The Lakeland evening telegram., 1914-08-31
CHANGING BACKWARD
BY DANIEL HENRY MORRIS.
lCopyright.l

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 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 howls 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-
spective superiority in encounter.
Heavy reptiles, lizards, and SER
pents, huge alligators progenitors all
Of presentday species, snarled and
fought, confused mass Of living,
moving flesh, none daring to climb
the banks, though the wide riverlake
continued to seethe and hiss from the
war of the elemets.
Lying fiat 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 fours, for this action seemed
to afford her 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 fiat
the infant sheltered and soothed by
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.
Frt
The lightning flashed again, and,
CHANGING to look to the right, she saw
a bead-eyed serpent approaching.
She recognized 1t as one Of the
dreaded "deathers" of the forest,
Scared from It's 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 clos ar
there was shrek, kissing. With
both hands the mother had grasped
the great snake at the neck, dodg.
ing its fangs, and hurled 1t down from
the height
There 1t 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, hugged 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
rsfastened 1t 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 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 a 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 a
growth Of vegetation.
Entering, she drank some water,
using her hands as a cup, after which
she threw herself on some stiffened
skins in a corner.
Soon she was asleep, and her child,
one of the worlds early recipients of
mother-love, was resting on her
breast!
After while, the growth at the en-
trance to the cave was parted and
heavy creature entered.
His face neck and chest were COW
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 heavy,
sharp edged piece of flint was rudely
but securely fastened. In the other
hand he held a 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