CHAPTER III
GERMS OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
After several months' residence at the fire-cave, during which none of their former neighbors had appeared in the vicinity, Longhead and Broken Tooth were seated at their fire one evening enjoying a hearty meal of cooked flesh and roasted tubers and eggs. The man had, thanks to his javelin, brought home all the meat he could carry, the fire blazed merrily and they were enjoying themselves to the utmost when they were greeted by human voices from some trees near the cave. It appeared that a couple of their old neighbors had been hunting in that part of the forest and, night coming on, they had sought safety from dangerous animals by climbing a tree. This happened to be so near the cave that they caught sight of the light made by the fire, and the strange sight excited their curiosity. At first, they were greatly alarmed, never having seen fire before, but curiosity soon overcame fear, and, passing from tree to tree, they cautiously approached the platform. When quite near they recognized Longhead and Broken Tooth as old acquaintances and called out to them. They were at once invited to come down, but declined at first, being afraid of the strange light, but, being assured by the man and woman that there was no danger, they soon descended, and very gingerly and with many pauses, after much encouragement, approached the platform.
The genial warmth of the fire pleased them greatly and they asked Longhead what it was and where it came from. He made vague and mysterious answers and gave them little satisfaction. He told them, however, that the savage animals were afraid of the light and would not come near it, relating their adventure with Saber-Tooth their first night at the cave, and he assured them that if the fire was kept alive by a supply of fuel, one could sleep in the open forest at night without danger, and showed them the effect of putting on fresh fuel. He invited them to remain upon the platform for the night, informing them that but one must sleep at a time, the other remaining awake to supply the fire with wood, of which he showed them the pile and instructed them to put but little on at a time, that it might not be exhausted before daylight.
There was a goodly supply of meat at the cave, for the man had been successful in the day's hunt, and he and Broken Tooth now proceeded to cook some of it over the coals. When it was well done, they offered some to their guests. At first they were afraid of it and declined to taste until their hosts had eaten some, but, after the first taste they devoured it ravenously and expressed great surprise and satisfaction at the improvement over raw meat.
At a late hour Longhead and Broken Tooth retired to their cave, leaving their guests seated at the fire. They both remained awake all night, replenishing the fire from time to time, as they had been instructed. They thoroughly enjoyed the new sensation of light and warmth as compared with the dark and chilly refuge of a tree-top, and they talked much of this new element and its mysterious character.
When Longhead and Broken Tooth emerged from the cave in the morning, their visitors were gone, and so was the last scrap of meat, for their guests had enjoyed the unusual hospitality to the fullest extent, by spending the night in roasting and eating until gorged, and had taken their departure as soon as it was fully daylight.
It chanced that they returned to their group of people on the day of a general gathering, and over and over again they told the marvels they had witnessed the night before. Most of their auditors set them down as first-class liars, and not a few told them plainly what they thought of the story. On the second day, however, three of the group agreed to accompany them to the fire-man's cave and verify the matter. The five arrived near the platform about dusk, and brought with them several small animals they had killed on the way. As dark was coming on, the fire burned brightly on the rocky bench in front of the cave. The two who had been visitors before advanced boldly, but when they neared the light, the others promptly climbed trees to view the strange sight from a position of safety. They saw Longhead and Broken Tooth seated by the fire, and, when their companions reached the platform, they saw them welcomed and seated. These called to them to come on as there was nothing to fear, and finally, they climbed down and cautiously approached. Their surprise was great and their satisfaction unbounded when they felt the warmth; and now the first comers suggested a trial of the new method of preparing food. Here a new surprise awaited them, for Longhead and Broken Tooth each produced a flint knife and proceeded to cut the animals in small pieces instead of tearing them,—a proceeding which the new-comers watched with great interest, for they had never before seen a knife. Longhead gave each a piece and showed how to hold it over the hottest part of the burning coals, and to turn it that all parts might be cooked and not scorched.
They took the delight of children in a new game, and besides, they were hungry from their long tramp, and the feast lasted until all the meat and roasted roots had been disposed of, many questions being asked, however, during the progress of the meal about the origin of the fire. These the man and woman answered mysteriously, and finally retired to the cave, leaving their guests more mystified than ever.
The visitors remained awake most of the night, one or two sleeping while the others kept the fire supplied with fuel. It happened, also, that a couple of tigers approached the light near enough to be seen by them, but sneaked off, afraid of the strange sight.
This time they all remained until the man and woman arose in the morning, and then insisted that Longhead should tell them where the fire came from and how they could procure it for the benefit of the group. He answered as mysteriously as before, and pointed to the sky as the place from whence it came; but he gave them to understand that he controlled the mysterious agent; that there were plenty of caves in the ravine near-by, and if the group would take these for their habitations, he would not object to supplying them with the fire; and he showed them how it might be conveyed to a considerable distance by means of torches. He was careful, however, not to say anything about its preservation by means of the punk, and he declined to give any explanation in regard to the flint knives with which the meat had been cut.
Since he had become acquainted with the use of fire, Longhead's intellect had expanded rapidly, and he now began to have a vague idea that he could make use of these secrets to his own personal advantage.
On their return to the group, the party reported that all the first two had said about the fire was true and the half had not been told. They enlarged upon the appetizing method of preparing food by roasting, and the warmth and comfort of the heat, to say nothing of the terror in which the fire was held by the ferocious animals.
They told of the caves in the vicinity of the fire-man's habitation and his offer to supply them all with fire, and proposed an immigration to the locality, that all might enjoy this new agent for man's comfort.
Most of the group agreed to the proposition, and the next day removed with their few belongings and located themselves in the caves of the ravine; but a few conservative old fellows said they would have nothing to do with such unnatural and mysterious business; and as to roasting meat, it was surely intended that it should be eaten raw, else why were they furnished with hands to tear and teeth to chew, and besides, had not their fathers always eaten their meat raw? For their part, they would remain at the old locality and follow the old and tried methods, at least, until they should see if any harm befell the immigrants on account of the innovation.
By the time the procession of emigrants had arrived at the fire-cave, Longhead and Broken Tooth had determined upon their own course of action, and when the new-comers had selected their respective caves and came to be instructed in the use of fire, Longhead told each that as this mysterious agent was his property and he alone could produce or destroy it, he would require of each that he should bring an armful of fuel or a present of food when he came for fire; and further, that if the fire on any hearth should go out, it should not be rekindled with that of a neighbor, but by a torch lighted at his own central fire; and he threatened that if these rules should be violated, he would at once extinguish all the fires and retire to a distant part of the forest, leaving them in their former condition.
So beneficial did the people by this time believe the fire to be, that they all readily agreed to his terms, and scattered through the forest to secure armfuls of fuel with which to purchase the blessing, except a few who happened to have food to exchange. As each threw down his contribution he received a lighted torch and was given instruction how to kindle his fire, and, by the time it became dark, the whole ravine was brilliantly illuminated and merry with the shouts of old and young as they gathered for the first time around hearthstones and enjoyed light and heat.
Those who had visited the fire-cave before the immigration, proceeded at once to roast their meat and tubers, and the others imitated them, though a few concluded to eat theirs raw until they might see if the new method was injurious to those who tried it. The first touch of the hot meat with lips or fingers brought exclamations of surprise or fear from some, but, on the whole, cooking was voted a success and was thereafter universally practiced.
CHAPTER IV
CO-OPERATION
A few days after the arrival of the colony of settlers at the fire-cave, the conservatives of the group who had remained at the old home could no longer control their curiosity, and so, one afternoon they approached the vicinity of the new settlement, after cautiously reconnoitering from the tree-tops. When discovered, they were cordially invited to approach, for the old selfishness and exclusiveness seemed to melt away under the influence of fire and the companionship it inculcated, and they were soon enjoying for the first time roasted carrots and broiled meat. They soon lost their shyness and fear under the new conditions, and remained permanent denizens of the settlement.
The men of the group soon observed the flint knives and spear-heads used by Longhead; they at once appreciated their superior effectiveness as weapons, and importuned him to supply them with similar ones, or teach them how to make them for themselves. He was now too shrewd, however, to risk the loss of any of his prestige by revealing the secret of their manufacture, but agreed to make them similar weapons for a consideration, payment of which should be made in the shape of food and fuel, the only commodities at that time of any value.
Each man now brought him suitable sticks for javelins and spears, and for each he made a long spear, two javelins and a knife.
When the first supply of flakes was exhausted, Longhead heated another nodule of flint and poured water on it from a piece of bark, but he was careful to do this when none of the others were about; and thus maintained both secrecy and a supply of materials.
The control of fire and the manufacture of these valuable and mysterious weapons, gave Longhead a standing in the group which none had ever before attained. Human society had not yet been organized in any form; there were no laws, no rules and no chiefs. Each did exactly as he pleased, and if there was any restraint at all upon a man's actions, it came not from a sense of justice, morals or ethics, but simply the fear of a beating by the injured party, if any of his supposed rights were infringed upon.
Soon, however, individuals began to consult Longhead in regard to ordinary affairs. One would ask him if there would be rain during the day; another, the direction he should take for a prosperous hunt, and, as he was always careful to make replies which were somewhat vague and mysterious, except where he had certain knowledge, he soon acquired a reputation for superior wisdom.
Longhead, now relieved, to some extent, from the daily exertion necessary to procure food for himself and Broken Tooth, by the contributions of many who, through indolence or ignorance, permitted their fires to become extinguished, had much time for thought, and, as he sat making weapons, the manufacture of which brought him additional supplies, it one day occurred to him that if a number of the men armed with the new weapons could be employed at the same time against larger animals theretofore always avoided, the people might combat with them successfully and thus the food supply might be largely increased. This was the first suggestion of coöperation, and the idea but slowly took form in his mind, though it recurred to him almost daily. Up to this time each man had hunted alone, and if two or more happened to be in company, it was by the merest accident; but, as Longhead worked out the problem, he concluded that if a number could be directed by an intelligent leader, their efforts might be successful, and he determined to make the experiment at the earliest opportunity.
About this time a hunter returned one afternoon in great excitement, and reported that a large rhinoceros had partly mired in a swamp near the settlement. He said the huge animal was able to make but little progress and might be approached quite near without grave danger. This was Longhead's opportunity to try his experiment of coöperation. Fortunately, there were quite a number of the men about that day, and he at once called them together, told them to bring their weapons and accompany him to the swamp. He assumed the leadership of the party, and when they approached the swamp, each was directed to gather a bundle of dry grass, reeds and brush. These he had thrown down as they progressed, to give them footing in the soft ooze, and soon they had a tolerably firm path from the solid ground to a place near the great beast. On their approach the rhinoceros made no further attempt at progress, but he turned his head with its long sharp horn toward his foes and, with loud snorts of rage, seemed to dare them to come nearer. Their ancient fear of this formidable animal made the men hesitate, but under the peremptory orders of Longhead, they ventured forward and threw their javelins into the body of the huge animal. It must be confessed that for some time the attack seemed only to increase his rage, he made vigorous efforts to reach his tormentors and snorted loudly. But while, for the most part, the javelins did not penetrate beyond the thick layer of fat which surrounded the animal's body, a few had reached some of the larger blood-vessels, and when these were broken off or torn out in the desperate struggles of the beast, the blood poured forth in torrents and he soon began to weaken; his snorting was no longer so loud and he would lie down occasionally as if to rest, closing his eyes and breathing loudly but with evident difficulty. During one of these resting spells, Longhead came close to him and thrust his long spear with all his might into the animal's body just back of his shoulder. When it was withdrawn, the blood spouted from the wound and also from the mouth of the beast, and soon its eyes grew dim, its struggles grew less frequent and violent, and finally ceased entirely, for the great rhinoceros was dead.
Longhead now, for a while, lost control of the situation. The men went simply wild. Their shouts filled the air, and to these were joined the shrill cries of the women and children who had approached the swamp and had been interested witnesses of the battle and its result. The great animal—an abundance of food for several days—was theirs. They had occasionally before this happened upon the body of one of these animals, killed in one of the fights which frequently occurred between the males of the species, but, without knives, they had been unable to tear the thick hide, and even when it had been torn by wolves or bears, the meat was so tough they were able to obtain but a few small pieces. Their present hilarity might certainly be excused.
Soon Longhead began issuing orders and enforcing them by punches with the blunt end of his spear or sound blows with the pole, and some semblance of order was obtained. By his direction, men, women and children joined in bringing more brush and grass. This was piled close to the carcass and the men with their flint knives proceeded to cut up the huge body. The women and children carried loads of meat to the settlement, and soon most of the flesh was removed. The head was dragged by the men to Longhead's cave and set upon a stick on the platform as his trophy, while all stood around and roused the echoes of the ravine with their yells and acclamations,—the first time a public acknowledgement was ever given a leader.
Such feasting the group had never known. At each fire, large pieces of rhinoceros steak were roasted on coals or sticks, and for several days, every man, woman and child was literally too full for utterance.
After this experience, Longhead, as the organizer and leader of the coöperative attack on the rhinoceros and the final slayer of the animal, was, by common consent, regarded as the head of the group; his advice was sought on all occasions, and his word was law. He gradually assumed the direction of everything that was done.
Having demonstrated the strength of coöperative hunting, he organized easily a squad of the bravest and most active of the men as special hunters of large game. Each was armed with a long spear, two javelins and a knife, and he required them to practice javelin throwing until each became expert. On a hunt these men always kept within hearing or sight of each other, and they soon originated a code of rude signals by which the whole party might be informed of the appearance of any large animal.
This band of hunters, on their first expedition, led by Longhead in person, encountered a drove of wild hogs. When each man had hunted alone with stones and clubs as his only weapons, these savage creatures were almost as much dreaded as the cave lion or the saber-tooth tiger, and now when they appeared, nearly every hunter, mindful of his old fear, scrambled into a tree; but at Longhead's command they descended, and he organized them into a compact body, back to back. When the hogs charged in their usual manner, the slaughter wrought by the spears and javelins was so great that not an animal escaped, for, in accordance with their habit, the hogs knew nothing of retreat, and the last survivor charged as bravely as if at the head of the herd.
Again coöperation had triumphed, and the settlement feasted for many days.
The genius for leadership shown by Longhead, together with the superiority of the weapons he had invented, and, above all, his mysterious control of the fire, had now firmly established him as leader or chief, and none thought of questioning his authority in anything. There had been no election to the office, nor, indeed, any consultation on the subject; he simply assumed the leadership and the group acquiesced by compliance with his commands.
This first social organization for coöperation in hunting—the germ from which all governments and laws have grown—was not the only one resulting from the use of fire. The manifest blessings or comforts due to its use, and the mysterious manner of its production in the fire-cave hidden from the sight of all, began to give rise to the idea that Longhead and Broken Tooth must be in communication with some superior being.
It cannot be said that man at that time had any religion, any conception of a god, or indeed, any definite idea of supernatural beings, but there were many mysteries of nature which he could in no wise comprehend. Incapable of speculative thought, or, indeed, of much continuous thought of any kind, he was unable to distinguish clearly between the animate and inanimate; he attributed active life to all surrounding objects and believed even the trees and plants to put on foliage, blossom and produce fruit because they desired to do so. When a rock, loosened by the action of frost and storm, became detached from a cliff and rolled into the valley below, it did so of its own accord and was regarded with fear. A man would make a wide circuit to avoid it in passing and none would voluntarily approach it. They lived in a region of cliffs and mountains and when one gave a shout, under proper conditions, his words were repeated, sometimes more than once; and none could find the mysterious beings who did the mocking; indeed, after vain searches, they became convinced that the tantalizing mockings came from beings invisible to man, consequently his superiors and, therefore, dangerous. They began to avoid the glens and valleys wherein echoes abounded, or, if compelled to pass through them, did so in silence that their dangerous neighbors might not be provoked to do them an injury. The curling mist rolling silently down the mountain side, was to them another mysterious being of whom they stood in awe, and thunder, lightning and storm each became to them personified and living supernatural beings who terrified them. They had yet no belief that man had a soul or spirit which existed after his death. This thought was to come ages thereafter.
It was not long until it was suggested that Longhead must have subjected to his control one or more powerful but invisible beings whom he kept shut up in his cave under the guardianship of the woman, and who, at his command, produced the fire and wonderful weapons. That Broken Tooth was the guardian of these beings, made mystery attach to her as well, and they began to look upon her with fear and reverence also. The man and woman encouraged this by becoming more mysterious than ever. When further questioned in regard to the fire, they boldly asserted that the whispered stories were true; that their control of fire and the ability on the part of the man to make superior weapons was due to supernatural beings who frequented the cave and were subject to them. They asserted that these beings were so powerful they could strike them all with instant death, and would have done so but for the intercession of the fire-man and the woman to whose control they were subject; but the people were assured that so long as Longhead and Broken Tooth should be treated with proper respect, their wants satisfied and their commands obeyed, they would not permit these malevolent beings to molest any of the group, and the fire should not be taken away.
Soon the people of the group at the fire-cave were informed that the fire-spirits desired the man to remain most of the time at or near the cave that they might converse with him at all times and instruct him in additional methods for promoting the happiness and welfare of the people, and it would, therefore, be impossible for him to take part in the daily hunt for game, though he would still lead them in important expeditions. On this account he directed that each member of the group should daily bring to the fire-cave contributions of food, sufficient not only for the wants of the man, but of the woman and spirits also. The people readily believed this, for they were incapable of conceiving that such beings as spirits had not need of material food, and, consequently, each brought his or her offering daily, either of food or fuel. If by reason of failure in the chase, an unfortunate hunter had no offering to bring, he was required to come to the cave and, through the medium of Longhead, ask pardon of the spirits, and bring a double portion the next time.
To all this the people of the group readily submitted; Longhead and Broken Tooth lived in comfort, if not in luxury, without any effort upon their part; the people were educated to ask the forgiveness of superior and supernatural beings whose existence was shrouded in mystery, through the medium of a priest whose natural wants they were required to supply; and thus a religious worship with a dedicated and supported priesthood, if not a religion itself, was established among men.
CHAPTER V
DAWN OF INVENTION, ART, MARRIAGE,
RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT
Affairs at the settlement near the fire-cave now moved along smoothly. Their new weapons enabled the hunters to secure abundance of food in a country teeming with animal life, now that they dared attack the larger animals. Cooking made both the flesh and vegetables more nourishing as well as more appetizing, and soon the enormous stomachs, no longer continually distended with raw and indigestible food, became reduced in size and their bodies less unwieldy. Made confident by the use of fire and superior weapons, the men now walked fully erect and wandered through the forest with little fear. As their supply of nourishing food increased, more children were born than before, and the mortality among infants was greatly reduced. All this tended toward a rapid increase of population in the settlement. This increase in the population necessitated more habitations, and this, at the time meant more caves, for this was the epoch of cave-men. After all the available caves in the ravine and vicinity had been appropriated, an enterprising young man of the group who, by reason of mutual attachment and because of the example, perhaps, of Longhead and Broken Tooth, had induced a young woman to establish similar relations with him, being unable to find an unoccupied cave, concluded to establish housekeeping upon a horizontal ledge overhung by a projecting rocky cliff. This location, protected only in the rear, soon proved to be too exposed for comfort, and the couple concluded to improve it. They took several good sized sticks of different lengths which had been burned off by the fires and after leaning them up against the sloping rock, piled on brush and grass. This was much better than the open front, but a coal from their fire having blown into the grass after it had dried, caused a conflagration which reduced them to their former condition. The man proved to be quite intelligent, and he began to select logs of the same length, burning them off at the proper place when necessary; and these they sloped up side by side at the front as before, but, mindful of the fire, they filled the interstices with sticks, stones and moss, finally plastering the whole front, except for a small opening for entrance, with mud. This was a great improvement over all former conditions; the rain and wind were excluded, to a considerable extent; indeed, it was preferable to a cave. It was lighter and better ventilated, and, when they had learned to construct movable frames which could be securely fastened in the doorways, to prevent incursions by wild animals, these lean-tos or rock-shelters, the remains of which have been found in many parts of Europe, became the favorite habitations of the people of the group.
The inhabitants of the caves and rock-shelters did not clean house every spring and fall, or, indeed, at any other time; the refuse and debris of the household were allowed to accumulate upon the floors of the caves and rock-shelters, and to this we owe nearly all the knowledge possessed by civilized man of the domestic arts, weapons, food, etc., and the general conditions under which the cave-men lived, as well as of the animals which were their contemporaries. The floors of these ancient dwellings, when excavated by scientists, show several feet of debris or accumulations, which are called "brecchia," being a conglomeration of dirt, bones of animals, bones of human beings, weapons, implements and other artifacts, which are frequently cemented with limestone formations caused by the drippings of the rocks and caves, in the nature of stalactites and stalagmites.
Not only have we learned from this "brecchia" what progress the cave-men had made in domestic art, but our knowledge of the animals which lived in the locality and were their contemporaries is almost wholly derived from rude pictures made by these cave people, who seem to have suddenly developed an artistic sense and made such pictures by etching or scratching them with sharp flints upon pieces of bone, ivory and slate. These drawings are by no means so crude and wanting in artistic skill as we would be inclined to expect. The animals depicted are readily recognizable; such drawings show groups of reindeer, now found only in the arctic regions; the wild horse; the single horned rhinoceros; the giant elk; and on a smooth piece of his own tusk, we see the curved-tusked, hairy elephant of gigantic size—the mammoth, or elephas primigenius, whose bones have been found in many parts of Europe and Asia, and of which at least one specimen was found whole with the flesh intact, in the frozen tundra of Siberia. But for these drawings—the natural history of his time—left by cave-men, we would not know that immense animals, now long extinct in Europe, had contested with men of the cave period, the ownership of the forests, swamps, plains and mountains.
In the "brecchia" of these caves, are often found long bones of animals which have been split longitudinally to obtain the marrow, which was regarded as a great delicacy by primitive man; and as some long bones of the human body have been found split in the same manner, some scientists have concluded that cave men were cannibals, or at least occasionally made a feast upon the bodies of prisoners captured in war, or upon such sacrifices when offered to the gods.
At the time when rock-shelters became favorite habitations of the people at the fire-cave, marriage relations were still loose, and any idea of male parentage was yet to come, but in a few generations, instead of accepting the birth of children without thought, it was generally believed that the supernatural beings with whom their imaginations peopled the hills, valleys, groves and ravines, were responsible for their advent. However, the more frequent and intimate association of the sexes around the fires and in preparing food by roasting, had a great effect, and it was noticeable that men and women began to pair off in the caves and rock-shelters; that such cohabitation continued for longer periods of time, and there were a number who appeared to have formed permanent unions. There was something about the fire—the social hearthstone—which tended to prolong such associations. The cheerful light of the fires; the measure of comfort they furnished, and the talkativeness promoted by companionship as the hunters related around the evening fires the adventures and experiences of that and former days, all combined to make man more of a social being, and the same influences promoted more permanency of union between couples who found themselves at all congenial.
Perhaps the example of Longhead and Broken Tooth, who had remained true to each other, had something to do with this gradual change in the relations of the sexes, but it was not until many generations after when the fact of male parentage became known to mankind, that anything at all like marriage was known or any man regarded any child or children as his own. There being no settled custom in this matter, many couples continued to unite and separate as they might feel inclined. The most that can be said is, that the use of fire in some manner appeared to promote a longer union than was common before its discovery, and that, in the progress of ages, fire seems to have been one of the agencies which greatly assisted in bringing about the present sacredness of home and marriage.
The hunters of the group still continued their coöperative search for food, and the fact that it was often impossible to determine who had killed a particular animal, while it was frequently certain that the weapons and efforts of several had a part in it, brought about a system for making an equitable distribution of all the animals taken in each expedition. First the share required by Longhead and Broken Tooth would be set apart, then the remainder was apportioned to each member of the group or to each habitation in proportion to the number of persons to be supported.
The women, too, whose task it was to find the roots and vegetables, eggs, berries and nuts which entered into their diet, began to imitate the actions of the men in this respect. They soon arranged to leave the older and more feeble women at the settlement to maintain the fires and look after the younger children, and to these was allotted a share of the food secured by the others.
These customs were established gradually and without definite enactments, or even agreements, but by common consent; they were, however, greatly promoted by Longhead, who seemed to make coöperation a sort of a hobby. They seemed to have just happened, but they were, in fact, the natural outgrowth of fire and the changed conditions due to its influence. In the course of years these customs crystallized into a communal organization in which all things, except perhaps, the weapons of a hunter and a very few personal belongings upon which the owner had expended thought and labor, were regarded as the property of the group or tribe. This communal organization of society continued for thousands of years and its vestiges still exist amid the highest enlightenment, as the foundation for business corporations, partnerships, and, indeed, all commercial and other coöperation,—communism—the greatest good to the greatest number, being the basis of all civilized laws.
While the hunters of the settlement at the fire-cave scoured the forest for animal food, and the women sought vegetables, nuts, berries and eggs, Longhead was by no means idle. True, he was, by the contributions exacted from the group, relieved from the necessity of daily effort to secure sustenance for himself, Broken Tooth and a bright-eyed little cave-boy who had been sent to the woman by the spirits, and he seldom joined in a hunting excursion; but, weapons were often broken or lost, and, as he still retained the secret of their manufacture, he was kept tolerably busy in replacing them. Continual experience in this work gave him greater skill and a truer eye for symmetry of form coupled with effectiveness for use, and he also learned to distinguish the best materials of the vicinage. He invented no new weapons, for the bow and arrow and even the stone axe, were to be the products of a much later epoch; but he discovered that a javelin could be thrown with much greater accuracy if the two sides of the flint point were exactly alike and evenly balanced. Experience had also demonstrated to him that the weapon had greater penetrative force if the flake for the flint head was thin and the edges and point very sharp. He became more careful, therefore, in the selection of his flakes, and when he found one suitable for his use, except one side was larger than the other or the edges too thick, he found that he could batter off small pieces with light blows of a pebble, or flake them by pressure with a bone, and thus bring it into shape. He discovered also that when the base of a flake had some notches near it, the fastenings remained more firm and the point was less likely to become detached from the shaft. He therefore began, by pecking and flaking, to form such notches where he did not find them to suit him, and soon his spear and javelin heads assumed a conventional form. There was a slow but continuous improvement in the weapons of the period, but eventually these spear and knive heads became much like those still found upon the village sites of primitive man all over the world.
The worst trouble Longhead had to overcome in the manufacture of weapons was the method of fastening the points to the shafts or handles. The small fibrous roots he used at first would fray and break when they became dry, and the points would be lost or fail the hunter at a critical moment. The stringy bark he cut from trees with his knife was little better, but, one day when cutting up a large animal for cooking, he found its hide so tough he could hardly penetrate it with the knife, an idea occurred to him, and he cut off a long narrow strip of the skin for an experiment. This he hung up until he should have time to make the test he had in mind, and when he came to try it he found that he could not break it even by exerting all his strength. From the skin of the next animal that came into his larder, he secured a number of long strips, and, having dried these, he wet them to make them more pliable, and used some of them in lashing a point to a javelin. This weapon he tested by frequent use, and was pleased to note that the new lashing did not fray or break when it became dry, nor did it loosen, but, on the contrary, the strings of rawhide shrank when drying and held the point the tighter. Thereafter the tough hides were removed, dried and prepared for strings for this and other purposes, and it was not long until he accidentally discovered that wet wood ashes placed on a skin for a few hours would loosen the hair and permit its removal, leaving the skin improved for making strings.
About this time Broken Tooth made a discovery and, like the others, it was also accidental. In her cooking operations, pieces of food were continually falling upon the ground or being laid upon it in course of preparation, and they became more or less covered with sand or fine particles of grit, which did not taste good, and, besides, they hurt her teeth. She had no idea of their uncleanliness; it was simply a matter of discomfort. One day she observed a long strip of bark hanging to a tree which had recently blown over, and the idea occurred to her that if she had some pieces of this bright, clean bark on which to place the food, the disagreeable sand might be avoided. She tried to break the bark, but it was too tough and stringy, so she went to the cave and returned with a flake of flint. It happened to have a sharp but very ragged edge, and she found that by drawing the edge back and forth across the grain of the bark and at the same time putting on some pressure, she could cut it rapidly. That evening she surprised Longhead by presenting his supper on a set of clean bark dishes. The man examined them curiously and asked how she had cut them. She produced the flint and demonstrated on one of the plates how it would cut. She had invented, or at least, she had made the first application of the saw.
The man examined the flake thoughtfully, and, picking up a piece of stick, tried it on that. He soon sawed it off, and was greatly pleased. To get the staves of his spears and handles of javelins the right length, he had been burning them off in the fire, but now he would use a saw. He soon found that the more numerous and regular the notches the faster the implement would cut, and, as few, if any, of the flakes came off the nodules in this condition, he applied pecking and pressure, and soon had a saw with small and regular serrations or teeth, and found it very useful.
Up to this time, all his knives had been made of long flakes with a wrapping of roots at one end to protect the hand, but he had found it difficult to secure many flakes long enough for both blade and handle. One day he had the misfortune to break the shaft of his favorite spear. It had a thin blade which was very long and sharp, and the rawhide strings held it firmly. He attempted to untie the lashings, that he might use the blade for another shaft, but they had become so hard and dry that he could not succeed in untying them. He picked up his saw to cut them, but first began idly to draw it across the shaft. At once he noticed that if cut off at the point where he was sawing, the spear would become a knife with a wooden handle. The operation was quickly completed, and he found the new style of knife much superior to the old. Flakes of this size were much more frequently produced in breaking a nodule with fire and water, and all his knives were thereafter furnished with wooden handles.
The saw thus became one of the most useful of his few tools. Thus the flint saw, discovered by accident by a primitive woman, was the germ from which has been elaborated, with little change except for material, one of the most useful tools known to civilized man.
When the little cave-boy of their family was something over a year old, a small girl was brought by the spirits, and as the children grew and thrived, Broken Tooth began to suggest that their present home was becoming crowded. The cave was indeed a small one for two, three made it uncomfortable, and now four was certainly a crowd. Longhead first proposed searching for a cave of larger proportions, but to this Broken Tooth raised several objections. All the larger caves in the vicinity were already occupied, and, while they might no doubt use the authority of the spirits to compel the present occupants to vacate a cave for their use, this course was sure to create ill feeling which, sooner or later, might work to their disadvantage; and, besides, where could they find one with so large a platform in front and so well protected by overhanging rock. Could not some plan be devised to enlarge this one? and she called Longhead's attention to the fact that the rock inside was soft and friable, and that small pieces were continually falling down, which she carried out and threw over the edges of the platform.
The man undertook to make the cavity larger by pulling down and removing all the loose pieces, but, when this was done, little increase in the size of their home was apparent. On one side the man noticed that the rock was full of small cracks and seams, but these were so tightly fitted and irregular that he could remove but few of the stones with his hands. One piece that was quite loose he tried for a long time to pull out, but it pinched too tightly at one corner. In a rage, he picked up a large, sharp cornered piece of flint with both hands and struck it with all his might into the crack which held the tightest. The piece that bound it was broken and the stone fell out, followed by a number of others. Another discovery of the value of flint pieces had been made—a pick had been found, and daily both Longhead and Broken Tooth spent some hours digging at the loosened rocks until, in the course of time, they had a cave sufficiently large for their needs, and in succeeding years this was extended, as the growth of the family and their ideas of comfort demanded.
By the same means Longhead removed the irregularities of the floor and side walls, and finally he somewhat enlarged the doorway, gave it a more regular shape, and substituted strong wooden bars, held in place by notches cut in the stone, for the large stones they had formerly rolled into the opening at night to prevent the entrance of dangerous animals. The curious inhabitants of the settlement watched these operations, and it was not long until many other caves were thus enlarged and more comfort secured.
During the remainder of Longhead's life, little further progress was made in the manufacture of weapons and implements, other domestic arts or the conditions of the group; but the flint saw became a common implement and was applied to various uses; many of the families used bark dishes, and a sort of rude basket had been evolved from naturally curled cylinders of bark into which a bottom of bark or interlacing of rawhide strings had been inserted. These were used to transport nuts, berries, wild fruit, eggs, etc., to the caves and as receptacles in which to retain the same afterwards. No basketry or other weaving process had been thought of, nor had there been any attempt made to manufacture or use any kind of clothing, the skins of animals being used only for strings, or occasionally to carry food products.
Social conditions also remained practically the same, but food was more easily procured in consequence of slowly extending coöperation, and the method of its preparation by cooking made it more nourishing, consequently more of the children grew to manhood and womanhood, and the average of life was longer. The possession of effective weapons continued to render men less fearful, they became more and more erect and grew to a taller stature.
The inventions and improvement in conditions already described were the necessary and almost immediate results of the control and use of fire, and when this point was reached, further progress for many generations can scarcely have been considerable. Primitive man was not fertile in original ideas, nor inventive, except from accident aided by necessity, and the use of the bow and arrow, stone axe, baskets, weaving and pottery were to come many generations after the death of Longhead, Broken Tooth and their fellows of the fire-cave settlement. A method for producing fire by friction of wood upon wood, after the method of the fire-drill, which has been common to nearly all primitive peoples who have come under the observation of civilized men, probably came with the other later discoveries, but it was doubtless still longer before any clothing was used, and then, at first, it was most likely more for ornament than for comfort or any feeling of modesty.
However, the succeeding generations of the group described never lost the inventions of Longhead, and in after ages, when the idea of a Supreme Being or beings had been elaborated as a religion, he was deified and worshipped as a god and the founder of the tribe or people.
The descendants of Broken Tooth—for descent for many ages was still reckoned only in the female line—continued to be the weapon-makers and rulers of the tribe, and from them were the fire-priests always selected, when the worship of fire, with a consecrated priesthood and a more or less elaborate ritual, had been developed.
Many ages were to pass with a slow but continued upward progress before this group of fire-people entered even the lowest stages of barbarism, but certainly the discovery of the use and control of fire had much to do with the early progress of the rude people described, and whose individuals, we have assumed for the purposes of the story, were our own far away ancestors.
THE END
Works of
C. H. ROBINSON