Look at what you have modeled in your sand-box and see if you can
tell in what parts of the valley the snow will be deepest.
When the snow is very deep, what do the wild animals do? What do
the people do?
Can you think how people learned to use poison in hunting?
Does the poisoned weapon poison any part of the animal's flesh? Why
do people try to be careful not to leave poison around?
_How Fleetfoot and Willow-grouse Spent the Winter_
When Willow-grouse was living alone, she had to hunt for her own food.
Sometimes she caught animals in traps, and sometimes she hunted with
spears and harpoons. When the wounded animal escaped, Willow-grouse
was disappointed. So she tried all sorts of ways to make sure of the
game.
One day she happened to use a harpoon which had been thrust into a
piece of decayed liver. She wounded a reindeer with the harpoon and
the animal soon died.
[Illustration: _Three views of a Cave-man's spearhead with a groove to
hold poison._]
And so Willow-grouse soon learned to mix and to use poisons. When
Fleetfoot made simple spearheads of antler, she helped him make
grooves to hold the poison. When they used poison on their weapons,
they were sure of the game without a long chase.
They lived happily in the rock shelter until the middle of winter.
Then heavy snowstorms came and the wild animals went away. Fleetfoot
and Willow-grouse were left without food. They ate a piece of
sun-dried meat which Willow-grouse had left in a tree; and when that
was gone, they put on their snowshoes and started toward the south.
Before many days had passed, they arrived at the cave of the Bison
clan. There they were made so welcome that they stayed for two moons.
It was during this time that the Bison clan learned to use the
throwing-stick. While Fleetfoot taught the use of the throwing-stick,
Flaker made wonderful harpoons. And as fast as Fleetfoot found new
ways of using weapons in hunting, Flaker invented new weapons for the
men to use.
Ever since Fleetfoot had been away, Flaker had been working at
harpoons. He had made harpoon heads with two or three barbs, and now
he was trying to make a harpoon with four or five barbs on each side.
It took a long while to make a harpoon with many beautiful barbs. It
took more patience to make it than most of the Cave-men had. For when
Flaker traced a regular outline of the harpoon on one side of the
antler, he traced the same outline upon the other side. Then he cut
upon these lines, and he shaped the barbs one by one, until he had
made them all of the same shape and size.
[Illustration: "_It was during this time that the Bison clan learned
to use the throwing-stick._"]
He finished the base of the head with a large ridge near the end so as
to make it easy to attach it to the shaft. Then he traced Fleetfoot's
property-mark upon it, and thought that it was done.
But Willow-grouse, who had been watching him, spoke up and said, "No,
there is one thing more. You must put a groove in each of the barbs to
carry the magic poison."
And so, although Willow-grouse learned a great deal from watching
Flaker use his tools, she taught him something he did not know.
When the harpoon was really finished, Flaker gave it to Fleetfoot. And
all the Cave-men gathered around to see the new harpoon.
When everybody had seen it, Fleetfoot placed the harpoon upon his
throwing-stick and hurled it again and again. To the people who stood
near, the barbs carried the harpoon through the air like the wings of
a bird. The deep grooves which held the poison carried sure death with
each wound. And the throwing-stick with which it was hurled helped in
getting a firm hold and a sure aim.
[Illustration: _Harpoons with several barbs._]
#THINGS TO DO#
_Find a piece of soft wood and trace the outline of a harpoon upon
it. See if you can whittle a harpoon with barbs._
_Experiment until you can tell whether you like to have a ridge on
the base of the harpoon head._
_Draw one of these pictures:_--
"_Heavy snowstorms came and the wild animals went away._"
_Fleetfoot and Willow-grouse find some dried meat in a tree._
_Fleetfoot and Willow-grouse arrive at the cave of the Bison clan._
_Flaker working at the barbed harpoon._
"_The barbs carried the harpoon through the air like the wings of
a bird._"