From Monkey to Man, or, Society in the Tertiary Age: A Story of the Missing Link, Showing the First Steps in Industry, Commerce, Government, Religion and the Arts; With an Account of the Great Expedition From Cocoanut Hill and the Wars in Alligator SwampBierbower, Austin
Science
From Monkey to Man, or, Society in the Tertiary Age: A Story of the Missing Link, Showing the First Steps in Industry, Commerce, Government, Religion and the Arts; With an Account of the Great Expedition From Cocoanut Hill and the Wars in Alligator Swamp
Bierbower, Austin
Prehistoric peoples -- Fiction
At last Ilo, recovering from his wound, but not his rage, rushed again to
the field, (impelled also by Sosee), and, seeing the advance of Pounder,
which drove the Apes before him, met him with a stone, (which reaches
further than an ape’s arm). Forth into the air, like Iris from the
command of Jove, rushed this messenger of wrath, and, singing a battle
cry as it went, it struck Pounder in the breast; when out went his breath
and up went his feet—but only for awhile. Pounder arose again, but, being
unable to fight, was carried back by his comrades; and again the fight
went on without him, to his great disappointment.
The Apes, encouraged by the arrest of the flood of death, now returned to
the field, and everywhere were single fights. Stones, cocoanuts, gourds
and bones flew through the air. Cries and groans mingled with growls, and
which was man and which was monkey could not be discerned in the battle.
Finger-at-his-nose, an ape from the shores lying to the south, where his
ancestors fished for crabs with their tails, and made mighty grimaces
while waiting for a bite, scraped the face of Stretch-mouth with a shell,
and was put to flight with a club in hands of Abroo; and, as he ran a
shower of stones followed him, and he thought the crabs of all the Swamp
were pulling at him.
Then High-climber, who was quick to look around and unfriendly to
mosquitos, advanced from among the Apes with a cocoanut in his hand. This
cocoanut he had pulled in a dense grove at sunset and hid at the foot of
a palm, where a buzzard was feeding on an aurochs. The buzzard dug it
up and carried it to a mountain crag, where Imko, finding it, brought
it to the camp of the Lali. There High-climber, seeing it, again took
possession of it and slew Imko the supposed thief. With this cocoanut,
High-climber, aiming at the head of Frog-catcher, struck him where the
nose separates the eyes, like the mountains of Caucasus between two great
seas. Frog-catcher fell and one less Ammi was left to propagate the new
race.
Then Watch-the-Girls, furious with rage, rushed forth, and, with a sharp
stone and loud shout, mixed in the fight. Ape after ape fell before her,
wounded or scared. Like a she-wolf tearing the fold she ran about dealing
destruction, while the timid flock fled on all sides, or gathered in
groups too frightened to flee. One, Bushy-face thought to resist her,
and, turning, aimed a dart at her bright eye. But, too dazzled or too
terrified to aim, he missed his mark, when, from the same eye, she sent
a dart of defiance and from her hand a stone. Both struck the eye which
aimed the first blow, and back went retribution on the wrong intended.
Down sank Bushy-face in darkness, and away went all things from his view.
To the world the monkey was no more, and to the monkey the world was no
more; and which was destroyed has never been settled between them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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