. Show how you think it would come together again.

Show in your sand-box where Straightshaft stood while he watched. Show the trails the bison followed.

Think of the herd as it galloped up the river trail. Draw the picture.

Make such a sign as you think Straightshaft made.

Plan a bison dance.

VIII

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

If you were to hunt bison, what would you want to know about them?

In what ways can bison notice signs of danger? In what ways can they help one another?

Watch animals, and see if they give signs to one another.