The Exeter Advocate, 1924-6-5, Page 3SOUTH AMERICAN ABORIGINES HAVE
EDEN STORY LIKE THAT IN BIBLE
Tell of "Tree of Life" and of Sentence of Mankind to Hard
Labor, but Embellish Le geed With New Details.
A new story, of the creation of man,
told by a tribe of South American In-
dians who hadnever ween- a white
man, has just been added to the known
stories of primitive man. This is con-
tained in the verbatim rendering of
the story, as narrated by one "of the
wise men of the tribe.
The tribe was discovered in the'.
mountains whichseparateBrazil from
the British Gulanas, utterly cut off for
many •centuries' from the rest of the
world. The tribe iswholly unaffected
by civilization, and has never even
learned the art of making metal imple-
ments.
The story of the creatibn held by
this tribe, according to records of the
University Museum, is strikingly sim-
iiar to the account of the creation in
the book of Genesis, in that it des-
cribes a "tree of life" from which the
first men and women ate the "fruit of
knowledge" and thereafter were
;orced to give up the idyllic life in the
Brazilian Garden of Eden to earn their
bread "in tbo sweat of their brows."
The Indians claimed a great rook to be
the petrified stump of the "tree of
life." Its story was told by the old
"wise man" of the tribe in the follow-
ing words:
Curiosity Possessed Them.
"In the beginning there were two
gods, Taminkar and his brother Du-
wid: It was Tuminkar who •created
men and women, and ' afterward the
other animals. It was Duwid who
brought men and women food. Day
after day he brought fruits and vege-
tables in great quantities and in much
variety for them to eat, so .that they
were grateful to Duwid and rendered
him thanks.
"Having nothing to do, the first
men and woolen amused themselves
by looking at the animals. They soon
noticed that these were in the habit
of passing in one direction in the
morning of each day, and returning in
the opposite direction in the evening;
so they said to themselves, 'Let us go
with the animals and see where they
go, and what they do.
"So they followed the animals and
came to a great tree, bearing on its
brancibes all kinds of fruits and vege-
tables upon which the animals fed
each day, and there was plenty for
all—the vegetables and fruits lay in
great, profusion on the ground. Then
they said among themselves: 'This is
where the god Duwid gets our food.
Let us, hereafter, come and get it for
ourselves—then we will not have to
thank the god for it?'
"Next day, therefore, they told'Du-
wid that lie need not trouble himself
to bring them food any more, for they
knew where to get it themselves.
'It shall be as you wish,' said Du
wfd, 'but henceforth you will have to
work, to obtain food to eat, Tomor-
row the tree will be cut down, but, in
order that you may not starve utter-
ly, I will tell you, this; If you break off
a branch bearing each kind of fruit
and plant this in the ground and water
it every day and cultivate it, and pro-
tect it, it win grow and bear its own
kind. Then you may plant the seeds.
which are in the fruit, and they in
turn will grow and produce each after
its kind. Thus you may continue to
eat of •the fruit of the tree, but you
will have to work for it.
Were Lazy; Lost Many Foods..
",Following the instructions of Du-
wid, the first men proceeded to break
off branches of the tree, selecting
those which bore different kinds of
fruit and vegetables. Presently they
grew tired of their labor andstopped;
hence, when the tree was cut down
only a few of the many varieties of
food which it bore had been saved
for mankind, Consewently, there are
only a few varieties of edible plants
in the world, whereas, if the first peo-
ple had been more industrious, these
would have been found in greater
plenty. Moreover, to this day it is
necessary to • work hard to make the.
cassava grew, The stump of the tree
remains to this day.",,
Anthropologists are aware that sim-
ilar legends are to be found in many
parts of the world, but they are at a
loss to account for their spread prob-
ably thousands of years age.
Davy Jones gained a rare prize when the British plane A.D.H. 1S took
a nose dive into the channel and disappeared beneath the waves never to be
seen again. Casualties nil.
What Some Plants Can Do.
Some kinds of plants have been
found which can be made to photo-
graph themselves.
A beam of light is turned on them,
the plants absorb it, just as phosphor-
us will absorb light, and then give it
out again, A photographic plate is
placed over theeplants, and when the
light is yielded ii'p by them they photo.
graph the outlines of their own form
and structure on the sensitive plate.
They are very small plants which
thus supply their own photographs, so
small as to be seen properly only un-
der the microscope; but they may be
very important for ,good or evil, for
the bacteria, the yeasts and the
moulds, are all microscopic plants.
It has always been difficult to ob-
tain trustworthy . portraits of the in-
sides of these tiny things, but now it
has been found that in many of them
the substances "which color them have
this power of giving out -light again,
and so producing the color photo
graphs.
Cross -Road Sarcasm,
Bug Traffic 'Cop—"Hey, Mr. Snail,
this is the third time I've warned you
about' obstructing traffic, get a move
on."
You get cheerfulness out of life in
proportion as you put cheerfulness in.
You cannot invest counterfeit coin and
expect dividends ipeateal money.
Colors.
Oh, scarlet hurts, like some strange
lust;
Mauve stills your heart with sleepy
things;
Blue dreams forever; yellow laughs;
But green—green sings.
Oh, silver is e. shining peace,
And purple throbs, like Bacchic
kings;
Opal has quick, fair mysteries;
But green—green sings.
—Weir Vernon.
No Need to Ask.
One atter another the neighbors had
come in to admire the new baby that
had arrived at the Jones' household,
Little Mary was rather fed up with all
the attentidn that was lavished on the
newcomer—attention which had, up
till then, been hers.
"Does the baby talk yet, Mary?"
asked oneof the friends of the family.
"No," replied the baby's disgusted
sister,: "the baby doesn't need to talk."
"Doesn't need to talk," exclaitned
the friend, astonished.
"No," said the ; little girl bitterly.
"A11 the baby has to do is to yell, and
it gets everything worth having in the
house."
He Hurried.
"How far away . were you when the
first shot was fired?" asked counsel.
"Four .yards," replied the witness.
"Take your time now," cautioned; the
cross-eeaniiner. "This is an import-
ant question, Wltere were you when
the second shot was fired?"
The man in the box. hesitated.
",As a` matter of fact, sir," he said.
at last, "I didn't take my time, but
I was about batt ,a, toile' away."
No ship that was ever launched
drifted into harbor. You have got to
work to get it there,
--AND THE WORST IS .YET TO COME
'
11\iJ"
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Developing Canada's Miner
Resources.
Government reports indicate tha
the mineral output of Canada in 192
amounted to $214,102,000, and that i
1922 minerals to the value of $184
297,242 were produced.
While we appreciate that the valu
is rapidly increasing, we do not qui
realize what Canada's mineral r.
sources mean to her. It ie only whe
comparisons are made that big figures
can be fully appreciated. One of th
largest figures with which Canadians
generally are familiar is that of th
national debt. On December 31, i
amounted to $2,415,538,100, truly
large figure, mainly the result of th
war; but the value of the mineral
produced in Canada since 1910 amount-
ed to $2,410,225,000, almost an equal
amount,,
The importance of mining to Canada
is very aptly put by Dr. Camseli, de-
puty minister of the Department of
Mines, in his annual report for 1923,
when he says:
"The mineral resources of Canada
are among its greatest natural assets
and, owing to our natural climatic
conditions and the relatively limited
area of the country capable of age
cultural development, the mining in-
dustry must necessarily occupy a pro-
portionately larger place in our econo-
mic development than in those coun-
tries of the world more fortunately en-
dowed with respect to climate. Min-
ing is not affected by climate and can
be carried on irrespective of it. The
importance of this industry ie indi-
cated by the growing increase in the
annual production of minerals per
capita, which has risen during thirty-
five years from $2.23 to $26.40 a head
of population. This production is in-
creasing from year to year until it
should ultimately exceed that of any
country in the world."
. The range of minerals found in Cana-
da in commercial quantities is very
large, and in many this country has
almost a monopoly. In others the
Canadian supplies are nearer to large
United States markets than their
own, such as in the case of the gyp-
sum of the Maritime Provinces, and
in these development is taking place
at a rapidly increasing rate. Many of
our own minerals, unfortunately, are
being exported in. a raw state, and sup-
ply the materials for large industries
outside of Canada. It is of interest,
however, to note that there is a grow-
ing tendency to manufacture more of
our mineral products at home. This is
especially noticeable with regard to
nickel ,asbestos, lead and zinc.
In discussing the question of greater
home manufacture of mineral pro-
ducts Dr. Camsell says:
"it is' urgently necessary that we
should develop home markets by the
establishment of industries , comple-
mentary to the mining industry, so
that the products of our mines may be
utilized for manufacture into finished
articles, A study of our mineral trade
balance will show several instances
where the raw material for a mann-
al textured article is produced in this.
country, but is shipped outside for
manufacture and is then sold back to
t us at many times the value of the ma -
3 terial in it. The securing of capital
n for the development of these comple-
,- mentary industries appears to be more
in the general interests of the country
e than capital for the production et raw quit
o material, and until those compleen-
- tary industries are established in our
n own country the production from the
mine will not increase to a stage bear-
s ing a proper relation to what we be-
lieve to be our potential resources."
o As an indication of the possibilities
t of mineral production in Canada in
a 1912 the copper output was 118,769,434
e pounds, while last year it was 86,312,-
s 000 pounds, and the latter was more
than double that of the previous year.
In 1913 the production of nickel was
92,507,293 pounds, while last year it
was 61,444,000 pounds, and in 1922 it
was but 17,597,123 pounds. In 1913,
when building construction was nor-
mal, there was over one million bar-
rels of portland cement more produced
than the 7,652,000 barrels recorded for
, last year. In 1918, notwithstanding
the great demand for lead created by
the war, Canada's total output was
i but 51,398,000 pounds; the production
of 1923 was more than double that
amount, being 112,600,000 pounds.
Development of natural resources is
one of the most pressing problems
with which Canada is to -day face to
face, and in none is the situation mare
acute than in that of minerals. The
Mines Department is giving particu-
lar attention to finding markets for
our wide variety of both metallic and
non-metallic minerals, in their raw
state and as manufactured goods, and
in this work the department has the
whole -hearted support of the Cana-
dian public.
Points About Common Salt.
Coal sprinkled with a strong solu-
tion of salt and water will last much
longer on the Are, and its heat -giving
properties will not be affected. The
colors of a carpet that has been sprin-
kled with salt before sweeping will
"come up" well. .A tablespoonful of
salt dissolved in a tumblerfuI of luke-
warm water is a simple emetic. A
handful of it thrown on the fire when
the kettle has boiled over will prevent
a disagreeable odor. Added to the
bath salt gives an invigorating effect.
Headless, Too.
"How could Washington Irving's
headless horseman find his way?"
"Just as easily as many motorists
do to -day"
NATURE'S BALANCE OF LIFE IS NOW
THREATENED BY CIVILIZATON
Rule of World May Pass to
Species That Prey Upon
in
Wipe Out Reigni
Insects Extinction of
Lower Forms of Life May
ng Power on Earth.
By G, ;A:. Brown,
Nature delights in balancing organic
life. Throughout the history of ani
Mal life an the earth we And that,
while there bas been an endless =-
cession of types and speetes develop-
ing and decaying over long intervals
of time and in mare or less restricted
areas, there always has been a notice-
able balances ,of forces. To -day we
find parasites living on parasites, in-
sects upon insects, fish upon fish, bird
upon bird, animal, upon animal, and,
economically, man upon man through-
out the animal kingdom.
This interdependence of organic
life follows fixed laws which are de-
finite parts of tb.e physics of the uni-
verse. They assure a balance of life,
the proper dispersal of birds, anseets,
Ash and animals over the surface of
the globe where they can secure an
abundance of food and do the econo-
mic work nature sets for them.
Man is Subject to Great taws
Which Govern Animal Life.
Man has been subjected to the oper-
ations of these great laws from the
remotest period of his history, He
has been restricted by them when
they have operated against him, and
he has been their agent when called
upon to atack other animals. Being
always a mighty hunter, he has always
tended to keep down the spread of big
game animals like the lion, tiger, ele-
phant and buffalo. Since he has be-
come civilized he has exerted strong-
er and ever stronger activities against
the other species of organic nature,.
and to -day we find many authorities
warning us that the balance of nature
Iis being destroyed and that this will,
in the near future, lead to world-wide
economic disturbances. Game, bird,
forest and plant preservation associa-
tions are carrying on broad campaigns
for the balance, while farmers and
others are advocating the continuance
of a war of extermination against pre-
datory animals, birds, insects, plant
diseases and germs.
It has taken nature many millions
of years to design and develop her
creatures and man, within a couple of
generations, has completely wiped off
the face of the earth some of her
finest animals and birds and is to -day
hastening the destruction of many
other species, Within another century
there will be comparatively few of the
many wild animals remaining. Future
generations will have to depend for
their knowledge of lions, cheetas,
beavers, tigers, moose, zebras, giraffes
and elephants on the descriptions of
them written by naturalists to -day.
The destruction of wild life advances
cumulatively with increased settle-
ment and occupation of the land by •
man and his domestic herds and flocks
and commercial slaughter hastens the
destruction, Civilized man and his
destructive weapons are menacing ,
wild life throughout the world. Civili-1
zation is warring an nature every-
where and nature is severely suffer-
ing. Man is carrying the day, but
what will happen whet# nature is com-
pletely mastered and her wild Ilfe des-
troyed?
"Tants, insects and the lower ani,
mals have ; all played their parts in
helping man to develop. They have
fed him, helped him, clothed and or•
namented him and protected him.
They also have warred on hint and
made him develop his brain power and
co-operation and social habits. in a
recent scientific monograph dealing
with the important roles invertebrate
animals have played in the develop-
ment of civilization these assertions
are made:
"There is no group of animals, ver-
tebrate or invertebrate, which has so
much significance to man as the group
of insects. They touch almost every
activity and interest of civilized. life.
They attack our growing food, aur or-
chards and forests, our clothing and
our dwellings. Our bodies and those
of our domestic animals are annoyed
or infected with disease germs through
the activities of insects. They are our
chief competitors in the struggle for
existence, and our fight against them
is getting more severe and costly
every year,"
Other eoientists express fears that
in the next few centuries man will be
unable to continue the struggle against
insect life and will not be able to sus.
tain himself in the face of their com-
petition. Therefore, the future holds
out the prospect of the possible ex-
tinction of man with the buffalo, lion
and elephant and the dominance of
the world by the insects.
Insect pests are innumerable. Every
economic crop raised in North and
South America, and 111. all tropical
countries, is subject to attack by des-
tructive insects. The wire -worm is
an enemy of wheat, the grasshopper
destroys grass, eelworms cause root -
knot in the cotton plant, the boli -wee-
vil destroys the boll, the bud -worm
eats the heart out of the tobacco plant,
the cinch -bug, army -worm, Hessian
fly, cutworm, corn -rot and other
aphides; bill -bugs, white .grubs, saw
files, fruit -flies and weevils and beetles
are all given to raiding some crop or
farming stock. There is constant war-
fare being waged against them.
Not all the so-called predatory in•
sects, animals and plants are general-
ly harmful. The snakes, lizards, toads
scale insects, beetles, fruit and grain
flies, wildcats, rodents and multitudes
of other organisms perform services
valuable to others. They feed upon or
are fed upon by others, or they render
similar services to the bee in fertiliz-
ing plants and palms, like the date
palms, they aerate or fertilize the
soil, they remove disease germs, or
other harmful matter from plants and
animals and in many other ways as-
sist in the balance of nature. These
services have become so effectively
adjusted that any considerable inter-
ruption of them is liable to destroy na-
ture's balance and seriously jeopardize
civilization.
Not Successful of Late.
Teuton—"All the former rulers of
Germany learned trades and were suc-
cessful at them."
Yank—"All our Presidents have
been cabinet-makers—but not very
successful of late."
Laws of of Leap Year.
Leap year once had a definite place
in the social system. A Iaw in Scot-
land of the fourteenth century read:
"It is ordained that for each year
known as Ieap year each maiden lady
of high and low estate shall have lib-
erty to bespeak the man she likes;
and, if he refuses to take her to be his
lawful wife,• he shall be mulcted in the
sum of one pound or Iess, as his es- f
tate may be; except if he can make 1
it appear that he is betrotber to an-
other woman, he then shall be free."
Canada is getting plenty• of baby immigrants these days. The
looking Scotch mothers, rangs:zu age from L2 da.ys to 12 months.
babie s
shown,
with their fine, wholc'sonte-
For emergency messages the Cana-
dian air force depends on carrier
pigeons. The trustworthy little birds
always return to their base when re.
leased.
A Most Excellent Beason.
In a book by Sir"J C. Percy entitled
More wine and Blunders, we read of
a snail who went up to a railway port-
er at one of • the big London stations
and said, "There are half a dozen
clocks in the place, and they are each
different."
"Well, sir," replied tb.e porter, "if
they t,werc all alike, one would de.
According to Orders.
Doctor—"Has your bushanfl had
any lucid intervals since 'my last visit,
Mrs. Jinks?"
Mra, Jinks (with dignity), -.' IIe's
bad nothing except what you c'i;dered.",