The Cave Boy of the Age of Stone

The Cave Boy of the Age of Stone

Project Gutenberg's The Cave Boy of the Age of Stone, by Margaret A. McIntyre This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Cave Boy of the Age of Stone
Author: Margaret A. McIntyre
Release Date: June 13, 2006 [EBook #18576]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CAVE BOY OF THE AGE OF STONE ***

Produced by Al Haines

[Frontispiece: Making stone tools]

THE CAVE BOY
OF THE AGE OF STONE
BY
MARGARET A. McINTYRE

NEW YORK
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY

COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY

Dedicated to My Mother

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
STRONGARM'S FAMILY II. THE NEEDLE, THE CLUB, AND THE BOW III. THE TAMING OF THE DOG IV. HOW STRONGARM HUNTED A BEAR AND A LION V. THE OLD AX MAKER VISITS HIS DAUGHTER VI. THE COMING OF FIRE VII. THE CAVE TIGER VIII. THE MAKING OF STONE WEAPONS IX. AT THE GRAVEL PIT X. A SUMMER CAMP XI. THORN MEETS THE CHILDREN OF THE SHELL MOUNDS XII. AT THE HOME OF THE SHELL MOUND PEOPLE XIII. THORN LEARNS TO SWIM XIV. THE FEAST OF MAMMOTH'S MEAT XV. THE RED MEN OF OUR OWN COUNTRY IN THE STONE AGE XVI. HOW STONE WEAPONS OF THE CAVE MEN WERE FIRST FOUND XVII. HOW THE EARTH LOOKED WHEN THE SHELL MEN AND THE CAVE MEN LIVED XVIIII. HOW EARLY MEN BELIEVED THAT ALL THINGS THAT MOVE ARE ALIVE XIX. THE PEOPLE OF OUR TIME WHO WERE MOST LIKE THE CAVE MEN
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Making stone tools . . . . . . Frontispiece
All at once, the goat stood up on her hind legs
Strongarm
A big black bear came along
Then he sat down by the fire to make his picture of the bear
Ram horns
Sewing together skins of wild oxen
A little bone
Bone needle
Broken hunting club
The bees flew off humming angrily
The edge of the pond
And, for fun, set it against the string
Broken hunting club (2nd version)
Cattle horns
So they lay down on the ground and began to call
A nest full of young eagles
She scraped off all the meat and fat
Tiger's tooth and bear's claw
Lion
Lion's tooth
Stone tools
Stone axe
Woven basket
Little wild pigs were eating the acorns
The sparks came like a flame and caught the dry leaves
The boys listened in wonder
Shelter of branches
Acorns
Tiger
Tiger's tooth
He struck with his hammer stone
He held the pebble in his left hand and struck it a sharp blow
Deer antlers
Forest scene
Spear
The women and children went to pick berries
The women and children ate and ate the sweet fruit
Snowy owl in tree
Women with baskets
Skin bag with pull string
Herd of reindeer
They dived into the river and swam away, pulling the raft
Flock of white swans
The sea
Clam and oyster shells
Dug-out boat
They began to cook the fish
The people took the fish in their hands
Cutting down a tree
A flounder
Seaweed
Thorn learns to swim
Clay bowls
Mammoth trapped in swamp
Wolves
Throwing a spear
A North American Indian
A stone arrow head
A stone ax
Picture of reindeer, scratched on slate; found in a cave in France
Eskimo by their winter huts; drawn by an Eskimo
A bone awl; found in a cave in England
Drawing of a mammoth, on a piece of mammoth tusk; found in a cave in France
A flint knife; found in Australia

THE CAVE BOY OF THE AGE OF STONE
CHAPTER I
STRONGARM'S FAMILY
It was spring, thousands of years ago. Little boys snatched the April violets, and with them painted purple stripes upon their arms and faces. Then they played that enemies came.
"Be afraid!" shouted one, frowning; and he stamped his foot and shook his fist at the play enemies.
"I am fine!" called the other; and he held his head high, and took big steps, and looked this way and that.
The little brothers were named Thorn and Pineknot. Their baby sister had no name. The children looked rough and wild and strong and glad. The sun had made them brown, the wind had tangled their hair. Their clothes were only bits of fox skin. Their home was the safe rock cave in the side of the hill.
Near the children a little goat was eating the sweet new grass. She was tied with a string made of skin. Thorn stroked her and, laughing, said,
"Let us put the baby on the goat's back and see her run."
"Oh, that would be fun!" cried Pineknot, and he ran and untied the goat.
Laughing, Thorn put the baby on the goat's back. The little fingers clung to the goat's hair.
Then Thorn struck the goat and shouted, "Run!"
The goat ran; the baby laughed; Pineknot danced and clapped his hands. All at once, the goat stood up on her hind legs. The baby fell off, and rolled over and over on the ground. She cried out, though she was not hurt. And the boys laughed and shouted till