The Washington herald., 1916-12-06

From the prehistoric man in his smoky
cave to the city cave dweller OF today
Is indeed a far cry. but the contrast be-
tween the two men, however striking It
appears, is not as impressive as the diff
ference In the creature comforts Of primal
man and his latest descendant. Man
through the ages has had brains or skill
to devise many schemes to make his life
safer. These makeshifts we today call
creature comforts.
In no direction has the progress of evo-
luton been greater than in the means and
devices used for lighting and heating
dwelling places and for preparing daily
food.
I Philosophers tell US that the original
ancestors Of present day warriors and
pacifists roamed through the world In
groups. Their movements were actuated
by much the same causes as govern the
migrations of fowls and animals-the ne
cessity Of adapting life to climatic
changes.
This original globe trotter early decided
to have one central place in which fire for
a whole community was preserved and set
apart certain men or women as priests
or vestals to guard and perpetuate the
holy, valuable fame for the entire tribe.
Probably before this step. however, man
discovered that by friction Of wood
against wood or of stone against stone or
iron, fire could be artificially created.
Note, please, that in the friction OF wood
against wood in the so-called stick and
groove method, there existed very
ancient ancestor of the humble match.
which bears a chemical head merely to
shorten the time of Fiction.
The friction method Of securing fire
was however, ultimately reserved for the
fire vestals, and early man undoubtedly
got his fire from the central temple
when he was close enough to make this
easier than generating his own blaze
This origin explains the fact that many
of the early races of man were fire wor-
shippers.
The First Roast Pig.
Many of US recall the amusing story in
our school readers of the discovery OF
roast pig by a Chinaman. whose dwelling
place was burned during his absence,
and. with It. all Of his swine, and of the
consequent deliberate arson Of dwellings
by his neighbors who thought that was
the only way to secure the scorched food.
Many other legends account for mans
discovering that FIRE under control, good
for his body, was likewise good for his
food
These stories all emphasize his Joy in
the discovery, though this Joy must often
have been tempered even in those early
days, by the realization that the female
Of the species had burned his breakfast!
The first cooking probably consisted in
holding meat over the flame, though the
expedient Of a roasting stick or spit was
soon hit upon. This artifce. with the
later development of q pit in the ground
filed with live Goals, survives to this day
in the old-fashioned barbecue. Any one
who has sampled a piece Of meat barbe-
cued by a well-trained Southern darkey
doesn't need to have the reason for the
I IL HA
method Is crude, the result Is toothsome.
Continuing to experiment, our first chef
learned that by filling a hole in the
ground or a followed log with water and
dropping hot stones in with his food. the
latter could be boiled. After the discov-
cry of pottery, the work Of heating the
stones was eliminated by placing the pot
over the hre.
The First oven and Pancakes.
Next he learned to bake. probably by
building a FIRE in a hole. and on the Goals
putting his food, wrapped In leaves or
| the Ike and covering the hole in such
way as to confine the heat Such was the
first oven. Remote man also used fiat
stone brought to an intense heat in the
fire and cooked on it a thin batter made
from the pulverized roots or grain. much
as the Arizona Indians do today. This
was the first bread or pancakes. the fore
runners by thousands Of years of the
modern breakfast Of cakes and maple
| syrup.
The nat stone in the open air lost its
heat quickly and the first user soon tried
covering 1t. At first he used an animal
skin and later some of his pottery. there
! by inventing the first artificial oven and
discovering the principle of the much
advertised fireless cooker of today.
From the central fire built on the
ground in the cave, there finally de-
veloped the fireplace-not the fireplace
as we know it. but a fireplace built on
stones Or bricks in the center of the
room No chimneys were provided and
smoke found its way out by means OF
the caves and later through special
opening in the roof called louver
Around this fireplace the cooking was
done, the roast being placed on frame,
turned by the cook Or his helpers. and
the pots being hung on a bar which
was at first supported by uprights and
later laid across from one andiron to the
other.
For hundreds of years. in the great
baronial halls of Europe the cooking
for the retainers who were styled hearth
men, as well as for the lord and his
family, was thus centrally managed and
they all ate at one common board, much
as pictured by Scout IN lVdnnoe
Arrival of the Dutch oven.
When dwellings, came to be more than
one story, the fireplace was moved to one
side, at first covered with a hood to
gather and conduct away the smoke,
and later recessed in the wall, when
the hood was discarded. With the fire.
place at one side came the Dutch oven.
placed next to the fire. Then some
genius tried the experiment Of building
in ovens Of brick in connection with the
fireplace and chimney.
While this was a long step forward.
1t was taken in comparatively recent
! times and a few of these old ovens sur
vive in New England farmhouses of the
older periods. Many Of them can be
found in use today in Europe or rather
! could be found before the 42-centimeters
began shooting up the sky line.
Such ovens, while wasteful Of fuel and
/ tedious of operation. constituted mans
best answer to the problem Of heating
his home and cooking his food until GER
tain Americans landed upon the planet.
First our illustrious Franklin invented
a heater which in modified form is in
use today. Later Count Rumford in
vented the precursor of the modern wood
and coal range. AS we should view It
kAla A,,H