km- if! ;!l-^i;.''r' '- '' > ,/ 1 ;;;n^i:^U-\' ;-/. '^^ / ? ,' O - J , ,' '. . \ , , \ , / < ti! ■l;> in'i!!!*;(',ir''U^ ■■i'-- ^> "oo^ [\ Ct' * Iff! iJy -A QV A ■^ V .Oo v^r!^"\,oo -^^ ^^*. ■ Oo^ -^A V^ \ ^ HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD A GEOGRAPHICAL READER FOR THE FOURTH GRADE BY GEORGE A. MIRICK WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY BURTON HOLMES HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY GEORGE A. MI RICK ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (,1^4^ Wbt 3S,i\KvSit>t S^vtiS CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS U . S . A MAY 29 1918 ©CI.A497544 FOREWORD The study of ''home geography" has become general in the first half of the fourth grade in the schools of this country. This is followed by a survey of the world with special emphasis upon North America and the United States. This plan of procedure seems to be not only an established custom but a wise one. An understanding of remote situations depends upon a knowledge of the concrete situations near at hand. On the other hand, a study of the world as a whole and of the geographical conditions and the life in different parts of it, throws light upon and stimulates an interest in one's own surroundings. Geography textbooks give an abundance of facts, classified and illus- trated. They are in reality encyclopaedias of information. But the very completeness of their treatment of details and their scientific purpose exclude the dramatic portrayal of life. And yet after all it is the drama of life that reveals most adequately the essential truths of geography, truths that a mere recital of facts cannot reveal, namely the interactions between geographical forces and human intelligence. Therefore the need of the supplementary geographical reader. This book has been planned to do for the study of geography what the historic novel, based upon accurate data, has done for the study of his- tory. It has been written with the interests and mental equipment in mind of children from eight to ten years of age. In carrying out this plan geographical situations have been selected that are typical in climatic and physiographic conditions, and in natural resources. The study of the different localities should lead progressively to a clearer vision of the world as a whole and of man's place in it. This comprehen- sive picture of the world should not be filled with the grotesque, the cu- rious, the superficial, and the highly complex phases of life, but rather with those phases in which the simple, fundamental relations between intelli- gent man and nature are clearly evident. These relations are not only physical: they are also social and spiritual. The material of which the stories and descriptions are made has been taken freely from the writings of those who have Hved in the places re- ferred to or of those who have visited the places in their travels. Acknowl- edgment is made to Frederick A. Stokes & Co., for the use of extracts from Admiral Peary's "The North Pole"; to G. P. Putnam's Sons for the use of Swiss poems from Alfred T. Story's "Swiss Life in Town and Coun- iv FOREWORD try"; to Charles Scribner's Sons for the use of extracts from George W. Cable's inimitable descriptions of the bayou country and of its pioneer life as given in ''Bona venture." The authors wish to express their ap- preciation also of the courtesy of the American Museum of Natural His- tory in furnishing a number of pictures and the four photographs of the relief globe. The pictures have been carefully selected by the well-known traveler and lecturer, Mr. Burton Holmes. They are, for the most part, those that have been taken by him during his travels. If the book shall in any degree help the children for whom it has been written to sense the reality of their own relation and that of their fellow men to our conunon mother earth, and to know it better as the "home of man," this success will be due iD< no small measure to the pictures that Mr. Holmes has contributed. CONTENTS Foreword iii To Teachers vi I. A Home on the Ice 1 II. At the North Pole 8 III. Colonel, the Eskimo Dog .14 IV. Colonel helps to Find the South Pole ... 17 V. In the Land of the Reindeer 24 VI. A Country of Mountain Pastures 33 VII. In the Mountain Pastures with Nicholas and Gretchen 45 VIII. To THE Home of Ahmed, Son of the Desert .... 53 IX. With Ahmed in the Oasis 63 X. Pedro's Home at the Equator 78 XI. A Day with Pedro in the Jungle 86 XII. Tropical Gardens .94 XIII. Taming Wild Elephants 102 XIV. A Home in Old Hawaii 109 XV. A Brave Hawaiian Princess 114 XVI. Back to Our Own Homeland , 122 XVII. A New England Boy in the Far West .... 127 XVIII. The Home of a Forest Ranger 134 XIX. The Village below the River 146 XX. Making a Home in a New Country 156 Photographic Views of Relief Globe . . 1, 34, 93, 108 Index 161 TO TEACHERS It is probably true that there is no best way to study a book. However, some ways are more profitable than others. The least profitable of all is for pupils to memorize it, section by section, with a view to reciting, i.e., repeating, it in class. It is scarcely less profitable to repeat its con- tents in a formal manner, even though no effort is made to commit it to memory verbatim. The common practice of orally reading a book in class, with a more or less haphazard correction of mistakes accompanied by comments on occasional details, has also little to commend it. The end to be sought in a real reading and study of a book is to under- stand its message. To do this, the pupil must think its thoughts, must sub- ject himself to its influences, must illuminate and vivify the mental images that it creates by the light and warmth of his own experience. By such reading and study the pupil's own mental and spiritual life is nourished, unfolded, and stimulated. To teach pupils to read and study thus, to fix this kind of reading and study as a habit, is the teacher's prime task in all subjects in which a book is used. It far surpasses in importance and value the information that pupils may gain from books. The teacher is not helped in doing this or any other task by directions that are given in great detail. The following suggestions merely point out direction, and a general plan of procedure. The teacher, the pupils, and the situation are all factors that should influence the emphasis given to any phase of the study and the thoroughness with which the subject is studied. Becoming acquainted with the Book We may well take time to introduce pupils to a new book. Let them get acquainted with it as a whole. What is its title? Who wrote it? Read its Table of Contents. What does it give.^ Find the Index. What does it contain? How are its items arranged? What is the purpose of the Table of Contents? When will you consult it? What is the purpose of the Index? When will you consult it? Is the cover design appropriate? Who are the publishers of the book? In what year was it published? (See copyright on page following the title-page.) What is the book about? TO TEACHERS vii p Reading the Text Oral reading should not come first. Silent reading and class discus- sion should precede oral reading, and be given much the larger amount of time. In general the following plan is desirable: — 1. Assign an entire chapter for silent reading and study with the ques- tions — (a) What does the chapter tell about? (6) What are the main divisions of the chapter? (c) If any people are mentioned, who are they? What else of im- portance is mentioned? (d) In what part of the world is the story of the chapter located? (e) What paragraphs would you like to read to the class? 2. If pupils have read a chapter with these questions or others of a similar character in mind, they are ready for a class discussion. It may be conducted somewhat as follows: Let each of the study questions above be considered in turn. Allow great freedom of expression. Have pupils refer to the text in case there is a difference of opinion. Question (b) will require much time at first, and pupils will need help in learning how to find the large divisions of a chapter. Let us take for example Chapter I : — Division 1. Nogasak's village: pars. 1-4. (Connecting paragraph) par. 5. Division 2. Nogasak's story: pars. 6-20. Each division has its subdivisions. Nogasak's village. Where it was and how big: par. 1. Kind of village: par. 2. The village moves from place to place: par. 3. Strangers come to the village: par. 4. Nogasak's story. The dogs give warning: par. 6. The strangers come near: par. 7. They are friendly: par. 8. ' They are welcomed: pars. 9, 10. They are made comfortable: par. 11. They are given food: pars. 12, 13. The Eskimo family: par. 14. Nogasak's people are generous: par. 15. The strangers' house is ready: par. 16. How children spend their time: pars. 17, 18. The dance: par. 19. The close of the day: par. 20. viii TO TEACHERS 3. When question (e) is reached, sections or paragraphs may be selected by different pupils. The whole of any chapter need not be read orally. In Chapter I, Nogasak's story, or perhaps better still, parts of it will be sufficient. 4. In the reading and discussion attention will naturally be drawn to certain words because they cause difficulty. Encourage the pupils to pronounce a new word even if they make a mistake. They will thus gain courage and at the same time reveal to the teacher the point of difficulty. Encourage them also to infer the meaning of a word from the context. According to the teacher's judgment, a word should be written on the board and studied, or it should be looked up in the dictionary. It is well to allow some words to re- main on the board for a time, or to keep a growing Ust on a bulletin for frequent reference. Studying the Pictures It win be profitable to give one or more periods to the study of the pictures of each chapter. Each part of the earth that the pupils will visit by way of this book gives an opportunity to fix in mind a typical geograph- ical situation and the kind of life that has developed in it. The pictures are indispensable in understanding each type. They may be studied by the class together, working with the teacher, or as a review each pupil may discuss one, calling attention to significant details. Children enjoy making scrap books of pictures illustrating the subjects they are studying. Globes and Maps The globe should be used frequently. One with the fewest details is desir- able. A plain globe with blackboard surface is also very desirable. A globe with upright axis is much better than one with inclined axis. The inclination has no significance except when the astronomical relations of the earth and sun are being considered. The four photographs of a relief globe in this book will be found useful to supplement the globe. Pupils as well as teachers should use the blackboard frequently. On it the world can be represented by a circle and the fundamental facts of location can be shown on it. This is the natural way to begin map study. Maps should be used sparingly because they are distorted representa- tions of the earth. When the United States is being studied, a wall map should be at hand and used. TO TEACHERS ix This book gives constant incentive to the study of location, for it pro- vides a reason for it. Location is not here studied as an end, but as a means to understanding the story. Only the large, essential facts of location are referred to, but these are used again and again for a purpose. Home Geography It will be noted that home and foreign geography are everjrvvhere inter- related in this book. Much emphasis should be placed on this interrela- tion. At times the entire class may make a study of home conditions and situations that are suggested by a chapter. At other times, each pupil may take a different phase of a general subject. For instance, in comparing their own manners of life with those of another people, one pupil may tell about the food, another about the clothing, another about the travel- ing, etc. Again, if it is planned to write a letter to the children in another part of the world, let each choose one topic and write one paragraph only. A class letter might be made of paragraphs contributed by the pupils. Do not have lengthy written exercises. For Pupils' Study Questions and suggestions for study will be found at the close of each chapter. They are intended to help in the process of digestion of the thought of the text and to lead to further reading. They should not be assigned for independent study until they have been discussed in class. Other questions might be added and equally good ones substituted. The teacher should do both at her discretion. Suggestions might be made here for dramatizing, but there is no room to elaborate this. There are several situations that lend themselves to in- formal dramatic representation, as Nogasak's People Receiving the Stran- gers, Rubber Making, Story Telling Around the Fire, Story of the Jaboty, Story of the Brave Hawaiian Princess. Drawing and Construction The crayon and pencil should be used freely by teachers and pupils. Rough maps, sketches of houses, trees, implements, etc., outline copies of important features in the photographs, may all be made with pleasure and profit, if too high a standard of performance is not insisted upon. There are many things that the children can make, models of huts, imple- ments, etc. The sand-table may also be used to reproduce situations, such as the Eskimo village, a reindeer-country village, a Swiss mountain pasture, an oasis, etc. k X TO TEACHERS School Excursions It is hoped that the time may come when all schools will have the ad- vantage that those in St. Louis have, where the School Museum takes ''the world to the school." In most large cities, however, the school may- go to the museum, and this should become an habitual practice. Excursions around home all may take. An occasional excursion of the entire class with the teacher is very profitable, if properly conducted. But there may be constant excursions taken by individuals with a view to answering some question raised by class discussion. These questions wiU be nimierous, if the teacher helps the pupils to see the significance of the text and pictures, if she encourages discussion and fosters the spirit of inquiry. Finally there are excursions among books, when pupils go to the school or public library with specific questions that books alone can answer or with a curiosity that books alone can satisfy. HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD Courtesy American Museum ofJSatural History , New York NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA Important locations — The two continents; Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; Northern Ice Cap; Appalachian Mountains; Rocky Mountains; Andes Mountains; Mississippi River; Gulf of Mex- ico; Amazon River; New York City; city of Washington; home of the Esquimo dogs; Labrador; California; Equator. HOME LIFE ABOUND THE WORLD CHAPTER I A HOME ON THE ICE 1. NoGASAK was a little Eskimo girl. She lived with her father, mother, and little brother in a village on the edge of the northern ice-cap. There were only fifteen fami- lies in the village, but in these there were other children so that Nogasak and her brother did not lack for playmates. 2. The village was an odd- looking place. The houses were rounded mounds of snow about as tall as a man. They were huddled together in no particular order. Each fam- ily built its house where it pleased without regard to streets. There was really no need for streets in so small a village in a land of ice and snow. 3. Besides, it was not so Courtesy American Museum of Natural History, New York AN ESKIMO GIRL This little girl is about Nogasak's age and looks very much like her. important where they built their houses as it is with us, 2 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD for they do not occupy them very long. When they have caught or frightened away the fish and seals in one place, they pack their furs, their kettles and lamps upon sleds. They harness the dogs to the sleds. The women put their babies on their backs. The men take their bows and arrows, their spears and hunting knives. Courtesy American Museum of Natural History, New York MAKING A SNOW HOUSE There are no trees where this picture was taken. That shows that it is very far north. Tell how a snow house is made. The man at the left is standing in the trench that will become the entrance to the house. How are the dogs kept from running away? Then, with a cry to the dogs and the snapping of the long whips, the whole village moves off to a new place where seals and fish are plenty. In a few hours the new houses are built and the families take possession. 4. Nogasak's home was so far away in the North that strangers seldom visited it. For many, many miles in all directions nothing was to be seen but glistening ice and white snow, except where the blue waters of the A HOME ON THE ICE 3 Arctic Ocean sparkled in the cold sunlight. In all the ten years of jS'ogasak's life she had never seen any one but her own family and neighbors. You may be sure that it was an exciting day for her and the other children, as well as for the grown people, when three strange men and a big sled drawn by a team of fine dogs were seen coming over the snow towards their little village. 5. Eskimo children do not go to school, and they can- not read and write, but they can tell a story like other children. This is ]^rogasak's story of what happened the first day of the strangers' visit. nogasak's stoky 6. " One bright winter day we children were watch- ing the men as they were cutting up a seal that had just been caught. All at once the dogs began to bark furi- ously. Most of the women were in the snow houses at the time, sewing together pieces of bear or seal skin for clothes or preparing the mid-day meal. They crawled out and we all stood about wondering what was disturb- ing the dogs. 7. " It did not take us long to find out. Far off over the snow we could see coming towards us a sled piled high with bundles, drawn by six dogs. Walking by the sled were three strange looking men. 8. " At first we thought they were spirits, for we had never seen any but our own people. But when they came near we were greatly relieved to discover that they were PIOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD really men. By their actions it was evident that they were friendly. 9. " When we learned that they had come from a warm comitry, many hundred miles to the south, to visit us, we all tried to make them welcome. Each one wanted them to stay at his house. But as we build our houses just large enough for the family, all were too small to ac- commodate them. So it was decided to build a special house for them. *• 10. "While the house was being built by the men, our mothers were busy preparing food for the strangers. When the food was ready, the children j were sent to invite the men to dinner. One of them came to our house, much to our delight. 11. "The man sat down on a pile of furs, and mother asked him if his feet were not damp. She pulled off his boots and hung them over the lamp to dry, as the lamp is the only fire we have. She hung up the damp socks with the boots and gave the man a pair of father's dry ones to put on. Mother found that his mittens had a hole in i them and she promised to mend it after dinner. Wej stood around ready to do what we could to make the visitor comfortable. Brown Brothers A POLAR BEAR A HOME ON THE ICE 5 12. "Mother had cut up some seal meat and boiled it in a kettle. She cut off a i3iece with a copper knife. This copper knife is considered a great treasure in our fam- ily. It is made from a piece of copper that father found nailed to a stick of wood. The wood was part of a vessel that had been crushed somewhere in the ice. There are only two copper knives in our village. All the others are made of bone. 13. " But, as I was saying, mother cut off a piece of seal meat and squeezed the water out of it with both hands, so it would not drip. The man took it in his hands and ate it with great relish. Mother then passed him a slice of raw fat and an ox-horn full of soup that she dipped from another kettle. 14. " While the stranger was eating, mother sat on one side of him and father on the other side. There was just room left in the house for two children to stand on the floor, my brother and I. Our dogs poked their noses into the house from the passageway to watch what was going on and to get the bones that we threw to them. They had a bountiful meal. 15. " Mother did not forget the neighbors. She cut off some nice pieces of meat and told my brother and me to carry them to some families in the village that had not been able to catch any seals. Soon children came from other houses with gifts of meat for the stranger, and with invitations to eat the next meal at their house. He was promised seal kidney and a whole seal flipper if he would go. We were sure such fine things to eat would tempt him. 6 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 16. " After dinner mother poured some oil into the lamp so it would not go out while we were away, and we all went to see the new house that the men had been building for the strangers. We found it was finished and ready to occupy. It had been built big enough to accommodate all the people in the village. Every one came to call on the strangers and to talk. They wanted to learn where the men had come from, why they had come, and all about the people among whom they lived. 17. " The children gathered behind one of the houses and talked about the wonderful men. After we were tired of talking, we played with the puppies, and chased each other around the snow houses. The older boys had a shooting-match with bows and arrows. 18. " Late in the afternoon I crawled into our house to take a rest. I found a piece of raw meat on the floor and lay down on the snow bench to eat it and take a nap. We can generally find some frozen pieces of raw meat or chunks of fat on the floor. These taste good when you are hungry. 19. " In the evening there was to be a dance to cele- brate the coming of the strangers. A dozen young men put on their house-building clothes and mittens and with their snow-knives began to build a dance-house. Before night the big house was ready. All the grown people crawled in and sat around on the snow-platforms that had been covered with the soft fur skins of the seal, the bear, and the musk-ox. There was one musical in A HOME ON THE ICE 7 strument, a drum. Each one danced alone, in turn. All the time the drum was sounding and those who could were singing. 20. " The dancing continued till far into the night. When it was over, all the people went with the strangers Courtesy American Museum of Natural History, New York A COMPANY OF ESKIMOS How does the mother carry her baby? The bandage over the eyes of several of them is to protect their eyes from the glare of the white snow. What else shows that the sunlight hurts their eyes? from the dance-house to the house that had been built for them, and then scattered, each family to his own home. We crawled through the twenty-foot passage- way into our house. We found the oil-lamp burning as we had left it, and home seemed very snug and cozy. The dogs curled up in the passage. We rolled our- selves in the furs and lay down, some of us on the snow-platform and some on the floor. We were soon fast asleep." HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD FOR PUPILS' STUDY What is the northern ice-cap? Where is it? Draw a circle to represent the earth. Mark with your pencil the part covered by the northern ice- cap. Do people live on this ice-cap ? What are the people called who live along its edge ? Why did not Nogasak live in a house built of wood ? Why did not Nogasak's people have vegetables and bread to eat? Draw a picture of a snow house and tell how it is built. What different things do the Es- kimos eat who live on the edge of the ice-cap ? What kind of clothes do they wear? In paragraph 16 oil is mentioned. What kind of oil is it? What kind of oil do you burn at home ? 11. What different things did the Eskimos do to show their good will to the strangers ? 12. Read the sentences that show that they were kind to one another. 13. How did the children in Noga- sak's village spend their time ? 14. Why do you think Nogasak ought to be happy ? 15. Write five questions that you would like to ask Nogasak if you should meet her. 16. Write five questions that she would probably ask you about your home. 17. Write Nogasak a short letter. 18. Give one or more reasons why you would prefer to live where you do rather than on the edge of the ice-cap. CHAPTBE II AT THE NORTH POLE 1. It was a cold winter's day. On the edge of the northern ice-cap, not far from the home of Nogasak, a company of men, dressed in fur, with two sleds each drawn by a team of Eskimo dogs, was going north over the ice. 2. The sleds were loaded with cans of meat, con- densed milk, biscuit, tea, and solid alcohol; sleeping AT THE NORTH POLE bags, spare mittens and boots of fur; axes, snowshoes, and instruments of different kinds, some for measuring the depth of the water, if they should come to any open places in the ice, others for determining how cold it was, and yet others for finding out when they had actually reached the most northern point on the earth. 3. A tall man was marching ahead. With stern face and with firm step he was leading the way straight to the north where no human being had ever been before. He could not be sure that he and his brave companions would ever return. This was Admiral Eobert E. Peary. ONE OF ADMIRAL PEARY'S DOGS This dog went to the North Pole. Courtesy American Museum of Natural History, New York ADMIRAL PEARY'S SLEDGE This sledge went to the North Pole. How are the parts held together? Why were not nails used? Name the different things you see on the sledge and tell what they were used for. Can you make a model of this sledge with your jackknife? 10 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 4. Mr. Peary was an admiral in the United States ]N'avy, but he had spent many years in these cold regions and he loved the snow, the ice and the freezing winds. This is what he says about them. "More than once I have come back from the great frozen spaces, battered and^, worn and baffled, sometimes maimed, telling myself that I had made my last journey thither. But somehow, it was never many months be- fore the old restless feeling came over me. I began to long for the battles with the ice and the gales, the hand- ful of odd but faithful Es- kimos who had been my friends for years, the silence and the great white lonely North. And back I went accordingly, time after time, until at last my dream of years came true." 5. Admiral Peary's dreamt was to find the North Pole. He had many friends who wanted to help him make his dream come true. They built a vessel for him, called the Boosevelt, in honor of Brown Brothers ADMIRAL PEARY Where do you think he is standing? What has he in his hands? AT THE NOETH POLE 11 the man who was then President of the United States. In this he had sailed from ]N"ew York with the men whom he had selected to go with him. He had stopped along the way to take on board the Eskimos and the dogs that he needed. The Roosevelt had pushed its way as far north as it conld go and was now frozen fast in the ice at the edge of the ice-cap. Sled loads of food had been carried from the vessel and been buried in the snow where Admiral Peary could find it on his way back from the Pole. The strongest and most faithful dogs had been har- nessed to two sleds. Last of all the most trusted of his com- panions had been chosen to go with him. They had left behind the rest of the company, who were to stay in the Roosevelt until their return. 6. Day after day Admiral Peary, his five companions and his sturdy dogs, traveled over the ice and snow. We Brown Brothers THE ROOSEVELT Starting from New York Harbor. The boat has sails and a smokestack. Why will they need steam power, if they have sails? Can you find anything in the picture that shows that the Roosevelt is an American vessel? 12 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD will not try to describe their adventures and hardships. At last they did reach the Pole. They were the first and only people who have ever been to the North Pole. 7. What do yon suppose he found there ? I^othing but snow and ice stretching in all directions as far as the eye could see. There was nothing to show where the Pole is, but he could tell by his instruments that he was very near where it must be. This is what he has written about the place and what he did there. AT THE NORTH POLE 8. " The N^orth Star was practically overhead. 9. "East, west, and north had disappeared for us. Only one direction remained and that was south. Every breeze that could possibly blow^ upon us must be a south wind. 10. " We planted five flags at the top of the world. The first one was a silk American flag which Mrs. Peary gave me fifteen years ago. That flag had done more traveling in the cold regions of the !North than any other ever made. I carried it wrapped about my body on all my trips. By the time it reached the Pole, therefore, it was somewhat worn and discolored. 11. " After I had planted the American flag in the ice, I told the men to give three rousing cheers, which they did with the greatest enthusiasm." 12. Admiral Peary then put into a bottle a piece of the flag with two notes, and left it in a crack of the ice. One of the notes reads : — i AT THE NORTH POLE 13 13, "90° North Latitude, North Pole, " April 6, 1909. "I have to-day hoisted the national ensign of the United States of America at this place, which my ob- servations indicate to be the North Polar axis of the earth, and have for- mally taken possession of the entire region in the name of the Presi- dent of the United States of America. 14. "I leave this record and United States flag in posses- sion. " EoBEET E. Peary, " U.S. JSTavy.'' 15. Now Admiral Peary and his com- panions mnst find their way back to the edge of the ice-cap where those whom they had left behind were wait- ing for them. South- ward they go over the Brown Brothers THE ROOSEVELT IN THE ICE The Roosevelt frozen into the ice wait- ing for Admiral Peary's return from the North Pole. snow, sometimes along the tracks they had recently made and at other times guided only by the stars and I 14 HOME LIFE AEOUND THE WORLD their compass. One after the other they find the places where their food had been buried. Snowstorms often blind them and nearly cause them to lose their way. They climb over high ridges of snow and cross Avide cracks in the ice that lie in their pathway. But after days of toil and danger, they see in the distance the tall, slender masts of the Roosevelt rising out of the snow, and with shouts of joy they soon join their friends. FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. Who discovered the Korth Pole? 8. Why do not people or animals 2. What did he find there ? or plants live at the North Pole? 3. Kead again what Admiral Peary 9. Make a list of the new words you has written about it. have found in this chapter. Com- 4. Write two or three questions pose sentences containing each suggested by Admiral Peary that of these words. you would like to have your 10. Trace on the globe or map Ad- teacher answer. miral Peary's journey from New 5. Imagine that the American flag York to the North Pole. that Admiral Peary carried 11. Admiral Pearywanted very much around his body could talk. to find the North Pole. Have What story could it tell ? you ever wanted to do something 6. How many years ago was the that was very difficult? Read par- North Pole found ? agraph 4 and tell M'hy the Ad- 7. To what country does the North miral finally succeeded in doing Pole belong? what he wanted to do. CHAPTER III COLONEL, THE ESKIMO DOG 1. He was born in a country called Labrador, some distance south of the northern ice-cap. It is warmer here than it is where Nogasak lives. The ground is not al- COLONEL, THE ESKIMO DOG 15 ways covered with ice and snow. In July and August grass grows and dandelions, buttercups, and other bright- colored flowers. Strangely enough none of the flowers in these cold countries has any perfume. 2. Of course the flowers and their lack of perfume were matters of no concern to Colonel, as they are to us, for he was a puppy. But he was very much inter- ested, when the bare earth appeared, to dig in it and bury bones in it. He dehghted, too, to chase the wild hares, to wander among the reindeer and to lie on the warm rocks in the sun and watch the birds flying over- head. Besides there were the mosquitoes that bothered him so much in the summer time ! They rose in clouds from the damp places left by the melting snow. They bit through his thick, fur-covered skin and tormented him cruelly. 3. In many ways Colonel had a hard life. When he was very, very little the children played with him, but they had not been taught to treat animals gently, so he often was glad to escape from their games. The grown people did not want him around. They kicked and cuffed him and seldom spoke a kind word to him. He never Avas allowed to stay indoors summer or winter. "When rain and sleet were beating down on his back or the winter blizzard was bhnding him with snow, how he longed to creep into the hut where people seemed to be so comfortable ! 4. But all these hardships compelled Colonel to learn how to take care of himself. When the freezing winds 16 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD blew from the north and deep snow covered the ground, he noticed that the older dogs dug deep holes in the snow and disappeared in them. One day he crept up to one of these holes and looked in. There at the bottom was a dog rolled up like a ball with his nose tucked under his bushy tail. Colonel went away and dug a hole for himself too and found that he could sleep there as comfortably as we do in our warm beds. It waS|. even more comfortable when the snow blew in and cov- ered him over like a blanket. If meat and bones were scarce, as they often were, if he had failed to catch a bird or a wild hare or to pull a fish out of the water with his paw, which he became very skillful in doing. Colonel learned to go hungry and not complain. He also learned that snow would quench his thirst as well as water. In winter he found that was a great advantage. 5. So the weeks and months passed while Colonel was growing strong and wise, and the day came for him to be harnessed to a sled and to learn how to work with other dogs. He was quick to learn and ready to work, so he did not receive as many cuts with the stinging lash as the slower and less intelligent dogs did. His master saw very soon that he was going to be a remarkable dog, and that is why he was chosen to go across the Atlantic Ocean to Norway and from I^orway southward, almost halfway around the earth, to help find the South Pole. COLONEL HELPS TO FIND THE SOUTH POLE 17 FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. Find Labrador on the globe. things in Colonel's life ? What 2. Why is it warmer at Nogasak's were some of the unpleasant home than it is at the North Pole ? things ? 3. Why is it warmer in Labrador 7. Read the parts of this chapter that than it is on the edge of the ice- tell how the people in Labrador cap ? live. 4. Name some of the animals that 8. Tell an interesting story about are found in Labrador. Find in your own dog. your geography the names of other 9. Find some stories about dogs in animals not mentioned here. books at home or at the public li- 5. Name some of the plants that brary. Read one or parts of one grow in Labrador. of these stories to the class. 6. What were some of the pleasant CHAPTEE ly COLONEL HELPS TO FIND THE SOUTH POLE 1. One day a ship sailed into the harbor of the little village where Colonel lived. He had seen other ships come during the short summer bringing from somewhere cloth, guns and ammunition, knives, iron tools, matches, flour, sugar, tea, and a variety of other things that the people in the village used. He had watched these same ships sail away carrying bundles of furs and dried fish, barrels of whale-oil and piles of whale-bone. He ought to have guessed that there was a big world beyond his own little harbor, but he probably thought nothing about it. He certainly did not suspect that he was soon to visit foreign lands and even go to the other side of the earth. 2. So Colonel watched this particular ship, on this particular day, as he lay in a warm corner of the rocky 18 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WOELD shore, with the same sleepy interest with which he had watched other ships come and go. If he had known what was to happen, he sm^ely would have been wide awake and probably would have run away. Then this story could never have been told. But he didn't know, and this is what happened. 3. There was a man named Captain Roald Amundsen who lived in a country in the northern part of Europe, called Norway. Like Admiral Peary he had spent much time in the cold re- gions of the north. When he learned that Admiral Peary had discovered the North Pole, he made up his mind to find the South Pole, if he could. To make the journey over the snow and ice of the southern ice- cap he too must have the help of Eskimo dogs. So he had sent this ship, that Colonel was watching as it sailed into his harbor, to carry back to Norway one hundred of the best dogs to be found in all Labrador. Underwood and Underwood CAPTAIN AMUNDSEN / COLONEL HELPS TO FIND THE SOUTH POLE 19 4. Although Colonel was not yet fully grown, he was selected with ninety-nine other dogs and put on board the ship. They sailed away eastward, across the Atlan- tic Ocean, until they came to N^orway. On the way they passed the island called Greenland, from whose shores SAILING ALONG THE SHORES OF NORWAY Notice the bare steep rocks and the beautiful waterfalls. huge icebergs break off every spring and float south- ward. They sailed by the little island called Iceland, and saw the clouds of steam that rise from its matny hot-springs. They went so near the Shetland Islands that they could see the tiny ponies scampering over the rocky hillsides. 5. In due time they reached Norway and found an- other ship waiting for them. It was called the Fram. It had been built small and strong so that blocks of 20 HOME LIFE AKOUND THE WORLD floating ice might not break its sides and that it might not be crushed if it became frozen into an ice-pack. 6. Clothes for hot weather and for cold weather had been put on board the Fram, and canned food, oil for lamps, matches, sleds, snow shoes, axes, guns, tents, in A HARBOR OF NORWAY In what particulars is this harbor different from any harbor that you know ? The men are drying fish on the rocks. fact, everything that would be needed on the long and dangerous journey. The cabin had been made tight and warm, and kennels had been built on the deck for the dogs. When all was ready, Colonel and the other dogs were put into their kennels and the ship set sail. 7. The course of the ship was first westward and then southward over the Atlantic Ocean. This ocean is like a broad river between the four continents, North COLONEL HELPS TO FIND THE SOUTH POLE 21 America and South America on the west, and Europe and Africa on the east. 8. Each day, as they sailed southward across the North Temperate Zone, the air grew warmer. When they reached the Torrid Zone the men changed their woolen clothes for thin, cotton clothes. As they neared the Equator the heat became almost greater than they could bear. The dogs lay about the deck panting and longing for the cold, crisp air of their northern home- land. 9. The stanch little Fram made its way safely through the Torrid Zone into the South Temperate Zone. The air began to grow cooler once more. Men and dogs be- came more comfortable, and the farther south they sailed the more cheerful they became. From the South Temperate Zone they sailed into the South Frigid Zone and felt the cold south winds blowing from the South Pole. Soon they met big cakes of ice that had broken away from the southern ice-cap, and in a few days the ice-cap itself could be seen like a long white line on the southern horizon. They were all glad when they felt the sides of the Fram scrape the solid ice and realized that their long sea voyage was at an end. 10. iDuring the voyage Colonel had behaved as well as an Eskimo dog could in such strange surroundings. He had kind masters who fed him well, petted him, and let him select his own companions. He had his preferences. Some of the dogs he did not like at all, and for others he had not much liking. But there were 22 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD two that he was so fond of that he was very unhappy away from them. 11. How glad he was when he felt the cool, soft snow nnder his feet again. He rolled in it. He ate it. He barked and jumped about and became so excited that he began to fight all the other dogs. If his master had not stopped them he would have killed and eaten one of them, or they would have killed and eaten him. We must not blame him for this, for he was an Eskimo dog and that was his nature. 12. The day had come on which they were to start for the South Pole. Colonel was chosen to be leader of one of the teams. He could be relied on to obey his master's voice, to keep the other dogs in his team at work, to pull hard, and to be steady in time of danger. 13. Over the ice and snow^ they went, mile after i mile. They climbed over hills of ice, they jumped overj deep cracks, pulling the sled after them. They w^ere Brown Brothers COLONEL ON THE FRAM Colonel seems to be quite contented on board the ship. What shows that the Fram is sailing through a warm part of the ocean ? COLONEL HELPS TO FIND THE SOUTH POLE 23 often hungry and so tired they could hardly keep on their feet. But led on by Colonel they kept to their task until they reached the Pole. Here, above their heads, Underwood and Underwood AT THE SOUTH POLE One of Captain Amundsen's companions and the sledge and team of dogs. Which one do you think is Colonel? To what country does the South Pole belong? What shows it in the picture? at night shone the bright stars of the Southern Cross, and all the winds that blew were north winds. 14. Colonel watched while the flag of Norway was unfurled at the South Pole as the flag of our own coun- try had been unfurled at the North Pole. Captain Amundsen knew that he and his four companions could never have reached this place that no man had ever L 24 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD seen before, if it had not been for the help of Colonel and the other dogs. 15. There were fifty-two dogs that started for the Pole from the edge of the ice-cap and only eleven re- turned. Some had died by the way from overwork. Some had strayed away and been lost. Some had fal- len into the cracks of ice and been dashed to pieces. But Colonel came back at the head of the faithful eleven, always the leader of the team. FOR PUPILS' STUDY This chapter has four parts. 3. On the globe show the journey The first part tells about the coming from Labrador to Norway. of the ship. 4. Draw a circle to represent the The second part tells about the jour- earth, (a) On this circle draw the ney to Norway. northern ice-cap and the southern The third tells about the long sail ice-cap. (b) Put a dot at the North from Norway to the southern ice- Pole and one at the South Pole. cap. (c) Draw a line half w^ay between The fourth tells about the finding of the poles to represent the Equator. the South Pole. (d) Read in your geography about 1. Tell briefly the story in each part. the zones, (e) Draw a line show- 2. What new words have you found ing the voyage of the Fram. in this chapter ? CHAPTEE V IN THE LAND OF THE REINDEER 1. In the northern part of the continent of Europe, by the shores of the Arctic Ocean, dwell a people who are called Lapps. Their country is Lapland. 2. Some of the Lapps live near the shore and get IN THE LAND OF THE KETNDEER 25 their food from the sea. Others live among the moun- tains and get their food from the little gardens that they cultivate and from the forests where they hunt wild beasts. But most of them wander over the low plains that extend for hundreds of miles in these regions. Courtesy American Museum of Natural History , Neiv York IN LAPLAND — A SUMMER PASTURE How is this house built? Make one like it on the sand table. Where are the windows? Find the herd of reindeer. 3. Those who live by the shore and in the mountains build houses of boards, as we do; or, if they are too poor to buy boards, they build huts of logs, of stones, and of mud and turf. But those who dwell on the plains make their homes in tents that they move from place to place, and they spend all their time caring for reindeer. 4. Nature has made it impossible, as we have seen, for people to live near the Poles. It seems, also, that 26 HOME LIFE AKOUNB THE WORLD this wild country, Lapland, was not intended to be a home for human beings, because, during the short sum- mers the ground is a damp meadow, and the air swarms with poisonous flies and mosquitoes: while in the long, cold winter, snow covers everything like a thick blanket. But in the widely extending meadow-lands a kind of moss grows in great abundance that reindeer prefer to all other kinds of food. 5. I^ature has not only provided food for the rein- deer, but has specially fitted him to live in just this kind of place. He quenches his thirst with snow when ice covers the water. He has long horns to protect himself from his enemies, the wild beasts. His feet are so made that they spread out when he walks on soft, spongy ground or on snow, so that he does not sink down into it. His spreading feet are useful also when he wants to swim in the water. 6. But he would starve to death in winter, if his feet were not provided with a hard, horny covering. This covering is so sharp that he can cut through the thin crust that often forms over the snow. Having broken through the crust, he digs down through the deep snow to the moss beneath, as a dog or cat digs a hole in the ground. 7. So we find that people do live here, and very hap- pily too, for they know how to tame and how to care for and use the reindeer. 8. In this land of the reindeer a baby was born whom his parents named Nils. His father was a rich man, for IN THE LAND OF THE REINDEER 27 he owned a thousand reindeer. As is the custom in that country, a baby deer was given to Nils on the very day he was born. Now that he had grown to be quite a lad, he had more than fifty deer that he could call his own. 9. Nils had spent most of his short life among the deer. He had played with the young ones when he was ^^^ k MiWB •■-^.--■"5- -.. : ../:-•»;-«. -:.r. JR B^^ .m^r i/)^B^B^B^^^^^BI uM tMl|i|MBI|tt^ Pf'^a BJjjjj^B ■1 PbP^h^ miJ ■K 6am, "«■»«»%.,. *^' '^^^H Brown Brothers MILKING REINDEER How do you learn from this picture that the reindeer is a rather small animal? How tall is it? little. As he grew larger and stronger he went to the pastures with his sisters at milking time. Each deer was held by a lasso while it was being milked. Nils felt very important the first time that the lasso was put into his hands. The deer were generally very gentle and seldom tried to get away. 10. He enjoyed watching his sister squeeze the stream 28 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD of milk into the little cup. When the cup was nearly full she would pour it into the keg with its sliding cover, or into a reindeer bladder for the men to take with them when they went to guard the herds. 11. It did not take long to milk one deer for each gave less than a pint. But the milk was so thick that it must be watered before it was drunk. 12. After the milking, Nils would return home and help make butter or, more often, cheese. Some of this was eaten at home and some was sent to the city to ex- change for coffee, sugar, and cloth for summer clothes. 13. When Nils was older he went with the men to learn how to tend the herds. One man and a dog must always be with the reindeer, day and night, to keep them from wandering too far, and to drive off the wolves. Sometimes, when there was a rain storm or a snow storm, it was very hard work to tramp around all night; but, no matter how fiercely the storm raged or how bitter the cold, the deer must be guarded. 14. It was a sad trial at first to Nils to help kill the deer. But this had to be done once in a while, because the family must have the meat for food and the skins for winter clothing. 15. After the skins were prepared, they were made into coats, trousers, caps, boots, and mittens. The fur was shaved from the skins which were to be made into under garments. Long strips of the toughest parts were cut for harnesses. 16. Some of the skins must be set aside for blankets IN THE LAND OF THE REINDEER 29 to sleep ill during the winter, and others were put in a pile to sell to traders. 17. A part of JN'ils' work was to make thread out of the tendons of the reindeer. The tendons are the hard cords that grow at the ankles. When these were dried, Nils was able to pull them apart into fine threads. The women used these threads instead of LAPP LAUGHTER silk and cotton. 18. The horns and bones of the reindeer, Nils learned to fashion into knives and knife-handles, spoons, cups, scoops, and small tools of various kinds. The hoofs were put away to send to the city, where they were made into glue. 19. But Nils liked best of all to watch the men and women harness the reindeer into the sleds and ride off over the snow. He longed for the time to come when he could drive too. He shall tell his own story of his first ride. nils' first ride 20. "You may imagine that I was wild with joy, al- though I tried not to show it, when father said one day^ 30 HOME LIFE AKOUND THE WORLD ^ NilSj you may go to the herd and catch the deer that we have been training for you. We will see what luck you will have driving him.' 21. "I put on my snowshoes, for the snow was soft and deep, and started off on the run to the herd which was four miles away. 22. "When I reached the place where I knew the herd was, I found the deer almost buried out of sight in the snow. About all I could see was hundreds of little tails wagging above the surface. Of course I knew these were the tails of the deer and that they had dug them- selves into the snow to find the moss. I had seen them this way very often, but I can never help laughing at the sight. 23. " I was so eager that I did not notice where I was going and fell into one of the holes, and had a hard struggle climbing out. The noise I made caused some of the deer to scramble out too, and I soon found the one I was after. 24. " It did not take long to cast the lasso over his horns. He came along quietly enough, and we soon reached home. 25. " I put the collar around his neck. Then I took the long strip of deerskin, fastened one end to the collar, , ran it between his front legs and between his hind legs, and tied the other end to the ring in the front end of the sled. 26. "Father held the deer so he could n't run away. 27. " I next tied another long strip of deerskin to his IN THE LAND OF THE REINDEER 31 Courtesy American Museum of Katural History, iS'ew York A WINTER PASTURE How do the reindeer find their food in winter ? horns. This was to drive with. When you throw it over the left side, the deer stops. "When it is on the right side, he goes faster. The other end I wound around my right hand and got into the sled. 32 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 28. " Father let go of the deer and in a flash we were off. 29. " A reindeer sled is like a small boat on runners and it tips very easily. As this was my first ride alone, over I went before we had gone far. I had been in too much of a hurry when I fastened the rein about my hand A SUMMER HOME IN LAPLAND Make a tent like this on the sand table. SO it became unfastened after I had been pulled through the snow for a short distance. This released the deer and he was soon out of sight. 30. " My older sister is a very skillful driver. She had expected the very thing that happened, and was ready with her own reindeer to start in pursuit. After a while she appeared in the distance returning with my deer and | IN THE LAND OF THE REINDEER 33 sled. You may be sure that next time I fastened the rein tight about my hand so that, if I tipped over, the deer could not get away. 31. "I had to try many times before I could drive the best of our deer, for some of them are very swift and at times headstrong. But there is no fun equal to that of riding over the snow behind a deer that travels fifteen miles an hour, and carries you a hundred miles a day." FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. Find on the globe the home of the 7. What do the Lapps have to sell ? Lapps. What do they need to buy ? What 2. In what continent is it ? do the farmers that you know 3. Is there a country near there that have to sell? What do they need you have read about in the previ- to buy? ous chapter ? 8. Why do you suppose the Lapps do 4. In what direction is it from your not put their reindeer in barns at own home ? Across what ocean night, and why do they not put must you sail to reach it ? fences around the pastures ? 5. What makes a man wealthy in 9. Describe for Nils some exciting our country ? What makes him adventure you have had — a wealthy in Lapland ? sleigh ride ; an automobile ride ; 6. What makes Lapland a good a ride on a load of hay; har- place for reindeer ? Read in your nessing a colt, etc. geography, or other books, about 10. Which do you think is more use- reindeer in Alaska ; in Labrador ; f ul, the Eskimo dog or the rein- in Siberia. deer? CHAPTEE yi A COUNTRY OF MOUNTAIN PASTURES 1. To reach this wonderful country about which we are now to read we must go to one of the large seaports on the eastern coast of our own land. Here are steamers Cowrtesy American Mvseum of Natural History, New York EUROPE, AFRICA, AND ASIA Important locations — The three continents; Atlantic Ocean; Indian Ocean; Northern Ice Cap; British Isles; France; Alps Mountains; Mediterranean Sea; Sahara Desert; home of the rein- deer; home of the camel; home of the elephant; Equator. A COUNTRY OF MOUNTAIN PASTURES 35 that will take us across the Atlantic Ocean to the north- ern shore of France. This is the same continent in which the Lapps and their reindeer live. But instead of going north towards Norway and Lapland, we will take a train that carries us southward to the middle of the continent. L 4 nil r ^ ^'' ''■'^^^ A PASTURE HUT Notice the stones that hold down the roof. The mountain in the background is the Jungfrau. What does Jungfrau mean? Here is a very, very small country, packed full of tall mountains that rise like church spires, some of them so high that their tops are always covered with snow. These mountains are called the Alps and the country is Switzerland, the home of the Swiss people. 2. The Swiss people love Switzerland as we love our own country, as Nogasak loves the wide stretches of snow and ice around her home, and as Nils loves 36 HOME LIFE AEOUND THE WORLD the moss-covered plains in the land of the reindeer. This is a part of one of the songs that is sung in Switzerland: — 3c SWISS HOME LAND O Switzerland, my home land, What can more fair be seen? The snow-tops shine in the glow of the sun , Where else can be found such a garland of mountains ? All hail! All hail! All hail! 4. Mothers and little sisters often put the babies to sleep with this lullaby of the pastures. SWISS LULLABY Sleep, baby, sleep : Your father tends the sheep ; Your mother shakes the branches small. Whence happy dreams in showers fall ; Sleep, baby, sleep. Sleep, baby, sleep : The sky is full of sheep ; The stars the lambs of heaven are, For whom the shepherd moon doth care ; Sleep, baby, sleep. Sleep, baby, sleep : I '11 give you then a sheep With pretty bells, and you shall play And frolic with him all the day : Sleep, baby, sleep. Sleep, baby, sleep : And do not bleat like sheep, Or else the shepherd's dog will bite My naughty, little crying spright : Sleep, baby, sleep. A COUNTRY OF MOUNTAIN PASTURES 37 Sleep, baby, sleep, Begone, and watch the sheep. You naughty little dog ! Begone, And do not wake my little one : Sleep, baby, sleep. 5. Because they love their mountains so much, we shall not be surprised to find that they have given some of them human names. One that seems to have on its THE MATTERHORN This is the grandest of all the Alps Mountains. The little river flows from the melting glaciers on the mountain-sides. The village on the right has hotels for travelers. Note the steep mountain behind the village. The farms are on the left. How many groups of farm buildings can you see ? top a priest's hood, they have called The Monk. An- other, that suggests a proud and haughty woman, they have named Rigi, which means The Queen. To one that is particularly beautiful and beloved, they have given the name Jungfrait, or The Young Maiden. 6. This is the land where William Tell lived long ago. 38 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD Every Swiss boy and girl knows the story of this hero; how he refused to bow to the hat of the cruel ty- rant who ruled his country; how, as a punishment, the tyrant commanded him to shoot an apple with his bow and arrow from the head of his little son; how the arrow pierced the middle of the apple without harming the boy; and how he escaped and afterward * drove the tyrant from his coun- try. 7. Here were born those brave men who died rather than desert the French king whom they had promised to defend. Li the side of one of the mountains a dying lion has been carved to recall their courage and faithfulness. 8. Here, too, we may visit the monks who have devoted their lives to caring for trav- elers who lose their way among the mountains. Their noble St. Bernard dogs go out in all kinds of weather and bring back to the care of the monks those who are dying of hunger and cold. 9. So the Swiss people, strong and brave, and inspired by the story of those who have died for their country in the past, are ready at any time to give up their own lives WILLIAM TELL AND HIS SON Over his shoulder Tell carries the crossbow with which he shot the apple from his son's head. Father and son are walking over the rocks of their moun- tain country and a beautiful view of their home land is seen behind them. A COUNTRY OF MOUNTAIN PASTURES 39 to keep it. This is one of the songs that the children learn at school and that is often heard among the mountains, sung by some shepherd boy as he watches his sheep. THE LION OF LUCERNE The lion represents the strength and courage of the Swiss people. The shield, spear, and battle-axe indicate that these people are ready to fight for what is right. The lion has been killed by the spear broken off in his side. The Swiss Guard, whom this monument honors, was killed defending the King of France in the French Revolution. 10. I. SWISS SONG OF FREEDOM To me belong these rocks, to me this stony soil ; Here I walk with a firm foot. For this is the land of my fathers, And for it I owe nothing to any man. 40 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD These fields and these pastures, To me alone they belong ; As a free citizen I exercise here my rights, I am king over all that I own. Free I came into the world, Free I have labored for my daily bread, Free, too, I sleep under the eternal stars, And free will I end my days. 11. But in a land of steep mountains and of glaciers there are many dangers. Rocks are always tumbling down the mountain sides. The roar of mountain tor- rents and the grinding and groaning of the slipping glaciers never ceases. Many of the cottages on the mountain sides, and many of the villages in the valleys, are ever in danger of being crushed or buried by ava- lanches of earth, as a part of the village of Elm was not many years ago. THE AVALANCHE AT ELM 12. On the side of one of the high, steep mountains of Switzerland rests the little village of Elm. 13. In September, 1881, heavy rains had been falling for several days. Large rocks were loosened by the water far up the mountain, and they began falling into the valley. As they did no damage, the people paid little attention to them. 14. But one Sunday morning, while the people of the village were getting ready to go to church, the moun- tain began to rumble and groan. It seemed to have become alive. A COUNTRY OF MOUNTAIN PASTURES 41 15. The children were full of excitement. They were eager to climb up the mountain to see what was hap- pening. 16. Suddenly, without a moment's warning, a great A HOTEL AMONG THE GLACIERS It is in a country like this that the St. Bernard dogs live. They go out over the snow in winter to hunt for lost travelers. 42 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WOELD mass of rocks, earth, and trees fell with a crash into the valley. Then a larger mass fell, filling the air with dust. 17. Before the people could recover from their sur- prise and terror, the whole upper part of the mountain- side began to move. Then it shot out into the air and across the valley as an angry beast leaps on its prey. It struck the opposite mountain and slid down its side destroying everything in its path. ^ 18. Following the roar of the fall there was quiet for a few moments. Then there went up a great cry from all the valley, for many homes, many fields of ripe grain, many sheep and cattle, and many men, women, and chil- dren had been buried. 19. With such dangers surrounding them, we do not wonder that the little children are accustomed to offer this evening prayer : — 20. " Look kindly down, when we are sunk in sleep, And guard our roof." 21. Yet the mountains are not always and every- where cruel. There are many beautiful lakes on whose shores large cities are built. There are broad fields in the valleys through which run laughing streams of water. The lower parts of the mountains are clothed with forests. And the glaciers, ever sliding downward into the warm valleys, melt and send their waters to feed the great rivers of Europe. ' 22. And on the mountain-sides are the wonderful mountain pastures, where in summer time the people take their cows and goats and pigs. Wherever there is A COUNTRY OF MOUNTAIN PASTURES 43 a shelf of rock on which soil can gather, wherever there is a spot, big or little, where grass can grow, there will be found a pasture that in summer time is covered with I A MOUNTAIN PASTURE Note the fir trees, the bare mountain-top, and the glaciers. 44 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD long, juicy grass that cows and sheep and goats like so much. Here, too, in summer are bright-colored flowers, fragrant strawberries, and beautiful butterflies. 23* Some of these pastures are very small and the paths to them are so steep and rocky that even goats cannot climb to them. But men reach them with the \ help of their mountain sticks and cut the grass for win- ter food for the cattle. They carry it home in bundles aj on their backs or throw it down where women and chil- dren can gather it up. 24. In the language of the people of Switzerland, their pastures are called alps, and there are so many of them that the mountains themselves are called the Alps Mountains, that is, the pasture mountains, 25. Among these mountain pastures lived Nicholas and Gretchen, about whom we shall read in the next chapter. FOR PUPILS' STUDY :' 1. Find Switzerland on the globe. 6. Find the story of the " Swiss 2. What large city in the United Guards " and tell it to the class. States, on the shore of the Atlan- 7. In what particulars is Switzer- tic Ocean, is nearest to your land different from the part of home ? the country where you live ? 3. In what direction from this city 8. Why are the mountains of Swit- must you sail to reach Europe ? zerland called the Alps ? 4. What in this chapter leads you 9. Read to the class the poem you to think the Swiss people love to like best. sing? 10. On the sand table make some 5. Find the story of William Tell mountains that are like the Alps. in some book and tell it to the Draw similar ones on paper or class. the blackboard. IN THE MOUNTAIN PASTURES 45 CHAPTEE VII IN THE MOUNTAIN PASTURES WITH NICHOLAS AND GRETCHEN 1. On the steep, rocky side of one of the Alps a Mountaineer once built his cottage. Across the valley could be seen a white river of ice slowly creeping down- .:m-i9i n^ i PiiMB^^^ ^m ^M w^kb '-^^^ ^3^l?fefe*v^-®^ mm I _J m^m m - FARMHOUSES IN A SWISS VILLAGE The farm animals are kept under the living rooms in winter. on the outside of the houses. All the stairways are wards from the cold mountain-top. Not far from the cottage flowed a roaring, mountain torrent. 2. Here lived Nicholas and Gretchen. All winter they had walked down the steep road to the village to attend school. Before and after school Nicholas had helped gather firewood from the neighboring forest. He had 46 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD done his share of feeding and caring for the cows and sheep and goats, and in the long winter evenings he had learned how to carve pretty things out of wood, Gret- chen, too, had helped in the work about the house and had knitted several yards of beautiful lace to be sold in the city. 3. Before they quite realized it, spring had come. The snow was melting around the house. The first flow- ers were appearing through the brown grass. The animals were sniffing the air from the mountains as if they smelled the fragrant grass and the flowering herbs that waited for them in the pastures. And, when the sun beg-an to shine into the valley early in the morning, the roosters and hens and pigs, that occupied the room directly under where the children lay in bed, became so noisy with their crowing and cackling and grunting that there was no use trying to sleep. 4. All these were signs of spring, and the day was at hand when ]^icholas was to go with the herdsmen to drive the animals to their summer pastures. Gretchen was to stay at home to attend school a while longer and MAKING LACE BY THE ROADSIDE This is a picture of one of the busy little girls in Switzerland. Probably her father and brothers are away in the mountain pastures. How do you know that this picture was taken in the summer time? IN THE MOUNTAIN PASTURES 47 then to help gather the hay in the meadows and care for the garden. 5. Nicholas and Gretchen knew how to write and they agreed to exchange letters while they were sepa- rated. Two letters have been selected for you to read. They will show you how many of the children in Swit- zerland spend their summer, and they will help jou understand how important the mountain pastures are in this country. "July 1,1914. " Dear sister Gretchen : — 6. "I wish you could be with me to-day. The snow tops of the mountains shine in the sunlight. The air is so clear that I can see across the valley w^here other herders are tending their cattle, and I can hear them shout and sing and blow their alp-horns. 7. " The pasture where we are is about halfway up the mountain. The grass is very plentiful and juicy this summer, and the animals are all in fine condition. 8. " I will tell you how I spend my time here, and you will see that I am not lazy. One day is about like another, whether it rains or shines, and so, if I tell you about yesterday, you will know what I do every day. 9. " Our hut is one large room with a big fireplace. It is made of logs and rough boards, and the roof is kept from blowing away by the heavy stones we put on it. In stormy weather the wind and rain come in through the cracks, but by bed-time we are tired enough to lie 48 HOME LIFE AKOUND THE WOKLD down on the soft sheep skins and sleep soundly what- ever the weather. 10. "In the morning we are up at sunrise. We must first milk the cows and the goats. As there are a hun- dred cows and twenty goats, this takes some time. A PASTURE ON THE MOUNTAIN-SIDE Find the glacier in the background. When it is done, we are ready for breakfast with a good appetite, I assure you. 11. " The animals are now driven out to feed in the pasture. They seem to like best the grass and the sweet flowering plants that grow close to the glaciers. One must watch the sheep and cows to see that they do not wander too near the steep rocks and fall off. 12. " The rest of us spend the day taking care of the IN THE MOUNTAIN PASTURES 49 four children of the milk, as we call them. You know what these four children are — butter, whey, cheese, and pigs. Pigs are the fourth child of milk because they drink all that is left after butter, whey, and cheese have been made from it. 13. " So we put some of the milk into the churn that looks much like a big barrel. It is connected by a beam with a water wheel set in the swift stream that flows near our hut. This stream comes from the glacier. It supplies us with water to drink and it also churns our butter. 14. " We take the rest of our milk and make it into cheese. We shall have hundreds of pounds of butter and hundreds of cheeses to divide among the herdsmen at the end of the season. 15. " We do not neglect the pigs. They must be fed and watched too, or they will wander off and be lost, or fall over the steep rocks and be killed. 16. " At evening the cows come back from the pas- tures to eat the salt they find ready for them, to be milked, and to lie down for the night near the hut. 17. " In this way the days have gone by and now it is time to send the goats to the highest pastures near the top of the mountain. The way up there is very steep and the pastures are dangerous for any but the goats, so the cows and sheep will remain here. But the grass on these high pastures is so sweet and fattening that the goats go there for a month each year. By the first of August the snow and the cold will drive them down to 50 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD this pasture again, and then, in a few weeks, we shall all be going back home for the winter. I am already beginning to wish that that time had come. But it is glorious up here and we often sing : — 18. "the song of the herdsman " No life like the herdsman's, so lusty and fair, Breathing, enjoying the sweet mountain air ; With the sun in the morning he rises and swells With joy as he hears the gentle cow-bells. And sounds he his alp-horn, its music is borne Away down the valley on the wings of the morn ; He feels such accord with nature around. It seems in the Alp alone gladness is found. " Your affectionate brother, " ISTlCHOLAS." 19. " September 1, 1914. " Dear Nicholas : — " It is almost time for you to come back home. We shall be so glad to welcome you, and are already mak- ing plans for the festival in honor of the return of the cattle and herdsmen. It will be as gay as the day last May when you went away to the pasture. 20. " You remember that day, do you not ? All the cows in the village were brought together, a hundred of them, and fifty sheep and twenty goats, besides the pigs. We put wreaths of flowers around the necks of the cows, and all the men and women and children wore their best clothes and carried flowers and banners. 21. " Then old Melchior, the head herdsman, led the queen cow with her bell tinkling at every step and all IN THE MOUNTAIN PASTURES 51 the rest followed. The little cart piled high with pro- visions, bedding, and kettles, drawn by the horse, came slowly after. How we shouted and sang as we followed you part way up the mountain. And now you will all be back in a few days. A DAIRY FESTIVAL The Swiss people have many festivals. At some they have shooting-matches, wrestling, throwing stones, singing, dancing, contests in playing the Alpine horn, and in winter all kinds of winter sports. This is a picture of the festival in honor of the cows, which are so useful in Switzerland. 22. "But you must not think I have been idle all summer. Since school closed I have worked every day in the garden. You will see a fine pile of potatoes and vegetables when you get home. When the hay was ripe on the mountain-side, father took his scythe every pleas- ant morning and climbed up where the best grass was growing. As he swung his scythe over the side of the 52 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD steep rocks, bunches of fragrant grass came tumbling down where mother and I were waiting to receive them. We spread the grass out to dry and towards night heaped it together into two piles, one pile mother put on her head and the other I put on mine, and so we brought it home. In this way we have harvested enough hay to feed our cows and sheep and goats all winter. 23. " Then there have been wild strawberries to pick and carry to market, and on stormy days and in the * evenings mother and I have woven cloth out of the sheep's wool and goat's hair, and have made the cloth j into warm blankets and clothes for us to wear in the winter. 24. " But you shall see all that we have done when you come home. Please come soon. " Your affectionate sister, " Gretchen." FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. How did Nicholas and Gretchen you ever eaten a piece of Swiss spend their time during the win- cheese? Ask your grocer to show ter? you a piece. 2. What are the signs of spring 4. When does winter begin near the around the home of Mcholas and top of the Alps Mountains? When Gretchen? What are the signs of does it begin halfway up the spring around your home ? mountains? When does it begin in 3. In what kind of a house does the valley ? Nicholas live in the summer? How 5. If you should meet Gretchen, what does he spend his time? What is could you tell her about your own the most interesting thing he does? summer vacation that would in- How is butter made in Switzer- terest her ? What does she do that land? How is cheese made ? Have ^ you could not do ? TO THE HOME OF AHMED 53 CHAPTEE VIII TO THE HOME OF AHMED, SON^ OF THE DESERT 1. Ahmed is a Mohammedan boy. He lives far out in the Desert of Sahara, on a little green spot, called an oasis. Beyond the narrow circle of the few farms and the one village of this oasis, there stretch, as far as he can see, noth- ing but brown sand and the blue sky. 2. Before we visit Ahmed we shall want to know in what part of the world this des- ert home is. "We may find it by traveling south from the home of Nicholas and Gret- chen, across the Med- iterranean Sea, to the northern part of the continent of Africa. 3. We have come to the edge of the Torrid Zone or hot belt that extends around the middle of the earth. It was while saihng across this zone, on his way to the South Pole, that Colonel suffered so much from the heat. A SON OF THE DESERT AND HIS FATHER 54 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 4. From one of the large cities on the coast of Africa we take a train that will carry us across a beautiful fer- tile country to the mountains that we saw in the dis- tance when we were sailing towards the shore. It is hard to believe that behind these mountains, covered with vineyards, orchards, and forests, is hidden the largest desert in all the world. 5. Through this wall of mountains surrounding the desert rivers have cut narrow valleys here and there. These are called the gateways to the desert. The one through which we pass is the most beautiful of them all. Shrubs, grass, and flowers grow on the river banks. The songs of birds fill the air. It seems like fairyland. 6. But we go around a bend in the valley and the desert lies before us. At our feet, to be sure, is a car- pet of green grass, sprinkled with bright-colored flow- ers; but a little way beyond, the river is swallowed up in an ocean of sand on which only bunches of sage and thorn bushes struggle for life. This desert covers as much of the earth's surface as our own great country, the United States. 7. The sand seems to be creeping towards us. It seems to say, " We shall cover you up. We shall cover you up." And that is what it is trying to do to every- thing it can reach. Everywhere in the desert the strug- gle is going on between the sand and all living things. It even tries to climb up the sides of the mountains and to reach the fertile fields beyond. It would certainly overcome us and bury us if we tried to go into the TO THE HOME OF AHMED 55 desert on foot. Our safe way is to go on the back of the desert animal, the camel. He is sometimes called " the ship of the desert." He will bear us safely over this ocean of sand. 8. But we should not travel alone. The way is long: there are neither roads nor signposts, and there are dan- HOLDING BACK THE SAND The wall of clay is built to keep the sand from creeping into the oasis. gers. We must join a caravan, a company of travelers, if we would go comfortably and safely. "While we are waiting for the caravan, we may spend the time listen- ing to the story of this strange animal that nature has given to the desert people. THE STORY OF THE CAMEL 9. The camel belongs to the desert as the Eskimo dog belongs to the Arctic regions, and as the reindeer 56 HOME LIFE AEOUND THE WOKLD belongs to the moss-covered marshes of the north- lands. 10. How awkward and homely he is, standing there on his long crooked legs. He has a big hump on the top of his body. His neck is long and thin. His face does not look very intelligent or friendly. If you pat A CAMEL The camel that is standing has one leg tied so that he cannot wander away. Notice the long legs and large feet, the shaggy hair, and the solemn stern face. The camel on the right is ready to receive his load. him he suddenly turns his face towards you, utters an angry bellowing sound and shows his teeth, as much as to say, " Let me alone ! " In fact, that is just what he means. The people of the desert never try to make a pet of him. 11. But the very things that make him appear ugly are the things that are most useful to him. With his long legs he strides mile after mile through the soft. TO THE HOME OF AHMED 57 yielding sand. His big feet are like rubber pads that spread out and keep him from sinking into it. In his hmnp he stores up nourishment that feeds his body when he can get little or no food on his long journeys over the desert. An armful of coarse straw, a few dry beans once a day, or the dry thistles that he nibbles as he walks along will keep him strong and well for many weeks. 12. To be sure, his hump is growing smaller, while he is fed so scantily, until the flesh is nearly gone from it. Then he must be allowed to rest in a good pasture until his hump becomes large and soft again. He needs this rest at least once a year. 13. Inside the big, ungainly body are many little pouches or sacks that hold water. These fill up every time he has a chance to drink, and they empty into his stomach when he is thirsty. 14. But this is not the whole story of the camel. In this country, where there are no cows, camel's milk is much liked and used by children and grown people. When he is too old to work, he is killed. His flesh is used for food. His skin is made into leather. The hair is shaved from the skin and woven into rugs and cloth for clothes and tents. 15. But here is our caravan. There are several horses, twenty camels, and six donkeys. Some of the camels and donkeys are loaded with our tents, our blankets, our sleeping mats and cooking utensils, and with bundles of 58 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD twigs to use as fuel. Water and food for the donkeys and ourselves we must also carry with us. 16. The water is in goat-skins that are sewed up like big bottles. When you want a drink, you must untie the neck of the goat-skin and pour a little into a cup. But be care- ful not to waste any, for it must last until we come to a desert spring, and this we may not do for several days. A CARAVAN This is the only safe way to travel in the desert. 17. A camel is led up for you to mount. The driver makes a sort of croaking sound and pulls the camel's head down. The camel grunts and growls and looks very cross, but after a time kneels down on his fore legs and pulls his hind legs under him. You put one foot on his neck and with a jump you are on his back. You must hang on tight when he rises, or you will be thrown off. TO THE HOME OF AHMED 59 18. We start out over the desert. There is only the soft sound of the crunch, crunch of the camel's feet in the sand to break the stillness. "We move along hour after hour. As the sun becomes hotter and hotter to- wards noon, we see the drivers take off one cloak after another until in the hottest part of the day they are wearing only one. "We keep steadily on. 19. Towards evening the air becomes cooler and the drivers begin to put on their cloaks again, one at a time. When night comes they will have them all on, perhaps as many as six. Rolled up in them, they sleep comfor- tably^ through the chilly night. A SAND-STORM 20. The second day of our journey we are overtaken by a sand-storm. It first appears far away, hke a cloud. But it is coming towards us, and before we can realize what is happening, we are in its midst. 21. Sand fills the air. It blots out the light of day. We can hardly see the person next to us. Our eyes, our ears, our noses, are filled with it. It works between our lips and grits between our teeth. It blows down our necks and into oiir hair. The sharp grains scratch and cut our faces until they bleed. 22. And the wind howls and roars and hisses, while the desert groans and moans. 23. The camels can go no farther. They lie down and put their heads close to the ground. They close their eyes, which are protected by very long, thick eye- 60 HOME LIFE AEOUND THE WORLD lashes. They can close their nostrils also. Their nostrils and ears are provided with a hairy fringe that helps to keep out the sand. 24. The camel drivers wrap their long cloaks tight around them and lie down on the sand, huddled close to the camels. We follow the example of the drivers. 25. For a long time we lie there. The desert sand seems to have risen up to destroy us. We can feel it piling itself around us, and from time to time we try to shake it off. 26. But at last the wind dies down. The sand sinks to rest and the air becomes clear. We shake the sand from our clothes and hair. We wipe it from our bleed- ing faces. We rouse the camels and start on our way. 27. We now understand how sometimes an entire caravan is overtaken by a sand-storm that, lasting for a whole day or longer, buries and smothers men and camels in the sand. THE ROBBERS 28. As our camels carry us along with stately tread, stopping now and then to nibble at a nearby clump of thorns, we spy again in the distance a cloud of dust. It comes nearer and nearer, and soon we see that this time it is not made by wind but by a band of horsemen. 29. There are a dozen of them riding on swift horses. The harnesses are bright with brass trimmings and gayly colored cloth. The riders theniselves wear many yards TO THE HOME OF AHMED 61 of colored cloth wound around their heads, and white, red, blue, or purple cloaks. 30. They spur their horses forward, and with a loud cry they rush towards us at a furious rate, waving their guns, swords, pistols, and spears. Brrr ! — Brrr ! sound their horses' hoofs on the sand. But at a sharp com- mand from their leader, they stop, turn, and are soon lost in the distance. 31. These are desert robbers. It is well for us that we are more in numbers than they and that our camel drivers know how to keep the animals of the caravan under control for they are very terrifying as they rush at us. A BEDOUIN CAMP 32. Our journey across the sands is about over, for there, on the horizon ahead of us, is an oasis. It is the one where Ahmed lives. One of the drivers spies it first. " Ho ! " he shouts. " There is shade and rest, and gardens, and cooling waters." And then, we see it — first a speck, and then a line of green beyond the daz- zling, burning sands. 33. As we approach the oasis we pass a camp of Bed- ouins. They are like gypsies, living in tents and mov- ing from one place to another, as they will. Perhaps the band of robbers, that we met, was from this very camp ; for they often attack and rob small caravans. 34. They live a lazy life with their goats and camels and dogs. They spin the goats' hair and camels' hair and 62 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD weave it into cloth. Some of the milk of their goats and camels they make into cheese and butter. They buy A BEDOUIN CAMP These are wild people who live in tents. The door of their tents is a palm leaf mat. wheat and barley and beans which they grind into coarse meal and make into bread. 35. They are not friendly people and we quickly pass them by and enter the oasis. FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. Find the Mediterranean Sea on the 3. How does the Gateway to the Des- globe. What continent is north of ert differ from the desert itself? it ? What continent is south of it ? 4. What place that you have seen is 2. Why shall we expect the Sahara most like a desert ? Desert to be a hot place? .5. How is a camel particularly adapted WITH AHMED IN THE OASIS 63 to living in a desert? What other animals of which you have read give milk that is used by man ? 6. What is a caravan ? 7. What is the most interesting part of this journey across the des- ert? 8. Read what your geography has to say about deserts in different parts of the world. CHAPTEE IX WITH AHMED IN THE OASIS 1. ThI: road into the oasis is a narrow path shaded by palm trees. How cool it is here after our long, hot ENTERING AN OASIS journey. The scent of flowers and of fruit, the song of birds and the hum of bees, remind us of the beautiful gateway of the desert that we left a few days ago. 2. Our camels have not carried us far before children come rushing down the road towards us. Little brown 64 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD creatures they are with dancing eyes and loose, white or bright-colored cloaks floating around them. Some of the smallest have nothing at all covering their little bodies. They are shy, as well as lively, and scamper away like wild animals at our least movement. But, when they think they are well out of danger, we can see some of the boys at a distance turning somersaults in their ex- citement. 3. But we have come to an open green spot iu a grove of palm trees. Here we stop and put up our tents, after the owner of the grove has given us permission. 4. As we sit under the trees, looking up at the bunches of brown dates ripening in the sun, a boy about fourteen years of age comes loitering along the path. We ask him to sit down and tell us about the palm trees. This is his story. STORY OF THE PALM TEEES 5. "My name is Ahmed," he began. "I was born in the desert, and so were all my people. I live in the brown plaster house yonder with my father, mother, grandmother, and sisters. We are very happy. 6. " These trees under which we sit are ours. In all the oasis there are hundreds of date palms. We own fifty of them. 7. " Our trees need much care and much water. There is an old saying in the desert : ' If the palm tree shall prosper, it must have its head in the fire of the skies and its feet in water.' In some of the oases the WITH AHMED IN THE OASIS Q5 roots of the trees reach down to the underground rivers, but we must water ours from the sprmg twice a week. 8. " Every one on the oasis has his share of water, just enough for the trees that he owns. The water is '" .-,.,....... ...^J^ii^y-., -Ml r "^km A ""^^"'^ WATER FOR THE PALM TREES Find the spring from which the water flows. The house on the right is Uke the one in which Ahmed hves. brought to the trees in ditches. These we must dig and keep clear of sand. I help in all this work and when harvest time comes I climb the trees and help bring down the bunches of dates. 9. "In October the dates are ripe. We have some trees that bear four hundred pounds of dates in one year. As they grow in bunches, ten to fifteen bunches 66 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD on a tree, you can understand that it is not easy work taking them down the long tree trunks. We must be careful not to drop them. 10. " After the date harvest is over we plant our gar- den among the trees and also on the edge of the des- ert. We raise barley, wheat, beans, tobacco, and many other things. I drive the camel at plowing time, and sometimes I hold the plow. 11. '^And we must keep the sand from covering the plants. It is always trying to creep in and ruin our crops. When the wind blows hard, and es- pecially during sand storms, we stick long rows of palm leaves along the tops of the sand piles. These stop the sand and our plants are saved. 12. " The palm tree is the desert tree, as the camel is the desert animal. We could not live in the desert with- out it. There are three things that we must have here : first, the springs of water; second, the camels; and third, the date palm trees. A LOAD OF DATES Dates are packed in bags and carried by the "Ships of the Desert" to the sea coast, whence they are sent to all countries. Note the baby camel and his little hump. WITH AHMED IN THE OASIS 67 13. "Most of the dates we sell to merchants who carry them across the desert in caravans, but some we keep for ourselves. When we go to my home you shall see how useful this tree and its fruit are to us. I think it must be the best tree in all the world." 14. Ahmed finished his story and we started along the narrow road to his home. '^ Ahmed's home 15. The houses of the desert are built of mud. Wood is so scarce that it is used only for beams and outside doors and occasionally for a shed. The clay is found under the sand. It is shaped into bricks which are dried in the sun. 16. The bricks are piled up to make the walls of the houses. Mud is then plastered over the bricks and over beams of wood to make the roof. 17. The outer walls of some of the houses are broken only by a doorway. If there are windows they are so small that you could hardly put your head out through them. The people of the desert do not like to have passers-by look in w^here they are living. 18. It is such a house as this that Ahmed invites us to enter. We pass through the door and enter a room. Here his mother sits in the middle of the floor grinding barley for the cakes that she will bake for the evening meal. His sister is sitting at a loom in one corner weav- ing cloth of camel's hair. His grandmother is crouched on the floor by a little fire holding the baby brother. 68 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 19. We are introduced to his people. Tliey are very kind and welcome us with smiling faces. 20. Ahmed leads us about the house. He points out the hole in the roof where the smoke of the fire passes out J for there is no chimney. He shows us the other rooms of the house. There are only two. Instead of doors, they have a curtain of camel's hide shutting them off from the living-room. A STREET IN AN OASIS Notice the narrow roadway sloping towards the middle. Why is this? The wall on the right encloses a garden and at the farther end is a door. The walls and houses are made of clay. The men on the left have found a shady corner. WITH AHMED IN THE OASIS 69 21. We are especially interested in the storeroom. In one place are piles of dates. In a corner lie bundles of camel's hair to be used in weaving. In another place there are baskets full of grain, and jars of water that have been filled at the spring. We also see some bundles of fibers that Ahmed says come from the palm tree, and a jar of date-seed oil. 22. While we are looking about, Ahmed tells us the rest of the story of the palm tree. 23. " Of course," said he, " we eat the soft part of the dates, but we do not throw away the seeds. We roast some of them and grind them up to make a drink that is almost as good as coffee. The rest of the seeds are ground finer into meal and pressed until the oil that is in them runs out. The meal is then fed to the camels, donkeys, horses, goats, and hens. 24. " When the palm trees are about a hundred years old, they do not bear much fruit. Then the leaves are pulled off and sap flows from the places from which they are broken. We drink the sap while it is fresh and use it for vinegar when it grows sour. 25. " Did you see those baskets and the mats on which the dates are piled ? Those are made of palm tree leaves. Much of the twine and rope used in the oasis is made of fibers pulled from the trunk of the palm tree. 26. " I must not forget the palm cabbages. These are the big buds that grow at the very top of the tree. We cook them in a variety of ways. 27. " When a tree begins to die, we cut it down. Some 70 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD of the wood we use in building houses and some of it for fuel, although, for the most part, our fuel is the dried bushes that grow in the sand on the edge of the oasis." .-♦^^iitel'aB t \ '*f . ^# '^ '^'^^^^^^i :{ i(iU -: E^ '^^^#'y^^^^ Im l^:>^^^ '"^m '^^, THE TOP OF A HOUSE IN THE DESERT Find the hole in the middle of the roof and the low wall to keep people from falling off. What do you suppose the tent frame is for and the ladder? Can you find the spout where the rain water drains from the roof? The domed building on the right is a httle church. 28. After we have looked over the storeroom, we pass out into the little back yard. This is surrounded by a high wall. Here are kept the hens and chickens and the pigeons. Here also the babies play, and here, in the WITH AHMED IN THE OASIS 71 hottest part of the year, the family cooking is done and the meals are eaten. 29. " Come up on the roof," says Ahmed. 80. We follow him up a narrow flight of stairs, also made of mud, and find ourselves on a flat roof with the hole in the middle that we had noticed from below. It A MARKET-PLACE Each merchant spreads his wares out around him and waits for people to come and buy. His first price is always more than he expects to receive. would be easy to fall into this hole, but we cannot fall off the sides, for the walls of the house extend above the roof. 31. From here we look off over the oasis. There are many houses like the one in which Ahmed lives. A few are two or three stories high. Some of them cover a great deal of ground and are surrounded by groves and gardens. Ahmed tells us that these are the houses of the rich. Kising above the sand-colored houses are many 72 HOME LIFE AKOUND THE WORLD green palms, and beyond the circle of the oasis stretch the hot, brown sands of the boundless desert. 32. We learn that the family spends much time on the roof. The women come here to enjoy the view and the cool breezes at evening. Here, too, they receive their A CHURCH IN THE DESERT A priest goes to the gallery near the top of the tower five times a day and calls the people to prayer. friends. The women stay at home most of the time, and when they go on the street they cover their faces up~ to their eyes with a veil. This is to prevent men who do not belong to their family from seeing them. 33. Li the distance rises the round domed roof of the temple with its tall, slim tower called a minaret. Five times every day a priest goes up to a little gallery near the top of the minaret and calls the people to prayer. WITH AHMED IN THE OASIS 73 Then all Mohammedans fall on their knees, facing to- wards their holy city, Mecca, and pray to their prophet, Mohammed. 34. Ahmed points out the bazaar, where the shops of A SHOP OF BAZAARS What things are sold here? the village are huddled together, and the market-place, and says that a little way beyond the bazaar is the school that he used to attend. 35. We should like to visit these places but we want 14: HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD still more to go to the spring from which the water flows that supplies all the oasis. 36. It is not far away and it is not hard to find, for boys and men and young women and old women are going to and from it almost all day. The women carry water jars on their heads and they sit about the spring in groups to talk. Now and then a caravan stops to water the camels, donkeys, and horses. ' ' ^, 37. We sit down near the spring and Ahmed tells us THE SECRET OF THE SPRINGS OF THE DESERT 38. "A holy man once lived in one of the oases with his people. In the middle of it was a spring of water that had flowed out of the sands year after year without ceasing. This spring had supplied water for the small gardens and the fruit trees. From it the women had taken water for all the homes of the village, and their few animals had come there to drink twice each day. 39. " There was no water for many miles in all direc- tions, but the spring had never failed in the memory of the children or of their parents or of their grandparents. So they lived contentedly with never a thought that the spring would not always continue to give its sweet waters to them and to their children as it had to their ancestors. 40. " But one day the usual supply of water did not flow from the spring. The next day there was still less and the next day again still less. 41. " The people became alarmed. Their crops were drying up. Their animals were dying. Their fruit trees WITH AHMED IN THE OASIS 75 were drooping. They must either prepare to leave their homes and go to some far-away oasis, or perish of thirst. 42. "The holy man grieved and suffered with his people, and he prayed to God for help. A DESERT SPRING What do you think the clay walls are for? 43. " In answer to his prayer he was shown that the water came from a great underground river, that the sand that was choking the spring must be dug away, and that a larger opening must be made in the hard clay and rock that he would find underneath. 76 HOME LIFE AEOUND THE WORLD 44. " When the people were told this, they at once set to work. They dug the sand out of the spring until they came to the hard layer of clay and rock, just as it had been revealed to the holy man. They used chisels and pickaxes, and sure enough, at last out gushed a bountiful stream of clear, sweet water that has kept flow- ing to this day." 45. The holy man had found the secret of the spring, and from that time, whenever water begins to fail in any of the hundreds of oases of the Sahara, men dig away the sand and release again the hidden stream. 46. But there is yet another part of the secret of the springs that the holy man did not find out. Underneath the sands of the deserts are many rivers that begin far away on the distant mountains. The rain that falls on these mountains flows down their sides and finds its way into underground channels or tunnels. It flows on and on, often for hundreds of miles, before it comes to a crack in the hard layer of earth above it. Then up it bubbles in a spring. As soon as the cool water touches the dry, hot sand, plants and trees begin to grow. Peo- ple gather about the spring, and by and by there are fruitful gardens, happy homes, and playing children where once was an empty desert. 47. Since the secret of the springs has been found out, people dig wells as they do in our country. In some places they find the hidden river only a few feet below the dry sand ; and in other places they find it only after digging down a long way. But, wherever these wells WITH AHMED IN THE OASIS 77 are dug, there a new oasis is made. In this way, new spots of green are caused to grow on the desert where people come and build new homes. A SMALL OASIS 48. It is time for us to find our way back to our camp. To-morrow at daybreak we must bid good-bye to our desert friends and start on our return across the rest- less sands. But we shall not soon forget Ahmed, who lives under the spreading palm trees of the oasis. FOR PUPILS' STUDY I What two things do date palms need in order to grow ? How are the trees watered ? What different kinds of work does Ahmed do ? What are the three things that people must have in order to live on the desert ? Explain why each one of these is necessary. 5. We say in America that a man is rich if he has a great deal of money. W^h^t makes a man rich on the Desert of Sahara? What makes him rich in Switzerland? In Lapland? On the edge of the northern ice-cap and Labrador? 6. Tell how a house is made in the desert. 78 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 7. What interests you most about 11. Make an oasis on the sand table Ahmed's home ? with clay houses, palm trees, a 8. Make a list of all the uses of the spring and irrigation ditches, date palm tree. Perhaps you can 12. Where does the water come find in other books uses not men- from that you use at home ? At tioned here. school ? 9. Find in the library an account of 13. In some parts of our own coun- a school such as Ahmed attended; try there are irrigated gardens a bazaar ; and a market-place. and orchards. Where does the 10. Tell in your own words the se- water come from? cret of the springs. CHAPTEE X PEDRO'S HOME AT THE EQUATOR 1. On a globe we shall find a line half way between ^ the North and the South Poles. This line passes com- pletely around the globe and is called the Equator. You have read about it in the story of Colonel. 2. It used to be the custom among sailors to play rather rough tricks on those who were crossing the Equator for the first time. Once there was a cabin-boy, named Barney, on board a steamship sailing south on the Atlantic Ocean. He had always lived on the north- ern half of the earth. When the ship came to the Equa- tor, Barney learned a lesson in geography, and this is the way he learned it. BARNEY CROSSES THE EQUATOR 3. Barney had been told by the captain that the ship would cross the Equator sometime during the next day. The eventful day had come. He was up at sunrise and PEDEO'S HOME AT THE EQUATOR 79 every moment he conld spare from his work he stood looking over the side of the ship " to see the Equator," as he said, when it was crossed. 4. So it was no wonder that he was greatly disap- pointed when, early in the afternoon, a sailor told him CROSSING THE EQUATOR Find the shaving pot, the razor, the King and Queen of the Ocean. that the ship had already crossed it. Poor Barney went about his work muttering to himself, " It certainly is strange. I have often seen it on the map and I can't imagine how I crossed it without seeing it." 5. Meanwhile the old sailors were preparing their celebration. Early in the afternoon two of them ap- peared on deck dressed to represent the King and the Queen of the Ocean. Then came two others looking 80 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD like policemen. Another took the part of a barber. He had a pail of soft soap, a whitewash brush, and a big wooden razor. There were also several clowns. ^ 6. Every one who had never crossed the Equator before must come before the King and Queen who were to decide what should be done to them. 7. Barney is the first victim. He is seized by the policeman. A bandage is tied over his eyes. He is^^ brought before Neptune, the King, and his Queen. 8. " So," says the King, " you thought the Equator was a line, did you?" 9. Barney opened his mouth to say " I did think so," but before he could say more than " I," one of the clowns pushed a large bitter pill between his teeth. 10. "You mustn't think it is a line any more. It's just land and water," said the King. " To help you re- member it, the barber will shave you." 11. Thereupon, the barber poured a dipperful of soft soap on Barney's head, and then a dipperful of water and rubbed them together with the big white- wash brush until his head and face and neck were cov- ered with lather. It ran into his ears and eyes and mouth and down his collar. He was really glad when the clowns suddenly tumbled him into a big tank of water that was standing ready. He floundered round until he could pull the bandages from his eyes. Then he jumped out and ran off to put on dry clothing, while the police- men went to find another victim. 12. This was a hard way to learn a geography lesson, PEDRO'S HOME AT THE EQUATOR 81 and Barney never forgot that the Equator is not a real line, but only an imaginary hue that extends around the earth, halfway between the Islorth and the South Poles. 13. Let us look again at the globe and find where the I^TxT" "1^ f «3L.JB L -^ "^ ' ' % \ ^Rr'' B ^^^^r ^^^■^ .'im «# % " (1 ,•5* 1 ^__ ,S^^^ fci ^ i -^^ll^ — -^.^...^^^ ■iTl :1 w ^ ... -;*'"k' ■■'I*^ :li i' yf\ \:'' f^' Hef^^^'^S ^f^,.m^ }^^ Q^- - - CROSSING THE EQUATOR Equator passes through the continent of South America. We shall see a river beside the Equator. It starts among the Andes Mountains in the west and flows east across the continent receiving the waters of many smaller rivers, until it enters the Atlantic Ocean directly at the Equator. 14. This is the mighty Amazon that carries more 82 HOME LIFE AEOUND THE WOKLD water to the ocean than any other river in the world. The land through which it flows is low and marshy. It is in one of the very hottest parts of the earth. So, as plants and trees grow largest and most abundantly where there is the most heat and water, we shall expect to find on the baliks of this river a thick growth of vegetation. And so we do. Here is not only the larg- est river, but the densest and most extensive jungle in the world. 15. Far up this river in the very heart of the jungle Pedro lives with his father and mother in their humble cabin. 16. We cannot possibly walk to Pedro's home, for the bushes, vines, and trees of the jungle make a tangle through which we could not force our way. The ground too is low and covered with water for many miles. There are no carriage roads or railroads. We must go up the river in a small steamboat or in a sailboat. SAILING UP THE AMAZON RIVER 17. The mouth of the river, where we make our start, is so broad that from the middle we can scarcely see either bank. As we glide over its surface, we notice that the water is very dark. If we take some up in a dipper, the bottom of the dipper is soon covered w^ith mud. This is the fine gravel, sand, and clay that the river is bringing from the Andes Mountains thousands of miles away on the other side of the continent. Some of the mud drops upon the banks of the river, filling the PEDKO'S HOME AT THE EQUATOR 83 low, marshy places and making new soil for the grow- ing trees and shrubs of the jungle. Some is carried along by the swiftly flowing water far out into the ocean, where it sinks to the bottom and slowly builds up a bank that will sometime rise above the surface and make a new shore for the continent. 18. As we sail up the river, the banks come nearer together and we see many strange sights. There are lazy crocodiles whose sleepy eyes fol- low every movement of our boat. Monkeys chatter and bright col- ored parrots screech at us from the trees. Dainty humming-birds and large, gaudy but- terflies flit about in the green foliage. ISTow and then a long snake goes swimming by and others are seen hanging from the limbs of trees. Vines cling to the tree trunks. They climb from tree to tree and creep along the ground, making a network through which even the wild beasts can scarcely make their way. We SAVAGE PEOPLE ALONG THE AMAZON 84 HOME LIFE AEOUND THE WORLD catch glimpses of great bunches of beautiful flowers far up among the tree-tops. 19. But all this time we have seen no people. Are there none in the jungle ? Brown Brothers A HOME ON THE AMAZON Of what is the roof made? Of what are the sides of the house made? Find the stairs leading up into the house. Sometimes a ladder is used for stairs. How can you tell that this is a picture of a home in a hot part of the earth? 20. The jungle is a fine home for wild plants and trees and insects and reptiles and wild beasts; but it is not a good place for people. A few savages live in huts or in small villages. They spend their time j in hunting and fishing and in making war on one another. They wear little or no clothing. They build PEDRO'S HOME AT THE EQUATOR 86 their huts out of the grass and palm tree leaves of the forest. Their food is wild nuts, wild fruit, roots of trees, and such animals and fish as they can catch. The jungle supplies their needs which are few. They live a lawless life with few pleasures and many hardships. 21. Besides these savage people, there are a few others who live in the jungle to collect the sap of the rubber tree. Pedro's father and mother had sailed up this river a long time ago to collect rubber for a com- pany that sends it to our own country, where it is made into coats, boots, automobile tires, and all the other rubber things with which we are familiar. 22. We are just coming in sight of his home. It is a little hut raised three or four feet from the ground. In one room the family eat, sleep, and live. It does not look like a very comfortable home : but here Pedro was born and he is quite satisfied and happy. 23. Around the house the trees and brush have been cut away and there is space for a little garden. A few hens are roaming about and a little yellow dog barks at us as we approach. The dog and the parrot are Pedro's playmates. 24. And here is Pedro, a boy about fifteen years of age, and his father and mother. They are kind people and welcome us gladly, for visitors seldom come to this home. I 86 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. Where is the Equator ? What is 6. What two things are necessary it ? Through the middle of what for a real jungle ? zone does it extend ? 7. What interests you most in the 2. In what continent is the Amazon sail to Pedro's home ? River? 8, In what country does Pedro 3. Findthe Andes Mountains on the live? globe. 9. On the sand table make a house 4. Find the mouth of the Amazon like those in which the savages River. In what direction does this . of the jungle live. river flow ? Into what ocean ? 10. Make a list of the new words tj 5. What place, that you have seen, used in this chapter, is most like a jungle ? How does a jungle differ from a desert ? CHAPTER XI A DAY WITH PEDRO IN THE JUNGLE 1. We can spend only one day with Pedro and we must make the most of it. So we are up at break of day. The mother makes some cakes of meal mixed with oil and this, with a drink of sap from the cow tree, is our breakfast. 2. Pedro takes his gun, his long sword-like axe, a little hatchet with which he taps or gashes the rubber trees, and a gourd in which to bring back the sap. 3. We leave the little clearing and are at once in the dense jungle. There are no roads, only narrow paths that have been cut through the tangled bushes and vines. We cannot lose our way, because the growth of trees and bushes makes a wall of green on both sides of the path. I A DAY WITH PEDRO IN THE JUNGLE 87 4. The way is long, for many trees must be visited before noon. The rubber trees do not grow near to- gether. They are scattered through the jungle. From one to another a narrow path is made. It runs through Courtesy American Museum of Natural History, New York AMONG THE RUBBER TREES Through such places as this Pedro goes in search of the rubber trees. thick bushes, and across swamps and muddy streams where poisonous snakes and hungry crocodiles make their homes. 5. After a while we reach the first rubber tree. Pedro finds some tin cups that he keeps by each tree. With his little hatchet he makes a gash in the bark of the tree and the milky sap begins to flow. He attaches one of the cups to the tree in such a way that the sap runs into it. Four or five gashes are thus made around the tree. A cup is fixed to each gash, and we are off to the next tree. 88 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 6. "We go from tree to tree until we have visited a hundred or more. 7. The sap stops running after three or four hours, and it must be collected and taken home. So we go back to each tree and empty the little cup into the gourd. The cups are put in a safe place to be used again to-morrow. 8. By the time we have collected the sap from all the trees the sun is almost overhead and we know it is about noon. We retrace our steps along the same narrow, shady paths and are soon back in the clear- ing. 9. Pedro has pointed out to us many interesting things. We have seen the coconut palm with its clus- ters of nuts high in the top. We have gathered the fruit of the bread tree, which is roasted or boiled and used instead of bread. We have found a cow tree and tasted some of its sweet milky sap. We have passed a rain tree and seen the water dripping like a shower from the ends of the leaves. Courtesy American Museum of Natural History, New York GATHERING SAP FROM A RUBBER TREE Find the little cups into which the sap runs. A DAY WITH PEDRO IN THE JUNGLE 89 10. Insects swarm everywhere in the jungle. Many of them are very troublesome, especially the mosquitoes. Butterflies large and small, some of them most beauti- fully colored, fly in and out among the trees. Ants seem to be everywhere. We lean against a tree and they cover us. We stand on a decaying log: it is certain to be filled with them, and they rush out in great numbers to attack us. We are stopped by an army of them march- ing through the jungle in regular regiments with officers and scouts. Some of them live in very curious mounds of clay which they build as tall as a man. We pass through a village of these mounds. 11. An hour's walk through this wonderland brings us back to the hut. Our dinner of breadfruit and turtle meat broiled over the fire is soon finished^ and Pedro and his father prepare to smoke the rubber sap. HOW RUBBER IS MADE 12. A little fire is built in a hole scooped out in the ground. Upon this fire some palm nuts are placed. These soon begin to give off a dense smoke. A funnel of dried clay is placed over the fire, and the thick smoke rises through it. 13. Pedro's father takes a flat stick and dips it into the rubber sap. He holds it over the funnel, twirling it about rapidly. In a short time the sap has changed to thick rubber. Pedro pours a little more sap on this rub- ber and it is twirled again in the smoke. Little by little all the sap is made into rubber in this way. When the 90 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD rubber on the stick becomes a good-sized ball it is put aside and a new ball is started. These rubber balls are later sent down the river to be shipped to the United States and other countries. Courtesy American ! of Natural History, New York SMOKING RUBBER 14. The day's work is done, unless the little garden needs tending, or palm nuts are to be gathered, or wild animals are to be snared in the jungle, or fish are to be caught in the river. 15. To-day we do none of these things but mount the ladder into the house. Some of us lie down in the hammocks and others sit on the floor while the mother weaves a mat of dry grass as she tells us stories about the jungle. One of the most interesting of them is about ' a turtle. A turtle is called a jahoty by the people who live in the jungles of the Amazon. I A DAY WITH PEDRO IN THE JUNGLE 91 A STORY ABOUT A JABOTY 16. " One day a Jaboty came to a palm tree where some Monkeys were eating coconuts. Courtesy American Mvseum of Natural History, New York READY FOR MARKET The cakes of rubber are brought to the mouth of the Amazon to be sent to different countries. 17. "'Hullo, Monkeys!' said the Jaboty, 'what are you doing up there ? ' 18. " ' We are eating coconuts,' replied the Monkeys. ' Throw me down some,' begged the Jaboty. 19. " ' INo,' said the Monkeys, ' we will not throw you down any nuts, but we will bring you up here and you can eat all you want.' 20. " So they ran down to the ground. They took the Jaboty by his four legs and carried him to the top of the palm tree. They put him on a bunch of coconuts and scampered off over the tree-tops, chattering and laughing in great glee. 92 HOME LIFE ABOUND THE WORLD 21. "Monkeys are very foolish and have very short memories, and they soon forgot all about poor Jaboty in the palm tree. 22. " The Jaboty ate his fill of coconuts and then began to look about for a way to get down. He called to the Monkeys, but they were far away and did not hear. He asked the Parrot, the Butterfly, the Partridge, the Pigeon, the Humming-bird, the Bat, and even the ^. Snake, the Ant-eater, and the Crocodile, but not one could tell him how to get down. 23. "At last a Jaguar passed under the tree. He looked up and saw the Jaboty sitting high over his head. 24. " ' Hullo, Jaboty,' said the Jaguar, ' what are you doing up there ? ' 25. "'1 am eating coconuts,' said the Jaboty. 26. " ' How did you get up there ? ' said the Jaguar. 27. " ' I climbed up,' replied the Jaboty. 28. " ' Oh, Jaboty, throw me down some coconuts/ pleaded the Jaguar. 29. " ' All right, I will,' said the Jaboty, ' if you will place yourself right under me where you can catch them.' 30. "So the Jaguar stood directly under the bunch of coconuts. Then the Jaboty slipped off and fell on the Jaguar's head. The Jaguar was so stunned that he lay there a long time. When he came to himself the Jaboty had crawled away and hidden himself in the jungle. So the Jaguar had to go on his way without his anticipated feast of turtle-meat." i^: Courtesy American J/useum of Xatural Iliston,. Xcm York ASIA ImportaM locations — The continent; Northern Ice Cap; Indian Ocean; Pacific Ocean: India- Oeylon; Ohina; Japan; Australia; Philippines; home of the elephant; Equator. 94 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. What different kinds of food does 6. Tell any story that you know Pedro have to eat? about animals. 2. Make a list of all the jungle ani- 7. From the library get one of the mals that are mentioned. Which books by Joel Chandler Harris would you recognize if you should called " Uncle Remus Stories." It see them? has interesting animal stories. 3. How is rubber sap collected? 8. Make up a fable that Pedro would 4. How is the sap changed to rubber? like to hear about some animal 5. Name all the different things that that you know, you know which are made of rub- ber. CHAPTEE XII TROPICAL GARDENS 1. If we travel around the earth along the Equator, we shall pass through many jungles. Across the Atlantic Ocean, opposite the mouth of the Amazon River, are the great jungles of Africa. Through these flow the Congo River, which is almost as large as the Amazon. 2. In the jungles along the Congo we should meet the gorilla, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the wild elephant, and also most of the animals to be found in the jungles of the Amazon. 8. The people here are savages like those along the Amazon, so we shall hurry across this continent until we come to the Indian Ocean. 4. All the rest of the way around the earth to those snow-capped mountains from which the Amazon River receives so much of its water, the Equator passes through islands and oceans. The islands are like pearls strung on TROPICAL GARDENS 95 the Equator, although many of them are very, very tiny and lie scattered about in the ocean as if they had fallen off the string. 5. One of them is a little pear-shaped island called Ceylon. It lies close to the continent of Asia a little north of the Equator. It looks like a tear dropping from the nose of India. From this island comes the fa- mous Ceylon tea, and cin- namon spice that mother often puts into pies and cakes to give them flavor. 6. The greater part of Ceylon is covered with jungles, but the people who lived there more than two thousand years ago learned how to clear them away and plant in their place the beautiful gar- dens for which the island is famous. 7. Most of the people live in villages. The one that we are about to enter is on the edge of a jungle. The people call it Garden of Flowers. It is a strange vil- lage, because when we reach it, it is nowhere to be seen. Not a house is in sight. But narrow paths wind in and out among the trees, and if we follow one of these it COCONUT PALM TREES 96 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD will lead us between rows of bushes into an open place. Here, half hidden by palm trees and clambering vines, is a little one-story house covered on the sides and roof with long grass or palm leaves. All the houses of the 'd.c/./fX-f- A GARDEN IN CEYLON This is a glimpse of one of the most beautiful gardens in the world. A bunch of bamboo is growing in the foreground. For what is bamboo used? village are like this one, hidden away behind tall, green j hedges in the midst of a little garden of flowers. 8. The cleanest and freshest of them all is the home of Matthes, the elephant driver, his thrifty wife and his little daughter, Dochie. She is a brown-skinned, tropical fairy not more than twelve years old. It is easy to be- come acquainted with her, for she is a gentle, friendly little girl. TROPICAL GARDENS 97 9. She brings us some cool coconut milk in a half- coconut shell. We sit down by the door, and at our request, she tells us about the tree which is so common throughout the tropics. A HOME IN CEYLON This house is not exactly like the one in which Dochie lives. All the houses in that country are not aUke any more than they are in this country. Perhaps you can make a little house like this for the sand table. STOEY OF THE COCONUT PALM 10. Said Dochie, " I think we could get along very well, even if all the other things in the world were de- stroyed, provided we could have the palm tree. It gives us food and drink. We make our houses of it and we could easily make our clothes of it also. 11. " Father built this little house of an old palm tree, 98 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD planted by his grandfather. It had begun to decay, so it was cut down and sawed into timber. The roof and sides of the house are covered with its leaves. The fence around our little garden is made of palm leaf stalks. 12. " When I was a baby I slept in a hammock made of fibers from the palm tree. Mother makes all our mats, and father makes his fish-lines of the same material. 13. "Our dishes and spoons are made of different sized coconut shells and palm leaves. At school we use the palm leaf to write on. When it is dried and rolled smooth it makes very good paper. 14. " Inside of the coconut is a delicious milk which you are drinking. When it is put aside in jars, in a short time it becomes vinegar. 15. " The white meat of the nut we grind into meal. It makes very nice cakes and gruel, and from it coconut oil is pressed. 16. " The sap of the tree is good to drink, and we also get sugar from it. 17. " The boats in which we sail on the river are made of palm tree logs that have been hollowed out. 18. " We believe that the coconut tree keeps away evil spirits. So we plant it near our homes and hang a sprig of its blossoms over the baby's cradle." 19. While Dochie is telhng about the palm tree, our eyes are busy. We recognize the useful tropical trees that we saw in the Amazon jungle. Bananas, bread- fruit, and oranges look out from the green foliage. The ripe ones seem almost asking us to pick them. Vines TROPICAL GARDENS 99 are climbing everywhere, around the tree trunks, up into the topmost branches and over the leaf-covered hut, pushing their tender twigs and bright flowers even into windows and doorway. 20. Dochie tells us about her father and his elephant. She says that elephants cost a great deal of money, and that they eat so much that only rich men and the government can afford to keep them. We also learn that her father's elephant be- longs to the govern- ment and is working with others at this very moment down by the river. 21. We are eager to see them. We hurry away, following our new friend across the clearing, along the shady path, until we come in sight of them. There they are piling up logs which they have brought from a nearby wharf. 22. First they put several logs together on the ground in a row. Then two elephants take a log, one at each end, and lift it upon those already placed. In this way the second and third rows are laid. 23. The pile is now quite high. They do not try to lift more logs, but stop and begin wagging their heads. A WELL-TRAINED ELEPHANT What do you suppose the ladder is for? What in the picture shows that it was taken in a hot country? 100 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD They look very wise and we wonder what they will do next. In a few moments they walk off and soon return with two long timbers. These they place against the pile of logs, resting one end on the ground. After making sure that the timbers will not slip, the four- footed laborers roll one log after an- other up this in- cline until the fourth row is laid. 24. Not the least amusing part of the performance is the careful examination of the pile made by one of the ele- phants after plac- ing each log. He is not satisfied until each one is laid per- fectly square with the rest. 25. On our way back to the village we see men cut- ting down trees and elephants carrying them away. Other elephants are pulling stumps out of the ground and putting them in great piles to be burned. "When the jungle is all cleared away, a grove of coconut palm trees will be planted. 26. Farther on an elephant is cultivating the soil in a Hi A TEA GARDEN IN CEYLON This girl, picking tea leaves, gives us an idea of Dochie. TKOPICAL GAKDENS 101 large field. He is dragging a plow, a harrow, and a big roller, one behind the other. In this way the ground is plowed, harrowed, and rolled, all at the same time. 27. Beyond this field we pass a tea-farm, where men, women, and children are pick- ing the tea leaves from the bushes and carry- ing them in baskets to a shed near by. 28. The rice fields are also interesting. For hundreds of years the people of Ceylon have cultivated rice. While it is growing it must be covered with water, but when it is ripening the ground must be dry. So the fields are surrounded by low banks of earth. Water is brought sometimes from distant lakes and reservoirs in bamboo pipes to flood the fields. Other bamboo pipes drain off the water when it is no longer needed. 29. Elephants are not used in the rice fields, but water buffaloes, which do the work of oxen, horses, and Doubleday, Page !f Company WATER BUFFALOES They are plowing a field for rice planting. Make a model of the yoke and plow. 102 ilOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD mules. They are very fond of standing and rolling in muddy water, so they do not object to working in the soft rice fields even when they are covered with water. FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. Across what two continents does the Equator pass? Across what two jungle regions ? 2. Across what three oceans does the Equator pass ? 3. Over what high mountains in South America does the Equator to 4. Find Ceylon on the globe. 5. How are jungles changed tropical gardens ? 6. Ahmed thought the date palm tree was the most useful tree in the world. Dochie thought the coconut palm was. What do you think ? Give your reasons. 7. What is the most useful tree in the part of the world where you live? If you and another mem- ber of your class do not agree on which is the most useful tree, have a debate on the subject. 8. What kind of work are elephants trained to do in Ceylon ? What animals are trained to work in the part of the country where you live ? 9. With some pieces of wood, that you can play are logs, show how the elephants pile logs in Cey- lon. 10. Read in your geography, or any other book, about the jungles of Central Africa ; about elephants in India. 11. Rudyard Kipling has written some very interesting stories about the jungles of India. You will like to hear some of them read. CHAPTEE XIII TAMING WILD ELEPHANTS 1. Our day in the tropical gardens was coming to a close, and we were about to take leave of Dochie, when she said somew^hat shyly, "Perhaps you would like to go with me to-night and see my father and the rest of the men of the village trap some wild elephants." TAMING WILD ELEPHANTS 103 2. A herd of them had been doing much damage in the neighborhood. One night they went into a village and tore down the huts and trampled on the gardens. At another time, they entered the grove of young coco- first LESSON IN OBEDIENCE In his rage this elephant has broken in pieces all the bushes and branches of trees within reach of his trunk. Find the chain that holds him tied to the tree.: I nut trees owned by a rich planter. They pulled up some of the trees and broke down many others. 3. So the order had come from the government that six of the best of the wild elephants should be caught and that the rest should be either killed or driven far away into the jungle. 4. Matthes and his elephant had charge of the hunt. This elephant had been caught when he was a baby. He was now full grown and was a pet with all the family. 104 HOME LIFE AEOUND THE WOKLD He was always good-natured and had become very skillful in doing the work that elephants are taught to do. 5. All day they had been out in the jungle hunting the wild elephants, and they were now driving them towards a trap that had been built on the edge of the jungle not far from the village. We hurry off with Dochie to be on hand when the elephants appear. TRAPPIlsrG THE ELEPHANTS 6. We are at the trap. 7. It is a large space on the edge of the forest that has been cleared of brush and vines. Stout bamboo poles have been put all around and these have been bound together with stout vines called jungle-rope. The trap is like a big yard surrounded by a strong, high fence. An en- trance has been left on the side towards the jungle and a path has been cut leading to it. 8. It is two hours after dark, when we hear the first distant shouts of the men as they slowly drive the ele- phants towards the trap. A TAME ELEPHANT TAMING WILD ELEPHANTS 105 9. At last they are close upon us. We climb into a tree where we can see what takes place inside the trap. We wonder if the fence will be strong enough to keep the wild beasts in. 10. By the light of the torches we can see Matthes and his helper on their elephants leading the way. They are followed by the wild herd tearing and tram- pling the jungle brush and trumpeting in anger and fear. Behind, and on both sides, come the shouting men and boys. 11. The two tame elephants enter the trap at a brisk trot and station themselves under a clump of trees. One of them wags his head in a very wise way, as much as to say, " It 's all right. We know how to do it." 12. On come the wild elephants at a thundering pace, following the leaders along the narrow path. In what seems but a moment they are all in the trap — twenty of them. 13. The men throw trees across the entrance, and light a big bonfire to frighten the elephants away from that side of the trap. 14. It is an exciting time. Some of the wild beasts are not content to stay in the trap. They rush this way and that, but they meet at every point a man waving a long, white stick. For some reason they seem to be afraid of these white sticks. 15. If an elephant becomes too much excited, the two tame ones go up to him and tumble him over with their heads or begin beating him with their trunks. 106 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 16. After a long time the wild elephants are com- pletely tired out. They stand still and appear to accept their fate. 17. This is the time to select the best ones. Half a ^.i TAKING A BATH dozen men walk quietly among them. Each picks out a large, full-grown one. He creeps up behind him and lightly touches one of his big hind legs with the end of his finger. The elephant thinks it is an insect biting him. He raises his foot and, while he is putting it down, the man slips a stout loop, or noose, of jungle-rope over TAMING WILD ELEPHANTS 107 it. The other end of the rope is quickly tied around the nearest tree and the elephant is caught. 18. After the six have been tied in this way, the rest are driven out of the trap. Those that are not killed, as they rush out, escape back into the jungle. 19. As we are leav- ing the trap, Dochie tells us how the six elephants will be edu- cated. 20. They are put in charge of tame ones. Every day two tame elephants will teach a wild one to obey or- ders. They will pun- ish him if he is obsti- nate or slow to learn his lesson. After he has learned to obey, they show him how to pile logs, to plow, to carry bur- dens, and to do what the driver tells him to do. 21. At the end of two or three months, the wild and unruly monsters of the jungle may be seen quietly and happily working with their tame brothers and sisters. FOR PUPILS' STUDY AT WORK This elephant has been to the woods with his master and is bringing home a load of fagots. 1. In what ways are wild elephants bad neighbors ? 2. Give all the reasons you can find in this chapter for thinking that elephants naturally have a good disposition. Courtesy American Museum of Natural History, New York PACIFIC OCEAN Important locations — The Ocean; Northern Ice Cap; Southern Ice Cap; North America; Ha- waiian Islands; California; San Francisco; Equator. A HOME IN OLD HAWAII 109 3. Which is most useful, the ele- phant, the camel, the reindeer, the Eskimo dog, or the horse ? Have a class debate on this question in which the good points of each ani- mal are described. Tell how a horse is trained to work. On the sand table make an ele- phant trap and show how wild elephants are caught in it. CHAPTER XIV A HOME IN OLD HAWAII 1. We have taken leave of Dochie and the elephants. We are on a steamship sailing around the earth east- ward on our way back to our own country. Our course IPHM 1 -»*? .' -^i_ •'■""■'" '-^ ^^^^B^ p^iwpw ONE OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS Coconut palm trees is through the Torrid Zone, among the many tropical islands that lie on the Equator and on both sides of it. 2. From the Indian Ocean, we pass into the Pacific Ocean. Our ship now points its bow northeast. We are headed for home. 110 HOME LIFE AKOUND THE WOKLD 3. For many days we steam along through the waves. But one day we spy a speck on the horizon just ahead. It grows larger and larger until we see that it is land. The shore is fringed with graceful palm trees, and a line of white foam shows where the tiny coral animals 1 ** "m •^ 40 ^^ 1 1 W" f ;♦« ^ ^ 1 #: i ?p^%^ i^ i 1 7 J ! f-5^1 'fkiulf^S^m Dovbleday, Page Sr Company AN HAWAIIAN HOME This hut made of grass is like the one in which Kaluhe Uved. Cows, horses, and mules have been taken to the islands by white men. Notice the fern-like leaves of the big branches of the tree. have built their coral reefs. This is one of the Hawaiian Islands, sometimes called " The Paradise of the Pacific." 4. If we had visited these islands a hundred years ago, we should have found a small village near the sea- shore. All the houses were made of dry grass covering a framework of bamboo poles. The houses, or rather huts, were like those commonly built by savage people in the Torrid Zone. A HOME IN OLD HAWAII 111 5. In one of these huts lived a little boy, named Ka- luhe, with Nalima, his mother. It was a simple home of one room, furnished only with grass mats on which Kaluhe and Nalima sat and slept. A hole in the ground outside served for a stove, which was partly filled with hot stones when it was used for cooking. Above the hut tall palms nodded in the sun and bent protectingly when the tropical hurricanes swept in from the ocean. 6. IS'alima was a cloth-maker. I^ow the cloth that these savage people wore was made of the bark of trees, and Nalima spent most of her time gathering the bark and making it into cloth. She could make better cloth than any one else in the village, and her neighbors were always ready to give her fish and vegetables in exchange for it. 7. Kaluhe helped his mother as much as he could. At first he could do little but go with her into the woods and watch her strip the bark from the trees. But, as he grew older and stronger, he helped carry the bundles of bark back to the hut and pile them up by the doorway. 8. Nalima and Kaluhe sat day after day in the shade of the palm trees. While Nalima worked at her task of changing the bark into cloth, she told her little son many stories about the spirits of the air, the ocean, and the fire- mountain, from which was always rising the cloud of white steam. One of these stories is related in the next chapter. 9. When Kaluhe was old enough, he learned how to scrape off the coarse, outer bark with a sharp sea-shell ; 112 HOME LIFE AKOUND THE WORLD and when his arms were strong enough to swing the heavy mallet, he pounded the smooth bark on a log until it became wide and thin like paper. His mother was so skillful at this that she could make bark-cloth as thin as muslin. Then IS^alima taught him how to bleach the cloth until it was almost white, and how to dye it and or- nament it with designs of different colors. 10. But Kaluhe had his play hours as well as his hours of listening to Na- hma's stories and of help- ing her at her work. He used to wander off into the jungle with the other children of the village, where he picked berries, and climbed trees after wild bananas and oranges and coconuts. And there was the ever-inviting sea- shore, where he hunted crabs, caught shrimps in a net, and gathered seaweed. All these were good for food after Nahma had cooked them in the hole in the ground, their only stove. And there was bathing and swimming in the surf, and, when he was old enough, he learned how to skim over the breakers on the surf -boards. This was fun indeed. Sometimes he was allowed to go out ON A SURF-BOARD A HOME IN OLD HAWAII 113 with a fisherman in his odd-looking boat. He would spend the time watching the bright-colored, curious- shaped fish swimming about and in and out of the coral reefs, while the fisherman dove down among them and swept them, with a palm leaf branch, from their nests into his net, or pierced them with his slender spear. AMERICAN BOYS IN HAWAII These boys are showing you their surf-boards. How long are these boards? How wide? 11. It was Kaluhe's ambition to become a fisherman, for his father had been one and so had his grandfather. But ]N^alima always looked sad and shook her head when, with glowing face, he told her what he intended to do when he grew up. His father had gone out fishing one day and had never returned. 12. The village dances were the most joyful times. 114 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD When the moon and stars shone bright and made the tropical night almost as bright as day, the whole village was accustomed to gather on the shore. With garlands of sweet-smelling flowers around their necks, they danced and sang to the music of drums and flutes until far into the night. 13. And so the years passed. Nalima became a very old woman. Kaluhe grew to be a man, and became a fisherman as his father and grandfather had been. FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. On the voyage from Ceylon to the bark of trees. How is cotton cloth Hawaiian Islands we shall pass by made ? the Philippine Islands and Austra- 6. How did Kaluhe amuse himself lia. Read about both of these places when he was not helping his in your geography. On which side mother ? Describe some of your of the Equator is each of them ? sports. 2. In which zone are the Hawaiian 7. Draw some designs that would be Islands ? suitable to paint on the bark-cloth 3. Read about coral islands in your used for a cloak by the ancient geography. Hawaiians. 4. Compare Kaluhe's hut with your 8. What in this chapter makes you home. think that the Hawaiian Islands 5. Tell how cloth was made of the are in a tropical part of the earth? CHAPTEE XV A BRAVE HAWAIIAN PRINCESS 1. In the days, long ago, when Kaluhe had grown to manhood, there was a powerful king who ruled the brown-skinned, savage people of the Hawaiian Islands. He had a beautiful daughter, named Kapiolani. A BRAVE HAWAIIAN PRINCESS 115 2. The home of this king and of the princess was near the great volcano from which ever rises the white cloud of steam that is seen far out on the waters of the ocean. 3. Kapiolani, the king, and all the people, believed that the terrible fire-mountain, as they called the vol- A JUNGLE ON THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS Notice the tall ferns that grow higher than the man on horseback, and the vines that climb from tree to tree. cano, was the home of evil spirits. The mightiest of these spirits, and their ruler, was the goddess, Pele. Pele had several sisters. One was named "Fiery-Eyed- Canoe-Breaker." Another was called " Red-Hot-Moun- tain-Lifting-Clouds," and the rest had equally terrifying names. 4. These simple-minded savages were very careful 116 HOME LIFE ABOUND THE WORLD not to displease Pele and her sisters. They were particu- larly careful not to take anything that grew near the volcano without asking permission of the goddess. Some sweet, red berries grew there of which they were very fond. But when they picked them they were accustomed to throw a few in the direction of the crater, saying : "Pele, here are your berries. We give some to you. Some we also eat." Then they ate all they wanted with- out fear, because they thought the spirit was pleased with their gift. 5. It was supposed that these fire-spirits sometimes quarreled. They also went on long journeys and had strange adventures. This story of Pele and the ocean spirits was one that NaHma used to tell Kaluhe as they sat together under the palm trees making cloth. PELE ANiy THE OCEAJ^- SPIRITS 6. Once upon a time, the god of the ocean became very angry with Pele, the fire-spirit, because she would not obey him. He came one day to the foot of the fire- mountain and shouted, " Pele, come forth." 7. Pele replied from her home in the volcano, " You are not my master. I refuse to obey you." 8. Then the god of the ocean summoned his water- spirits. Huge waves rolled in from the boundless sea, and piled one on top of the other on the shore. At his command, they leaped up the sides of the volcano. They flowed over the edge of the crater and filled it full of water to the very top. A BEAVE HAWAIIAN PRINCESS 117 9. For one short moment it seemed that Pele and the other fire-spirits were drowned and that their fires were quenched forever. But she cried aloud to her sisters. THE VOLCANO The home of the goddess, Pele. They rushed to help her. Together they set to work to drive the water-spirits from their home. First they heated the waters until they boiled. Then they heated them still more and great clouds of steam rose into the air. Almost in despair, exerting all their power, they 118 HOME LIFE AEOUND THE WORLD heated the waters many times hotter than before. There was a fearful explosion. All the waters to the last drop were hm^led from the crater back to their home in the ocean. So Pele ruled once more in her mountain. 10. The savages of the Hawaiian Islands believed such stories as this until white people from our own country went to them and taught them that there were neither water-spirits nor fire-spirits. The beautiful princess, Kapiolani, determined to prove to her people that they need fear these spirits no longer. How she did it is told in the following story. HOW THE POWER OE PELE WAS BROKEN 11. When Kapiolani was a little girl, she had been taught to fear Pele and her sisters. Many times she had gone to the mountain to pick the sacred berries, but had never dared eat them until some had been offered to the goddess. When, at night, the fires of the crater lit up the sky and the earth shook, the mountain rumbled, and the lava srushed HOME OF A JAPANESE LABORER . ^ This home is in the midst of a coffee plantation. ^P OVCr itS CUge aUQ A BKAVE HAWAIIAN PEINCESS 119 flowed down the mountain-side, she used to tremble with fear as she lay on her bed of grass-mats and pray- to the fire-spirits to protect her from harm. 12. But now she had grown to be a woman. She had come to believe that there was no Pele and that there A RICE PLANTATION were no fire-spirits. She wanted her people to believe this also. But they would not believe unless she proved it to them. 13. So one day she walked up the side of the fire- mountain with a great company of her people. As they came near the crater, they urged her to go back. But she said, " I will descend into the crater. If I do not re- turn safe, continue to fear Pele. If I come back unhurt, you will know that there are no fire-spirits." 120 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WOELD 14. Then she went down into the crater with a few who were willing to die with her. She pushed a stick into the sacred ashes. She ate the sacred berries of Pele in her very home. She cried aloud to the spirits to de- stroy her, if they could. m?mwm HAWAIIANS TO-DAY Many of them live in grass huts but they wear clothes like our own. Notice the modern house in the background. . 15. All expected to see the angry goddess appear and burn up the daring princess. But when she stood un- harmed and returned in safety, they shouted, " There is no Pele ! There are no fire-spirits." 16. From that time the people ceased believing in fire- spirits, and they loved and honored their beautiful prin- cess even more than they had before. A BRAVE HAWAIIAN PRINCESS 121 17. All these things happened a hundred years ago. To-day the Hawaiian Islands belong to the United States. Since the time when the white people taught Kapiolani not to believe in the fire- spirits, people have gone there from many lands, not only from our own coun- try, but from China, Japan, and from Por- tugal and Italy. They have cleared away the jungles and have planted tropical gar- dens in their place — plantations of sugar, rice, coffee, and pine- apples. Instead of grass huts we shall find neat little cottages of wood. The beautiful city of Honolulu now stands where Kaluhe once lived. A HOME IN HONOLULU TO-DAY This home is built near where Kaluhe once lived. FOR PUPILS' STUDY I 1. Why do you suppose the Hawai- ian people believed in evil spirits in early times ? Do you think it is strange that they should ? 2. Read about volcanoes in your geography. 3. Pele and her sisters drove the water- spirits from the crater by heating the water. What happens to water in a tea-kettle when it is heated a little ? When it is heated consider- ably ? When it is heated very hot V 122 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 4. How did the savages learn that there were no fire-spirits ? 5. Who own the Hawaiian Islands to-day? 6. Who live there? 7. What changes have been made there during the last one hundred years ? 8. Read about these islands in your geography and in books that you can get at the library. 9. Write the names of the countries from which people have gone to Hawaii. Locate them on the globe. 10. Make up a fairy story that is sug- gested by the story of Pele. 11. Perhaps your mother will buy a can of Hawaiian pineapple so that you can have some for supper. 12. Find out from your grocer w^hether or not the sugar you buy comes from Hawaii. CHAPTEE XYI BACK TO OUR OWN HOMELAND 1, Two thousand miles of ocean separate the Hawai- ian Islands from our own homeland, the United States LEAVING HAWAII The high hill was once a volcano, but many years ago its fires burned out. This is the last land that we see as we sail eastward towards home. BACK TO OUR OWN HOMELAND 123 of America. For an entire week we shall sail on a steam- ship with never a sight of land from the time " The Paradise of the Pacific " disappears below th e west- ern horizon until the head- lands of the Golden Gate loom up in the east. 2. Two thousand miles is a long distance. Day after day, night after night, without stopping, the great ship plows its way through the waves. The North Star is our guide by night and the sun by day. The captain has marked the course on his map, and with the help of his compass he can steer the ship so that it will reach the desired harbor* 3. Do we realize how many men and women have toiled that we may make this journey across the ocean in safety and comfort? Let us see who they are that we may thank them, at least in our hearts, for their services to us. First there are men who dig the iron of which the ship is made from the mines in ^N^orway and Sweden or England or the United States. Then there are railroad and steamboat men who take the iron from the mines to some place where it is melted in huge fur- HOMEWARD BOUND A moonlight night on the ocean. 124 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD naces. In foundries and rolling mills there are other men who make the iron into plates and framing pieces, and pmich the holes for the rivets. Railroad men load the plates and frames upon cars and deliver them to the ship- SAILING THROUGH THE TROPICS This is one way to be comfortable on shipboard. yards, where skillful shipbuilders fasten them together with rivets. 4. While the ship is building, other men in different parts of the country are planning and making the ma- chinery, the signal lights, the flags, and all the fittings and furnishings. 5. But food must be provided for the passengers an^ BACK TO OUR OWN HOMELAND 125 crew on the voyage. Men and women in many parts of the world are planting and harvesting grain, vegetables, and fruits, and are raising chickens, sheep, and cattle to be sent to the harbor from which onr ship is to sail. 6. And while we He asleep in our comfortable berths at night, and sit on deck by day, the captain and his men are ever watchful that the ship keeps to her course. The engineers are careful that the en- gines are oiled and that they do not stop. The firemen, far down near the bottom of the ship, are continu- ally feeding the hun- gry fire-boxes with coal so that the boilers may give the steam which drives the engines. 7. For our comfort many things are provided. Little rooms, called staterooms, have been built for us to sleep in. Parlors and libraries are furnished with easy chairs, tables, books, and pianos. In large dining-rooms four meals a day are served, and we may have lunches be- sides, if we wish. In the kitchens many cooks are con- stantly preparing our food. There are chambermaids, Brown Brothers AT HOME ON SHIPBOARD Children and grown people pass much of their time plajdng games. 126 HOME LIFE ABOUND THE WORLD waiters, and waitresses, doctors and nurses, all ready to help make the voyage a pleasant one. 8. So we speed along, through storm and calm, enjoy- ing the fresh sea-breezes and watching the birds flying ENTERING THE GOLDEN GATE The large building is a fort. What is it built there for? Find the light-house. The pretty house^on the rocks is the home of the light-house keeper's family. What flag should be flying from the flag-pole? about in the air and the fishes sporting in the water. On the seventh day, far away on the eastern horizon, a dark line appears. It is the western shore of our homeland. 9. The finest harbor on this shore is where the great city of San Francisco has grown up. The entrance to the harbor is a narrow passage called the Golden Gate. At evening the setting sun fills the air with a glorious A NEW ENGLAND BOY IN THE FAK WEST 127 yellow light that changes the ocean into a fairyland of gold to which this is the gateway. 10. Through the Golden Gate our captain guides the ship to one of the wharves that line the harbor shore. We leave the ship and step upon the land we call our own. FOR PUPILS' STUDY 1. Find the Golden Gate on your United States to the Hawaiian Is- globe or map. lands? 2. In what state is it ? 7. Suppose you were sailing from the 3. What other two states touch the Hawaiian Islands to the United Pacific Ocean ? States and kept a diary. Tell what 4. What other men and women have you might write at the close of helped to build and furnish a ship one interesting day. besides those mentioned? 8. Where do we always see the sun 5. What would a ship be likely to at the close of the day, no matter carry from the Hawaiian Islands in what part of the world we are ? to the United States? 9. Make a collection of pictures that 6. What might it carry from the illustrate people who are at work for us when we travel on the ocean. CHAPTER XVII A NEW ENGLAND BOY IN THE FAR WEST 1. "We have entered the harbor of San Francisco, the largest city on the Pacific coast of our country. It is also the largest city in the State of California. 2. On the other side of our country, there is another large city named Boston. It is one of the most important seaports on the Atlantic coast. It is the largest city in the State of Massachusetts. 128 HOME LIFE AROUND THE WORLD 3. Not many years ago there was born, in a little vil- lage near Boston, a baby boy whom his parents named Luther. Even as a little child Lnther delighted to play with flowers. Most children like to pick flowers, but too often they thoughtlessly destroy their beautiful playthings. Luther was very careful with the , flowers that were given him. One day, as he was lying in his cradle, his sister put a bunch of them into his chubby, little hand. By accident, a leaf was broken off. A little later his sister found him trying, with sober face, to stick it on again. 4. This story is also told of him. When he was learning to walk, some one made him a present of a small potted plant. He cared for it, as most children care for their dolls. He held it in his arms, patted it, carried it about with him, and when he went to bed he put it in a safe place and said good-night to it. One day he was going about the house holding the pot carefully in his arms, when he stubbed his toe and fell. The stem of the pretty plant i was broken off near the roots. When Luther found that By permission ofHartsooh LUTHER BURBANK AS HE LOOKS TO-DAY AT THE AGE OF SIXTY-NINE YEARS A NEW ENGLAND BOY IN THE FAR WEST 129 his pet was ruined beyond repair, he was greatly dis- tressed and could not be comforted. 5. As the years passed Luther's love for flowers and all growing things increased. When he became a young man, he found a place to work in a market-garden. Here he studied the growth of vegetables and learned how to 'r^^'*F^^i^^^^^lH^^^I ^^M 'm. J 7 ^>*