Longhead: The Story of the First Fire

by C. H. Robinson

After several months' residence at the fire-cave, during which none of their former neighbors had appeared in the vicinity, Longhead and Broken Tooth were seated at their fire one evening enjoying a hearty meal of cooked flesh and roasted tubers and eggs. The man had, thanks to his javelin, brought home all the meat he could carry, the fire blazed merrily and they were enjoying themselves to the utmost when they were greeted by human voices from some trees near the cave. It appeared that a couple of their old neighbors had been hunting in that part of the forest and, night coming on, they had sought safety from dangerous animals by climbing a tree. This happened to be so near the cave that they caught sight of the light made by the fire, and the strange sight excited their curiosity. At first, they were greatly alarmed, never having seen fire before, but curiosity soon overcame fear, and, passing from tree to tree, they cautiously approached the platform. When quite near they recognized Longhead and Broken Tooth as old acquaintances and called out to them. They were at once invited to come down, but declined at first, being afraid of the strange light, but, being assured by the man and woman that there was no danger, they soon descended, and very gingerly and with many pauses, after much encouragement, approached the platform.

The genial warmth of the fire pleased them greatly and they asked Longhead what it was and where it came from. He made vague and mysterious answers and gave them little satisfaction. He told them, however, that the savage animals were afraid of the light and would not come near it, relating their adventure with Saber-Tooth their first night at the cave, and he assured them that if the fire was kept alive by a supply of fuel, one could sleep in the open forest at night without danger, and showed them the effect of putting on fresh fuel. He invited them to remain upon the platform for the night, informing them that but one must sleep at a time, the other remaining awake to supply the fire with wood, of which he showed them the pile and instructed them to put but little on at a time, that it might not be exhausted before daylight.

There was a goodly supply of meat at the cave, for the man had been successful in the day's hunt, and he and Broken Tooth now proceeded to cook some of it over the coals. When it was well done, they offered some to their guests. At first they were afraid of it and declined to taste until their hosts had eaten some, but, after the first taste they devoured it ravenously and expressed great surprise and satisfaction at the improvement over raw meat.

At a late hour Longhead and Broken Tooth retired to their cave, leaving their guests seated at the fire. They both remained awake all night, replenishing the fire from time to time, as they had been instructed. They thoroughly enjoyed the new sensation of light and warmth as compared with the dark and chilly refuge of a tree-top, and they talked much of this new element and its mysterious character.

When Longhead and Broken Tooth emerged from the cave in the morning, their visitors were gone, and so was the last scrap of meat, for their guests had enjoyed the unusual hospitality to the fullest extent, by spending the night in roasting and eating until gorged, and had taken their departure as soon as it was fully daylight.

It chanced that they returned to their group of people on the day of a general gathering, and over and over again they told the marvels they had witnessed the night before. Most of their auditors set them down as first-class liars, and not a few told them plainly what they thought of the story. On the second day, however, three of the group agreed to accompany them to the fire-man's cave and verify the matter. The five arrived near the platform about dusk, and brought with them several small animals they had killed on the way. As dark was coming on, the fire burned brightly on the rocky bench in front of the cave. The two who had been visitors before advanced boldly, but when they neared the light, the others promptly climbed trees to view the strange sight from a position of safety. They saw Longhead and Broken Tooth seated by the fire, and, when their companions reached the platform, they saw them welcomed and seated. These called to them to come on as there was nothing to fear, and finally, they climbed down and cautiously approached. Their surprise was great and their satisfaction unbounded when they felt the warmth; and now the first comers suggested a trial of the new method of preparing food. Here a new surprise awaited them, for Longhead and Broken Tooth each produced a flint knife and proceeded to cut the animals in small pieces instead of tearing them,—a proceeding which the new-comers watched with great interest, for they had never before seen a knife. Longhead gave each a piece and showed how to hold it over the hottest part of the burning coals, and to turn it that all parts might be cooked and not scorched.

They took the delight of children in a new game, and besides, they were hungry from their long tramp, and the feast lasted until all the meat and roasted roots had been disposed of, many questions being asked, however, during the progress of the meal about the origin of the fire. These the man and woman answered mysteriously, and finally retired to the cave, leaving their guests more mystified than ever.

The visitors remained awake most of the night, one or two sleeping while the others kept the fire supplied with fuel. It happened, also, that a couple of tigers approached the light near enough to be seen by them, but sneaked off, afraid of the strange sight.

This time they all remained until the man and woman arose in the morning, and then insisted that Longhead should tell them where the fire came from and how they could procure it for the benefit of the group. He answered as mysteriously as before, and pointed to the sky as the place from whence it came; but he gave them to understand that he controlled the mysterious agent; that there were plenty of caves in the ravine near-by, and if the group would take these for their habitations, he would not object to supplying them with the fire; and he showed them how it might be conveyed to a considerable distance by means of torches. He was careful, however, not to say anything about its preservation by means of the punk, and he declined to give any explanation in regard to the flint knives with which the meat had been cut.