The Later Cave-Men Part 3

_Why the Cave-men made Changes in their Weapons_

[Ill.u.s.tration: _A stone knife._]

While the Cave-men were resting from the hunt, they did a great many things. They practiced running; they hunted for stuff to make new weapons; they worked upon their weapons and trophies; they learned new hunting dances. No matter what they did, they always asked their G.o.ds to help.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _A laurel leaf._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Laurel leaf-shaped spear point._]

All the later Cave-men learned to make light spears and javelins. The clumsy spear which served Strongarm so well was not what Scarface needed. But in the days of the early Cave-men the heavy spear was a good weapon. Strongarm cared as much for his spear as you do for your dog. It was like a friend in time of need. Few animals could withstand Strongarm's blow when he grasped his spear in one or both hands and lunged forward with all his might. His spear was a powerful weapon.

But Strongarm lived in the age of combat when people fought animals at close range.

The later Cave-men did not make light spears and javelins all at once.

They began by throwing heavy spears. Chew-chew could tell of many a hunter who lost his life throwing a spear. Sometimes it was because the spear was too heavy to throw with enough force. Sometimes it was because the shaft was crooked and the spear did not go to the right spot.

When the Cave-men practiced throwing, they did not stand still and throw. They took aim and threw as they ran. That was the kind of practice they needed for the real chase.

The mark, too, was a moving mark. It was made of a bundle of branches, or an old skin stuffed with leaves. While one man dragged it by a long cord, the others ran after it, throwing their spears.

A Cave-man could wound an animal with a spear, but he could not give a deadly blow. There was always danger of the wounded animal turning upon the hunter. A skilled hunter with a good spear ran little risk in throwing it. But not all the Cave-men had enough skill. Not all of the Cave-men made good enough weapons to be thrown with a sure aim.

And so the Cave-men learned new ways of making and using spears.

Perhaps they did not want to do it. But they had to do it or die. So you see why the men and boys spent most of their time in learning to follow the chase. Even the women and girls learned to hunt and to make all sorts of weapons.

Long before Scarface lived the Cave-men began to make lighter spears.

The straighter they made the shaft, the easier it was to hit the mark.

And so the Cave-men began to vie with one another in making the straightest and smoothest shafts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _A stone sc.r.a.per._]

When they cut the sticks for the shafts the Cave-men made gifts to the wood-G.o.ds, and asked for the straightest and toughest branches that grew on the trees. Then they cut the branches carefully and carried them home to the cave. There they peeled them from b.u.t.t to tip and smoothed them with stone sc.r.a.pers. Sometimes they rubbed them with fat and laid them away to dry. It was hard work to make a crooked stick straight. But the Cave-men tried many ways and at last they learned to make as beautiful shafts as ever have been made.

When the Cave-men pulled the shaft back and forth on the sandstone, they made deep grooves in it. We have found pieces of grooved sandstone that the later Cave-men used. Sometimes they would clamp a crooked stick between a grooved piece of sandstone and a flat bone.

Then they would pull and twist, and pull and twist, and pull and twist that stick back and forth until the crooked place was made straight.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _A shaft-straightener._]

When Scarface was very old he made a shaft-straightener of a piece of reindeer horn. He carved the head of the reindeer upon it, and made a hole for the shaft. Then he thrust the crooked stick through the hole and turned the shaft-straightener round and round as we turn a wrench, until he straightened the shaft.

#THINGS TO DO#

_See if you can find a good branch for a shaft. If you have a right to cut the branch, see if you can make it into a shaft._

_Find a stone which you can use for a sc.r.a.per. What else can you use as a sc.r.a.per?_

_If you do not care to make a shaft, make something else out of the stick which you straighten._

_Name the things which you have at home or at school made of wood._

_Make a collection of the different kinds of wood which you know._

_Which of these are soft wood? What do we use soft wood for? Which are hard? What do we use hard wood for?_

VI.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Can you think why the Cave-men used stone for their spear points and knives before they used bone or horn?

What tools did the Cave-men need in making flint spear points?

Why did the Cave-men have to learn to strike gentle blows in making their weapons? Can you think of any way of removing little pieces of flint besides striking them off?

_How the Cave-men made Delicate Spear Points_

Perhaps you have seen very beautiful Indian arrows. Perhaps you have wished you could make such arrows yourself. The later Cave-men first made such weapons and no people since have ever been able to make more beautiful ones.

The early Cave-men did not need such beautiful spear points. Rough points of flint and heavy stone axes were the weapons they needed most. It was not until the Age of the Chase that people shaped stone into beautiful forms.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Scarface always used flakes of flint for the points of spears and javelins. But in earlier times, people did not know how to strike off flakes of flint. They put the flint on a hard rock and struck it with a heavy blow. They smashed the flint, for the hard rock did not yield.

They had not learned to let the flint break in its own way.

When the Cave-men held the flint in the hand, the hand yielded to the light blow. The flint broke in its own way. But the sharp edges cut the men's hands. So they covered the palms of their hands with rawhide and kept from getting hurt. When they worked in this way, they had no trouble in striking off flakes for spear points and knives.

When the men worked on their flint points, Fleetfoot liked to play near the workshop. He liked to watch Straightshaft strike off flakes with a hammer-stone and punch. He liked to listen to the song that Scarface and Straightshaft sang.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_When the Cave-men held the flint in the hand, the hand yielded to the light blow._"]

Scarface and Straightshaft always sang when they worked with the hammer-stone and punch. While Scarface placed the punch he sang in low tones. And when he was ready for Straightshaft to strike, he sang so as to let him know. Then Straightshaft took up the song and marked the time for each blow.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_While Scarface placed the punch he sang in low tones._"]

The men always sang when they worked together. If one man stopped when it was his turn to sing, the other did not know what to do. Besides marking the time, the song helped the men to measure the force of each blow. It helped them to strike off tiny flakes so as not to break the point. So, at length, the Cave-men began to think that the song they sang was a charm.

While the men struck off large flint flakes, Fleetfoot played not far away. He played while they hafted long narrow flakes for knives, but when they began to chip spearheads, he came and watched them at their work. He listened to the song of Scarface and Straightshaft, while they shaped a fine spearhead.

At length the spearhead was ready for the finishing touches. So Straightshaft dropped his hammer-stone and picked up a queer little tool. He called it a flaker, and he used it to press off tiny flakes from the beautiful point.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Straightshaft using a flaker._]

When Straightshaft had finished, he dropped the flaker and Fleetfoot picked it up. And he asked Straightshaft if he might use it to press off little flakes.