"But troubles came. As usual, it was about the women. Men without
wives wanted other men's wives, and there was much fighting between
men, and now and again one got his head smashed or a spear through
his body. While one of the watchers was on top of the divide,
another man stole his wife, and he came down to fight. Then the
other watcher was in fear that some one would take his wife, and he
came down likewise. Also, there was trouble among the ten men who
carried always their weapons, and they fought five against five,
till some ran away down the coast and the others ran after them.
"So it was that the tribe was left without eyes or guards. We had
not the strength of sixty. We had no strength at all. So we held
a council and made our first laws. I was but a cub at the time,
but I remember. We said that, in order to be strong, we must not
fight one another, and we made a law that when a man killed another
him would the tribe kill. We made another law that whoso stole
another man's wife him would the tribe kill. We said that whatever
man had too great strength, and by that strength hurt his brothers
in the tribe, him would we kill that his strength might hurt no
more. For, if we let his strength hurt, the brothers would become
afraid and the tribe would fall apart, and we would be as weak as
when the Meat-Eaters first came upon us and killed Boo-oogh.
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