Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1914-11-03
CHANGING BACKWARD
BY DANIEL HENRY MORRIS.



swampland, murky rivers. streams.
roughly hewn mountains and cliffs,
spread across the continent.
Frequent storms disturbed the
strange creatures in their lairs and
pastimes.
The mammoth, long-haired and ivory
tusked. pressed his huge body against
the side of a cliff and beneath the
sheltering branches of thick growths
overhead.
The giant dinosaur and others Of
his ilk stretched their great heads up
ward with questioning glances, and
sent forth bowls as of ten thousand
viols at the interruptions,
The wide river-lake foamed and
churned, disclosing dark green and
black creatures. scaled and loath-
some. swimming, diving, and. even
amid all the turmoil, seeking the prey
that was powerless against their re-
spectiye superiority in encounter.
Heavy reptiles, lizards, and SER
penis. huge alligators, progenitors all
VI PiOoChl-udy oPOCiCS, 5lldIICu dlu
fought, a confused mass of living,
moving flesh, none daring to climb
the banks, though the wide river-lake
continued to seethe and hiss from the
war of the elemets
Lying fat on high precipice above
this large body of water, creature
was seen-a female.
More monkey than human, her long,
matted hair partly covered her back,
face and breast. Quite upright she
walked at times as she changed her
position at the crest of the cliff; oc-
casionally, however, she would sink
to all tours, for this action seemed
to afford her a certain degree of rest.
When the fury of the storm broke,
the creature, with her babe fastened
to her back, defied the efforts of the
"upper-gods" that sought to thus sep
arate the mother from her offspring.
She raised her hairy hand high in
the air and gave vent to howls of
rage. Having arrived, however, at
the edge of the precipice, she lay fat,
thC ihldDb ohCllCiSu anu SOOInCu ny
the warmth of her body and thick
hair
In the flashes of the forked light
ming she peered downward at the riv-
er-lake, and an expression of fear
came into her eyes. Closer she pressed
her body to her infant and grunted
The lightning flashed again, and,
CHANGING to look to the right, she saw
bead-eyed serpent approaching.
She recognized it as one of the
dreaded "deathers" of the forest.
Scared from its lair by falling tree,
1t had sailed forth.
Terror crept into her eyes now, but
she made no sound, only stared,
stared-and her eye-teeth glistened in
the lightning-light The writhing
thing crawled closer and closer
there was shrek, kissing With
both hands the mother had grasped
the great snake at the neck, dodg-
ing its fangs, and hurled It down from
the height
There it was set upon by a huge
water-serpent that swallowed 1t whole,
and then sank to the depths of the
water to digest in comfort the large
morsel
The mother now wiped the hairless,
weather-beaten patches Of her face
with her hair, Rugged her offspring
close to her breast, then lay fiat again
awaiting the ceasing of the storm
Soon night gave place to day-the
hot sun poured through the fast-dis-
appearing mist-and the creature fed
to the forest beside the cliff. There
she nursed her child, after which she
refastened it to her back by a strip
of softened hide, and then, prompted
by the agony of hunger, she pursued,
overlook, and with a heavy stone
killed a young ure-ox that had been
separated from the herd.
With the aid of long, sharp piece
of flint, carried at her waist on a
strip of hide, she cut piece of meat,
which she tore with her teeth, swal-
lowing the smaller pieces and suck
ing the nourishment from the larger.
Thence she continued on her way
to cave that was hidden behind
growth of vegetation.
Entering, she drank some water.
using her hands as cup, after which
she threw herself on some stiffened
skins in corner
Soon she was asleep, and her child,
one of the worlds early recipients of
mother-love, was resting on her
breasti
After a while. the growth at the en-
trance to the cave was parted, and a
heavy creature entered.
His face, neck and chest were Gov
cred with hair About his waist and
covering his thighs was a piece Of
softened hide.
In one hand he carried a massive
club, at the end of which a heavy,
sharp-edged piece of flint was rudely
but securely fastened. In the other
hand he held piece of dark. blood
soaked meat.
In the dim light, to which his eyes
had long since become accustomed.
he glanced at the female and child
with evident satisfaction and grunted
loudly.
She awakened, instinctively assum-
ing a position of defense, then she
grunted-soft unintelligible sounds