If ili«i-oviTiTs I'tiiitiiiiio til iiiifiirth tin- primitivi* hixtory «if 

 man, it looks nx if it will lu> foutul tlint the wooil n;;!* antodntod 

 Iho stone a;!c, or wa» coeval with it. At ntiy rate, the liieroKlyphivK 

 »( Kjivpt ami tlie istanipeil hrirks of Me»iio|>otniiiia iiro recent, com- 

 pared with the evidenced of human rulttiro ilidcovercil in France. 

 \a intcrv8tin|; point in thoiie diHcoverie.s is that man wnN usiii;; 

 wooil in the affairx of daily life during; the time when nmch of 

 Europi- wa.s covered with ice. 



The people who lived in the Kbone valley at that time were 

 called upon to defend themselves n^inst tho woolly elephant, the 

 two horned rhinocero.s, lion, rave bear, and other hu^o animals Ion); 

 a|jo extinct, aud they also warred on the elk, hutTalo, wolf and 

 horse, and it has been ilisrovereil that the man used weapons 

 wholly or partly of wood, iustenil of, or else in conjunction with 

 the stone mauls which have been erroneously assumed to be the 

 only weapons in use then. They shot arrows, and, of course, had 

 bows, anil probably spears with wooden shafts. 



There is abundant /.'eolo^ioal proof that the period was from 

 -0,000 to 30,000 years aiio, ami there is |>ictorial evidence of the 

 abundant use of wood for the weapons named. The evidence is 

 the interesting part, and it is of recent discovery. 



Explorations have been in progress for some time of caves iu 

 Prance, Switzerland, and of other parts of Europe, which were the 

 homes of prehistoric man; but some of the most interesting finds 

 have been made near Tarascon, France. 



Caverns which hail long been closed by debris have been opeucd 

 and explored. Some of them were found remarkably rich in 

 sculpture and paintings. The walls in some instances are covered 

 with pictures of animals now extinct in that region. Many of the 

 animals are shown with arrows in their sides, and evidently rep- 

 resent hunting scenes. One buffalo in particular has been struck 

 by four arrows, two of which are painted red. 



The remote period in which the pictures %vere made gives them 

 peculiar interest. So far as known, no other pictures, drawings 

 or relics of half that antiquity show the use of wood by man. 

 The date of his first employment of wood is pushed back from 

 10,000 to 20,000 years farther than formerly supposed. 



The evidence there and elsewhere further shows that the human 

 inhabitants of that remote time were far more highly cultured 

 than anyone had supposed possible in a period so early. There 

 were artists of no mean ability among them. The drawings of some 

 of the animals are decidedly spirited. .\n important point is that 

 the colors were laid on with brushes. Hence, they must have 

 used bandies of some sort for their brushes, and in all probability 

 the handles were made of wood. The pictures and drawings show 

 much, but they suggest much more than they actually show. Two 

 wood-using industries of the present day are traced back two 

 hundred or three hundred centuries — the making of handles and 

 the making of weapons. The quantity used then, is, of course, 

 unknown; but it must have been considerable. Men must have 

 been well supplied with weapons to have held their ground against 

 the strong and savage animals which were abundant in the region 

 then. The bones of the animals are found in the caves, in the 

 very presence of the pictures on the walls which tell the story 

 of man's conquest over them. The artist carved figures on the 

 teeth and horns of monsters which, not improbably, he killed with 

 ash-handled spears and, dogwood arrows. 



The caverns furnished the protection against the elements to 

 which is due the excellent preservation of man 's work. All out- 

 side the caves were destroyed long ago, except in a few 

 instances where human skulls and other parts of the skeleton have 

 been found under deep deposits of gravel and earth. Some of 

 these show that the human skeletons were in jdace before the 

 last visit of the glacial sheet. The skulls of those prehistoric 

 people bear evidence that man has made some advancement since 

 that day. The heavy underjaw betokens strength and determina- 



tion. These were the qualities needed to enable tho men of that 

 lime to hold their ground in a region filled with enormous buastB. 

 Men far enough ndvnuced in the arts to be able to turn wowl 

 to account were doubtlcHs well along in some other things. Their 

 paintings an- not tho only proof of it. The caves have furninhed 

 evidence, if not proof, that the art of writing was known in 

 France a hundred centuries before tho date of the first trace of 

 letters along the Nile and the Kuphrates. It beginn to look n 

 if the dawn of human culture was in the foreiit, not in the opon 

 country as some havo supposed. .\ well-known historian hax 

 spoken of Cireece's civilization as a "miracle," because it blazed 

 forth in full maturity without any known preparatory stages. 

 That miracle may yet bo explained. In the caves of France, ap 

 parently contemporaneous with the pictures on the walls. Writing 

 has been found, some carved on horn, others painted on pebbles. 

 .'Scholars have declared that some of the characters are so similar 

 to Greek and a.'tsociated letters that the coincidence could not pos 

 sibly have been accidental. It may, therefore, be found out upon 

 further investigation that (ireece's culture did not "suddenly blaze 

 forth," but began ten tliou.sand years before in the forests of 

 western Kurope among people who could write, who could handle 

 tools, who could draw and paint, and who were users of wood. These 

 men were doubtless forest dwellers, and they lived in constant danger 

 of strong and fierce animals, and it is reasonable to suppose that logo 

 were used to barricade the entrances of their cave-dwellings aKainst 

 the attacks of carniverous beasts about them. 



Investigating Export Lumber 



Hakdwood Rkcohi) has pnvionsly mentioned the work undertaken 

 by the Department of Commerce for the purpose of investigating 

 markets for American lumber and other fore.'t products in the 

 Orient and in South America. Koger U. Simmons, who has charge 

 of the work in South America, spent part of last week in Chicago in 

 consultation with lumbermen, furniture makers, veneer manufac- 

 turers, and others who expect to push their sales in that region. 

 From here he went to the Pacific coast, where he will spend a short 

 time studying the situation in that region. 



All countries in South .\merica will be visited, beginning with 

 the west coast in Ecuador. The purpose is to ascertain the various 

 uses to which American lumber is put; and, to make this investiga- 

 tion thorough, Mr. Simmons will go inland and observe the actual 

 use of the wood. That will give an opportunity to stuily the chances 

 of increasing sales along present lines and to suggest other lines 

 which may be developed. Prices will be investigated, together with 

 transportation charges and methods of transportation. The subject 

 of credits and banking and of other financial matters will be given 

 careful attention, so far as they concern American trade. Being 

 on the ground, and in actual contact with the users of wood, it will 

 be easy to look into the matter of competition with native woods 

 or with those imported from countries other than the United States. 



Lumber will be only one of the items to be considered. Finished 

 products, particularly furniture and veneers, will occupy an im- 

 portant place in the investigation. It is well known that the export 

 of h.ardwoods to the countries south of us is principally in the form 

 of finished commodities like furniture, house trim, vehicles, farm 

 machinery, cooperage, and boxes. 



The principal obstacles in the way of the speedy success of this 

 investigation is the uncertainty of travel. Shipping schedules to 

 South America are badly disorganized at this time on account of 

 the war, and the traveler who goes to those parts of the world will 

 bo subject to vexatious delays. In many places the inland travel 

 will be slow and uncertain. There are railroads in South America 

 with only two trains a week, and boats on some of the rivers go 

 only once a month. 



