But however the invention of the bow and arrow came about, it was one of the most important steps taken by early man. He was now able to kill his enemies, his game, at a distance. As he learned to use his new weapon, he slowly found out the best kinds of wood to make it from, picking out those which were tough, strong and elastic. Not being able to cut down large trees and saw them into strips, he was forced to make use of small saplings, cut in the forests. He soon found out that these saplings, when green, were not hard and elastic; he had learned this in making his spear shafts. But when such saplings had been dried for many days before the fire, they became fit to use. Then he would scrape off the bark with a stone knife, make notches at each end, to hold the bow-string in place, and cut down the thicker end of the sapling until both ends of his bow were of the same size. For his arrows he used thin strong reeds at first, but later on made them of seasoned saplings too, using a smaller size. He knew, from making spears and javelins, how to fix at the end of the arrow a stone point, or a head of sharp bone, but he found out very soon that the arrows would not fly straight unless they had a bit of feather, or a tuft of grass fastened to their ends. It may be that these feathers were first fastened to the ends of the arrows as ornaments, just as they had been fastened to the shafts of spears, but when the cave men found that they would make their arrows fly straighter, they used them for that purpose. The bow and arrow made it much easier for the cave dwellers to get food, and in those days, the getting of food was the chief object of their lives. Always there stood before them the fear of hunger. They had not felt this fear, when the days were all pleasant and warm, and there was plenty of fruit and nuts and game, but when the cold came, and food was scarce, the hunter who could bring back the most food became a very important man in his tribe. So the cave men tried very hard to become skilful in the use of their new weapon. With fire to keep them warm, caves to keep out the cold and rain, and the bow and arrow to help them get food, they became stronger and more fearless all the time. But the tribe in the valley had grown so large that there was no longer food enough for all near at hand, and soon parties in search of game began to wander farther and farther away from the valley, building huts of brush in the forests beyond the hills, or digging caves in the earth to protect them from the storms. Mother Nature, who was watching the doings of her children very carefully, saw that the valley was getting too full, and began to make plans to find a new home for some of her people. "How will you do it?" asked the Sun, to whom she had spoken of her plan. "Watch carefully," Mother Nature replied, "and you will see." CHAPTER XIV KA-MA THE TRAVELLER