Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1916-05-10

thought symbols. These thought sym
bols were yet to be slowly and pain
fully invented.
We tried to freight sound with the
vague thoughts that fitted like shad
Ows through our consciousness. The
Hairless One began to chatter loudly
By his noises he expressed anger
against Red Eye and desire to hurt Rec
Eye Thus far he got, and thus far we
understood. But when he tried to eX
press the cooperative impulse that stir
red within him his noises became glib
berish Then Big Face, with brow
bristling and chest pounding, began t.
chatter One after another of us join
ed in the orgy of rage, until even ole
Marrow Bone was mumbling and Splut
tering with his cracked voice and with
cred lips. Some one seized stick and
began pounding a log. In a moment
he had struck a rhythm. Unconscious
ly our yellS and EXPLANATIONS yielded t.
this rhythm. 1t had soothing effec;
upon us, and before we knew it. our
rage forgotten, we were in the full
swing of a heehee council.
These heehee councils splendidly il
lustrate the inconsecutiveness and in
consequentiality of the folk Here
were we, drawn together by mutua
rage and the impulse toward co-opera-
ton, led off into forgetfulness by tn;
establishment of rude rhythm. We
were sOciabe and gregarious. anC
these singing and laughing council;
satisfied us. In ways the heehee cOun
ell was an adumbratiOn of the coun
ellis of primitive man and of the grea
national assemblies and internatiOna
conventions of latter day man. But we
folk of the younger world lacke'
speech. and whenever we were Sc
drawn together we precipitated babel
out of which arose q unan1mlty
rhythm that contained within itself til;
essentials of art yet to come. 1t Wa
art naScent.
There was nothing long continued
about these rhythms that we struck
A rhythm was soon lost, and pande
monium reigned until we could fine
the rhythm again or start a new one
Sometimes half a dozen rhythm
would be swinging simultaneously
each rhythm backed by a group tina
strove ardently to drown out the othe'
rhythms.
In the intervals of pandemOniuD
each chartered. cut up. booted. Screech
ed and danced. himself sufficient unto
himself. filled with his own ideas anC
vOlitions to the exclusion Of all others
a veritable center of the universe, q,
vOrced for the time being from an
unanimity with the other universe
centers leaping and yelling around
him. Then would come the rhythm-a
clapping of hands, the beating OF q
stick upon log. the example of One
that leaped with repetitions or the
chanting of one that uttered. explosive
" and regularly. with injection that
rose and fell: "A-bang. a-bang! A-bang
a-bangv One after another of the
self conferred folk would yield to it.
and soon all would be dancing or
chanting in chorus. "Ea-ah. ha-ah
ha-ah-haw was one of our favOrite
choruses. and another was. "Eh-wah
eh-wah. eh-wah-hah!'
And 50. with mad antics, leaping
reeling and overbalancing we danced
and sang in the somber twilight of the
primeval world inducing fOrgetful
ness. achieving unanimity and work
ing ourselves up into sensuOus from
w. And 50 it was that our rage
against Red Eye was soothed away bv
art. and we screamed the wild
chOruses of the hee-hea council until
the night warned Us of its terrors. and
we crept away to our holes in the
rocks. calling softly to one another.
while the stars came out and darkness
settled down.
We were afraid only of the dark
We had no germs of religion, no con
ceptions of an unseen world. We
knew only the real world, and the
things we feared were the real things
the concrete dangers, the flesh and
blood animals that preyed. 1t was
they that made rs afraid of the dark