page33 (1/2)
Six ence and cooperation and daring, had killed the gigantic creature no other predator could No ed hunter could match their feat Broud leaped up on the rock beside Brun, then jumped onto the fallen animal In a moment, Brun was beside him, clapped him warmly on the shoulder, then pulled his spear from the mammoth’s eye and held it aloft The other four quickly joined the to the rhythm of their own heartbeats, they jumped and danced their elation on the back of the massive beast
Then Brun leaped down and circled thethe narrow space Not one ht Not one man has so much as a scratch This was a very lucky hunt Our totems must be pleased with us
“We rateful,” he announced to the -ur will hold a very special ceremony For noill take the liver—eachback a piece for Zoug and Dorv and Mog-ur The rest will be given to the Spirit of the Ma-ur told me to do We will bury it here where she fell, and the liver of the young -ur said we are not to touch the brain, that must be left where it is for the Spirit to keep Who struck the first blow, Broud or Goov?”
“Broud did,” Goov responded
“Then Broud will get the first piece of liver, but the kill is credited to all”
Broud and Goov were sent to bring the woy, the men’s job was completed Noas up to the wo and preserving The e mammoth while they waited for them and removed the nearly full-term fetus After the women arrived, the e, it took the effort of all Selected favorite parts were cut out and stored in stone caches, to freeze Fires were built around the rest, partly to keep it froers drawn to the smell of blood and raw meat
The tired but happy hunting party sank gratefully into their beds of war the cave In the ether to relive the exciting hunt and admire each other’s bravery, the woh of a distance from the canyon that it presented a minor inconvenience Once they had the carcass divided into large haunches, theyto theers, but little else
The clan used nearly every part of the anis—sturdier and longer lasting than the skin of other ani pots, sturdy thongs for lashings, outdoor shelters The soft undercoat of downy hair could be beaten into a kind of feltpillows or pallets for beds, even as absorbent filling for babies’ swaddling The long hair isted into sturdy cord, the tendons into strands of sinew; bladders, stomach, intestines could be used as water containers, soup pots, food storage, even waterproof rainwear Little asted
Not only were meat and other parts used, the fat was particularly essential It y requirements, which includedwar to cure hides, sinceaurochs and bison, rabbits, and birds—were essentially lean; it supplied fuel for stone laht; it was used for waterproofing and as a uents, and emollients; it could be used to help start fires in ood, for long-burning torches, even as fuel to cook with in the absence of other fuels The uses for fat were many
Every day, while the women worked, they watched the sky If the weather was clear, the meat would dry in about seven days aided by the winds which blew continually There was no need for smoky fires—it was too cold for blowflies to spoil the meat—and it was just as well Fuel was far more scarce on the steppes than on the wooded hillsides of their cave or even the warmer southern steppes which supported more trees With interht take up to three tiht powdery snohipped about by the gusting winds was not a major problem; only if the weather turned unseasonably warm and ould the work be halted They hoped for dry, clear, cold weather The only way the mountains of flesh could be hauled back to the cave was if it was dried before they left
The heavy, shaggy skin with its thick layer of fat and connective blood vessels, nerves, and follicles was scraped clean Thick slabs of the cold-hardened fat were placed in a large skin pot set over a fire and the rendered fat poured into sections of the cleaned intestines and tied off like large fat sausages The hide, with the hair left on, was cut into htly rolled, then allowed to freeze hard for the return trip Later in the winter, back at the cave, it would be dehaired and cured The tusks were broken off and proudly displayed at the campsite They, too, would be carried back
During the days while the woa closer to the stream had eliminated one inconvenience, but there was another, harder to reers drawn to the fresh kill followed the hunting party to their new location The strips of s had to be constantly watched One huge spotted hyena was more than persistent It had been driven off es of the ca the halfhearted efforts of thecreature was just crafty enough to snatch amammoth meat several times a day It was a nuisance
Ebra and Oga were hurrying to finish slicing the last of the huge chunks ofUka and Ovra were pouring fat into a section of intestine, and Ayla was at the strea out another section A crust of ice had for Theto decide if they wanted to hunt jerboas with their slings
Brac had been sitting near hiswith pebbles He becaon their task and didn’t notice hi off toward the open plains, but another pair of eyes watched him
Every head in the cah-pitched scream
“My baby!” Oga cried “The hyena has my baby!”
The loathsoer, which was also a predator and always ready to attack the unwary young or enfeebled old, had seized the child by his ar the small boy with him
“Brac! Brac!” Broud was shouting as he ran after the—he was too far away for a spear—and stooped to pick up a stone, hurrying before the beast got out of his range
“No! Oh, no!” he cried in despair as the stone fell short and the hyena kept going “Brac! Braaac!”
Suddenly, from another direction came the thwack, thwack of two stones fired in quick succession They landed squarely on the animal’s head and the hyena dropped in his tracks
Broud stood in open-mouthed amazement that turned to stunned astonish child with her sling still in her hand and two more stones held ready The hyena was her prey She had studied these animals, knew their habits and their weak spots, trained herself until hunting such quarry was second nature When she heard Brac scream, she didn’t think of the consequences, she just reached for her sling, quickly grabbed two pebbles, and hurled the Brac away
It was only after she reached the child, ex
tracted hi eyes of the others that the full iiven herself away They knew she could hunt A wave of cold fear washed over her What will they do to ht
Ayla cuddled the baby, avoiding the unbelieving stares as she walked back to the caa ca out her arirl who had saved his life As soon as they reached the ca the child, asat anyone else as to determine the extent of his injuries Brac’s arled, and his upper arm bone was broken, but it looked like a clean break
She had never set an arm, but she had watched Iza do it, and the ency came up Iza’s concern had been for the hunters; it didn’t occur to her that soht happen to the baby Ayla stirred up the fire, started water boiling, and got her
The , to accept what they had just seen For the first tihts didn’t go much beyond relief that the son of his ly death But Brun’s did