tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">41

HOW WE ARE FED

THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

Long, long ago people did not live as we do to-day. Their homes were very different from ours, for they were made of the skins of wild animals, of the limbs and bark of trees, or of tall grasses. There were no stoves, chairs, tables, or beds in their houses. Instead of lamps, gas, or electricity, a fire on the dirt floor or in front of the house, furnished the light.

The clothing of these people was as simple as their homes. It was made of skins and furs in cold countries and in warm countries of braided grasses and the fibers of certain plants. You may be sure that tailors and dressmakers were not consulted as to the latest styles, for the styles did not change and there were neither tailors nor dressmakers to talk to. Each family made its own clothing, and there was not a sewing machine to be found.

How would you like to use a bone for a needle? Sometimes, instead of sharpened bones, long thorns were used. The sinews of the deer, or of some other animal, usually furnished the thread.

When the people were in need of food, they went into the forest and gathered roots, nuts, and fruits. Wild animals were killed by means of such weapons as bows and arrows and spears, and fish were caught in the lakes and streams.

The food was not cooked as ours is; for, as I have told you, there were no stoves. Sometimes the meat was broiled over the fire, sometimes