The bison pulled at the grass, raised its head, and turned away from the hunters crouching motionless in the grass. It was a perfect quartering target with neck and flank fully exposed. Ott and Graf knew Tarek was in perfect position for the shot. They would aim for the flank behind the rib cage. Bows ready, they twisted their sight to Tarek and waited for his move.
With a quick, fluid motion, Tarek rose to his right knee and extended his left foot forward. Ott and Graf did the same, and within a second of each other, all three men loosed their arrows and dropped back to their hands and knees. They peered from under the hooded area of their hides. The bison let out a short bellow and bucked in place, shaking its huge head. It pranced about, flailing the massive horns in all directions. The arrows from Ott and Graf had hit its flank hard and penetrated to the inner organs. Tarek’s arrow had nicked the artery, and a steady, pulsating plume of blood erupted from the point of entry. The beast was confused, and the pain was spreading. It continued prancing and jerking its head for several seconds, then stopped and panted heavily. The long grass around the animal was splashed crimson in all directions from the spurting neck wound and blood flowed freely from its flank as the men remained still and low in the grass. The bison took several faltering steps toward where Tarek knelt with sweat pouring from his entire body. Adrenaline surged and his heart raced as the beast lowered its head and the huge horns dipped into the long grass no more than an arm’s length in front of his face. He could smell the breath of the panting beast and hear the spraying blood fall around him, but he held firm and still.
It happened in a blur as one singular, instantaneous movement. The bison’s head tilted and a horn slid in and under Tarek. The beast’s shoulder twitched, the head snapped up, and Tarek pinwheeled up and away like a tossed rag doll. With arms and legs flailing, he thrashed through the air and crashed to the ground several yards behind Ott and Graf, where he curled into a limp heap. Ott and Graf uncoiled from the grass and nocked arrows.
The next moment unfolded in the slow-motion mindset driven by adrenaline, fear, and instinct. Ott’s eyes flashed over the tail of the enraged beast, which rolled up high over its haunches, the black tuft of hair twitching at the sky. The front hooves came out of the grass as the bison reared and tilted its massive head and horns. Wheeling back down, the beast exploded into a full charge. Ott could feel the ground vibrate as the huge hooves churned clods of dirt and grass high above the monstrous black body that bore down on him. There was only one shot that could possibly stop the churning hulk that thundered toward him.
Ott’s bow flexed full and his fingers touched his ear. Lifetimes of honing his skills guided the shaft as Ott loosed the arrow tipped with a five-inch flint point. The shaft sliced through the corner of the eye socket, penetrated the brain, and lodged in the rear of the skull. The result was as powerful and deadly as a massive hemorrhagic stroke. In full stride, just yards in front of Ott, the beast’s legs collapsed under it and the ponderous body slammed to the ground, slid forward, and plowed to a stop. The head loomed no more than three feet in front of where Ott stood, encircled by the thick, curved horns. Blood continued to spurt from the neck wound and splattered over Ott’s face and chest as the dying animal continued heaving for several seconds. Finally, with eyes frozen open in death, the bison became silent and still.
Ott turned to Tarek, who was sitting upright clutching his rib cage and grimacing with the pain of bruised ribs. Tarek got to his feet and limped to where Graf had joined Ott. The three men marveled at the size of the dead animal. The bison rested upright on its collapsed legs with its head slumped in the grass, and still the humped back was at eye level. As Ott, Tarek, and Graf circled the carcass, an eruption of whoops and cries rose from the ridge, and the group that would butcher the animal for transport streamed down the slope and into the long grass. They had watched the entire spectacle while lying prone on the ridge. The crowd rushed to the three men, cheering and tapping them in celebration, then they fanned out and encircled the bison carcass while joining hands.
The silence was broken by an old shaman who stepped into the circle and positioned himself by the bison’s head. The shaman shook a large rattle and began a rhythmic chant while shifting from one foot to the other. Soon the entire group surrounding the animal picked up the chat and the dance in unison. Ott and Graf looked to Tarek, who stood holding his side. He pushed his chin toward the ceremony and explained that the people were praising the bison and thanking it for giving its life for the clan. The chant ended with everyone raising their clenched hands high as the shaman shook the rattle several more times over the head of the animal.
What the group did next was done with the efficiency of having done it thousands of times before. The entire group descended on the carcass. Pouches were opened and all types of stone tools were readied. The group lined up along the side of the carcass and it was rolled over, exposing the underside. A man with a large cutting stone shaped like a half moon began cutting from the neck to the scrotum. With his final cut, the abdomen flopped open with a gush of effluvia. While this was being done, two women sliced across the neck and cut up to where the skull met the spinal column. Standing on the back of the bison, another man hacked with an axe through the spine at the back of the head. Several older children pulled down on the horns as the head detached and lolled off to the side. The entire group then swarmed over the carcass like ants over an insect. All the internal organs were collected, including the bladder, intestines, and stomach, all of which would be dried, treated, and sealed to be used as water containers. Incisions were made around the front and rear of the torso, and long strips of rawhide attached through cuts made in the rear section. The strips were pulled forward as others cut where the hide was attached to the body. The hide was off in minutes and the job of butchering the meat for transport began. Long, sturdy poles with sections of hide strapped at one end were loaded with cuts of meat. Several individuals took up the poles and trotted the cut-up carcass back through the forest to the village, where the load would be taken to a special area by a swift-flowing stream and further butchered. Ott and Graf watched as the processing of the carcass went on at a frenzied pace and ten of the travois were loaded and hauled away.
The sun had barely slid into the afternoon sky when all that remained of the carcass was the massive head with the thick, curved horns still in place. It was secured to an extralarge travois and with six men at the poles pulled away, the skull sitting high and the huge horns trailing furrows on the ground. As the last of the group retreated to the tree line, Ott, Graf, and Tarek looked to the spot where the huge bison had died. Absolutely nothing remained of the beast except the blood still soaking into the ground. Everything had been taken, and every part of the animal would be used in some manner.
Before starting back to the village, Ott again climbed to the top of the ridgeline and looked out over the endless long grass. The bison herd grazed as far as he could see. At that moment he understood the significance of the ceremony held after the bison had been killed. These animals truly were the lifeblood of this clan.
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When they arrived back at the village, Tarek and the others were told the other hunting party had also been successful. Though bruised and suffering from a cracked rib, the pain had subsided considerably and Tarek could move about. The entire village hummed with activity in anticipation of the feast that evening. As Cha and Yaan joined Ott and Graf and the group of elders that had assembled to congratulate the hunters, Tarek signaled for them to follow him. He wanted to show them the result of the hunt.
The group twisted their way among the dwellings to the far end of the village and an open area flanked by a high foothill. The hill, like the mountains behind, was thick with trees and green brush. From twenty feet up, a waterfall splashed down into a swift, shallow stream that gurgled with clear water that splashed over a rocky, open expanse and disappeared into a tree line at the far side. The entire stream bed and surrounding area were rock and stone fa
ced. In front of where the waterfall splashed to the rocky stream, the clan had constructed a waist-high platform that straddled the steam. The construction consisted of logs stripped clean of all bark and lashed snugly together with rawhide. The platform was close to twenty feet in length and rested on large, upright logs secured at each corner. It was positioned at a point where the water from the small falls splashed over it, and the entire area was filled with a fine mist. Men and women lined each side of the cutting platform brandishing a variety of cutting stones.
Ott and the others watched as an entire haunch was lifted to the platform. The cutters moved with practiced precision, cutting the haunch into chunks suitable for fire pits and hearths. As the butchering ensued, the water splashing across the platform rinsed blood, dirt, and debris from the meat into the stream, where it was carried away by the swirling water. The mist kept flies and other flying insects away from the cutters and the meat. Within a short time, the haunch was rendered to the bone and the meat chunks tossed into a large trough fashioned from rocks. Shallow water ran through the trough and over the butchered meat, further flushing blood and dirt away. There would be no lingering blood spoor in the air to entice predators, and the meat stayed cool.
Individuals and small groups came to the trough, took meat, and carried it off in stitched hide sacks. Tarek explained that everyone took what they needed for the people of their dwelling, and in return they were expected to provide skills and tools for the needs of others. Everyone was always fed, and shelter, tools, and clothing were abundant for the entire clan. It was all thanks to the bison of the plain.
The bison had grazed the plains for as long as anyone could remember. Even in times when most of the herd grazed far away, there were always enough left behind to fill the needs of the clan, and they filled those needs well. Hides with the hair left on were fashioned into robes and used as bedding. Scrapped clean of hair, the hides were tanned by coating them with the animals’ cooked brains. The soft, tanned hides were used to make quivers, pouches, leggings, moccasins, and other clothing. Boiled hooves rendered glue, and treated sinew made bowstrings and cord. Nothing was wasted. The meat was consumed fresh, or cut into strips and air-dried to be consumed later. Even dried dung was collected and burned as cooking fuel. But for all that the bison provided, there had always been a price to pay.
Tarek led Ott and the others back through the village toward the cave. As they wove their way among the dwellings, Ott noticed many of them had bison horns positioned upright at each side of the entrance. Tarek explained that the horns marked the dwellings of bison hunters. Those hunters were held in high regard, and the horns marked their status. Tarek further explained that the horns signified something else, which he would show them at the cave.
The entrance to the cave was wide and extended high into the limestone cliff. The labyrinth seemed like so many others they had seen, with two notable exceptions: the cave was obviously uninhabited, and there were no markings or paintings to be seen anywhere. Over the course of time, all the clan had chosen to live in constructed dwellings. The only people of this clan who spent time in the cave were Erek and four elders. They did not live in the cave, but gathered at the entrance. It was their last refuge from the loneliness of old age.
The old men sat around a small fire. Tarek and the others nodded in greeting and reverence as they walked by. They had just entered the interior of the cave when Tarek turned them sharply around a high, sheer limestone formation. They had reached their destination. Everyone stopped and stared at what was exposed in front of them. The cavernous space was wide and semicircular, with a cathedral-like ceiling of white limestone. Late-afternoon sunlight filtered around the cave entrance and bathed the entire expanse in a soft white-gold hue. Starting at the far back wall and following the semicircular configuration of the huge chamber, row after row of polished bison horns rose from the cavern floor. The horns had been carefully positioned with equal space of about eight feet between them. They gleamed in the streaming sunlight. Positioned on a ledge by the back wall rested a full bison skull, its curved horns sweeping out and supported by stout upright poles. On the ground before each of the upright horns, there was a neatly cut section of bison hide with the coarse hair facing up. On the hides were bows, quivers, spears, flint knives, and stone tools.
Tarek explained that hunts were conducted every few days, and although usually successful, they were often deadly. Beneath the hides in front of each set of horns was buried the remains of a hunter killed in a hunt.
As Tarek led everyone from the chamber, women carrying bundles of fresh torches entered and placed them around the wide expanse of horns and on the ledge at the rear of the cavern. Before the feast in the evening, a ceremony would be held to thank the bison and those who had died hunting them.
Tarek invited Ott and the others to join him at the hearth for the feast and ceremony at dark. Ott accepted, and the four headed back to their temporary shelters. They made their way through the village and finally rounded the last of the dwellings leading to their shelters, where they were met with something unexpected. The two hastily constructed lean-tos were gone. In their place at opposite sides of the hearth pit stood two completed bent-pole dwellings covered in hides and thatched brush.
A group of over thirty men, women, and older children were gathering their tools and pouches as Ott, Cha, Graf, and Yaan approached. An older man spotted Ott and stepped forward. He explained that Tarek had ordered the dwellings be constructed as soon as he had returned from the hunt. The group had been fast and efficient. It was their skill for the clan, and they could construct and repair dwellings in short order. They nodded to Ott and the entire group, then moved down the trail.
Ott turned around and again was caught by surprise. At the far side of the fire pit, facing out toward the village, was the skull of the bison killed that morning. The skull was secured atop a thick, polished pole, and the huge, curved horns rested on two additional supports. The skull had been stripped clean of all flesh and washed smooth with river sand. It would bleach white over time. Everyone stepped closer and examined the trophy. Protruding from the eye socket of the skull was Ott’s arrow. In one long day they had been accepted in the clan of the bison.
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Hungry from the day’s continuous activity, they all looked forward to the feast later that evening. The afternoon sun was still bright as Ott listened to the water splashing behind their new dwellings. He caught Cha’s attention and started toward the stream. She joined him, and Graf and Yaan trailed behind. Wide but shallow, the stream ran swift with curling whitewater that ran over a sandy, rock-strewn bottom. They followed the water upstream to a point where the water sprayed from a rocky overhang a few feet above their heads. On the sandy bank beside the churning water, Ott stripped naked and stepped under the water spewing from above. He was soon followed by the others. The cascading water was cool and refreshing. Ott scooped up a handful of sand and rubbed it over his torso and arms, loosening dried dirt and grime that washed away in the spraying water and mist. Cha and the others did the same. Refreshed, they gathered their clothes and made their way back to the dwellings, where they dried by the outside hearth, dressed, and headed to the cave entrance and the hearth of Tarek.
At the hearth, Tarek, Erek, and several elders and hunters all sat on hides ringing the fire. Behind them men, women, and children were streaming into the cave and assembling in the high, open area facing the concentric rows of upright horns. Ott and the others approached the fire and nodded in greeting. Ott swung his arm in the direction of their new dwellings and lowered his head in thanks. Tarek reached to his side and raised an arrow over his head while nodding back at Ott. The point was understood, and Ott and the others seated themselves at the fire. The raised cooking rocks were covered with fresh meat that had just begun to sizzle as night closed over the village.
Moments later an old shaman draped in a bison robe emerged from the cave and announced the beginning of the ceremony. With Tare
k leading, everyone rose and walked through the cave entrance and into the cathedral-like chamber of the horns. Torches flamed around the entire expanse and from ledges higher up. The area was completely full, with the crowd spilling out and beyond the cave entrance. Throughout the entire village, groups of men, women, and children stood around their fires. Tarek and his group were led by the shaman through the silent crowd to an open area in front of the closest row of horns, where they too stood silently. As fires crackled at every hearth and torches sputtered in the cave, a single drum began a steady, rhythmic beat. A moment later, other drums in the cave and throughout the entire village began at the same cadence and were joined by the tweeting of bone flutes. The drums and flutes grew in volume as the old shaman began a repetitive chant. Everyone joined the chanting in unison and began the sidestepping dance Ott had witnessed after the hunt. The melodic chanting and shuffling dance continued for several minutes and rose in cadence and volume as every man, woman, and child of the clan joined in honoring the bison, the men who hunted them, and those who had died hunting them.
The Way of the Seed_Earth Spawn of Kalpeon Page 13