e children learned
to catch them in traps. They learned to loosen the bark of a tree
without breaking it except along one edge. They used the bark as a
leadway to a trap which they set near a marmot's hole. After placing
the noose inside the bark, they fastened it to a bent sapling.

[Illustration: "_So it ran along and nibbled the bait until its sharp
teeth cut the cord._"]

When the children went to the trap, they clapped their hands and
shouted. Then they took the marmot out of the trap and carried it to
the cave. And they made a great noise when Bighorn said, "You will
soon be very good trappers."

Then the children wanted to catch another marmot, so Antler went with
them and showed them how the trap worked. The marmot coming out of his
hole smelled the bait on the string. So it ran along and nibbled the
bait until its sharp teeth cut the cord. Then the sapling sprang up
and jerked the snare upward. And the weight of the marmot, pulling
downward, drew the slipknot tight.

#THINGS TO DO#

_Tie a slipknot at one end of a string, and show how to set it for
snaring birds. Show how to set it for snaring rabbits. Find a
hollow stick or a bone to protect the snare from the rabbit's
teeth. Show how the marmot trap was set._

_Tell how you catch mice. Tell how you catch flies._

_What animals do you know that sleep during the winter? How can
they live so long without eating?_

_Draw one of these pictures:_--
_Snowflake finds a reindeer caught in the vines._
_Antler teaches the children to set traps._

_Model a marmot in clay._

_Name all the animals you know that burrow in the ground. Watch one
of them and find out what it does._

XXI

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Why would the Cave-men be apt to lose many spears and javelins?

How could they keep from losing the shafts?

Can you think of how they might find a way of saving their
spearheads?

Find a picture of a barbed spearhead. Why did people begin to make
barbs?

_How Spears were Changed into Harpoons_

None of the clans could make better weapons than the men of the Bison
clan. Since boyhood, Greybeard had been known for his delicate spear
points and knives. No workshop in all the valley was better known than
his. But even Greybeard's weapons sometimes were known to fail. Even
his spear points sometimes were lost in the chase.

For several days