History and stories of Nebraska . ved in earth houses built upon therounded tops of the hills not more than half a mile from thesprings and streams where there was water. They livedupon the tops of the hills because they were afraid to livein the valleys for there were enemies all about seeking tokill and to rob them. From the hill tops they could see theenemies before they arrived. How They Lived.— These men and women had a veryhard life, although their home was in a land that was beauti-ful and rich. Their life was hard because they had to makeout of trees, bone or stone all the tools they u
History and stories of Nebraska . ved in earth houses built upon therounded tops of the hills not more than half a mile from thesprings and streams where there was water. They livedupon the tops of the hills because they were afraid to livein the valleys for there were enemies all about seeking tokill and to rob them. From the hill tops they could see theenemies before they arrived. How They Lived.— These men and women had a veryhard life, although their home was in a land that was beauti-ful and rich. Their life was hard because they had to makeout of trees, bone or stone all the tools they used. Arrowsand spears to kill game, knives to cut it into meat, axesto chop trees and hammers to drive stakes and to fight theirenemies,— all these tools and many more were made fromstone. They made also out of bone curious Httle needles,gimlets and pinchers with which to sew their clothing andto aid them in doing their other work. It took a great dealof time to make these tools, so the men and women who EARLIEST NEBRASKA 215. dwelt in Nebraska in these prehistoric days were kept busy from one years end to the other trying to get a hving of the very simplest kind. They lived so much in fear of enemies that every family made a hiding place for its food and tools in the earth floor of its house. These hiding places were holes shaped like a bottle and were six or eight feet long, with a narrow neck coming up to the dirt floor. They covered this narrow neck with sticks and with clay and sometimes built fires on top of it so that strangers would never suspect that it was there. Their Graves.— These peopleburied their dead in mounds. Theysometimes covered the bodies withpiles of rock, placing, alongside thebodies stone axes, arrows, spears andmany other useful things which theliving would gladly have kept butwhich they laid in the grave becausethey believed the spirit of the deadwould some day need these things and be able to use them. How We Know about Them.— All that we kno
Size: 1274px × 1961px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidcu3192400890, bookyear1913
