[Illustration]
Several times during the night strange sounds were heard. Once they
were all aroused, thinking the Lali were upon them. At another time
they thought a wild beast was prowling near them, and again that they
heard sounds made by the Aurora Borealis. Near morning, when the first
glimmer of light appeared, there was a rush in the direction from which
came an ominous growl. One after another followed the leader to learn
the cause of it. In their haste the foremost stumbled on a huge living
object, which nearly frightened him to death; while the rest, in their
impetuosity, fell over the same thing, so that soon there was a great
heap of living humanity and wild confusion.
All wondered what had thrown them, and, to increase their wonderment, the
object did not move, but seemed indifferent to the tumbling which they
did upon him. They were afraid to approach, until the light should become
stronger; for they did not as yet have candles to guide them at night,
but had to wait for the day, or else grope in darkness. As it dawned,
however, and things became more distinguishable, one, more venturesome
than the rest, advanced, and, to his relief, found that it was Pounder,
who was rolled up in a heap, and lay before them dead drunk.
Among the roots dug up and eaten by the Ammi, was a species of mandrake,
which had a stupefying effect. Pounder had become fond of this root, or
rather of its effects, and he carried it about with him for occasional
indulgence. His addiction to the habit was, perhaps, the cause of his
quarrelsomeness; for he frequently quarrelled with others, although this
was, perhaps, the first case of well-defined spree known to humanity.
Several of the Ammi, thinking he was dead, rolled him over, and repeated
the rolling several times.
“He is only sleeping,” said one; “see how he breathes;” and they shook
him to wake him.
Presently his eyes opened, when another exclaimed:
“He is neither dead nor asleep, but sick; perhaps he is dying. Call
Gimbo.”
Soon Gimbo, who was doctor, priest and prophet, all in one, approached
with his dragon-fly and long-necked pumpkin, and, after a brief
examination, in which he looked mysteriously wise, said:
“It comes from the colic;” and, with these words, he seized the neck of
the pumpkin, and with the big end pounded the stomach of his patient,
adding: “This will fetch the colic out of him.”
Pounder first grunted, then groaned, and at last opened his eyes.
Gimbo, seeing this effect, congratulated himself, and went on pounding,
saying, “He is coming out all right.”
Pounder who neither understood nor enjoyed this treatment, raised himself
half up, and, to the surprise of all, dealt Gimbo a powerful blow with
his fist, saying, “Get out you old four-footed ape with your big pumpkin!”
He then sank back in his stupor, but placed his hand on his stomach for
protection.
Gimbo, picking himself up, said:
“The disease acts strangely; but he is gaining strength, and will soon be
well.”
He did not recur to the pumpkin treatment, however, but relied henceforth
on the dragon-fly for a cure, which he applied at a distance.
The Ammi now gathered about Pounder, and, with astonishment on their
faces, contemplated the change that had come over him. The mightiest of
their number was seen lying before them the weakest and silliest. It
disgusted them that he should so put himself out of his own power, as to
be at the mercy of the smallest monkey, and especially that he who could
fight so bravely should grin and puke so contemptibly.
But these discussions did not interest Pounder, who slept on unmindful of
his glory or his disgrace.
About this time the Ammi were again heard complaining of the cold, which
had been rapidly increasing since the snow storm mentioned, and they cast
about for devices to reduce its discomforts.
At night they sought the leeward side of trees and hills; they also went
into caves and huddled up closely to keep warm. But this did not suffice.
They were cold both by day and night, and every one sought other means of
warming.
From the habit of covering themselves with leaves when sleeping, the
thought was suggested, that if they could surround themselves with leaves
during the day they might be more comfortable at all times.
“The difficulty is to make the leaves stick together,” said Abroo; “let
us fasten them by their stems, or string them on blades of grass.”
Soon a garment of leaves and grass was woven in this way, which was the
beginning of clothing and of the vast dry-goods interest of the world.
Up to this time the Men, like the Apes, had been naked. They had found no
use for clothing; the climate was warm, and the feeling of shame had not
yet entered their breasts. They were covered with hair, which grew longer
since they had come north; and, though this furnished some protection,
and was highly appreciated since the cold weather set in, it was not
sufficient for their comfort. Some had longer hair than others, and so
stood the change better, while those of little or short hair often fell
sick and died of colds, rheumatism, and other winter complaints. The
invention of clothing, however, equalized their condition again, so that
long hair was deemed of no special advantage.
The leaf-garments, however, did not long satisfy them. They could not
make a fabric of such materials that would stand the rough usage to
which it was subjected. In their running, climbing and other violent
exercises the wreaths broke or became detached, so that it was difficult
to keep them on. One’s whole suit sometimes fell off in an instant,
leaving him in his skin and hair.
“Bark, I think, would do better than leaves,” said Koree, who had made
himself a suit of the inner rind of a tree. He found this so rough,
however, that it soon wore off the hair and skin in places, so that he
looked like a horse galled by the harness.
“Pound the bark to make it soft,” said Watch-the-girls, who had made a
neat garment for herself from well-selected strips of bark, from which
she had removed the rough spots.
“Skins would keep us warm; and they are soft,” said another woman, who
had placed about her shoulders the hide of a sheep which had been used as
a receptacle for darts.
This was an unfortunate discovery for the animals. For in a little while
the Ammi, finding that skins were more desirable than anything else as a
protection from cold, sought animals for their skins, and killed more for
this purpose than they had before killed for food.
The use of clothing in time became general, and the Ammi learned the
important lesson that they were independent of the weather, and could
carry their climate about with them, making it to order.
The use of clothing, however, developed into a dangerous luxury. They
soon came to have preferences, not only on account of warmth and
softness, but on account of appearance. Bright colors were chosen as
most desirable, and those were more in esteem who dressed well. Much of
their time was accordingly given to making garments, especially among the
women, and many bits of decoration were in time added, so that pride and
art were soon developed in dress.
Pounder, however, always despised dress, and would not put on anything
whatever; and several others, who admired his strength and bravery, were
led to follow his example. Gimbo said it was wrong to dress, and that
if people would only keep on all fours they would not need clothes; so
he, as long as he lived, went naked and on all fours, no matter what the
weather or the occasion.
But the men went on in their vanity about dress, until they soon wore
more wool than the sheep; and Gimbo complained that something was wrong
when each animal did not wear its own skin.
Fire-tamer said they might keep warm by getting a wood-eating animal and
keeping it in the camp.
“While I kept mine,” he said, “I was warm. When he shook himself the Cold
fled affrighted, and would not come near again until he disappeared.”
“That’s worse than clothes,” said Gimbo; “don’t bring it here, or we will
all be killed and eaten up.”
“The beast is liable to get loose,” said another, “and attack us any
moment. We have seen what he did at the volcano and in the forest.”
“I will get a young one,” said Fire-tamer, who thought a small fire was
an immature or half-grown animal, and that it could be easily managed.
But the Ammi were afraid, and would not allow the beast to be brought to
the camp, dead or alive; and so they went on shivering, and it took them
some time to shiver into sense.