he earth for many
thousands of years, they have been very slow in learning the secrets of
their treasure house. This is because early men were much like the lower
animals. During all these years their minds have been slowly growing.
Now we can learn and understand many things which our ancestors of long
ago could not.

In habits and appearance the first men that roamed the earth were little
different from the other animals except that they walked upright. When
they had enough to eat and a home safe from enemies, they seemed
perfectly happy and contented.

These early men lived in the same wonderful treasure house as we do, but
they did not know how to make use of its riches. In truth, their wants
were so few that they would have had no use for the things that now seem
so necessary to us. The rich fields about them lay untilled. The gold,
silver, copper, and iron in the earth remained undiscovered; and the
animals and birds that we now use in so many ways then served them
mainly for food.

Since they had no furry coats to keep them warm as do the animals of the
cold regions, and had not learned to make clothing, their homes must
have been in the warm parts of the earth. While they were without
weapons to defend themselves against the lion and tiger, yet they were
sharp witted and very quick in their movements and thus were usually
able to escape their more powerful enemies.

Although these early ancestors of ours seemed so much like the other
animals, they were in reality very different. They had the same keen
senses of sight, hearing, and smell, but they were more intelligent.

When the dog and cat have had enough to eat, they lie down perfectly
happy and contented. But when early men had had enough to eat, they were
often not satisfied. They had other longings which finally led them to
make discoveries about the uses of things around them and how to make
their lives more comfortable.

The little bear cub, for example, as it grows up learns from its mother
just what it should do on all occasions. It learns what its mother knows
and that is all. But among the early people of whom we are speaking the
children not only learned all that their parents knew, but a little
more. In this way each generation of children came to know more about
the world.

Thus after many years had passed people came to understand something of
the wonderful world in which they lived. They were no longer at the
mercy of wild animals, storm