Evolution of American Agriculture/Chapter I
The Evolution of
American Agriculture
By Abner E. Woodruff, C.E.
CHAPTER I.
AND THE day came when the
"ancestor" of man swung himself down from the branches of the
trees, where he had previously dwelt, and walked upright on the earth.
We may never know just when that wonderful event occurred. Time and many earthly changes have so obscured and buried the evidence that, though our scientists delve and dig with ceaseless energy and painstaking care, they must yet resort to physical analogies for proof of the
In the realm of Biology, the validity of the Law of Evolution cannot well be questioned, and we are quite justified in any attempt we may make to reconstruct that romantic period when the hairy denizens of the tree tops went through those changes that finally developed a creature bold enough to descend upon the ground, club in hand, and battle with the carnivorous beasts for the coveted right to live. We may well picture the first tree dweller that developed the human thumb—the thumb set so far forward on the hand and of such length that it could be opposed to the other fingers—and imagine the advantages he possessed over his fellows amid the leafy canopies. We may see him plucking the fruits and nuts with greater dexterity; swinging from limb to limb with greater certainty of grasp; clutching at the throat of his adversary with a deadlier grip; striking with the fist instead of slapping with an open paw; and, for the first time wielding a club in the enforcement of his developing will. How formidable this human handed tree dweller must have been to the other inhabitants of the forest! And how wonderful that provision of nature which transmitted the thumb on down the line of his descendants!
The law of claw and fang decided disputes among the tree dwellers and, most of all, it decided the question of mating. The human-handed one, by reason of his greater ability to fight—through a better courage, generated by a consciousness of physical superiority—compelled the reproducton of his type through the more perfect females of his kind.
Some have said that hunger first drove the developing "man" to forsake the trees and seek his food upon the ground, but I incline to the belief that the greater range of experiences possible to the human-handed one so developed his mental faculties, so increased his courage, that his first excursions afield were the result of experiment, the product of pure daring, and in the nature of adventure. I like to imagine that first foray into the formerly forbidden realm—the hesitating progress outward from the shadows, club in hand—the savage dash of the wild dog—the sure swing of the weapon—the crash of wood on flesh—the yelp—the angry snarl—the crash again—blow on blow—the savage shrieks—the howls of pain—the panic stricken flight of the dog—and the new "man," bleeding, bellowing in his fury, brandishing his club, but victorious—master of the scene.
From encounter to encounter man went, contending for every inch of his progress. Gradually he became more erect upon his hips; his feet and legs changed to conform to his new environment; the set of the head upon the spinal column changed; the brain-pan enlarged; the brain developed; the infinity of new experiences produced a higher intelligence and man become truly man. At first he dwelt in caves, from which he drove the wolf and bear. He lived on fruits and nuts and roots and berries; on birds and small wild creatures which he caught with greatest cunning. Then he discovered fire and later, the art of cookery.
Wonderful! Wonderful was the discovery of fire! It is the turning point in prehistoric life. It set man completely apart from the balance of animated nature. It divorced him from the beasts and pointed the way to the conquest of the Earth. It extended his hunting grounds to the rivers, lakes and seas—for now, through cookery, he could safely eat the fish. It broadened his range of travel and robbed the winter of its frigid terrors. No wonder he worshiped the fire! Around it they gathered to prepare their food, to bask in its warmth, to moon and dream of their adventures, to counsel with their fellows, and weave fantastic notions that finally resolved themselves into the rudiments of religion.
How precious was the fire! It must not be lost! At first the aged, the young, the crippled, guarded the sacred flames; but later this duty devolved upon the woman. In the last period of her pregnancy and while the child was too young to be carried about, the woman kept the holy vigil. A natural conservator, she readily took charge of what was brought to the fire, and presently assumed command of those who came to the fire. Woman was master, and through her was born the institution of the family. Through her also was born herding, for the wounded kid, healed by her hand, became the domesticated goat and fed about the slopes near the cave under her watchful care.
In her hours of leisure she wandered by the brook and gathered the plants that she knew were good to eat. One day she pulled the weeds and grasses from around a plant that she hoped to gather later, when it should be full grown and edible. By this act Agriculture was born, and for ages following woman was the agriculturist.
So long did woman till the soil with pointed stick and stone hoe and man hurl the spear and draw the bow that a difference in the structure of male and female shoulder blades resulted, and today a woman cannot hurl a stone with any kind of precision. The memory of these ages when woman was the agriculturist comes down to us from barbaric, through historic times, for all the ancient gods of agriculture had female names and feminine attributes. All Hail—Agriculture! But better, All Hail—Woman! Woman, who has brought us the best that civilization can afford!
NO WONDER HE WORSHIPPED FIRE