The First Days of Man, as Narrated Quite Simply for Young Readers

by Frederic Arnold Kummer

Ni-Va, when he saw what Tul had done, chattered with delight, and sprang upon the log. In a moment, Tul had joined him, pushing the log away from the shore with his spear. It floated slowly out into the stream, carried along by the current, and Tul and Ni-Va found themselves upon Man's first boat.

The two boys thought that they would be carried across the river on the log, but as soon as their clumsy craft drifted to the middle of the stream, the current caught it with full force, and began to sweep it at a great rate down the river. Tul, with his spear, tried to guide their boat by pushing against the bottom, but the water was far too deep for him to reach it and in his efforts he very nearly fell off the log. They knew nothing about paddling, even if they had had anything to paddle with, so they could only cling to the log and trust to some change in the current, to carry them to shore. To their dismay, however, they saw that the river was rapidly growing wider, and the banks getting further and further away.

Hour after hour the log boat swept along in the swift current, and by the time the sun was ready to set, the river was so wide that they could hardly see the shore. There were no longer any thick woods, and all they could see were low sandy banks, with here and there clumps of bushes and tall grass. Suddenly the log, which had been drifting in a long curve around a point, came to a stop on a sand bar. Ni-Va slipped overboard, ready to swim, with Tul holding on to his shoulder, but to his surprise he found that the water came only up to his waist. Tul quickly joined him, and leaving their clumsy craft the two boys waded ashore.

When they reached the sandy bank, and climbed up on it, a wonderful sight met their eyes. As far as they could see, before them and to either side, stretched a great shining body of water. They had never supposed there was so much water in the world, and the sight of it for a moment frightened them. The vast sheet of water before them was the Ocean, and they were the very first Men in all the world to see it.

The bank on which they stood sloped down to a beach of shining white sand. The two boys crossed it eagerly, watching with wide eyes the great foaming breakers as they tumbled up on the shore. Tul, who was very thirsty, ran down to the edge of the water and scooping up a handful, tried to drink it. It was salt and bitter, however, and he quickly spat it out again.

Hungry and thirsty, the two adventurers sat on the sand and wondered what they could find to eat and drink. There might be fish, in this great wide water, but if there were, they soon saw that they could not get near enough to spear them, on account of the huge breakers. Presently Ni-Va, who had been idly digging in the wet sand with his fingers, brought up a round object that looked something like a nut. With the aid of two pebbles he cracked it open, and being very hungry, ate the soft meat he found inside. It tasted very good, and soon he and Tul had dug a large pile of the shell-fish, and made a hearty meal. The soft moist clams not only satisfied their hunger, but quenched their thirst a little, and as there was nothing else to eat, and the night was coming on, the two wanderers stretched themselves on the warm sand and soon fell asleep.

The rising sun waked them, and springing up, they looked eagerly about. Near them, on the beach, they saw a huge turtle, lying in the sun. The boys had seen turtles before, since the hunting men sometimes brought them home from the marshes, but they were small compared to this great animal. Creeping up to it in some fear, Tul and his companion managed to turn it over on its back with their spears, after which they killed it and made their breakfast of some of the meat. There was enough to have lasted for a week, but the boys soon saw that they could not stay where they were much longer without water. They could not understand why the water in the Ocean was so bitter and salt, and they went back to the place where they had left the log, hoping that the river water might be different. They soon found that it, too, was salt and the little they drank of it only made them more thirsty than before. There was nothing to do but get back to the forest country as quickly as possible, where they might find some juicy berries or fruits to quench their thirst.

Before they started Ni-Va tied some chunks of the turtle meat to his girdle with leather thongs, and Tul took a handful of the shells of the clams they had eaten and twisting some coarse grass about them, slung them around his neck. Then they went back to the log.

They thought, at first, that the current which had carried them down the stream would carry them back, but as soon as they had managed to push the log off the sand bar, it set out quickly for the sea, and they scrambled off it at once and waded back to the shore.

The only thing to do was to go back along the river bank to the place from which they had started, so they set out. At first the way was easy, with smooth banks of sand to walk on, but after a time they came to the forest, and found it very hard indeed to make their way through the bushes and trailing vines. When night came, they were tired out, and afraid, too, because they heard the cries and grunts of many animals in the dense woods all about them. Without knowing why, the two boys did as their ancestors had done, and climbing into the forks of a great tree, spent the night safe from harm. In the morning they resumed their journey, and this time, when they tried the water of the river, they found that it was only a little salt, and they were able to drink it and quench their thirst.