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migrationsofpeoplewholivedlongago,butnonecouldwritedownwhatthey
did.AnthropologistswonderedwheretheremoteancestorsofthePolynesian
peoplesnowlivinginthePacificIslandscamefrom.Thesagasofthesepeople
explainthatsomeofthemcamefromIndonesiaabout2,000yearsago.
Butthefirstpeoplewhowerelikeourselveslivedsolongagothateventheir
sagas,iftheyhadany,areforgotten.Soarchaeologistshaveneitherhistorynor
legendstohelpthemtofindoutwherethefirst'
modernmen'
camefrom.
Fortunately,however,ancientmenmadetoolsofstone,especiallyflint,be-
causethisiseasiertoshapethanotherkinds.Theymayalsohaveusedwood
andskins,butthesehaverottedaway.Stonedoesnotdecay,andsothetoolsof
longagohaveremainedwheneventhebonesofthemenwhomadethemhavedisappearedwithouttrace.
2
Why,youmaywonder,shouldspidersbeourfriends?
Becausetheydestroyso
manyinsects,andinsectsincludesomeofthegreatestenemiesofthehuman
race.Insectswouldmakeitimpossibleforustoliveintheworld;
theywould
devourallourcropsandkillourflocksandherds,ifitwerenotfortheprotection
wegetfrominsect-eatinganimals.Weowealottothebirdsandbeastswhoeat
insectsbutallofthemputtogetherkillonlyafractionofthenumberdestroyed
byspiders.Moreover,unlikesomeoftheotherinsecteaters,spidersneverdo
theleastharmtousorourbelongings.
Spidersarenotinsects,asmanypeoplethink,norevennearlyrelatedtothem.
Onecantellthedifferencealmostataglanceforaspideralwayshaseightlegs
andaninsectnevermorethansix.
Howmanyspidersareengagedinthisworkonourbehalf?
Oneauthorityon
spidersmadeacensusofthespidersinagrassfieldinthesouthofEngland,and
heestimatedthatthereweremorethan2,250,000inoneacre,thatissomething
like6,000,000spidersofdifferentkindsonafootballpitch.Spidersarebusyfor
atleasthalftheyearinkillinginsects.Itisimpossibletomakemorethanthe
wildestguessathowmanytheykill,buttheyarehungrycreatures,notcontent
withonlythreemealsaday.Ithasbeenestimatedthattheweightofallthein-
sectsdestroyedbyspidersinBritaininoneyearwouldbegreaterthanthetotal
weightofallthehumanbeingsinthecountry.
T.H.GILLESPIESparethatSpiderfromTheListener
3
Modernalpiniststrytoclimbmountainsbyaroutewhichwillgivethemgood
sport,andthemoredifficultitis,themorehighlyitisregarded.Inthepioneering
days,however,thiswasnotthecaseatall.Theearlyclimberswerelookingfor
theeasiestwaytothetopbecausethesummitwastheprizetheysought,especi-
allyifithadneverbeenattainedbefore.Itistruethatduringtheirexplorations
theyoftenfaceddifficultiesanddangersofthemostperilousnature,equipped
inamannerwhichwouldmakeamodernclimbershudderatthethought,but
theydidnotgooutoftheirwaytocourtsuchexcitement.Theyhadasingleaim,
asolitarygoal--thetop!
Itishardforustorealizenowadayshowdifficultitwasforthepioneers.Ex-
ceptforoneortwoplacessuchasZermattandChamonix,whichhadrapidly
becomepopular,Alpinevillagestendedtobeimpoverishedsettlementscutoff
fromcivilizationbythehighmountains.Suchinnsastherewereweregenerally
dirtyandflea-ridden;
thefoodsimplylocalcheeseaccompaniedbybreadoften
twelvemonthsold,allwasheddownwithcoarsewine.Oftenavalleyboastedno
innatall,andclimbersfoundshelterwherevertheycould--sometimeswiththe
localpriest(whowasusuallyaspoorashisparishioners),sometimeswithshep-
herdsorcheesemakers.Invariablythebackgroundwasthesame:
dirtand
poverty,andveryuncomfortable.Formenaccustomedtoeatingseven-course
dinnersandsleepingbetweenfinelinensheetsathome,thechangetotheAlps
musthavebeenveryhardindeed.
4
IntheSovietUnionseveralcaseshavebeenreportedrecentlyofpeoplewho
canreadanddetectcolourswiththeirfingers,andevenseethroughsoliddoors
andwalls.Onecaseconcernsan'
eleven-year-oldschoolgirl,VeraPetrova,who
hasnormalvisionbutwhocanalsoperceivethingswithdifferentpartsofher
skin,andthroughsolidwalls.Thisabilitywasfirstnoticedbyherfather.One
dayshecameintohisofficeandhappenedtoputherhandsonthedoorofa
lockedsafe.Suddenlysheaskedherfatherwhyhekeptsomanyold