Quest of The Dawn Man

by J. H. Rosny

  Like Aoun and Zouhr he stood on his hind legs, his back forming a convex arch; his shoulders, which inclined forwards, were nearly as narrow as those of the Wahs; his chest projected outwards like that of a dog; his thick head had an enormous mouth, and a retreating forehead, and his pointed ears were reminiscent of those of the jackal and also of those of men; a tuft of hair formed a crest on his skull, while a short bristly growth covered his sides; his arms were shorter than those of a monkey. The new comer held a pointed stone in his hand.

  Shorter than the Oulhamrs, taller than the Red Dwarfs, he was muscular and wiry. For a moment his round eyes were fixed upon the warriors; the skin of his forehead swelled with fury; they heard the grinding of his teeth.

  Aoun and Zouhr measured his height and watched his movements. Their last doubts vanished, the creature that stood before them was evidently a man. The stone which he held in his hand had obviously been cut; he stood more firmly on his hind legs than the Men-with-Blue-Hair; there was some indefinable quality in his gestures which is not to be found in the entellus, the rhesus, or even in the gibbons or the dryopithecus. . . .

  Zouhr remained anxious, but the great Oulhamr, comparing the weapon of his adversary to his own club, spears and harpoons, and measuring his own tall straight figure against that crouching form, decided that he was the superior. He made a few steps towards the mastic bushes shouting. “The son of Urus, and the son of Earth, do not wish to kill the Man-of-the-Forest!”

  A hoarse voice answered him, which was like the growl of a bear, but it had some attempt at articulation. Another softer voice was heard, and at the same time a second form emerged from the covert. It was more lanky, the chest was narrower, the belly was swollen, the legs were knock-kneed, the round eyes were shifty, and an aggresive fear distended the jaws.

  Aoun began to laugh. He displayed his weapons, and held up his muscular arms.

  "How do the long-haired man and woman expect to fight against Aoun?”

  His laugh astonished the others and lessened their fear. Curiosity appeared on their heavy faces, and Zouhr spoke gently, "Why should not the hairy men make an alliance with the Oulhamr and the Wah? The forest is vast, and there is abundance of prey.”

  He expected that they would not be able to understand, but he trusted like Aoun to the power of articulate speech. He was not mistaken; the hairy man and woman listened with great curiosity, which presently grew into confidence.

  When Aoun was silent, they remained in a stooping posture, still listening intently; then the woman made some sounds which, though they were nearly akin to those of an animal, had a human rhythm about them. Aoun began to laugh again in a friendly manner, and throwing down his weapons, he made peaceful signs to the pair. The woman laughed in return, a stiff, broken, embryonic laugh, heavily imitated by the man.

  Then the Oulhamr and the Wah approached the mastic trees. They went slowly halting at intervals, taking .only their clubs with them. The others watched them approach with occasional starts of fear and preparation for flight; then the Oulhamr’s laugh would reassure them. Finally they were within two paces of each other.

  That was the dangerous and decisive moment. The flat faces of the aborigines once more displayed great mistrust;

  their eyes rolled, their foreheads swelled. The man involuntarily lifted his stone, but Aoun stretched out his enormous club towards him and began to laugh again.

  “What harm can the little pointed stone do to the big club?” he asked.

  The Wah added in a low musical tone, “Aoun and Zouhr are neither lions nor wolves.”

  The anxiety of the others was already abating. The woman made the first advance. She touched Aoun’s arm murmuring semi-articulate words. Then, as the danger had not materialized, it seemed impossible that it should do so. Animal confidence, which follows all harmless contact, began slowly to grow. Zouhr held out a slice of dried meat which the man devoured, while Aoun gave the woman a cooked root.

  Long before the day was ended, it was as if they had lived months together.

  The fire did not alarm their new companions. They watched it catch one stick after another, and soon became accustomed to warming their limbs at it. The cool wind had subsided. The heat of the soil rose rapidly through the pure fight air towards the stars. The wanderers were pleased to see the strange beings sitting near the fire. It reminded them of evenings with their horde, and they felt the sense of security engendered by numbers.

  Zouhr tried to understand the strange sounds and gestures of their new companions. He had already made out that the man was known by an appellation which sounded like Rah, and that the woman answered to the cry of Wao, and he tried to learn whether there were other men in the forest and whether they formed a horde. Several times the newcomers’ gestures seemed to coincide with their own, but it was only a glimpse of real understanding and soon disappeared or became uncertain.

  During the following days the friendship grew closer. The hairy man and woman did not distrust them. A habit had established itself in their brains, which were more embryonic than those of Aoun and Zouhr. There was in them a native gentleness, and a tendency towards submissiveness which was only changed to brutality by fear or anger. They gave way before the big Oulhamr’s ascendancy and Zouhr’s subtle patience. Their sense of smell was equal to that of the son of Urus. In addition to this they were nyctalopes and could see as distinctly as a panther in the dark. The rhesus and entellus monkeys hardly surpassed their agility in climbing trees. They ate meat readily, but they were able to keep themselves alive on leaves, young stalks, grasses, uncooked roots, and mushrooms. They could not run as fast as Aoun, but about equalled Zouhr. Their muscular strength surpassed that of the Wah, but was far inferior to the big Oulhamr’s. They had no weapons except their pointed stones, which they used also to cut stalks and bark, and they did not know how to make a fire or keep it up.

  In old days, in the tertiary forests, their Lemurian ancestors had invented speech and cut the first stones. They had spread themselves over the world. While some were learning to make use of fire, and others discovered the art of extracting it from stones and dry wood; while tools and weapons were being perfected by cleverer hands than theirs, they themselves, having led an easier and more abundant life, remained always the Lemurian men of ancient days. In the course of ages their speech had hardly changed, though it had perhaps lost a few of its articulate sounds; their gestures remained stationary, and though they could adapt them partially to new conditions they lost in doing so some of the qualities they had possessed in the past.

  As it was they could hold their own against the leopard, the panther, the wolves and the dholes, who rarely attacked them. Their agility in climbing put them out of the power of the lion or the tiger, whose presence they smelt far off. Their aptitude for nourishing themselves with various kinds of food made them almost ignorant of hunger. Even in winter they discovered many useful roots and mushrooms without much difficulty. They were not called upon to endure the terrible cold to which the Oulhamrs, the Wahs, the Red Dwarfs and the Kzamms were subjected on the other side of the mountains, in the lands of the North and of the setting sun.

  Notwithstanding this their race was becoming extinct, after having inhabited many different forests and jungles.

  Mysterious causes had destroyed it in the East and the South.

  Other and stronger men, who could make better use of articulate speech, fashion more formidable weapons and employ fire, had pushed back the Lemurian men to the plateau. For a thousand years the conquerors of the plain had only attacked it two or three times in each generation, and had not remained there. The primitive men fled to the recesses of the forest at their approach. These were periods of honor, the recollection of which was deeply engraved on the instinct rather than the brains of the race, and they were the only times when the life of the lemurians became sad. . . .

  Rah and Wao knew nothing of these vicissitudes. They were young and had not suffered from an invasion. They had seen
the fires of a camp two or three times at the extreme end of the plateau. It was a vague picture which revived in their minds when they saw Aoun and Zouhr’s fire.

  Zouhr and Wao began to understand each other better and better. The Wah now knew that there were other Lemurian men in the forest and he had warned Aoun of it. The son of Urus received the news unconcernedly. He thought that as he had made an alliance with Rah, there would not be war between him and the others, and he also imagined they would not dare to fight him. Zouhr did not share his unconcern. He did not imagine that the Lemurians would be inclined to fight—Rah and Wao did not hunt any dangerous beasts—but he feared they might think they were attacked.

  One night the fire was burning brightly among the dry sticks. Rah and Wao looked at it with beatitude and, instructed by Zouhr, amused themselves by throwing on branches. The hunters had spitted a haunch of fallow deer, which began to spread abroad the intoxicating scent of roast meat. Mushrooms were cooking on a flat stone. Through the leafy arcades the horns of the waxing moon could be seen among the stars. When the food was ready Aoun gave a portion to the Lemurians, and divided the rest with his companion. Although their shelter was not very good, they felt secure. They were surrounded by trees the trunks of which were too high for tigers to scale, and in which they could take refuge before a carnivore could get near enough to attack them.

  It was a pleasant time. No feeling of mistrust divided the wild beings: inoffensive to each other, ready to combine against any surprises from without, they enjoyed the great happiness which belongs to healthy bodies, repose, and abundant food. . . . Suddenly Aoun and Rah, then Wao, started. A furtive smell was borne past them.

  Rah and Wao gave a kind of laugh; the Oulhamr said anxiously to Zouhr, “More men are approaching us.”

  The Wah turned towards the woman. She bowed her head, her nyctalopic eyes were fixed on the darkness. He touched her shoulder and questioned her by voice and signs. The question which he put to her was plain, events made it still plainer. Wao nodded her head, held out both arms, and made an affirmative sound.

  "Aoun is right,” said the son of Earth, "other Men of the Forest have come.”

  The Oulhamr rose up; Rah crawled in the grass; there was an anxious moment. Mistrust made Aoun set his jaws, and Zouhr depress his eyebrows. Rah however had begun to move on. Zouhr called him back; the Lemurian’s face was undecided, and his appearance was that of a man who hesitates. He would have liked to bound towards his kind, but he was afraid of Aoun.

  After a pause the son of Urns seized his weapons and walked in the direction from whence the smell came. It became stronger and multiplied. The warrior counted that there must be six or seven men in the grove; he accelerated his pace. At one moment the emanations seemed quite close, then they scattered. In the grey light which filtered through the branches the Oulhamr thought he distinguished the outline of figures. They disappeared immediately. The warrior ran as quickly as possible, delayed sometimes by the brushwood. Suddenly he stopped: a sheet of water two hundred ells broad stretched out before him; frogs leapt into it, and others set up their senile croaking among the lotus leaves; the waxing moon threw a long track of shining light on the water. . . .

  On the other bank, several forms bounded up one after another, as if they had sprung from among the water weeds. Aoun addressed them,

  “The son of Urus and the son of Earth are the allies of the Hairy Men.”

  The fugitives paused to look at Aoun when they heard his resounding voice. Then they made a dull threatening clamour and shook their sharpened stones. They were about to resume their way towards the South when Rah intervened in his turn. His voice answered those of the men of his race. He shewed them Aoun and then put both his hands on his breast Shrill voices resounded in answer and arms gesticulated wildly. With their nyctalopic sight the fugitives could see the Lemurian and the Oulhamr as plainly as by daylight; Rah missed nothing of the dumb show of his people.

  When Wao and Zouhr appeared the clamour became louder. Then there was a kind of pause.

  "How did the Hary Men pass over the pool?" exclaimed Aoun.

  The Wah turned towards Wao, and succeeded in making her understand the question. She began to laugh and dragged Zouhr away to the left. Then, under the transparent water, he saw a grey line and Wao, in response to a sign, quitted the bank. She stepped into the water up to her thighs and began to walk along a sort of causeway under the water. Aoun followed without any hesitation; Rah preceded Zouhr.

  For a moment the Lemurians on the other bank remained motionless, then they were seized with panic, and a woman having given the signal they took to flight. . , . Rah spoke to them in sharp tones. A male, the most thick-set of the troop, stopped first; by degrees they all ceased to flee. They could be seen forming a long zigzag line.

  When Aoun landed there was another panic, which was quickly arrested. Rah, having landed in his turn took the initiative. The thick-set man waited. It was an exciting moment. All the Lemurians fixed their eyes on Aoun’s great height. Those who had met the Men-of-the-Fire did not remember ever having seen so tall a man. The picture of implacable massacres rose before them; remembering defeat their bodies shook with terror. By degrees, as Rah continued his signs, they were reassured. The thick-set man, after recoiling at first, allowed Aoun to place his hand on his shoulder. Zouhr, who had just landed, made the signs of alliance which he had learnt from Wao. Then these poor creatures were carried away by their joy, and also perhaps by a kind of pride that they should ally themselves with this giant, who surpassed in size the most terrible of their vanquishers. The women were the first to join the thick-set man; Aoun laughed his great laugh, full of the joy he felt at once more forming part of a horde, after so many days spent away from his own tribe.

  THE MEN-OF-THE-FIRE

  For several weeks Aoun, Zouhr and their allies wandered in the forest. They lived a life of abundance and ease. The Lemurians were clever at discovering springs of fresh water, detected the presence of wild beasts a great way off, and knew how to dig up edible roots and extract the pith of the sago palm. Round the fire in the evening a sense of complete security reigned. The little horde defied attack; Aoun and Zouhr had cut axes and clubs for their companions, which after a time they wielded skillfully. They all seemed ready to defy the carnivores, under the able leadership of the Oulhamr. They were of a gregarious nature like the entellus monkeys, and became formidable when inspired with confidence. Little by little Aoun gained complete ascendency over them. They had a naïve love and admiration for his colossal chest and irrestible arms; his thunderous voice moved them to laughter; in the evening, when the coppery gleam of the fire danced on the grass and under the arches of the trees, they crowded round the Oulhamr shouting for joy. Everything that terrified them about the Men-of-the-Fire was changed to a sense of security. . . . Zouhr’s presence was almost equally agreeable to them. They realized his ingenious cunning and knew that the giant listened to his counsels; he understood their signs and confused speech. There was, however, a kind of equality between Zouhr and them; they liked him in almost the same manner that they liked one another, while their predilection for Aoun was more in the nature of worship for a superior being. . . .

  As they advanced further towards the south, the Lemurians displayed hesitation, which almost took on the appearance of fear. Wao explained that they were nearly at the end of the forest. The plateau sloped down hill; the heat became greater; palm trees, lianas, banyans and bamboos began to be more numerous again.

  One afternoon they were stopped by a declivity which was almost perpendicular. A torrent ran through a narrow valley. On the other side the bank sloped upward without attaining so great a height as that on which the wanderers stood. They could distinguish a large savannah interspersed with groups of trees.

  The Lemurians, who had remained crouched among the bushes, looked at the savannah with shifting eyes. Zouhr having interrogated Wao, said to the son of Urus, It is the land of the Men-of-the-Fire!”
<
br />   Aoun gazed at it with fierce curiosity.

  Zouhr added, “When they come into the forest, they kill the hairy men and eat them, as if they were spotted deer or antelopes.”

  Then anger rose in the Oulhamr's breast, for he remembered the Kzamms, who were men-devourers, from whom Naoh had reconquered the secret of fire.

  The place was well suited for their encampment There was a long cave in the rock, easy to defend against wild beasts or men, and a clear space in front of it where a fire could be lit which the thick brushwood would render invisible from the other bank. With the assistance of the Lemurians, Aoun and Zouhr fortified the entrance to the cave. When evening came it was strongly protected and would resist the attack of thirty men.

  The son of Urus said, “Aoun, Zouhr and the Hairy Men are stronger than the Men-of-the-Fire!”

  He began to laugh, his ringing victorious laugh, and his gaiety spread among the others. The sun’s scarlet disc was reflected back from the waters of the river; the clouds were filled with trails of glory: they were like those red rocks which rise in the North of the Wah’s country, and stood out from purple moors and abysses of sulphur. The fire was magnificent among the lengthening shadows. A cool breeze helped to kindle the branches and bark; a whole antelope was roasting for the horde; the Lemurians cooked their roots, their beans and their mushrooms under Zouhr s directions. . . .

  As the repast ended, Rah, who was near the brushwood, started up suddenly, making confused sounds. His arm was stretched out towards the opposite bank.

  Aoun and Zouhr penetrated into the thicket and stood aghast: to the left of their encampment, but on the other bank, a fire began to glow. ... It was still very feeble, and the branches and twigs were not yet well alight. Then it caught on and flames burst out. A red smoke hung about it. The flames grew and seemed to conquer the darkness; their light was thrown over the steppe; black or copper coloured forms were indistinctly visible, their colour varying according to whether they passed on one or the other side of the fire.