The Later Cave-Men Part 2

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 gra.s.sy 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 ill.u.s.trate 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 carca.s.ses 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 G.o.d was trying to punish them.

And so the men tried to drive the G.o.d 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 G.o.d 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 G.o.d. 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_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 G.o.ds, 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?_

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_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?