The Red Cloud chief., 1878-06-06

In tho winter Of 1853, n happened
that the waters Of the Lake of Zurich
sank lower than they had ever been
known 10 do before; and the people Of
Of MieIen. who had seized this opportu.
nifty Of completing some building along
the shore. made the discovery that here
too, were mer old sharpencd
stskes. ~ we'll ~ pottery and articles
made of tone and bone. The news soon
reached tho ear Of the scientific world.
and much zeal Was shown In exploring
the bottom 1T this and the other lakes
of Switzerland; and the result was that
much light was thrown upon the pile
building period" ~ the German scicn-
lists have named II. an < which dates
back more than 1900 years before the
dawn Of history, and had until now been
completely hidden from us. More and
more discoveries were made. A. soon
~ the dwellings of that time had been
reconstructed by no means an arduous
task-thc domestic utensils and hunt.
Ing weapons. and the remains ~ plants
and animals. all seemed ~ find their
proper places. No doubt remained. as
to the manner Of life led by these ancient
people. and although W. may have no
positive assurance ns Ia their name. we
are able to divide the time Of their eY.
istence into three well-defned ages,
called respectively the Stone Age,
Bronze Age, and Iron Age. according 10
the materials of which their weapons
and implements were successfully made.
The Stone Age, Of course, was the ear.
Hest; the Bronze age showed some adj
vance In civilization; and with the Iron
Age we come Ia the time Of the Ro-
mans.
All the lakes have yielded more re-
mains Of the Stone Age than either Of
the others; but all three periods may be
best studied at N%euchatel. BY degrees,
whole sets Of such things ~ went Ia
make up the furniture Of q pile-dwel-
ling were recovered. and are now Ia be-
seen displayed In the museums Of vari-
Gus Swiss towns. There are stone
hatchets and hammers, spears and
darts, all made either Of flint, scrpen-
tine, rock-crystal. chalcedony, or Jas.
per. and sometimes V g Of rare stones;
there are implements made Of bone,
clubs Of stays horn. daggers of bone.
fish-hooks make Of the claws and tusks
Of the wild boar, needles. primitive or
namcnts for the throat and hair. part of
u spindle, w n bundle Of flax, yarn
for weaving, woven stuff. and netting
OF various kinds. To complete the pic
ture some ten different kinds Of cereals
have been found, various sorts of pulse,
bits Of apple, cherries and raspbcrrics.
all OF which having been turned into
charcoal. are perfectly well preserved.
Both the fauna and flora Of the period
have been accurately determined. and
from the bones found in huge quantities
around the piles II seems that the ene-
mics and friends Of man In those days
were the bear. urus. bison. wild.goat,
fox, wolf. horse, pig. cat, p~ole-cat, do
nestle cattle, and many others besides.
But the men of those days must have
had y hard battle for existence with the
rough rude elements, the wild beasts,
and tho hostile tribes ION the other side
Ut the mountains" II was probably
their fear Of the latter. together with
the marshy state Of the soil on the shore,
which induced them to build their dwell.
ngs over h waters of the lake. There
Soutu uot uuNO Dctu ulucn enjoyment
OF life; there could have been no light
hearted laughter, no sound Of singing.
~ tho lake-dweller In his canoe glided
over the waters for the purpose vi fish
ing, or went To the shore either to take
game or to pursue the wearisome labor
Of cutting down wood with his flint axe.
The thin. walls Of his wooden hut af-
forded him very slender protection
against the frequent damp fogs arising
from the icy glaciers and all the hor.
rors OF a long winter, In spite Of having
built his dwelling close up against those
Of his neighbors, In spite Of his having
filled up the crevices with moss and clay,
and In spite, too, Of his having covered
the roof with u matching Of pine
branches. There must have been q
good deal Of wind and plenty Of thor
ough drSughts, and. in fact. a. says the
poet:
THE ancient history Of Europe must
have begun with colds. tOothache, and