The mouth of the wide ravine where Hammer had found the first red-pronged rock, near a blasted and hollow tree trunk, faced the village squarely, and, fortunately for him, there also stood near an almost square boulder of the hardest stone, of about half its height, which served him as an anvil. Such another rock it would be hard to find in a convenient locality, and we had seen none like it in the beech wood or in the ravine of the two rocks on which we had been working. It would cost labour to transport the metal from the wood to the village, but, once it was there, it would be where we could most easily convert it into weapons. We would be near the village and all its conveniences, and, besides, we would be where those would come who wished to barter, as we knew they must in time. Little traffic had there been between the tribes, however friendly they might be, at any time, for the things possessed were very much alike and, besides, the bartering was something new. Our ancestors did not barter. They took what they wanted or, if not strong enough, must go without it. Relations had changed, and now men were engaged in fighting each other only part of the time. Now a new reason for trade had come, and we felt its importance and its promise. So it was resolved between us that the forging should be done in the ravine facing the village, and the copper brought from where we had found it in the wood. We could use our little horses. It is hard to tell how great was the excitement in the village when we showed what we had with us, and the news of our discovery went about.