The men crowded around, for they were always glad to go hunting with Bighorn. As soon as he had shown them his plan, they took their weapons and started toward the herd.
Bighorn expected to find the herd feeding quietly on a hillside. But, instead, the bison were tossing their horns, sniffing the air, and looking this way and that.
Bighorn saw that the bison were restless and that he could not take them by surprise. "We shall have a hard chase," said he to the men, "if we get a bison to-day."
The men stood still for a moment, for they did not know what to do.
Fine snowflakes were now falling and the dark clouds threatened a heavy storm. But the men were hungry and they were not ready to give up the hunt at once.
"Listen!" said Bighorn, as a low rumbling sound came from the upper valley.
The Cave-men put their ears to the ground and heard a sound like distant thunder. As they listened it came nearer and nearer and the ground seemed to shake.
The Cave-men were not afraid. They knew what the sound meant. The bison, too, knew what it meant. They knew that winter was coming, and that it was time for them to be gone. They knew that the laggard herds were racing with the storm.
And so the sentinels of the scattered herds gave signals to the bison.
And before the Cave-men were on their feet, the bison had started toward the ford.
Louder and louder the rumbling sound grew as the great herd galloped on. The snow was now falling thick and fast, and a cold northwest wind was blowing. But in spite of the wind and the snow, the Cave-men pressed on toward the ford. Bighorn still hoped to get a bison as the great herd pa.s.sed.
By the time the herd reached the ford, the wind had become a strong gale. The air was so thick with the snow that it nearly blinded the men. Then Bighorn turned and said to the men, "We must find a shelter from the storm."
The bison, too, tried to find a shelter. Some of them hugged up closely to the sheltered side of the cliffs. Others sought cover in the ravines. But many could find no protection, so they turned about and faced the storm.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "_But many could find no protection, so they turned about and faced the storm._"]
The Cave-men wished they were safe at home, but they dared not go through the storm. They huddled together and felt their way to a spot where the snow did not drift. There they lay down in the snow and waited for the storm to cease.
#THINGS TO DO#
_Name some bird that migrates. Tell all that you know about the way it migrates._
_When you go out to play, show how the bison migrated in warm weather. Show how they migrated in cold weather._
_Show in your sand-box where the deep drifts would be. Show places where the snow would not drift. If you cannot be sure about where the drifts would be, see if you can find out by watching the storms during winter._
_If the Cave-men are buried in the snow, how do you think they can get air to breathe? How can they tell when the storm is over?_
XIX
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
What do you think those who stayed in the cave will do during the storm? Can you think of any way by which they could get food?
Did you ever walk on snowshoes? How do you think people came to make snowshoes?
_How Antler Happened to Invent Snowshoes_
Antler saw the coming storm and at once she thought of the fire. She called to the women. And soon they were all breaking branches with stone axes and mauls. The children piled the f.a.gots together and carried them to the cave.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _A stone maul._]
The snow was falling fast before they finished their work. They watched the storm for a little while and then went into the cave.
The children were hungry and asked for meat. But there was no meat in the cave. Antler tried to get the children to play and to forget that they were hungry. And the children played for a little while, but they soon grew tired. And so Antler gathered the children together and began to tell them stories.
As the storm raged fiercer and fiercer, Antler told stories of other storms. She had braved many storms on the wooded hills and the children liked to hear her stories.
Among the stories she told that day was the story of the Big Bear. She said that the Big Bear lived in a cavern away up in the mountain. She said that he kept watch of the game and that sometimes he shut the game in his cavern. Antler said she had often heard the Big Bear above the voice of the storm. And Fleetfoot, listening for his voice, thought he heard it in the wailing of the storm.
In spite of the stories Antler told, the day was long and dreary. The next day was still more dreary, for the children were crying for food.
Toward the close of day they were very tired, and soon they fell asleep.
Most of the women slept that night, but there was no sleep for Antler.
She could not sleep when the children were hungry and when the men were out in the storm. She stayed awake and watched and listened all through the long dark night.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fur gloves._]
Toward morning the storm began to slacken, and Antler gave a sigh of relief. She felt sure that many bison were floundering in the drifts.
She hoped they were not far away from the cave. So she dressed in her fur garments and took a large knife and an ax. And at break of day she set out hoping to find a bison.
But the snow was very deep and Antler could scarcely walk. She was faint from hunger and cold. For a while she struggled through the drifts, but soon her strength failed, and she sank down in the snow.
As Antler lay in the deep drifts, she seemed powerless to move. The thought of the hungry children, however, made her turn to the G.o.ds.
Then the branches of spruce trees seemed to urge her on.
And so Antler took courage and grasping a strong branch of a friendly spruce struggled through the deep snow. She stepped upon the partly buried branches and they helped her on her way.
A bison, floundering in a drift, filled her heart with hope. But when she started toward the bison, Antler sank down once more into the drifts. So again she turned to the friendly trees, and again she reached out to them for aid. And she broke branches from the trees and bound them to her feet.
Starting once more, Antler walked as if on winged feet. She ran over the deep drifts. And since she could hunt as well as the men, she soon had plenty of meat.
As Antler was strapping her load upon her back, she heard a familiar voice. Quickly she turned, and her heart beat fast as she listened to hear it again. And seeing the men struggling through the drifts, she knelt and gave thanks to the G.o.ds.
Soon Antler arose and laid down her load; and breaking a handful of branches, she hurried over the drifts and met the Cave-men.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _A snowshoe._]
When the men saw Antler gliding over the drifts they wondered if it was one of the G.o.ds. Not until Antler spoke were they really sure it was she. And not until she showed them how to tie the branches to their feet did they understand what she had done. And even then they did not know that Antler had invented the snowshoe. Many people worked upon snowshoes before fine snowshoes were made. For when people heard what Antler had done, they tried different ways for themselves.
Of course all the people were glad when Antler returned with the men.
They feasted and told stories all day long. And afterward the children played they were hunters overtaken by a storm, and they made little snowshoes and learned to walk over the drifts.