The genius for leadership shown by Longhead, together with the superiority of the weapons he had invented, and, above all, his mysterious control of the fire, had now firmly established him as leader or chief, and none thought of questioning his authority in anything. There had been no election to the office, nor, indeed, any consultation on the subject; he simply assumed the leadership and the group acquiesced by compliance with his commands.
This first social organization for coöperation in hunting—the germ from which all governments and laws have grown—was not the only one resulting from the use of fire. The manifest blessings or comforts due to its use, and the mysterious manner of its production in the fire-cave hidden from the sight of all, began to give rise to the idea that Longhead and Broken Tooth must be in communication with some superior being.
It cannot be said that man at that time had any religion, any conception of a god, or indeed, any definite idea of supernatural beings, but there were many mysteries of nature which he could in no wise comprehend. Incapable of speculative thought, or, indeed, of much continuous thought of any kind, he was unable to distinguish clearly between the animate and inanimate; he attributed active life to all surrounding objects and believed even the trees and plants to put on foliage, blossom and produce fruit because they desired to do so. When a rock, loosened by the action of frost and storm, became detached from a cliff and rolled into the valley below, it did so of its own accord and was regarded with fear. A man would make a wide circuit to avoid it in passing and none would voluntarily approach it. They lived in a region of cliffs and mountains and when one gave a shout, under proper conditions, his words were repeated, sometimes more than once; and none could find the mysterious beings who did the mocking; indeed, after vain searches, they became convinced that the tantalizing mockings came from beings invisible to man, consequently his superiors and, therefore, dangerous. They began to avoid the glens and valleys wherein echoes abounded, or, if compelled to pass through them, did so in silence that their dangerous neighbors might not be provoked to do them an injury. The curling mist rolling silently down the mountain side, was to them another mysterious being of whom they stood in awe, and thunder, lightning and storm each became to them personified and living supernatural beings who terrified them. They had yet no belief that man had a soul or spirit which existed after his death. This thought was to come ages thereafter.
It was not long until it was suggested that Longhead must have subjected to his control one or more powerful but invisible beings whom he kept shut up in his cave under the guardianship of the woman, and who, at his command, produced the fire and wonderful weapons. That Broken Tooth was the guardian of these beings, made mystery attach to her as well, and they began to look upon her with fear and reverence also. The man and woman encouraged this by becoming more mysterious than ever. When further questioned in regard to the fire, they boldly asserted that the whispered stories were true; that their control of fire and the ability on the part of the man to make superior weapons was due to supernatural beings who frequented the cave and were subject to them. They asserted that these beings were so powerful they could strike them all with instant death, and would have done so but for the intercession of the fire-man and the woman to whose control they were subject; but the people were assured that so long as Longhead and Broken Tooth should be treated with proper respect, their wants satisfied and their commands obeyed, they would not permit these malevolent beings to molest any of the group, and the fire should not be taken away.
Soon the people of the group at the fire-cave were informed that the fire-spirits desired the man to remain most of the time at or near the cave that they might converse with him at all times and instruct him in additional methods for promoting the happiness and welfare of the people, and it would, therefore, be impossible for him to take part in the daily hunt for game, though he would still lead them in important expeditions. On this account he directed that each member of the group should daily bring to the fire-cave contributions of food, sufficient not only for the wants of the man, but of the woman and spirits also. The people readily believed this, for they were incapable of conceiving that such beings as spirits had not need of material food, and, consequently, each brought his or her offering daily, either of food or fuel. If by reason of failure in the chase, an unfortunate hunter had no offering to bring, he was required to come to the cave and, through the medium of Longhead, ask pardon of the spirits, and bring a double portion the next time.
To all this the people of the group readily submitted; Longhead and Broken Tooth lived in comfort, if not in luxury, without any effort upon their part; the people were educated to ask the forgiveness of superior and supernatural beings whose existence was shrouded in mystery, through the medium of a priest whose natural wants they were required to supply; and thus a religious worship with a dedicated and supported priesthood, if not a religion itself, was established among men.
CHAPTER V
DAWN OF INVENTION, ART, MARRIAGE, RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT
Affairs at the settlement near the fire-cave now moved along smoothly. Their new weapons enabled the hunters to secure abundance of food in a country teeming with animal life, now that they dared attack the larger animals. Cooking made both the flesh and vegetables more nourishing as well as more appetizing, and soon the enormous stomachs, no longer continually distended with raw and indigestible food, became reduced in size and their bodies less unwieldy. Made confident by the use of fire and superior weapons, the men now walked fully erect and wandered through the forest with little fear. As their supply of nourishing food increased, more children were born than before, and the mortality among infants was greatly reduced. All this tended toward a rapid increase of population in the settlement. This increase in the population necessitated more habitations, and this, at the time meant more caves, for this was the epoch of cave-men. After all the available caves in the ravine and vicinity had been appropriated, an enterprising young man of the group who, by reason of mutual attachment and because of the example, perhaps, of Longhead and Broken Tooth, had induced a young woman to establish similar relations with him, being unable to find an unoccupied cave, concluded to establish housekeeping upon a horizontal ledge overhung by a projecting rocky cliff. This location, protected only in the rear, soon proved to be too exposed for comfort, and the couple concluded to improve it. They took several good sized sticks of different lengths which had been burned off by the fires and after leaning them up against the sloping rock, piled on brush and grass. This was much better than the open front, but a coal from their fire having blown into the grass after it had dried, caused a conflagration which reduced them to their former condition. The man proved to be quite intelligent, and he began to select logs of the same length, burning them off at the proper place when necessary; and these they sloped up side by side at the front as before, but, mindful of the fire, they filled the interstices with sticks, stones and moss, finally plastering the whole front, except for a small opening for entrance, with mud. This was a great improvement over all former conditions; the rain and wind were excluded, to a considerable extent; indeed, it was preferable to a cave. It was lighter and better ventilated, and, when they had learned to construct movable frames which could be securely fastened in the doorways, to prevent incursions by wild animals, these lean-tos or rock-shelters, the remains of which have been found in many parts of Europe, became the favorite habitations of the people of the group.