The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1916-04-27
PAGE SEVEN

I In Il strange land, and IL did not enter
our minds that we could return to our
own land In che same manner that we
had come.
| We had learned how to cross a river,
though we did not know 1t. And this
was something that no one else OF tho
! folk had ever done. We We're the first
of the folk to set foot on the north
bank of the river, and, for that mat
ter, believe the last. That they
would have done so In the time to
come Is urdoubted. but the migration
of the fire people and the consequent
/ migration of the survivors of the foll
set back our evolution for centuries.
Indeed, there is no telling how disas-
trous was to he the outcome of the Fire
! Peoples migration Personally | am
prone to believe that Il brought about
the destruction of the folk. that we. "a
branch of lower life budding toward
the human, We're nipped short of and
persisted down by the roaring surf
where the river entered the sea. Of
course in such an eventualty re-
main to be accounted for. but out
run my story. and such accounting
will be made before am done.
have no idea how long Lop Ear and
| wandered In the land north of the
| river. We were like mariners wreck
| ed on desert isle, so far as concerned
| the likelihood of our getting home
again. We turned our backs upon the
| river and for weeks and months adj
venturcd In that wilderness where
| there were no folk 1t IL very dill
cult for me to reconstruct our journey
ing and impossible to do 1t from day
to day. Most of 1t is hazy and indis-
tinct, though here and there have
vivid recollections of things that hap
pcned.
Especially do remember the hunger
we endured on the mountains between
Long lake and Far lake and the calf
we caught sleeping in the thicket: also,
there are the Tree People who dwclt in
| the forest between Long lake and tho
mountains. 1t was they who chased
us into the mountains and compelled
| us to travel on to Far lake.
First, after we left the river, we
worked toward the west till we came
to small stream that flowed through
marshands. Here we turned away
toward the north, skirting the marshes,
and after several days arriving mt whnr
| have called Long lake. We spent
some time around its upper end, where
we found food In plenty, and then one
! day I'm the forest we ran foul OF the
| Tree People. These creatures were fe.
rocious apes. nothing more. And yet
| they We're not so different from u.s.
They We're more hairy, II Is true; their
legs were a trife more twisted and
| gnarly. their eyes bit smaller their
necks bit thicker and shorter and
their nostrils slightly more like oriiices
In sunken surface. but they had no
hair on their faces and on the palms
OF their hands and the soles OF their
feet and they made sounds similar to-
ours with somewhat similar meanings.
After all, the Tree People and the folk.
were not so unlike.
found him first, little withcred-
dried up old fellow, wrlnkled faced
and bleary eyed and lottery. He was
legitimate prey. In our world there
was no sympathy between the kinds.
and he was not our kind. He was IA
tree man. and he was very old. HG
was sitting at the foot of tree-evf-
IDENTIFY his tree, for we could see the
tattered nest I'm the branches in which
4 he slept mt night.
| | pointed him out to Lop Ear, and
we made rush for him. He started,
to climb. but was too slow. | caught
him by the leg and dragged him back.
Then we had fun. We pinched him..
pulled his hair. tweaked his ears md
poked twigs into him, and all tho
while we laughed with streaming eyes.
His futile anger was most absurd. He
was n comical sight, striving to fpnN
into fame the cold ashes of his youth.
to resurrect his strength dead ana {
| gone through the OOZing of the years
making woeful faces IN place OF the
fcrocious ones he intended, grinding
his worn teeth together beating his
meagcr chest with feeble lists
| Also he had cough, and he easped
und hacked and spluttercd predigio,Es-
~. Every time he tried to climb the
tree we pulled him back untf1 at last
he surrendered to his weakness ana
did no more than sit and weep. And
Lop Ear and | sat with him. our arms
around each other. and laughed at his
wretchedness.
From weeping he went to whining
and from whining to wailing until at
last he achieved n scream. This
alarmed us. but the more we tried to
make him cease the louder he scream
ed And then from not far away i'm
the forest came Cock! Cock" to
our ears. To this there were answer
ing cries, several Of them and from
very far off we could hear big bass
Cock! Cock! Cock Also the "Whoo-
whoor' call was rising In the forest
all around us.
Then came the chase. 1t seemed II
never would end. They raced us
through the trees, the whole tribe of