Caribou 207 



most numerous large animal in Europe, and the chief support 

 of man. The bone-caves and lake-beds of southern Europe 

 abound in Remdeer remains. The Cave-man who hunted the 

 Remdeer, though a naked savage, had a wonderful feeling for 

 art. He was the mventor of etching and has left us many 

 pictures of contemporary life, etched on bone, slate, and ivory 

 with that most primitive of gravers, a sharp-pointed flint. 



These pictures are the earliest-known efforts in art The 

 most ancient monuments of Egypt, Assyria, and China were 

 probably built thousands of years after the Stoneman had acci- 

 dentally buried these etchings in the midden-heaps of his 

 camp. 



They are priceless and unimpeachable records of life at 

 the time, in the one universal writing. They are, moreover, 

 tair in drawing, good in composition, and masterly in character ' 

 No one needs to be told that the man who drew these animals 

 had been familiar with them from his youth up. 



Many species, from birds and snakes to elephants and 

 men, are represented, but the best of the drawings always are 

 those of the Reindeer. Among these, the palm is given to the 

 Kesserloch etching on a piece of Reindeer antler. The repro- 

 duction on the next page is full size. 



At first sight one may be disposed to question the drawing 

 of the hind-legs and the incurved line of the belly. But a 

 reference to the habits of the living animal shows that these 

 parts are correctly represented. During the rut, the bull 

 Reindeer are so devoted to the present engrossments that they 

 even neglect to eat, and the late fall sees them spent in strength, 

 worn out, and emaciated. They are then so weak that they 

 are easily destroyed by Wolves and other enemies. From 

 these they seek refuge in the bogs and marshes, where their 

 own natural gifts are guarantee of safety, until the frost makes 

 firm ground of all, by which time the stag has regained his 

 vigour. 



The full-sized antlers and the long beard show that this 

 was the season in the Cave-man's drawing. The pinched-up 

 belly, the tottering hind-legs, and the truthful rendering of the 



