4 Timehri. 



would inspire confidence ; we might even imagine that those who fol- 

 lowed could interpret the scribblings aud say how long ago the battle 

 had been fought and perhaps be able to overtake their friends. 



However, we are not sure that they were messages for rock- 

 scribblings do not necessarily mean very much. When a child writes its 

 name on sand at the seaside, there is no suggestion of a message and 

 even the lover's initials on a tree have little real meaning. Globe-trotters 

 often carve their initials on monuments because others have done the 

 same ; they rarely ask why ? Our actions are not by any means always 

 rational and we may be sure that the more primitive a people the more 

 childish they will be ; in most cases they illustrate the saying that " One 

 fool makes many." 



However, the Indian is not quite a fool, though he does many things 

 which appear quite absurd to us. The pictured rocks suggest feasting 

 after a victory and a dance with probably a drunken spree. 



But why do the dancers carry sticks with rude figures of game ani- 

 mals and imitate the movements of the animals ? Is it part of the 

 Beena cult — a charm to promote success in hunting ? The difficulty of 

 answering such questions is insuperable. We know only that Beeuas 

 are used to promote success but whether their effect is supposed to be 

 on the auimal or the man no one can say. Even were an Indian to in- 

 vent a plausible excuse we should hesitate to accept it. Something is 

 supposed to happen when a Beena is used or when the figure is carried 

 in a dance but no Indian reasons out the matter for he simply docs 

 what his father taught him. We are not by any means prepared to 

 blame him for that, for we also live in glass houses and many of our 

 customs will not bear consideration. So much is done everywhere 

 without thinking out reasons that we may safely state that no one is 

 rational at all times, 



Few people ask why they dance. Our society dances are con- 

 nected with sexuality, but these are probably quite modern though they 

 have had a long and gradual development from what we can see here as 

 the Cumfoo dances. Such dances, however, were probably not primitive 

 for the first to appear are war-dances, of which we find examples in 

 Australia. Children jump for joy wh n they are happy and this 

 generally means that a feast is in view. The first war-dances were pro- 

 bably connected with cannibal feasts, and later we find harvest festivals, 

 also connected with the satisfaction after a full meal. Such satisfaction 

 was rare and therefore when it happened there would be a commemoration, 

 which in some cases, no doubt, would be remembered for many years. 



Primitive man was always hungry ; we eee in our children what 

 happened when he got his opportunity. If he did not quite burst he 

 came very near to it. Probably the dance was before rather than after 

 because when filled he was more inclined to lie down. The South 

 American tribeB varied very much in places and at times. Some were 



