Chapter 4
What do we use baskets for? What are they made of? Do you think that the Tree-dwellers made baskets before they had fire? When do you think that they would first need baskets? How do you think that they might have made them?
_How Sharptooth Made a Basket_
Before the Tree-dwellers had fire they did not need baskets. For a long time afterwards they did not make them. They ate fruits from the trees and cracked the nuts where they found them. Each night they came home one by one. Sharptooth still had charge of the fire. She ate wild roots that grew near. She cracked nuts that she found in the trees close by. She ate berries in a neighboring patch. But she never went far away, and she never stayed away long. The blueberries were now ripe, so she went to the patch. How she wished she might stay a long time! But as soon as she had eaten a few, she hurried home to the fire. As she scrambled over the fallen trees, she broke off a handful of bushes. They were loaded with ripe blueberries. She carried them home to the children. She told the women and children about the patch. They all wanted to go. So they piled broken branches upon the fire. Then Sharptooth told one of the women to stay at home and take charge of the fire. The women left their babies and little children in charge of this woman, too. How disappointed the little children were! They watched the women and older children until they had passed out of sight among the trees. Sharptooth led the way to the patch. In a few moments they found it. It was almost blue with berries. The children ate as fast as they picked. The women ate, too, for a while.
But they remembered their little ones at home. So they picked heaping handfuls of berries. They wanted to carry more berries, so hunted for something to hold them. One woman had a rabbit skin. The other women helped her fill it with berries. Another woman made a basket of oak leaves. They filled that with berries.
Sharptooth gathered some rushes from a marshy place and tried still another way. She sat down upon the grass and began to weave. The bottom of the basket was soon made. Then she bent the rushes and tied the ends together. After that she wove round and round. When the basket was deep enough she fastened the ends. Then the basket was done. It did not have a rim. Sharptooth did not miss the rim, for this was her first basket. She called the women and children around her. They ran up to see what she had made.
Every one wanted to take it. It did not take long to fill the basket with berries. Sharptooth took them home to the children. How glad the little ones were when they saw the women and children! They were glad to eat the berries. While they were smacking their lips, Sharptooth showed them the basket. That night as the fathers and mothers came home, the children ran out to meet them. Each time they told what Sharptooth had made. Each time they showed the rush basket. It was not many days before each of the older children had made one like it.
THINGS TO DO
_Look at the pictures in this lesson and see how Sharptooth's basket was made._ _Gather tough grasses or rushes and make a basket of your own._ _Show how the children ran to meet the fathers and mothers as they came home at night. Draw the picture._
XXVII.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Do you think that the fire clan used fire in as many ways as we do? What do we use it for? How many uses do you think that the fire clan made of it? Can you think how people learned to cook food?
_How Bodo Used Fire_
All the Tree-dwellers now knew that the fire was their friend. They found it useful in many ways. It guarded the spot where they slept at night, and it helped them all through the day. They no longer swung from branch to branch. When they carried a firebrand, it was safe to walk on the ground. Their hands were at last free. When Bodo started out with his firebrand the wild animals ran to their dens. Sometimes Bodo pursued them. He chased some of the animals home to their dens, but he never went to the caves. Sabre-tooth and the cave-bear were too large and fierce. The hyenas were small, but they lived in packs. So Bodo learned to let them alone.
But he was not afraid of the gophers and badgers. He chased them to their holes and tried to smoke them out. He would build a fire at the mouth of a hole. Then he would stand with a club in his hand and watch. He would watch until the animal came out. Sometimes he had to wait a long time.
But in the end he nearly always got meat to eat. One day he was hunting squirrels. He chased a squirrel to its hole in a tree. Then he tried to smoke it out. He waited a long time in vain, so at last he set fire to the tree. But the rain soon came and his fire went out. So Bodo struck the tree with his club. The trunk gave way. Bodo peeped into the hollow tree. He wanted to find the squirrel.
It lay there perfectly still. He put in his hand and pulled it out. It had been killed by the fire and smoke. He began to eat the warm flesh. He wondered why it was so hot and tender. Bodo did not know then that the flesh had been roasted. This was the first time that he had ever eaten cooked food. Not long afterward all the people learned to roast meat.
THINGS TO DO
_Draw a picture of Bodo hunting with a firebrand._ _See if you can find trees that have hollows in them._ _How do you think that the hollows were made?_ _Find out whether there are any animals near you that live in hollow trees._
XXVIII.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Do you think that the people of the fire clan would help one another in time of danger? Can you think why people began to work together instead of hunting alone?
_How Bodo Saved One-Ear's Life_
One day One-Ear was hunting gophers on the grassy upland. His torch went out. So he tried to get back to the wooded hills without being seen. At first he crept through the tall grass. But he soon came to a place where the grass did not cover him. He hurried on as fast as he could. He had almost reached the wooded hills when a cave-bear crossed his path. The bear saw him. One-Ear shouted for help, and then ran as he had never run before.
But the cave-bear overtook him. He soon had One-Ear in his embrace. One-Ear remembered nothing more, but the men who heard him saw what happened. They saw the cave-bear grasp him with his huge paws. Then they saw Bodo rush up to the cave-bear and wave a torch in his face. The cave-bear let go his hold. The frightened beast ran off to his cave. The men came up in time to help Bodo raise One-Ear from the ground. They helped him back to the wooded hills. His wounds were soon healed, but he always carried the marks of that cave-bear. That was the day that he lost his ear. We have called him One-Ear before, but the fire clan never called him One-Ear until after that day.
THINGS TO DO
_Find a stick that will make a good torch and make one._ _Draw a picture of One-Ear and the cave-bear._
XXIX.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
How do you think the fire clan spent the evening? If they could not say what they wished to say, how do you think they would make themselves understood? How do you think that they learned to hunt together?
_How People Learned to Hunt Large Animals_
For many days the men talked about One-Ear's narrow escape. They acted the whole thing over again. One man would show what One-Ear did. Another would take the part of the cave-bear. Then some one would play he was Bodo and rush up with a make-believe torch. Others showed how the men came up to the spot and helped One-Ear home. They played this over and over again. They learned to work together. They learned to play other plays as well. They learned it in this way: They watched the wild animals all through the day.
At night they showed what they had seen. At last they made plans for hunting them. They did it the way children make a new game. First they chose a leader for the play. Then the leader asked them all to help. He showed them what to do. They all did as the leader said. They learned to play together. This play was their hunting dance. It helped the people to hunt together. It helped the brave men to lead in the hunt. It helped all the people to do their part. Only brave men were given a chance to lead the hunting dance. Each one led the best that he could. The people always chose the man that they thought led the best. This man led them all in the hunt the next day.
THINGS TO DO
_Let any one who would like to lead in a hunt, lead in a hunting dance._ _When all have led who wish to do so, let the class choose the one who led the best._
XXX.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Why do you think the Tree-dwellers liked their brave men best? How do you think they helped them to become more brave? Can you think why people had not yet learned to wear clothing? Why would they care more for ornaments at first? Have you ever heard any one speak of "a feather in one's cap"? Can you tell what is meant by it? What kind of ornaments do you like to wear? Do you know how to make them? Can you make such ornaments as the Tree-dwellers wore?
_Why People Began to Wear Ornaments_
The fire clan played a hunting dance each night. They hunted every day. They began to attack the larger animals. Brave men were needed to do this. Men liked to show that they were brave. So they kept trophies of their conflicts with the wild beasts. These trophies were sometimes teeth and claws. Sometimes they were beautiful skins and feathers. When men found the time they worked upon them.
They made them into curious ornaments. It was hard work to bore holes through the teeth and claws. But they learned to do it.
They strung them on sinews and hung them about their necks. Sometimes they wore them on their arms and wrists. Sometimes they wore them on their ankles and knees. They made head-dresses of the feathers. They covered their shoulders with the skins. Men did not wear skins to keep themselves warm. They wore them to show that they were brave. Such trophies were worn by all the brave men. These men were the leaders in time of danger. When they were successful in the hunt, the people praised them. When they failed, the people mocked them. So they tried to do their work well. They tried to find the best stones for tools and weapons. They worked until they made them sharp and strong. They studied the animals until they learned their ways. They taught the people the hunting dance. They kept the trophies of their brave deeds. They were brave men. All the people praised them.
THINGS TO DO
_Tell a story of how Bodo earned a trophy._ _Find ornaments that you think the leaders might have worn._ _Dress some dolls the way you think that the leaders dressed._ _Perhaps you would like to string seeds and make a necklace._
XXXI.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
What animals live in the cold north? Do they like to live there? Would you be surprised if any of these animals came here to live? If they came, what do you think it would mean?
_The Coming of the Musk Sheep_
One day long after Bodo lived some men went up the valley to hunt. They had not gone far when the leader waved his hand. All the men stopped to find out what he wanted. He pointed to a herd of strange animals feeding on the rocky slope. Then he motioned to show them what to do. He sent some of the men up the trail to the right. He motioned for others to go to the left. He wanted to surround the animals. The strange creatures soon caught sight of the hunters. They huddled together like frightened sheep. Then the men thought they could surely catch them. They shouted aloud for joy. But the animals turned and ran up the slope. They jumped over rocks and chasms with ease. They were soon out of sight. How disappointed the hunters were! They did not know what these strange animals were. They did not know from what place they had come. They wondered why they had come to their land. Perhaps you would like to know. They were musk sheep that had come from the cold, cold north. They were used to treeless, desolate places. They were used to eating moss and young shoots of the willow. They looked something like sheep and something like oxen. Sometimes they are called musk oxen. They looked something like the bison. Sometimes they are called musk bison. Does it seem strange that the musk sheep should leave their cold home and come to the land where the Tree-dwellers had lived? It was not so strange as it seemed. Many years had passed since the Tree-dwellers lived. It was no longer warm on the wooded hills. There was snow on the ground the greater part of the year. After many years it became very cold. Then all the animals came down from the north. The coming of the musk sheep was the sign of the coming cold.
THINGS TO DO
_Bend your arms to show how the musk sheep's horns curve._ _How do you think the musk sheep used its horns?_ _Model a musk sheep in clay._
XXXII.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
What animals stay here in the winter? How do they keep warm? How do they find food?
_The Woolly Rhinoceros_
About the same time that the musk sheep came from the north, another strange animal appeared. It was a huge creature. Not one like it has lived for ages. It was a woolly rhinoceros. The big-nosed rhinoceros liked to live where it was warm. It lived on the wooded hills before the Tree-dwellers did. The small-nosed rhinoceros liked the warm country, too. It came from the south when the Tree-dwellers appeared. But the woolly rhinoceros came down from the north. It was able to live in the cold. It had an inner coat of fine curly wool. This coat kept it warm. It had a coarse, hairy outer coat. This coat kept it from feeling heavy blows. It had two horns on its ugly snout. They kept it safe from harm. When it was not disturbed it was a peaceable animal. But when it was attacked there was no animal that was more fierce. The other animals learned to let it alone. Sometimes the wolves and hyenas frightened it over a precipice. But it was a long time before men tried to hunt it.
THINGS TO DO
_Tell a story of how the wild animals were taught to let the woolly rhinoceros alone._ _See if you can find an animal that has both an inner and an outer coat._
XXXIII.
_How We Have Learned About the Tree-dwellers_
The Tree-dwellers lived such a long time ago that we do not know all that they did. But they have left some things to tell their story. A few of their bones and stone weapons have been found in the gravel. We have learned something about the Tree-dwellers from studying these. Bones of animals that lived then have been found in the caves. They tell something more about the life of the Tree-dwellers. Marks of plants have been found upon the rocks. They, too, help to tell the story. Wise men have studied all these things. They have tried to learn all that they could about these people. We have written their story in this book for you, so that you may know how our forefathers lived before they learned how to use fire.
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS
The test of a book is the service it can render. The character of the service demanded by it is determined by the needs of those to whom it is devoted. This book was not written for the child of five or six years, although children of that age have shown an interest in it. The child of five or six is absorbed in the activities of his own home and his immediate environment. His own neighborhood may well constitute the chief source from which to draw the subject-matter in these early years. Even though many of the processes that he observes are complex, it matters little to the child at this time; for so easily do they lend themselves to dramatic play that they cause him little difficulty. The child at this time, therefore, has no need of this book.
But there comes a time when the ideal and the real world begin to separate. No longer content with a "make-believe" process, and unable to control the complex processes of modern life, he feels a need that cannot be satisfied by the resources of his neighborhood alone. There is need of looking elsewhere in order to find experiences that are sufficiently related to his spontaneous activities to enlist his attention, and sufficiently related to what is best in the society in which he lives to form legitimate subject-matter for this period of development. The materials which constitute the subject-matter of this book have been selected and arranged with reference to the needs of the child at such a time. It is the child of six and a half or seven years for whom this book is intended.
Were it not true that so many books that are written for children have little regard for real facts, it would seem unnecessary to state that in no case has material been introduced into this book which cannot be justified by reference to a recognized authority in anthropology, paleontology, or geology. The story-form by means of which these facts are conveyed is merely a literary device for bringing home to the child the truth that has thus far been ascertained regarding the fundamental steps in the development of our industrial and social institutions.
The portrayal of the situation which caused our early forefathers to rob birds' nests and kill young animals will no doubt shock the sentimentalist who orders eggs or veal as a matter of course. There might be good ground for his feeling were there not present in the child the instinct to do similar deeds even though living under social conditions that do not justify such acts. Any one who will take the trouble to recall his own childhood, or to make the acquaintance of children of six and a half or seven years, will realize that such instincts are present, and that they must find expression in one form or another. Is it wise to ignore the facts of the case and allow the child to form the habit of gratifying his blind instincts, or shall we recognize the situation and meet it with all the wisdom at our command? Is it not the better plan to tell the child frankly of the way in which people lived at the time when they did what he would like to do now, and lead him to discover the changes that have taken place that lead us to disapprove of actions which, under different conditions, were considered good?
The teacher who knows that she has good ground for her convictions is not afraid to look upon a question from all sides. The fact that the teacher is willing to look at a question from the child's point of view is a means of establishing sympathetic relations between her and the child, who thus becomes willing to look at the question from the teacher's point of view. A sounder morality can be developed by honestly facing the facts with the child and by giving him the benefit of a broader experience, than by leaving him to face the situation alone in the light of but part of the facts. The problems with which the child at this time is grappling are so similar in character to those of the race during the early periods of its development that they afford the child a rich background of experience suited to his own needs. The successful solution of these problems is as important with reference to the development of the individual to-day as then in determining the welfare of the race. A firm basis for the development of the intellectual, the moral, and the physical life can thus be laid at this time by a wise use of the experiences of the race when it was laying the foundations upon which our civilization rests. It must be remembered that there is as wide a difference between the real situation in the hunting life and the scenes depicted in this book as there is between the real attitudes of primitive people and those of the child, which are idealized forms of the same attitudes.[1] The child would shrink in terror from the real conflict. His interest is in the dramatized form. If this dramatic interest of the child is satisfied, it can be made to pay tribute to the sciences and the arts. If it is ignored or repressed, it is liable to find expression in acts of cruelty.
[Footnote 1: See Katharine E. Dopp, "Some Steps in the Evolution of Social Occupations," _The Elementary School Teacher_, May and September, 1903. The University of Chicago Press.]
METHOD
The subject-matter is presented with the view of economizing the energy of the teacher as well as that of the child. The attempt has been made to base each lesson upon the experience of the child or at least upon that which he may be enabled to experience if he has not yet done so. This experience is so treated as to secure problems for advance thought. The purpose of "_Things to Think About_" is to awaken the _inquiring attitude_. It is at this point of the lesson that the child is given the opportunity he prizes so highly of telling what he has seen, heard, or done. Here he meets with the new problems which compel him to reconstruct his experiences. The printed questions, which map out the main features in the development of the lesson, should be discussed freely. Care should be taken to avoid mechanical answers. It is much better to leave questions unsettled, or to leave the subject with several different solutions that the different children have worked out, than it is to secure uniformity by imposing upon the child the judgment of the teacher or of the author of the text. In case of a necessary delay in answering a question on account of a lack of related experience, the teacher should use the means that are available for supplying the child with the necessary experience. If the printed questions are discussed before the story is read there will be less danger of a mechanical use of the book than might arise from the habit of reading the story first and making answers to the questions so as to fit the story.
_The Story._ The function of the story is to supply the child with racial experiences that will enrich his own more narrow personal experience. It is not intended merely to please but to _present facts_ in a form which the child can understand. By using the simple form of a sequence of sentences, each sentence standing by itself, less difficulty is presented to the child in reading than if the paragraph form had been employed. The greater ease with which the young child reads this style, together with the fact that the rhythm in a majority of the stories is of a character in keeping with the subject, and readily appreciated by the child, seem to justify the use of this style for a few months of the child's life.