 Section 9 of Stories of the Cavepeople. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Dane Randall. Stories of the Cavepeople by Mary Marcy. Section 9. The First Planting. When the great flood, which little laughing boy imagined, covered the face of all the land had subsided, and the warring river fell back into a portion of its old channel, the survivors of the clans turned their feet toward the homes of their fathers. There were many changes. Strange things had occurred. Hundreds of members of the various hordes had been lost in the flood. The riverbed itself had been twisted into a new and alarming shape so that on the other side of its bank, trees had been torn up and the waters had eaten into the earth and lapsed the foot of the little hills. The old hollow was filled with many tons of new black earth, and many of the caves were buried beneath the soil deposited by the river. The hollow had been the home of the cavepeople, of little laughing boy, his father's strong arm, and his mother quack quack. They had escaped during the flood with the foolish one, a member of their own tribe, and had been joined later on by the hairy man, a survivor of the hairy folk. And they had clung together during their dangers and journeying for mutual strength and protection. When they had encountered tall and bigfoot of one of the man-eating hordes, their numbers enabled them to overcome these powerful enemies who joined the band and fed laughing boy, his first taste of roasted human flesh. These men also taught the cavepeople the wonderful power hidden away in the flint pit, which they had discovered how two pieces of this strange rock could call forth the protecting fire when struck sharply together, and how thin pieces of this same rock made wonderful knives with which to hack and slay the enemy. Indeed, it was the insistence of Bigfoot in carrying away several pieces of this new rock that caused the others to do likewise, although it was a long time before any of them returned to the flint pit and began to use flint regularly in making weapons. In spite of the large number of men and women and children who lost their lives in the great flood, this was a time of progress, a time when all the tribes learned many new things. Their surviving hairy folk were thrown with members of the tribe of cavepeople and learned the use of fire. The tree-drillers were forced to walk upon the ground and learned new methods of fishing and hunting from the cavepeople, the fashioning of rafts made of bamboo poles bound together with tough grasses and wild vines, which one could propel them the water by paddling with the hands. The tall people who contributed a meager knowledge of flint, gained the use of the bull and arrow from their own enemies, the dart-throars. It was a time when men learned much. Of course, many of these things were forgotten in the days of ease and plenty, until the children of the members of the tribes discovered or invented or were shown them all over again in the years that followed. Strong arm and quack quack and laughing boy, in company with the foolish one and tall and bigfoot in the hairy man, followed the shore of the river in order to reach the home of the cavepeople. Scarcely a sound they made as they wound their way through the heavy grasses that sprung up with the magic of the tropics from the rich soil left by the flood. Of food there was now every day a greater abundance, fruit ripened and grew luscious overnight. Hundreds of fish were left in shallows by the receding flood, where they could be gathered by hand, and it was impossible to avoid stumbling over the egg-filled nests of the gulls and the uie. Also there were unknown dangers, and tall grew ill with the fever that made the touch of his hands like the flames of the protecting fire. And although bigfoot and quack quack brought him every day fresh fruit and other food, which they sometimes roasted in the coals, he drove them away. Steadily he grew worse until madness came into his eyes, and his voice rose above the quiet of the night, and laughing boy grew fearful in spite of the friendly fire. For the warriors of the sick man, tall, echoed through the woods, and the forest enemies would hear an approach, but tall could not be restrained. A new strength that comes with the fever fed his veins, and a night came when he thrust his companions from him and disappeared, screaming into the woods. They never saw him again, for as he ran, his wild cries filled the night, and the very branches of the trees seemed to waken with the tumult. Then came the grim howl of the hyena, and the soft fall of padded feet upon the earth. Down the gully a strange voice arose, life stirred in the bushes and the hair on the head of laughing boy rose in terror. Father and father receded the wellings of the sick man till at last a howl re-eckled in the darkness that brought the band of tribes people huddling together in fear. For it was the cry of the saber-toothed tiger, came then a stillness with only the voice of tall driving the sweat out upon their bodies, and while the little band fed the friendly fire and gathered near his protecting flames, they waited for the end of the sick man. It came at last, one long scream of agony when the greatest enemy of all the hordes came upon him. Bigfoot knew and strong arm knew, and the others of the tribes knew also that the danger to themselves was over for the night, but long they crouched in the light of the flames, ears twitching, nostrils quivering, like images of bronze frozen with fear. Many other adventurers befell the mixed group from the different clans on their journeyings toward the hollow which had been the home of the cave people. There were dangers encountered and evaded or will come in every hour of these eventful days, but at last they reached the ridge above the edge of the hollow. Quack quack and strong arm and the foolish one and the others climbed the hill and gazed over into what had been once a lovely valley. But much of this lay filled with the soil left by the flood. Tall grasses waved in the breeze and many new blossoms lifted their heads and nearly all of the old familiar caves were filled with mud and covered up. It was all very queer, and while they proceeded with caution as men going into a strange land, the brush before them parted and they beheld the grinning features of big nose and light foot and behind them others of the cave people and a fuzzy woman from among the hairy folk and strange people and former enemies from the other clans, all of whom had escaped the flood and wandered back toward the dwelling places of their tribes. And strong arms scooped out the soil that had been washed against the opening of a high cave upon the hill and entered it to rest after his long journey. And he dug with his hands into the soft earth for he remembered the tubers he had buried there one day when he had been hunting with the men of the tribe for he was hungry and low. Many juicy tubers he found where he had buried only two or three and strong arm and quack quack eight of the potatoes while for a caveman strong arm pondered deeply on these things. He thought much of one tuber and how it had made many tubers and recalled the words of his father who had spoken of the mother potato. Then he felt quack quack at his side and forgot the matter and fell asleep. Necessity has been the great spur to the progress of mankind and it is probable that over and over again in the early stages of primitive culture the use of fire was discovered and lost and forgotten and regained before men realize the need which fire supplied. It is almost certain that the art of pottery was discovered and lost and rediscovered times without number. It is equally certain that it took primitive man many many long dark years to learn to plan for the periods of want and famine. In tropical countries where food was to be had in abundance almost the whole year around no necessity arose for the raising of crops. Man would never have felt the need of learning to cultivate foodstuffs in this environment. Savages had only the vaguest notions of the relation of cause and effect. It was necessary for buried tubers to sprout new potatoes year after year for the plants to multiply before their very eyes and the necessity of planting food to have arisen before the relation of sowing and reaping could begin to mean anything to them. Only then did planting assume any tribal significance. Doubtless it was in some semi tropical country that the discovery of strong arm first began to make an impression upon the awakening minds of the early savages. Buried sweet yams and others of the potato family which had multiplied and become many yams or potatoes must have been a wonderful windfall when discovered by the half starved tribes in the midst of a long season of one. The cause of their growing would then be carefully observed by the clans. Be sure that it was necessity that forced the first early savage to sow and bury against the days of coming hunger. Man did not take naturally to work. For several hundreds of thousands of years he dwelt in tropical or semi tropical lands where food was usually plentiful. It was only an urgent need that forced him to sow until the soil. Before that time he had dwelt in the continual problems of the day and had been compelled to give no will thought nor plan for the moral. Strong arm slept in the cave with quack quack after their long journey back to the home of their fathers. And he dreamed a dream wherein he saw tall the great man from the strange tribe alive and walking about just as he had done before the sickness came upon him when he had wandered out into the night. And met the saber toothed tiger. And in his dream strong arm saw tall stand before his cave and thrust many tubers in the ground where one tuber had been. And when strong arm awoke he told quack quack and his brothers and laughing boy of his dream in the few words he knew and in signs and pantomime. And so much strong arm wondered that when he ate of the fish that had been roasting he removed one fish from the ashes and carried it to his cave where he buried it in the soft earth. Then he took the bones of a young boar and buried them also for when these bones are cracked the marrow is very sweet to eat. He desired one fish to grow into a hundred fish and the bones of one wild pig to become a whole forest of bones. And he tried to tell these things to the tribe to say that perhaps it was the spirit of tall which would come in the night and make many fish are the one and a forest of bones from one young boar. The cave people came and watched him at his labors and chattered and gesticulated and wondered. And in the morning they gathered about to eat of the many fish which strong arm hoped to find in the earth in his cave and to crack the bones and partake of the marrow. But there were only the fish in the bones which strong arm had planted and he sat down upon his hunches and wept bitterly. The cave people were disappointed and Bigfoot mocked him. Perhaps strong arm was one of the first experimenters. He did not give up altogether. Occasionally the thought of many little tubers grown from one big tuber would seize hold of him. And one day he buried a yellow yam which resembled our sweet potatoes and turned up the ground the next day only to find that it had not become a whole dinner of sweet potatoes. He was not sure that tall the dead man or the spirit of tall had anything to do with these things. Tall had not returned again to strong arm in his dreams. It was all very strange. Strong arm did not understand. Everything was mysterious and confused. Another time he buried several tubers. The day following he dug them up but he forgot one or two of these and when after some time he jammed about in the soil again he found a whole armful of tubers. The miracle had come back again and tall or the spirit of the dead man had not returned to make possible the wonder. The miracle was stranger than ever. Almost strong arm evolved an idea. An idea that tubers or potatoes planted in the earth in the sun and left for a whole tribe of sons might in some mysterious manner beyond his understanding become the mother of many potatoes. Then the hairy folk descended from the ridge upon the cave people. They came with long spears in their hands and cries of death in their fuzzy throats and strong arm in the cave people gave them to battle. Many were killed and Bigfoot roasted the body of one of the enemy upon the coals and the cave people ate the hairy man with much zest and relish. And the stomachs of the cave people were distended with the feast and strong arms strutted and danced about the fire with those who had accomplished the victory. And he forgot all about the idea he had almost achieved about the planting of potatoes and the making of more sweet yams. So the discovery that was only half a discovery was lost to the tribe for many years. Doubtless if you had reminded him of it and he could have spoken to you in a language you would understand. Strong arm would have replied that there were the hairy folk and the dark throars to be annihilated, the children of the tribe to be protected and food to be provided. And that he had ceased to think of such foolish things as the sticking of fat tubers in the ground in the hope of making them the mothers of many little potatoes. And anyway, these were strange things past all the ability of any man to understand. End of section 9 Section 10. Stories of the Cave People This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, visit LibriVox.org Recording by Jeff Blanchard Stories of the Cave People by Mary Marcy The First Pot Sometime before the cave people discovered the use of the bow and arrow, they had learnt to make clay pots or bowls. For many years the tribe lived in the tropical lands where the breadfruit ripened nearly the whole year round. And where nuts were plentiful and tubers and sweet yams were often to be found. Where there were more nests than there were trees in the forests. Filled with treasures of fresh eggs and there were fowl and fish. As much as the hordes loved to eat the wild duck or the coconut or even the wild honey, one and all knew that when the hot sun beat down upon bare brown skins in the heat of the day during the summer there was nothing in the valley so sweet as a drink of water. One could go without food for many suns. But if one day passed without fresh water for the members of the group, fevers came upon them. The strange fevers that caused them to do many foolish things. At first no member of the tribe willingly journeyed far from the source of fresh water. For they had nothing with which to carry water from one place to another. Then they used coconut shells and sometimes the shells that lay upon the banks of the Great River. But these held little and were easily upset. Then someone discovered that the hollow joints of the giant bamboo were more easy to carry and held more water. And these became the first water jugs of the clan. Later when it became the fashion for men and women to decorate themselves with the skins of the animals they had slain, they found that there are many uses which hides may serve. The cave people wore no clothes but bound over their shoulders they bore great weights of skins and hides, of heads and tails, of bones and teeth as marks of their skill and bravery in the hunt. Great teeth cunningly fastened together made necklaces that spoke every day more loudly than a man's voice of what that man had done. But as pride grew in these emblems of prowess little by little the people of the tribe began to use these hides for other things. They found that with holes punched along the edges through which a thong might be drawn as a gathering string about a handbag, these skins made water bags that one could carry on a fair journey taking with him drink for a whole day. But it was only when the sun beat down like the flames of the fire that they thought much of these things. Then thoughts of water and the milk of the coconut were never long absent. It was at this time of the year when the scorching rays of the summer sun had licked dry all the little brooks and most of the springs that laughing boy and webtoe he who could out swim the fastest fishes planned an excursion over the hills in search of wild honey. They were fourteen years old and stood straight and brown and almost as tall as the men of the tribe but they had not yet learnt to have care for all the dangers that licked in the unknown ways as older men. They were proud of the wild skins that lay hot and heavy on their shoulders and the teeth that made chains about their throats. They were never done showing the trophies they had gathered in the hunt to their young companions and they boasted much for they were more strong than the other boys of the clan. Laughing boy was proud of his water bag which when the thong was tightly drawn and the bag was filled with water spilled scarcely a single drop while webtoe beat much of the time upon his drum or tom tom which he believed made the most beautiful music in the world. This tom tom he had made by stretching the soft skin of some small animal over a willow branch bent and fastened in a circle. The older members of the tribe were stretched in the cooling shade near the river bank or sleeping the sleep that comes from much eating in the cool of the caves but the children and the youths romped about vying with each other in games of sport and in feats of strength. Among these webtoe and laughing boy were easily the victors throwing their boomerangs and their stone weapons further and with greater accuracy than any of the others. Laughing boy had now smeared his whole chest with the deep vermilion juice of the make brave plant and webtoe had gouged holes in both the ears from which hung half a dozen shells and cougar teeth and they strutted about in the glory of their strength and budding manhood but at last they stole away from the others and softly made their way through the thicket and on up and over the hill to the high places where the dry grass crackled and rustled beneath their scurrying feet laughing and chatting they ran fleeing care and caution to the winds racing to sea which would be the quicker to reach this point or that and again speeding on to make the giant banyan tree. Here they paused to rest and to laugh softly and the cunning of all wood creatures came back to their straggling senses and they proceeded cautiously chatting more softly and laughing more quietly laughing boy carried his stone weapon and his water bag which bulged with ample fullness while webfoot brandished his tom-tom in one hand and his stone sling in the other only now he made not a sound with his beloved music box it was a time to avoid the creatures of the forest though all were sleepy and lazy from abundant food and the warmth of the sun they jabbered of the sweet sweet meaning wild honey which they meant to take back to the tribe and with which they intended to show the other youths how much more clever and courageous they were than the other boys in the clan with every gay and confident step as they advanced up the small plateau the land grew more patched laughing boy who saw things that escaped the eyes of webtoe pointed to little hollows now and then which had been dried by the sun and when webtoe soon grown thirsty sought to take his bag for a drink laughing boy shook his head no he said and pointed to the sun high overhead he meant to save the water for the journey caveward there is they ate a nuts gathered hastily on the way and when they near the tall coconut palms both boys forgetting the dangers that might be said them dashed their heavy weapons to the ground and rushed forward in a few moments both were encircling the straight tall trunks of the trees with their arms and climbing up them in a sort of walk their toes pressed close and almost clinging to the back soon the great nuts were tumbling to the ground and the boys slid back to refresh themselves with the sweet of coconut milk but the thick it patted and an angry and suspicious black she bear lumber toward them with two curious tumbling black cubs at her heels it was no time to dispute for the possession of their weapons it was not the time to pause for a drink of coconut milk and so with the pretence at nonchalance as though they had seen nothing and had no concern in the two rollicking cubs laughing boy and webtoe glided toward the thick it they knew that females of every species are eager to contest the right of all ways when accompanied by their young and their courage lay with their stone weapons the black bear sniffed angrily and slowly followed the boys her little red eyes rolled wickedly the two curious cubs dashed on ahead to learn what manner of beast these new animals were and mother Bruin quickened her pace her heart was running over with fears for her young and she considered that particular part of the woods her own domain a deep humming filled the ears of the boys as they broke into a run and laughing boy cried softly sweet sweet for he smelled wild honey the cubs ran still faster for they remembered the feast they had enjoyed when guided by their mother they had last visited the wood with the old bear close behind laughing boy flung himself out and upward grasping the tough finds of the oo he in his hands and pulling himself up on a large stone slab where he lay panting for breath webtoe scrambled up a slim pine and wedged himself between two slender forked limbs there he huddled peering about in fear of new dangers but he saw nothing and presently growing bolder he looked down at the bear which stood on hind legs gazing angrily up at him now and then she would run away and dash back jolting the tree and setting the branches a quiver webtoe forgot all caution and jeered down at the enemy he pulled his tom-tom around and over his shoulder and beat it triumphantly with his fists while the black bear tried to climb the tree and failed because it was slender of trunk laughing boy lay on the smooth boulder flat upon his belly making no sound not a muscle betrayed him only his eyes moved following the movements of the black bear apparently she had forgotten all about him he wanted to call out to webtoe to be silent webtoe seemed to think that the matter was a joke but laughing boy knew better it was true he and webtoe were at the moment safely out of reach of the enemy's claws but if she remained on watch how would they get down to earth again all that afternoon webtoe was compelled to cling to the fork of the pine tree soon he grew quiet for he remembered that safety lies in silence he folded his arms about a branch and made himself as flat and inconspicuous as he could the cubs curled themselves up at their mother's feet and went to sleep and at length close to the pine tree she also seemed to doze it might have been possible for laughing boy to slide down the opposite side of the boulder and steal away unnoticed who can say it may have been a fear of the long journey back to the cave people alone that deterred him anyway he clung to the rock and waited a long drink from his water bag relieved his thirst and he too fell asleep but there was no drinking for poor webtoe he had only his marvellous tom-tom in place of a water bag and his lips grew patched and he longed to scream from fear and thirst after a long time darkness came and at last the moon arose and still the two boys neither moved nor spoke the cubs awoke and stretched themselves and moved about and at last the black bear arose also and led them away to some hidden spring known only to herself then very cautiously webtoe slid to the ground and called to laughing boy who joined him and together with great fear in their hearts they turned their faces homeward and all that fearful weary way webtoe thought of new dangers and of cool springs and laughing boys emptied water bag never again would he go honey hunting or any other sort of hunting in the dry season without water at his side and when at last they reached the dwelling place of the tribe webtoe ran to the spring and threw himself into the water and drank until he was near waterlogged and so webtoe became the great waterman of the tribe another great waterman who spoke always words of warning of the terrible things that may before boys and girls and men and women who journey far from the spring without a bag of water stories he told the people of the tribe on his return with laughing boy of how sick of thirst he had faced the black bear and driven her before him but he had nothing to prove his words for laughing boy returned also empty handed it was adventures like this that taught the cave people and all the other tribes to travel close to the water's edge and so it was that when the foolish one made the first clay pot the people praised him and called him wise the clay pot was the accident of a fall many great discoveries have been the accidents of other falls for wise people to always everything as nearly as possible as their fathers have done and new things are only learned through departures into new ways the foolish one had discovered the use of fire by playing with a burning branch ignited by the lightning in the forest a fool bestowed the first wild horse and rode upon its back nearly always it was the fools who did things first wise men were too wise they had seen too many fools die of their folly the fingers of the foolish one were never idle he made many things and he pulled as many two pieces again the people of the tribe had grown very skillful in weaving baskets from tough grasses they even made hats to keep out the sun and later they wove willows into rude roofs which they patched with clay from the river banks to keep out the rain the baskets which they made were almost watertight and the foolish one made many baskets each time he worked harder and wove these baskets more tightly but they all leaked when he filled them with water from the spring one day he made a basket shaped like a bowl and lined it with clay then he wove the grasses upward like the neck of a large bottle dipping his fingers inside to plaster it with more clay for he wanted to surprise the folk with a basket that would carry water without leaking but when all was done he forgot his plans and went swimming in a pool and when he next saw the basket he tossed it into the fire so sure was he that it would leak as all baskets leaked and there in the red flames beheld by all the members of the tribe lay the marvellous basket with its clay lining and soon the grasses of the basket burned away and when the fire died down the foolish one saw the clay lining laying among the coals it was round and firm and almost perfect in shape he peered into it and running to the river filled it with water and marvel of marvels the clay had grown hard in the fire and the first jug the tribe had ever made or seen or dreamed of held water from which they leaked not one single drop for a long time the cave people made their jugs by lining baskets with clay and burning off the grasses leaving the jugs unmarred till they let newer and better ways of making pottery End of Section 10 Section 11 of Stories of the Cave People This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings on the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by D. Rando Stories of the Cave People by Mary Marcy Section 11 The Arrow Throws For many years the bowl and arrow folks had been the most ferocious as well as the most skillful of all the tribes that dwelt in the heart of the luxuriant lands along the banks of the father of rivers Every other tribe had long since learned to hate and fear them beyond any other living creatures The bowl and arrow folks might wander whether so ever they wished might drive the hairy folk and the tree dwellers and the cave people from the places that had known them might bring death and destruction in their train provided only that they traveled and fought in numbers and bore wide quivers filled with very many of their magical stinging darts Up to the appearance of the dart or arrow throwers with their marvelous weapons The cave people had always been able to meet their human foals on terms nearly approaching equality The hairy people and the tree dwellers and even the man eaters had all to come to close quarters in their life and death contests Then there was much to the advantage of the cave people who were of heavier build and who possessed greater strength and speed of limb than any of their man enemies These was able to shoot a dart across the river into the breast of an enemy but the arrow people were more fearful than the great sabertooth himself One could dig pits covered with branches of leaves in the hope that they might stumble into these and hence be dispatched to the long sleep It was quite as likely as not that the arrow people would not approach near enough to fall into them When the arrow people came whooping over the hills sending down their reign of arrows into the flesh of the cave people Strong arm had gathered his small band about the big fire where they had crouched low but even the protecting blaze could not prevail against the invaders Their darts flew through the smoke and the flame and pinned more than one of the cave people to the earth And when strong arm was wounded so that blood dripped red from a hole in his breast the cave people flung themselves into the brush and made their way on their bellies as silent as snakes far out beyond the old hollow With much caution they gathered together about some gray stone boulders that banked the wild berry thicket Then it was that someone silently gathered twigs and leaves and dead branches for the making of a fire and a youth struck a spark from his flint stones and by the light of the flames the cave people saw and were astonished that it was one ear who had come back to his own people No one of the older members of the tribe had forgotten one ear nor how he had lost one of his ears when he was only a small boy not many moons from his mother's breast It was this way One ear had wandered from the caves and beyond the space where it was safe for the children of the tribe to go along No one marked his ramblings and he chattered and scampered about plucking the red blossoms of the egari and chasing birds from their nest in happy content But he had not gone far when he heard the grunt of the wild and hairy hog which was thrusting her short tusk into the soil for tender roots A litter of small black pigs followed close to their mother's side and set up a mighty squilling when they beheld in one ear a possible enemy Immediately the old soul turned upon one ear and bit at his feet and snapped at his legs and tripped him Then she flew upon him with the wild fury of the forest mother who believes her young to be endangered One ear raised his own voice in yells of terror and threw up his arms and rolled into the bushes and sent his small brown feet kicking with mighty show into the face of the foe And the upward increased while the blood poured from the side of the boy's head once the wild soul had torn his small ear in her attack Soon the mother of one ear and other members of the tribe of cave people appeared with their long bong weapons in their hands and killed the hog and carried back as many of the young pigs as had not scampered away in the conflict and there was much feasting in the hollow that day and a great noise from the wails of one ear whose wounds were many times licked and plastered and caressed by his distracted mother And so the boy came to be called one ear It was impossible to forget one so distinctly different from other members of the tribe of cave people And so when one ear was later captured by the arrow folk during a raid made on the people of the hollow one ear was long worn and thought of by the tribe Now he was come back to his own people and in delight made by the flames of the fire the cave people saw that he bore many of the strange darts that the enemy had used with so much skill and accuracy The cave people were almost afraid of him but one ear at once showed himself friendly and busied himself in helping to build coverings of sticks and brush and leaves to form huts for the tribe The night was very dark and the cave people were worn and weary and very much afraid They knew very little about the life in the woods and the things that surrounded them When a man stumbled over a loose stone and slipped and fell the cave people believed that some of the tribe's numerous enemies had wrought the evil Little they understood of the causes of the natural events that occurred around and to them And so they peopled the woods, the hollow, the night and all things with spirits or evil ghosts that sought to do them harm There were terrors everywhere both the enemies which they could see and the enemies which they could not see The enemies who dwelt in in the dead tree trunks that lay upon the ground over which they stumbled The spirits who were hidden in the stones that scratched their feet The evil magic workers who entered their stomachs and made them sick and hunted the feet of the unwary to cause them to faint before the blows of the arrow people and who sent men and women upon the long sleep from which their spirits arose to prowl about over the lands Primitive men knew nothing about natural laws They had no ideas about what caused the rain therefore they thought someone made it rain They knew nothing about the melting of snows upon the mountaintops that flowed downward swelling the father of rivers far beyond his banks and thus causing the floods therefore some evil enemy wrought the disaster They knew truly that men and women did not all together die All men possessed two selves the self with whom you might fight and dance whom you might touch and see and smell in the light of broad day Then there was also a spirit self who came to you in dreams and who worked evil or good until you When a child was lost in the wood and devoured by the wild enemies of the tribe the people knew that it was an evil spirit that had lured his footsteps into the danger It is true too that they believed in good spirits The spirits who sent rain when the earth was parched the kindly magic makers who delivered an attacking enemy into your hand their own disaster who stood beside you unseen during great dangers and thrust forth obstructions in the paths of those who would take you unawares But considered in a broad way from the viewpoint of primitive man the world was peopled chiefly with enemies who were down upon you at the slightest opening who might anywhere and in the strangest form imaginable pounce upon you to your own destruction or disaster It cheered the cave people greatly when they saw that one ear had returned to the tribe bringing some of the magical arrows so effectively employed by the dark throwers They believed that the bone javelin of strong arm possessed some of the strength and skill of this mighty caveman They knew that the dried head of the green snake which had been killed by Bigfoot and a great boulder were filled with his valor and his wisdom for they had seen Ron Fass elude the wild boar with this snake head in her hands If any one thing was sure in all the muddle of strange things and stranger events in this world it was that weapons or adornments or tools acquired the characteristics of their owners and that these characteristics might be transferred to him who was fortunate enough to secure them The darts or the arrows of the dart throwers brought skill to the holders and so the cave people were cheered when they beheld the darts in the hands of one ear All through the night as they huddled and shivered in the shadows the cave people kept the big fire burning and listened for the arrow people It was when the moon rode high in the heavens that the soft wind brought the scent of the enemy approaching with quiet and with caution With cribbering nostrils strong arm who in spite of the pain he suffered from his wounds was the first to smell the coming arrow throwers gathered the tribe behind the protection of the giant rocks and when they advanced within the circle of light thrown out by the flames of the fire one ear drew his great bow to his shoulder and sent arrow after arrow into the gleaming breast of those who made the attack until the arrow people were confounded and afraid and fled away in the night whence they had come and for days there was peace and the cave people encamped themselves near a fresh water hole and built more mud caves and huts of the branches of trees but evil spirits hovered over strong arm and entered into him and gave him fever and sickness and pain from the wound in his breast until at last he died in the night and his spirit passed out of his body so thought the cave dwellers and they mourned for strong arm both in their hearts and with loud voices for they knew that his spirit would hover about to see what they said of his words and his deeds and they desired very strongly to please and propitiate the spirit of strong arm for he had always been a powerful and wise man able to help those he loved and bring evils to those whom he had hated and they wanted to win the support and friendship of the spirit of strong arm in order that it might work good in their behalf so even Bigfoot who had always feared and envied strong arm spoke loudly in his behalf saying brave, brave, strong, strong and he screamed as though he had lost his best friend this was all done to show the spirit of strong arm and what highest sting Bigfoot held him the cave people chopped up the body of strong arm and roasted his arms and his legs and his head on the coals so that every member of the tribe might acquire some of the noble virtues of the mighty chief by eating a portion of his body to laughing boy was a portion of the hands of his father and he ate them stripping the flesh from the bones so that his own hands might become skillful and quick in killing the enemy the remainder of the body of strong arm was laid in a cavity in the earth along with his sharp bone javelin and his stone knife and his flint and food also which they knew he would need in the spirit land where he had gone these things they covered with earth and leaves and weighed them down with heavy stones so that neither wild boar nor any other wild animal might devour the remains of strong arm and in the night the spirit of strong arm came back to his people in their dreams telling them many things once he appeared in a dream to quack quack with his bone javelin in his hands and the cry of danger upon his lips and a long arrow thrust in his hair and quack quack in the cave people knew that this was a warning to them that the arrow-throwers were again stilling upon them to drive them from their new land so they gathered up their bone weapons and the bow and arrows which one ear had brought and their knives and their dormants and wandered toward the north in the hope of escaping but the hairy folk fell upon them and the man-eaters in the tree people nagged them and stole their food and wrecked disaster at every step so that there was no peace only constant fighting and death and terror in all the days so the cave people travelled wearily and furtively ever farther north where the fruit-rows only in one season and the cold descends over the earth for a long period of the year and where men are only able to survive by learning new things and new methods of keeping food against the barren days then more than in all the previous history of their lives the cave people began to progress began to plan to build to preserve and store food and finally to bury one tuber in order that it might become the father of many potatoes to salt their meats so that they would not spoil and finally they discovered that skins used formerly only as a means of adornment or decoration skins which had formerly been merely visible proof of a man's skill and valor in the hunt were a warm and comfortable protection against the cold days which had come upon them in the strange new land many died and many fell in the long wars that the cave people fought during their long journey to the north country but one ear grew strong and wise and tall in his young manhood and because of the things he had learnt he became a leader of the tribe which he taught also to hurl the deft tip darts both to bring down the beasts of the force and for the protection of the tribe in battle with its human enemies and so the cool climate and the changing seasons drove the cave people to learn to discover to invent and for the first time they began to consider the earth and to subdue a little of it for their own food and clothing and for their own shelter and security End of section 11 section 12 of stories of the cave people this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Catherine Phipps stories of the cave people by Mary Marcy the first priest although strong arm who was the wisest and strongest and swiftest man among the cave people had been dead and in part eaten and in part buried beneath a great pile of earth and stones the cave people felt sure that he had not remained dead more than one of the members of the tribe had seen him fighting and hunting eating and dancing during the dreams that come in the night and so they believed that a part of strong arm the spirit or ghost part of strong arm still lived again and again he had appeared to them in the spirit or in dreams to advise them about the things the tribe intended to do the cave people were unable to understand these things and there was nobody to tell them that dreams were not of the world of reality and so they believed that strong arm still lived and that other dead men and women and children of the tribe still lived in the spirit world it was true that the spirits of these dead did not appear in the broad light of day but the cave people believed that they haunted their old grounds invisible to the eyes of their tribesmen they believed that the spirits of the dead may return to befriend the members of the tribe or to hinder their enemies provided always that the members of the tribe enlisted their aid and their affections now Bigfoot since there was no longer the wise voice of strong arm nor the mighty strength of the old chief to enforce the good of his people set himself to become the leader of the cave people he slashed his hairy thighs with his flint knife to prove how brave he was allowing the gashes to become sores in order to prolong the evidence of his courage he strutted about and waved his poison tip to arrows when the young men refused to listen to his words also he rubbed the noses of all the women of the tribe and sought to caress them attempting to drive the men to the tribe from the new nests or caves or huts which they had built in the far north country so many moon journeys from the old hollow where little laughing boy was born Bigfoot boasted with a loud voice and bullied the children and spoke soft words to the women while he glared at the young men and urged them into the forest to hunt for food always he kept his poison darts at his side and he managed to secure for himself a tenderest portion of the young goats which the people had discovered leaping and running wild amid the sharp slopes and crags of the mountains so the tribe grew weary of his sorry ruling and there was much fighting and discord which laid them open to the attacks of their many enemies without doubt Bigfoot was possessed of much cunning for while other men of the tribe were as strong of limb and as fleet of foot Bigfoot was more powerful than they his arm because he had learned first how to make and to wield his great bow and arrows almost as well as young one ear who had escaped from the arrow throwers and returned to his own people the cave dwellers bringing knowledge of the weapons of these strange enemies the cave dwellers had paused in their journeyings and battlings northward on the banks of the lake that shone like white fire when the sun beat down upon its rolling surface the way was new to them and unknown dangers threatened everywhere and they had utmost need to walk wearily lest a new tribe descend upon them with some new weapon of destruction and turn them back into the dangers they had outstripped instead of holding the people together with wise words and instead of preparing to search out the lands to prepare for the strange evils that lie in wait for primitive man whenever he travels beyond the ways of his experience Bigfoot caused nothing but conflict it was only his superior skill in the use of the flint-tipped arrows which the cave people were acquiring very rapidly that prevented him from being slain by the members of the tribe then it was that one ear dreamed a dream he thought that his spirit had journeyed far into the spirit world where it encountered the spirit of strong arm and strong arm had spoken with one ear sending words of wisdom to the people of the tribe he had called Bigfoot the enemy of the cave people and when he wakened in the morning one ear remembered his dream so he gathered all the people together and told them these things and no man or woman among them knew that he spoke only of a dream they believed that the spirit of strong arm still lived and that the things in one ear's dream had actually occurred so the cave people chatted together and gesticulated and stole the fresh meat Bigfoot had hidden in his cave and menaced him from cover by shaking their clubs and growling like angry dogs Bigfoot fled to his branch hut where he glared at the members of the tribe and waved his long arrows the cave people had long respected the words of strong arm and when they heard what he had spoken to one ear in a dream they hated Bigfoot more fiercely than ever at last Bigfoot returned to the people of the tribe many of whom were sitting about a wood fire and he spoke to them trying to gain their goodwill and attempting to show them that Nong was so swift, so strong or so brave as he but the people screamed strong arm, strong arm to remind Bigfoot that the old chief had spoken against him and Bigfoot grew frantic with the rage that came upon him he seized the club of strong arm given to laughing boy in order that he might derive from it some of the virtue of bravery which his father, strong arm had possessed Bigfoot spat upon it and crushed it beneath a great stone then he hurled the shattered fragments far out into the green waters of the lake all the cave people shivered with fear for they thought this was a very foolish thing they believed that the spirits of the dead grow angry when their weapons are broken or destroyed but the spirit of strong arm would punish Bigfoot for the desecration he had worked on the club of the old chief but Bigfoot was too angry to be afraid white foam appeared upon his lips when he thought of the spirit of strong arm he longed for a tangible foe with flesh upon his bones that he might crush with red juice in his skin that he might spill with ears and a nose that he might bite and twist and tear he desired an enemy into whose soft belly he might hurl one of his sharp arrows but there were only the cave people beside him and the menace in their eyes and their lips pulled back snarling from their teeth made him afraid so he lifted up his voice in a frenzy of hate and scorn while he called the name of strong arm, strong arm, maker of lies he called him and full, coward, weak one, baby and snake that crawls while he made violent gestures of hatred and disgust the cave people watched him fearfully to them it did not seem the part of wisdom to mock and defy the spirit of strong arm which still lived though his body had perished something was bound to happen strong arm had never permitted any man to speak thus of him when he was living in the flesh and they did not believe his spirit would endure insult from Bigfoot, indeed yes, something was sure to happen but it was not good for the whole tribe to be punished or blamed for the foolishness of Bigfoot this they knew and they made haste to put wide distances between themselves and him pursuing their own work or their own ends with much ostentation as far as possible removed from his presence if the spirit of strong arm was hiding in the valley and had chance to overhear the evil words of Bigfoot no flat-headed savage among the tribe wanted strong arm to fancy he had anything to do with these things they washed their hands of the whole affair and departed from the immediate presence of Bigfoot the more Bigfoot raved the offner one ear called upon the spirit of strong arm crying brave one, wise one, swift of foot and give us of thy counsel and the cave people began talking in loud voices of the good deeds of their old chief of his courage and strength and his wisdom and his eye that never slept while Bigfoot defied the spirit of strong arm one ear and the cave people sought to propitiate him with loud words of admiration and some flattery stronger than the hairy mastodon they called him and father of all the lions he could out-leap the mountain goat and out-climb the longest armed orangutan his voice was like the thunder and his breath like the winds that bend the trees on the river banks they felt more certain than ever that something was going to happen they expected the spirit of strong arm to make it happen but they did not desire to share in untoward events if a little information given to the spirit of strong arm could prevent this thing but the day passed and the sun slid down the wings of the sky into the red fire of the lake and still Bigfoot strutted about with loud and boasting words still the cave people waited and hoped and were afraid and that night the spirit of strong arm again appeared to one ear in a dream and his voice was fierce with anger against Bigfoot and in the dream he counseled one ear to tell the cave people to push Bigfoot from the tallest crag along the mountain gorge so that his body would be crushed upon the sharp stones below in the morning one ear told these things to the people of the tribe and they drank the words of strong arm eagerly begging Bigfoot to join in a hunt for the wild goat amid the slopes of the mountain but Bigfoot was afraid and hid in his hut making clear mouthings and snatching food from the children and waving his sharp arrows so the cave people gathered about one ear urging him to meet the spirit of strong arm once more and to ask for more wisdom on how to dispatch the evil man from dangers and conflict to the tribe again in the morning one ear called the people together saying that the spirit of strong arm counseled the people to build fires about the hut of Bigfoot in the night so that he might be destroyed and so when darkness wrapped the valley in her soft folds the cave people stole from their shelters each bearing branches and glowing coals from the campfire which they hurled in the door of Bigfoot with stones and spears so that he might not escape and injure the tribe the night was black and Bigfoot was unable to hit the people with his sharp arrows coals were thrown upon the dry thatch of his hut and soon the flames encircled him with their burning tongues and when it was discovered that his body was burned to ashes and that the spirit of Bigfoot had escaped the cave people rejoiced in their hearts but their lips were dumb for the first time they spoke well of Bigfoot whom they hated in their hearts for was not the fate of Bigfoot proof of the foolishness of speaking ill of the dead was not the victory of the cave people who had spoken well of strong arm proof of their wisdom in these things the cave people believed the spirit of Bigfoot would be actively inimical to the tribe just as they believed that the spirit of strong arm had proved itself to be the friendly father of the people and his ear continued to dream dreams which he related to the cave people giving them words of wisdom and courage from the spirit of strong arm and evil words from the spirit of Bigfoot thus they grew to believe wondrous things of strong arm his virtues grew with the passing of the sons just as his strength increased and his wisdom was extolled until he became almost a god to the people of the tribe and when ill befell the cave people his ear told them it had been caused by the evil spirit of Bigfoot and when they escaped from these evils he reported how the spirit of strong arm had befriended the tribe always was one ear dreaming dreams he told how the spirit of strong arm had counseled the people to make of big nose their leader and chief which they did as he grew in years and in power one ear demanded that the best joints of meat, the warmest place by the fire the safest cave or hut be his portion these things he declared were the commands of strong arm and so one ear became a great man of the tribe when the forest fire swept the plains and drove the wild fowl and the forest animals far inland and brought famine to the cave people one ear reported that the spirit of strong arm had done these things to punish the people because they had not brought young fowl and were very fond every day to one ear thus one ear became the first priest of the tribe protected before other men in order that the good spirits might not take vengeance upon the tribe should ill before him people brought him sharp knives and soft skins with which he made himself warm when the far northern winds blew cold in the winter time and one ear said good words to the great spirits for these bearers of gifts so that they might be prospered and escape the sharp tooth of the crocodile by and by there came other dreamers of dreams who spoke with the great spirits and also brought messages to the people strong arms of the tribe clashed and there were great battles among the cave people till the pretenders were slain when once more peace and harmony reigned within the valley upon the shores of the great lake End of section 12 End of stories of the cave people by Mary Marcy