Days Before history. H. R. Hall
the grove of oaks on the hill-side was a woodland, and the more distant woods a forest vast and impenetrable.
And the skin-clad hunters of the bygone time peopled those hills and woods. The rabbits became red-deer, the hovering kestrel a flapping eagle, a chance fox galloping over the hill a ravening wolf, and the shy badger (only that one could never get more than the hearsay of him) a fierce old wild-boar. Then there were huts to be built, fires kindled, and weapons fashioned, marksmanship to be practised, hunting expeditions to be carried out, and ruthless warfare waged with unfriendly tribes.
Thus when the writer began the welcome task of setting down something about the life of a time so remote that only the indestructible fragments of its framework are now to be recovered, he had for his guidance these memories of childish games and wonderings; games that were never played out, and wonderings that have never been satisfied. And it was his hope that others, whether or not situated as fortunately as he once was, might perhaps catch a hint of the joy of playing the old games and following the old ways of life out-of-doors, as our forefathers followed them in the days before history. We have not all forgotten them yet.
A glance at the Contents will show that the chapters fall into two groups; those headed The Story of Tig, which are meant to be a story and nothing more; and those headed Dick and his Friends, which aim at explaining parts of the story and giving further details and comments from the standpoint of a later time. For anyone who finds these chapters dull, nothing is easier than to skip them.
A longish list might be made of the various books which have been read or consulted in the preparation of these chapters. They are all well-known standard books, such as would be readily found by anyone who might wish to follow the subject further. This edition includes six chapters that are new—numbers six, nine, and fifteen to eighteen—besides various paragraphs and oddments scattered throughout the book; the chapter-headings have been altered in most instances, and the illustrations are nearly all new.
The author wishes to offer his sincere thanks to Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., who generously consented to look over the proofs of the original book; and to Professor J. J. Findlay and Miss Maria E. Findlay for their invaluable help and kindly encouragement.
The Contents of Chapters
| Preface | page v | |
| I | How Dick and his Friends heard a Story | 1 |
| II | The Story of Tig: Tig’s Birthday & his Home | 11 |
| III | The Story of Tig: Tig’s Mother and the Lessons that she taught him | 18 |
| IV | Dick & his Friends: The Hut that the Boys built | 26 |
| V | The Story of Tig: How Garff provided Food for his Family | 34 |
| VI | The Story of Tig: How Gofa sold some Meal to a Hungry Man | 42 |
| VII | The Story of Tig: The Harvest of the Fields and of the Woods | 48 |
| VIII | The Story of Tig: How Crubach became a Sower of Corn | 54 |
| IX | The Story of Tig: The Story of the Wolf that hunted alone | 57 |
| X | Dick & his Friends: A Talk about Food Supplies | 64 |
| XI | The Story of Tig: How Tig got his first Bow and Arrows | 72 |
| XII | The Story of Tig: How Tig visited Goba the Spearmaker | 76 |
| XIII | The Story of Tig: Arsan’s Story about Grim the Hunter | 86 |
| XIV | Dick & his Friends: A Talk about Stone Weapons | 93 |
| XV | The Story of Tig: How the Pond of the Village went dry | 99 |
| XVI | The Story of Tig: What Arsan said about the Old Pond | 103 |
| XVII | The Story of Tig: How they made the Pond anew | 108 |
| XVIII | Dick & his Friends: A Talk about Dew-Ponds | 114 |
| XIX | The Story of Tig: How Gofa made Pottery | 122 |
| XX | The Story of Tig: How Tig went hunting the Deer | 129 |
| XXI | The Story of Tig: How Tig became a Man | 137 |
| XXII | Dick & his Friends: Dick’s Pottery and how he made it |
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