Read Online Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country by Allan Richard Shickman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Allan Richard Shickman
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food for a while. Women and men began slashing the flesh with stone blades and axes, swarming over the hulk like hungry ants, or flocks of black-winged vultures, which, in a few hours, can strip a carcass clean.Everybody was covered with blood, but they didnât seem to mindâand after a while a slow drizzle washed it away.
The cooking fires smoldered, but did not go out, and the aroma of roasted meat soon filled the air. All were happy. Strips of flesh were hung, and the tribes settled in again for the time required to dry them. The leaders chafed and murmured, anxious to get back on the move, but the people were already constructing makeshift huts on a low hill nearby and preparing for a stay. They were tired.
By dusk a congregation of wolves was heard gnashing and tearing at the carcass, for most of the flesh still remained, and its odor had reached their keen noses. Two wolves in particular drew the interest of the travelers, who, having gathered as much food as they could use, were watching the animals feast from a safe distance on the rising slope. The pair was fighting over a strip of muscle that one of them had torn off. Both clung to the same flank with their sharp fangs, tugging, snarling, and refusing to yield. The competition amused a number of the tribesmen, who noted the folly of fighting over a small amount when there was abundance for a hundred wolves and vultures! At last one of the animals let the meat loose, but only with the purpose of assailing his rivalâs throat. The witnesses above laughed loudly at this successful maneuver, and prepared to divert themselves with a struggle to the death.
Dael was not laughing, however. He was studying the combat with glowing eyes, drinking in the savagery as if he would acquire it for himself. Then, on a sudden impulse, he seized two spears and ran like a crazy man to attack the competing beasts. His friends called him tocome back, but they were ignored. Dael threw one lance at the fiercer animal, piercing its chest and bringing it down with a yelp of pain. He attacked the other one too, forcing the second spear down its throat, as Zan-Gah had once killed the lioness. Dael then retrieved his weapons, panting for breath, and stood still with arms outstretched, a spear in each hand. His cry of triumph over the two dead animals was frightful to hear as he fairly shrieked to the sky. The spectators, stunned more by his wild cry than the deed itself, finally ran forward to protect him from the rest of the pack, for Dael was still in great danger; but the other wolves were so preoccupied with their greedy feed that they had ignored the entire episode and went on tearing and gnashing their fill. Their snarls would be heard throughout the nightâand Dael was received like a hero.
Any part of a kill might be valuable. The slaughtered wolves were stripped of their pelts. Dael gave one of them to each of his Hru friends, Oin and Orah, who were delighted by the rich gifts. (They now were even more strongly drawn to their dominant friend and willing to follow his leadership.) The task of harvesting additional parts from the dead mammoth would be too time-consuming for people on the move, but someone wanted the tail, and Morda, the Hru chieftain, refused to leave the great tusks behind. It proved a long labor to cut these trophies from the carcassâwhich had begun to stinkâbut Morda owned hard stone blades, and slowly ground the tusks off with the help of Agrud, his long-suffering wife. As usual the women had been enlisted, carrying food, water, skins, and other necessities for long distances. Upon the eventual departure of the Ba-Coro from the site of their kill, the men marched ahead proudly, spears in hand.Their wives trailed behind dragging their heavy loads on pole carriages, including the cumbersome tusks.
As the travelers moved over the bare, unpeopled land, they enjoyed a southern breeze for a while, but then it was driven out by a cold west wind.
The cooking fires smoldered, but did not go out, and the aroma of roasted meat soon filled the air. All were happy. Strips of flesh were hung, and the tribes settled in again for the time required to dry them. The leaders chafed and murmured, anxious to get back on the move, but the people were already constructing makeshift huts on a low hill nearby and preparing for a stay. They were tired.
By dusk a congregation of wolves was heard gnashing and tearing at the carcass, for most of the flesh still remained, and its odor had reached their keen noses. Two wolves in particular drew the interest of the travelers, who, having gathered as much food as they could use, were watching the animals feast from a safe distance on the rising slope. The pair was fighting over a strip of muscle that one of them had torn off. Both clung to the same flank with their sharp fangs, tugging, snarling, and refusing to yield. The competition amused a number of the tribesmen, who noted the folly of fighting over a small amount when there was abundance for a hundred wolves and vultures! At last one of the animals let the meat loose, but only with the purpose of assailing his rivalâs throat. The witnesses above laughed loudly at this successful maneuver, and prepared to divert themselves with a struggle to the death.
Dael was not laughing, however. He was studying the combat with glowing eyes, drinking in the savagery as if he would acquire it for himself. Then, on a sudden impulse, he seized two spears and ran like a crazy man to attack the competing beasts. His friends called him tocome back, but they were ignored. Dael threw one lance at the fiercer animal, piercing its chest and bringing it down with a yelp of pain. He attacked the other one too, forcing the second spear down its throat, as Zan-Gah had once killed the lioness. Dael then retrieved his weapons, panting for breath, and stood still with arms outstretched, a spear in each hand. His cry of triumph over the two dead animals was frightful to hear as he fairly shrieked to the sky. The spectators, stunned more by his wild cry than the deed itself, finally ran forward to protect him from the rest of the pack, for Dael was still in great danger; but the other wolves were so preoccupied with their greedy feed that they had ignored the entire episode and went on tearing and gnashing their fill. Their snarls would be heard throughout the nightâand Dael was received like a hero.
Any part of a kill might be valuable. The slaughtered wolves were stripped of their pelts. Dael gave one of them to each of his Hru friends, Oin and Orah, who were delighted by the rich gifts. (They now were even more strongly drawn to their dominant friend and willing to follow his leadership.) The task of harvesting additional parts from the dead mammoth would be too time-consuming for people on the move, but someone wanted the tail, and Morda, the Hru chieftain, refused to leave the great tusks behind. It proved a long labor to cut these trophies from the carcassâwhich had begun to stinkâbut Morda owned hard stone blades, and slowly ground the tusks off with the help of Agrud, his long-suffering wife. As usual the women had been enlisted, carrying food, water, skins, and other necessities for long distances. Upon the eventual departure of the Ba-Coro from the site of their kill, the men marched ahead proudly, spears in hand.Their wives trailed behind dragging their heavy loads on pole carriages, including the cumbersome tusks.
As the travelers moved over the bare, unpeopled land, they enjoyed a southern breeze for a while, but then it was driven out by a cold west wind.
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