2 Conservation Reader 



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 under- 

 stand something of the wonderful world in which they 

 lived. They were no longer at the mercy of wild animals, 

 storms, heat, cold, hunger, and disease. 



The first people, like the other animals, used only their 



