Lucy Fitch Perkins

“ Limberleg had been so busy making a frame of sticks to stretch the deer-skin on that she had paid no attention to the Twins. But when she heard their screams, she came to the door of the cave and looked out on the beach. When she saw what they were doing, she came running down the bluff. She ran so fast she was all out of breath, but she gasped out: “You naughty, careless children! You must not do that any more—ever! You will certainly be eaten up by a big fish—or get drowned—or maybe both—if you do!” ”

“ When Hawk-Eye came home that afternoon with two live rabbits which he had snared, the Twins were so delighted with them that they forgot all about their troubles of the morning.
“Can’t we keep the rabbits alive?” they begged.
“How can you keep them?” said Hawk-Eye. “They’ll run away.”
“We can tie them by their legs,” said Firetop.
“We can cut sticks and drive them down in the ground, and keep the rabbits inside the sticks,” cried Firefly.
“What will you cut them with?” asked Hawk-Eye.
“With your stone axe,” Firefly answered as quick as a wink. ”

“ And he knew very well that he was not as swift as the deer, or as big as the elephant, or as strong as the lion, or as fierce as the tiger, and it seemed to him as if he hadn’t much chance to stay alive at all in a world so full of terrible creatures who wanted to eat him up. ”

“ Limberleg had made herself a good needle out of bone and had sewed nice soft deer-skins into clothes for them, all ready for cold weather. She had even made beautiful necklaces of shells for Firefly and herself.
One summer evening, as they sat looking at the moon, Limberleg said: “You see I was right about the water gods. There haven’t been any more earthquakes, and we have everything we want to eat, and plenty of warm skins and a fine cave to live in. There is just one thing more I want. I don’t care much for society, but I should like more people to talk to.” ”

“ Hawk-Eye kept straight on. “Run,” he cried. “We can’t fight; they are too many.”
On, on they ran, panting and breathless. A little way ahead there were some large rocks on the edge of the wood. There they might find a momentary shelter. They had almost reached the rocks, when suddenly a woman of the wild tribe let herself down out of a tree on the edge of the bluff and made a bold dash down the slope. Before they could stop her, she had seized Firefly and dragged her away. ”

“ At any rate they lay in their corner, on their own heap of skins and watched Hawk-Eye and Limberleg and Grannie and the others as they sat about in the cheerful glow of the fire. Nobody had said anything for a long time, and the Twins were beginning to feel quite sleepy, when Hawk-Eye spoke. What he said made them sit up and listen with all their ears. Of course neither Hawk-Eye nor Limberleg thought for a moment that the Twins were awake or listening. Grown people are often very stupid about such things! ”

“ When the shadow of the bluff grew long across the meadows, Limberleg said:—
“Darkness will soon be upon us. Where are we going to sleep?”
“We won’t sleep in a cave anyway,” said Hawk-Eye, “even if we could find one. We might find the cave bear at home in it. In that case, we should probably spend the night in his stomach, and I am sure that would be too crowded to be comfortable.”
“We can’t spend the night on the ground surely,” said Limberleg. “Or we might wake up in the stomach of old Sabre-tooth instead.” ”

“ Limberleg and the Twins flew back into the forest to search for vines. There were plenty of them, and they pulled up a great heap of long, tough stems, and brought them back to Hawk-Eye. Hawk-Eye had another bunch which he had cut. On the bluff overlooking the valley there was a great oak tree with giant branches spreading in every direction.
“We’ll sleep here,” said Hawk-Eye. “Nothing can harm us unless a wildcat or some such climbing creature should visit us, and I think I could make him wish he hadn’t come. I shall have my spear beside me and shall sleep on the lower limbs.” ”

“ You see, the fierce sabre-toothed tiger was the beast they feared most of all, but they always had to be on the watch for wolves and hyenas, and for the dreadful cave bear as well. There were wild horses, too, and elephants, and mammoths, and lions. Grannie had to keep telling the children about these dangers, just as our mothers tell us to-day to keep out of the way of trolley-cars and steam-engines and automobiles. Only trolley-cars and steam-engines don’t run after us and stick their heads right into our front doors and try to eat us up, as the wild creatures did in those days. ”

“ She might have been pulled in two, or she might have been carried off and adopted into the wild clan. But Hawk-Eye was there in almost no time, and though the people on the bluff rained down sticks and stones upon them, Hawk-Eye drove his spear into the woman’s arm. With a shriek of pain she let go of Firefly and dashed away into the forest.
“Run for your lives,” cried Hawk-Eye, and they started again at top speed for the rocks. They reached them none too soon, for the people on the bluff, infuriated by the injury to the woman, came dashing down the slope after them. ”

“ The wild tribe had no weapons but sticks and stones. They were tree-dwellers. They did not even know the secret of fire. They lived upon roots and berries and nuts, and such small game as they could catch with their hands or in snares. Their homes were rude shelters in the trees. When they saw what had happened to their leader, they were terribly frightened. They turned and ran for the trees, leaving the wounded man on the ground.
Hawk-Eye ran out from behind the rock, picked up his spear, and sent it flying after the enemy. It struck another man. ”

“ I shan’t need to put sticks on the fire while you are here. Your red hair would scare away the sabre-toothed tiger himself! No wonder you are not afraid to run alone in the forest! With such heads on you, you are as safe as if you were in the heart of the cave. ”

“ I started to run to the cave.”
“Did you think we were all dead?” asked Limberleg.
“Yes,” said Grannie. “I thought some cave bear or tiger had got you. You were always so bold and venturesome. And as for these worthless ones,” she added, patting Firetop on the head, “I didn’t know whether they had gone with you, or had stolen away into the woods and been eaten by old Sabre-tooth.”
“Well, you see,” cried Limberleg, laughing, “it pays to be bold and brave.” When she said “bold and brave,” she looked right at Hawk-Eye. She thought he was the boldest and bravest man in the world. ”

“ They seized her hands, one on each side, and began to pull her up the hill. Blackbird and Squaretoes pushed from behind.
“Go along with you,” screamed Grannie, holding back with all her might. “I can’t run so fast; I am all out of breath.”
“We’ll run you, then,” screamed the children, and they pulled and pushed until they got her panting and breathless to the top of the hill. Hawk-Eye had drawn his precious boat high up on the beach out of reach of the tide, and he and Limberleg followed more slowly with the basket of clams. ”

“ Limberleg looked just as she would have looked if he had said, “There’s a pack of hyenas living in those woods.” There was reason for it in those days. The different groups of people in the forests had nothing to do with one another, and when they met, they were much more likely to fight than to be friendly.
“Can’t we go up the river-bank and not go into the woods at all?” asked Limberleg. For answer Hawk-Eye pointed down the river. Far away in the green meadow they saw two mammoths feeding. ”

“ Some say they have seen a serpent as large as the trunk of a tree.”
“We can go up the river until we find a shallower place to cross,” said Hawk-Eye. “I have killed a tiger and a rhinoceros and a cave bear in my time. We can take care of ourselves.”
When Limberleg heard him say “We” she knew that she was going, and she was glad. She was as brave as Hawk-Eye and almost as good a hunter. ”

“ In the earliest times of all, the Woman hunted and trapped the wild creatures, and fished, all by herself, but by and by she began to let the Man do the hunting and bring home the game, while she stayed in the cave house and kept the hearth-fire bright and took care of the children. She cooked the food that he brought home, and she made needles out of bones and sewed skins together for clothes for her husband and the children and herself. After a long time she began to plant seeds of the wild things that she found were good to eat, and to raise food out of the ground. ”

“ While Limberleg cut up the meat and the Twins broiled great pieces of it over the coals, Hawk-Eye took his stone axe and cut a rough path through the underbrush from the cave-entrance to the spring, and another to the hill-top. The paths were so hidden by tall weeds and bushes that they could run through them without being seen. ”

“ He told all about killing the grouse. You should have seen Hawk-Eye then! He was just as pleased as our fathers are when we get A in arithmetic!
“I guess you can take care of yourselves,” he said, when he had heard the story. “You don’t need me.” Then he laughed and made his face look scared. “Will you let me go with you to the land where the sun rises?” he said. “I am very small, but I can climb trees! I am afraid to go alone. I need you to kill bison and mammoths for me to eat!”
Firetop, Firefly, and Limberleg laughed at this until they nearly choked. ”

“ It seems to us now that no one could possibly have had any happiness in a world so full of dangers, but you see Grannie and all the rest of the clan did not know that life could be any different. Just because there were so many dangers, they grew brave to meet them, and a brave man among dangers is far happier than a coward in a safe place. ”

“ She took Grannie into the cave and showed her the piles of warm skins, and the heaps of nuts: then she showed Grannie how to cook clams.
The Twins had taken Blackbird and Squaretoes the very first thing to see the rabbits. Then they came back for Grannie and made her go and see them too, and when every one had seen everything there was to see, it was dark, and Limberleg had a real feast ready for them to eat.
She had killed a deer the day before, and so they had broiled venison, seasoned with sea salt. They had clams steamed with seaweed, and they had nuts and wild plums. ”

“ The fire was burning brightly, for Grannie had been up four times in the night to put on fresh fuel. Now she too was fast asleep. Firetop crawled quietly out of the warm wolf-skins of his bed. He took one of the wolf-skins and tied it over his shoulder with a leather thong. The rest he bunched up to look as if he were still in bed and asleep.
Hawk-Eye had made a small spear for each of the Twins. They were not playthings. They were real spears, for children of that day had to learn to use such weapons while they were still very young. ”

“ Our hunting-grounds have always been on this side,” said Long Arm.
“It’s time some one did go, then,” said Hawk-Eye. “Game will be plentiful now everywhere, but after the reindeer go, there is a long time that we have little food. We need to find new hunting-grounds. I am going to seek them.”
“Then I am going, too.” It was Limberleg who spoke. “I can hunt. I can trap as well as anybody. And I can throw a spear as straight. I am not afraid. Grannie will look after the children while we are gone.”
When he heard that, Firetop poked Firefly in the ribs. ”

“ Let us go home.”
“There is more to be learned about the hunting,” said Hawk-Eye.
“We can find that out on our way back,” said Limberleg.
“If there are going to be any more earthquakes, I’d rather be in the cave anyway,” said Firefly. “Besides, I don’t like the rain pouring over me. It’s as bad as falling in the river.”
Firetop said: “I’d like to get back to tell Squaretoes what I’ve seen. He’s all the time telling about the wonderful things he can do. He’s never seen the tree-people nor had an earthquake in his whole life. I guess I can make his eyes stick out.” ”

“ Hawk-Eye was the leader of the clan, because he was the strongest man and the best hunter. He was a large man with little sharp eyes and red hair which covered his breast and legs as well as his head. Around his neck was a string of bear’s teeth.
There were four other men. They were called Eagle-Nose, Grey Wolf, Big Ear, and Long Arm. There were three other women besides Limberleg and Grannie. They were the wives of the men. There were four big boys, who were already hunting with the men, and there were Blackbird, Robin, and Squaretoes, besides Firetop and Firefly. ”

“ At last she said to him: “What in the world are you doing with your axe? I hear such a pounding everyday.” Hawk-Eye did not tell her what he was making. He only said, “Maybe some day, when I get it done, you will see.”
The Twins heard the axe too, and they made up their minds they were going to find out what was going on. The next day, as they were playing in their cave back of their bluff at low tide, Firefly saw a little column of smoke rising out of the woods near the place where a small stream flowed into the bay. She also heard the axe. ”

“ Each generation learned new things and taught them to the next, until now we have houses and churches and villages and cities dotted over the whole earth, and there are roads going from everywhere to everywhere else. ”