Part 2

It was in this way that the Cave People talked to each other. Their words were few and most of their ideas were expressed by gestures. “Quack, quack,” they said when they meant wild duck. A deep growl signified the black bear, while a long line, made by drawing a finger through the dust or sand, gave everybody to understand the person spoke of a snake.

If you have seen a pantomime show, you will understand something of the manner of the gesture language of the Cave People. Even we “civilized” folks, long accustomed to verbal language, say many things to each other every day, by facial expression and by gesture.

And so, even the children among the Cave People understood the adventures Big Nose had encountered. When his pantomime monologue was finished, the men and women of the tribe rose eagerly. They pointed first to the hole Big Nose had dug in the ground, and then toward the forest, as much as to say,

“Is the bear still in the pit?”

And one of them asked “Big Nose kill?” Big Nose shook his head and started toward the wood, indicating that the Cave Men were to follow.

So the strong men started through the forest. They hurried forward, keeping close together, with their bone javelins in their hands. For it was growing dusk. But all were hungry, and Cave People who have eaten little for twenty-four hours are willing to risk some danger for a meal of fresh meat.

They reached the pit safely. The bear still growled savagely in pain, and it was after much jabbing with their bone weapons that they dispatched her.

Speedily they dragged her from the hole and began at once to skin and disembowel her. They worked into the dark hacking up and distributing portions in order that each man might carry back to the Hollow his share of the burden.

Very sharply the Cave Men drew in their breath, for the fresh blood of the bear smelled good to them. But the terror of the night was strong upon them, and they listened intently, sniffing the air, twitching their ears and trembling with fear. For it is in the night that the wild beasts creep forth for food, and the smell of fresh blood reaches a long way off.

So the Cave Men huddled together very close, each carrying a portion of the dripping carcass of the bear. Big Nose, too, bore a huge chunk of the meat, which he chewed from time to time. His wounded arm ached sorely, but because of the pride in his heart, he spoke not. But the way to the Hollow seemed very far and his knees almost sank beneath him.

Each man bore his bone weapon pointing away from his fellows, in order that the hyena, if it sprang at them, might receive the sharp bone point.

Strong Arm was he who thought most of the fire and the safety it brought. But he was unable to express his thoughts. For the sign of the fire among the Cave People was spoken in a gesture, and gesture language is not understood in the darkness.

One terrifying incident marked the journey home. Soft foot-falls crumbled the leaves and two green eyes spotted the black, but the Cave Men huddled closer together, and shrieked so loudly that the animal, whatever it was, dashed away in fear.

When they came to the Hollow, the Cave Men called loudly to the others, and distributed big chunks of bear meat, which they all ate eagerly, with great satisfaction. Then the people crept into their caves, rolled great stones before the entrances, and slept.

Many suns came and went away again and Big Nose was so proud of his wound that he moved his arm with great care. The blood that covered it grew hard and black but he sought to preserve it there always, in order to recall to the minds of the Cave People thoughts of his courage. To him it was a precious ornament, so beautiful that it caused the young men to regard him with jealousy and the young women with admiration.

And Light Foot, who was very beautiful in the eyes of all the Cave People, refused to look any longer upon the other youths of the tribe. And when Big Nose asked her to share his cave, she was proud and happy and went to live with him and became his wife.

One there was among the youths of the Cave People whom they had never called “Man,” which is to say, “you are wise and brave; therefore you are a man.” Him they called Run Fast, because, in spite of the hair grown heavy upon his face, it was always his custom to run away when trouble came.

All the Cave People were often afraid, for death sometimes lurked in the shadows, and their ignorance was so great that they were unable to explain very common occurrences. But Run Fast was more fearful than the old women and the little children.

Run Fast hated Big Nose because Big Nose had done all the things he was afraid to do.

But one day he crept into the wood. He thought he knew of a way that would cause all the Cave People to look upon him with admiration. He did not see Laughing Boy slip through the brush behind him.

Run Fast did not travel far. He never went far from the Hollow when he was alone. And he did not see little Laughing Boy, who watched him curiously from the bushes.

Then Run Fast did a very strange thing. Seizing his split bone knife, he scraped his arm till the blood ran and dropped on the ground. Then he bound it tightly, with a piece of bark, just as Big Nose had done.

He returned to the Hollow, screaming wildly, until the Cave People gathered to learn the cause of his distress. And he repeated, in the language of gesture, the same story Big Nose had told a few suns before.

The strong men and the women surveyed him sharply, for it did not seem possible to them that Run Fast had killed anything. But little Laughing Boy, who saw that Run Fast was receiving much attention because of the blood upon his arm, pushed his way among the people.

With a stone in his hand, he rubbed fiercely up and down upon his forearm, till the blood flowed, pointing to Run Fast and shaking his head.

His meaning was plain. The Cave People understood him. It was, “See me. I can scratch myself harder than Run Fast did.”

Then all the Cave People knew what Run Fast had done and they cried “Baby! Baby!” to Run Fast and he was disgraced before them all.

After that, when the young men of the tribe came home with blood upon their bodies, the strong men shook their heads and refused to believe tales of their adventures, unless they brought back something to prove their words. So it came to be a custom among the Cave People that the men or women who had killed a savage beast carried home with him the tail, or the hide or teeth of that animal. These they wore always as tokens of their bravery. Thus the Cave People first adorned their bodies.

III WHEN RUN FAST WENT HUNTING FOR A WIFE

The Cave People were skillful fisher folk. From the bark of the cocoanut palm, which they bound to the forked branches of trees, they made nets and caught the fish.

The Cave babies were able to swim almost before they could walk. When for the first time their fathers and mothers threw them into the edge of the river they would beat the water with their little hands, and, with much splashing, make their way toward the bank again.

Boat making, however, came slowly to the Cave People. They knew, of course, how logs, or the trunks of trees float, but tree-felling was beyond their knowledge and their tools.

Not until they had learned to fashion cane rafts rudely strung or bound together with strips of bark, were the Cave People able to ride against the current of the river. But these cane rafts were so light that they were able, with little effort, to paddle up stream, if they hugged the banks of the river where the current was weak.

When the men of the Hairy Folk, who dwelt far up the river, descended upon the Cave People and sought to take away their women and their daughters, the Cave People gave them blow for blow and, in the end, drove the intruders back into the wood.

And the secret of the matter was a strange sickness that had came upon the women of the Hairy Folk, and had stricken them with an unknown illness. The women of the Hairy Folk had died in great pain, one by one, till only the old and unattractive ones remained to the tribe. And the young men of the Hairy Folk went forth to seek new wives.

Now Run Fast was the greatest coward among the tribe of the Cave People, but after the Hairy Folk were driven away, he felt that a great strength had come into his heart.

Much hair covered his face, and his limbs were as lithe as the branches of the willow, shining in the sun like bars of burnished copper. But his courage was like the water of cool springs, running from him always.

For this reason he had never been able to win for himself a wife. Stripling lads had routed him and taken the young women he loved, and so he remained alone in the tribe.

Deep in his heart Run Fast knew that it would be by brave deeds alone that he could gain a wife. And it was the laugh of the Cave People and the scorn of the young women, as well as the hunger in his heart, that drove Run Fast one day along the river bank.

He bore only his bone weapon, split at the end like a strong javelin. At his side, and beyond, down past him, flowed the great river and as he ran, he kept close to the bank for he knew that there only would he be able to elude the fierce hyenas and the black bear.

It was the first time Run Fast had ever traveled forth from the Cave People alone; there was a trembling in his strong limbs, and upon the breaking of a twig, or the falling of a branch, he started forth closer to the river.

And the waters rushed continually past him with a mad roar and he knew that he had only to throw himself into the current to be borne swiftly back in the direction whence he had come. Of this one thing Run Fast had no fear, for he had been accustomed to the water for many seasons.

For many hours he traveled, only pausing at the edge of the river and dipping his palms, cupwise, to drink.

And when he grew hungry Run Fast skirted the edge of the forest for nuts. Then he resumed his journey, for he remembered the word of Strong Arm, and his gesture toward the sun, when Strong Arm spoke of the homes of the Hairy Folk. This meant that it would take one of the Cave Men a day of hard walking to reach their dwelling places.

When the Western sky was covered with the gold of the setting sun Run Fast found a raft tied to a tree with a piece of bark. The raft was rude and very heavy, being merely the trunk of a great tree across which were bound branches and pieces of cane, which served to prevent the log from rolling over in the river and dumping the people into the water.

Run Fast knew the raft belonged to the Hairy Folk, for according to the words of Strong Arm, there remained but a little way to travel before he would reach their homes.

But he marked the spot where the raft lay well. If the Hairy Folk discovered his approach, he had only to throw himself upon the raft and be borne toward the Hollow where dwelt the tribe of the Cave People.

So eager was Run Fast to reach the enemy that he slipped through the wood, like a shadow in the evening. The rustle of leaves was not heard as his feet sped over them. And he was in the land of the Hairy Folk before he was aware.

When he saw the men walking about or squatting over a piece of bear meat, Run Fast slipped into the brush where, unseen, he could watch the manner of living of these folks. His limbs trembled sorely for the quick beating of his heart refused to subside, so heavy was it with fear.

But his heart said over and over again that did he but kill one of the men of the Hairy Folk, or return to his people with one of their women, all the Cave People would look upon him with wonder and admiration. He knew also that if the men of the Hairy Folk discovered him he would have need to run very swiftly to elude their vengeance. It was this thought that brought the sweat to his brow and caused his hair to bristle with fear.

The longing to feed his anger against the enemy burned within him, but Fear taught him reason. So he lay long among the bushes, awaiting an opportunity to harm them.

Men he saw lying with distended bellies, after a meal of fresh meat, but no women. Darker it grew, as the sun continued to ride low in the West, and he had need of all his new found courage to prevent his limbs from running away.

Came a time when he felt he could endure the waiting no longer that a woman walked forth from one of the caves. Tall she was and very thin, and so heavy grew the hair upon her chin and face that he first mistook her for a man. Heavily she walked, as though she were very old or weary with much pain. And at her heels trotted a small brown boy.

Long Run Fast watched her eagerly for his cave was lonely for want of a wife. His eyes gleamed and he heard in his mind the yells of the men of the Hairy Folk when he should carry off one of their women.

At length as the woman bent her steps toward the caves Run Fast rushed upon her, like the winds that come when the buds grow large. He made no sound, but the brown boy who first saw him set up a cry of alarm. With a sweep of his arm, Run Fast struck the boy to the earth and seized the woman, whom he bore, clawing and scratching, to the bank of the river.

The hairy woman showed her great teeth, making hideous sounds of rage. She tore at his hair and dug her teeth into his arms.

But nothing stopped Run Fast and on he dashed, dragging, pulling and finally carrying her as he went. Soon they reached the edge of the river where lay the raft. And close upon their heels, mad with rage, came the men of the Hairy Folk.

Very quickly Run Fast tore loose the bark that held the raft and drew the woman onto it with him. Then he gave a mighty shove that sent them whirling into the river, where the current caught the raft and bore it swiftly down stream.

The men of the Hairy Folk were now on the bank of the river and some of them leaped into the water. Others hurled their bone weapons toward Run Fast. But none of them stuck home, and beating down the woman he paddled with his hands, and they were soon beyond pursuit.

At this season of the year the current of the river made about five miles an hour, and the distance it had taken Run Fast a hard day’s journey to cover, would be made by the raft in a few hours.

Continually the old woman struck at Run Fast and he had great difficulty in keeping her from throwing herself into the river. But a blow from his fist soon quieted her and she ceased to struggle.

By and by the stars came out and the moon showed her face and covered the surface of the river with a flood of gold. The old woman snarled, but Run Fast held her very tightly in his arms.

His heart sung a song of pride and triumph for he knew that he would no longer be the scorn of the Cave People. No more would he be compelled to sit alone in his cave with the howl of the hyena to make him more lonely.

The day of his triumph was at hand and with tenderness he drew the old woman close to his breast. And the stars laughed and the moon smiled, while the raft floated steadily, noiselessly down the river. But the face of the woman was hard with pain, for she knew that men may come and men may go, but the small brown boy, in the home of the Hairy Folk, would be her boy forever.

Who can know the understanding of the dog, which lost in a strange land, finds his way home again! Or the animals of the forest, how they find the old haunts through the unknown ways! And who among us can say how Run Fast understood that when the moon rose high in the heavens the raft would be nearing the bend in the river which appeared before the Hollow, wherein lay the homes of the Cave People!

For the Cave People were unable to count. One, they made known by the pointing of a fore-finger upward; and two by pointing two fingers. But beyond this, they had no signs for the numbers but flung out their hands as though to say, “many.”

But Run Fast knew even as his brothers would have known under similar circumstances. And when the raft curved about the bend, he paddled with his hand to steer the boat close to the shore.

Very cautiously he pushed the woman on to the bank before him, for the beasts came often to the river edge to drink, but he saw no danger. Then, making fast the boat, he bore the woman of the Hairy Folk over the rocks to his cave and rolled a great stone before the entrance.

And his heart was glad and his blood was warm, for he knew that no longer would he be an outcast among his own people.

Two suns had come and gone again when Run Fast bent his steps toward the forest, and the old woman disappeared. Doubtless she turned her face toward the home of the small brown boy among the Hairy Folk. Run Fast was thus again made lonely, but the voices of his brothers cheered him. Always they said, “man, man,” when he appeared, for he had proven his courage and his bravery among the tribe. The young women looked tenderly at the strength of his limbs and he was become honored among his people.

* * * * *

[Charles Darwin says in his Descent of Man: “In utterly barbarous times the women have more power in choosing, rejecting and tempting their lovers, or of afterwards changing their husbands, than might have been expected.” He gives several illustrations. Page 620, Crowell edition.]

IV LITTLE LAUGHING BOY

When the luscious fruit ripened and fell and the nut season came around, the time of joy and plenty was at hand for the Cave Dwellers. Then millions of fish sought the shallows of the river; nourishing plants, with a strange bittersweet flavor, thrust up their heads, and the nests were full of eggs for the hand of him who cared to gather.

It was then only that the Cave People were never hungry. With plenty abounding always in the forest, they feasted continually and grew fat against those periods of famine that spread through the long after-suns and the dreary wet seasons.

True it was, that their enemies of the forest throve and grew strong also. The green snakes awoke and wound themselves around the branches of trees, with eyes that glistened and glowed toward every living creature. And the brush grew thick and abounded with creeping things.

The cubs of the black bear flourished and the fierce hyena yielded bounteously to her young. Great flocks of strange and familiar birds darkened the sky and swooped down upon the berry bushes and swept them bare. But for all these there was enough and to spare for the wants of the Cave Dwellers.

Even the limbs of Strong Arm, the wise and brave, grew soft during this season, for his stomach was always filled. The fierce rays of the tropical sun beat down upon the heads of the Cave Dwellers, filling them with a sweet drowsiness. There was nothing to drive them forth from the shades of the Hollow, where the waters of the river washed the green rocks, and teemed with thousands of golden and silver fish.

It was not in the season of plenty that the Cave People learned new ways to trap the black bear, or to snare the wild pig. Nor did they at that time seek to fashion new weapons or to travel strange paths. Rarely they plied the waters. These were not the days of progress or discovery, and the minds of the Cave People grew torpid and they forgot many things they had learned in the times of hunger and activity.

The hands of the youths and maidens lost a portion of their cunning and the older members of the tribe grew lazy and dull. For the bread fruit ripened and the tubers grew thick and all the land smiled with a bountiful supply of daily food.

The season of plenty was come. And the Cave People loved and laughed and feasted and were content. Few dangers menaced during those days and the members of the tribe forgot fears and drowsed in peace.

But the children of the Cave People grew strong, lifting their heads. The fierce rays of the sun were unable to subdue them. Laughing Boy, grown tall and straight, was weaned at last. Always he laughed, showing his large white teeth, like a dark dog snapping at a bone. And he danced and ran about, spilling the strong life that surged up within him and would not be stilled.

With his young friend, The Fish, whom the Cave People had given his name because of his early skill in swimming, Laughing Boy learned many things. Their joy and juvenility seemed exhaustless, and their romps and chatterings ended only with the days.

Not many years before, the fathers and mothers of the Cave People had come down out of the trees to dwell. The Tree Dwellers found shelter in the natural caves that lined the river bank. In time they learned to walk erect, on two legs. The Cave Dwellers resembled them very closely. The arms of the Cave People had grown shorter as they ceased to swing themselves constantly, from tree to tree. The thumb of the foot disappeared and they now possessed a great toe in its place. Still the feet of the Cave Dwellers retained the power of prehension. They were able to hold—to cling awkwardly with them.

In the children this power was very marked. On the skirts of the forest they loved to clamber up the slim trees, poise on the swaying boughs and swing themselves from branch to branch, like young monkeys. This gave them strength of limb and quickness of vision. Soon they learned to choose those branches strong enough to bear their weight, as they flung themselves through great gaps of space to seize the boughs of a neighboring tree.

But the fear of the green snakes, that wound about and hid themselves among the leaves, kept them near the Hollow. Only on rare occasions did they penetrate deep into the forest.

Among many of the savages living to-day great skill and agility prevails. We are told of tribes whose members are able, by a partial circling of the trunks, with their arms, and by the clinging and pressing of flexible toes, to mount trees in a sort of walk.

Jack London writes that this is a common practice of the natives of the South Sea Islands. And we are assured by several young friends that the art has not wholly disappeared among our own boys.

Many were the feats accomplished among the swaying branches of the trees by Laughing Boy, and his friend, The Fish, in their frolics many years ago. Their feet were never still. Their jabberings flowed without end. Tireless as the birds they were and gay as youth itself.

One day, as they played, Laughing Boy found a flat, curved piece of wood. It was as long as the arm of a man and had been split from a tree during a storm. Laughing Boy hurled the stick far into the air at his friend, The Fish. But The Fish threw himself from the bank, into the river, to avoid it. And he screamed with joy as he disappeared beneath the waters. Then a very strange thing happened. For the flat stick swished through the air, like a great bird, far over the river. Then it turned about and whirled slowly back again, where it fell at the feet of Laughing Boy. At once the hair of his head rose with fear, and he ran to his mother uttering shrill squeals of alarm. Quack Quack awoke from her sleep and snatched up a bone weapon, for she thought one of the forest enemies had attacked Laughing Boy.

But he pointed only to the strange, curved stick and clung to her, in terror. All the while he jabbered wildly. Quack Quack desired to quiet his fear, so she flung the stick far out over the river, as he had done. Then again the big stick swished through the air, turned about and whirled gently back, striking her arm. Then it fell at her feet.

Whereupon Laughing Boy screamed and ran into the Cave. Then a great fear assailed Quack Quack and she added her cries to his. And all the Cave People hurried to her side to learn the cause of so much trouble.