The clan of the cave bear_ a novel - Jean M. Auel [213]
“That was Ursus,” Creb affirmed. “And you will see another cave bear when we get there.”
“Does the host clan really have a living cave bear in their cave?” Ayla asked. “He’s so big.” She knew it was the custom for the clan that hosted the Clan Gathering to capture a cave bear cub and raise him in the cave.
“He’s probably in a cage outside the cave now, but when he was young, he lived in the cave with them and was raised like a child, with every hearth feeding him whenever he wanted to eat. Most clans claim their cave bears even learn to talk a little, but I was young the time we hosted the Clan Gathering. I don’t remember very much about it, so I can’t say if that’s true. When the bear is about half grown, he is put in a cage so he can’t hurt anyone, but everyone still feeds him tidbits and pets him when they walk by so he will know he is loved. He will be honored at the Bear Ceremony and will carry our messages to the world of the spirits,” Creb explained.
They’d been told about it before but, after seeing a cave bear, the story took on new meaning to those who were too young to remember or had never been to a Clan Gathering.
“When can we host a Clan Gathering and get a cave bear to live with us?” Uba asked.
“When it’s our turn, unless the clan whose turn it is can’t. Then we can offer. But clans seldom miss the opportunity to host the Clan Gathering, though hunters may have to travel a long way to find a cave bear cub, and the danger from the mother bear is very great. The clan that is hosting this time is fortunate. Cave bears still live near their cave. They have helped other clans to get cave bears, but now it’s their turn. There are none left around our cave, but there must have been once, since the bones of Ursus were in our cave when we found it,” Creb answered.
“What if something happens to the clan that is supposed to host a Gathering? Our clan doesn’t even live in the same cave as before,” Ayla asked. “If it was our turn, how would anyone know where to find us?”
“We’d send runners to the nearest clan to spread the news, either to tell the clans where the new cave is or to give another clan the chance.”
Brun signaled, and the clan got under way again. When they passed the tree used by the cave bear as a back scratcher, Creb examined it closely and retrieved a few tufts of hair still caught in the rough bark. He wrapped them carefully in a leaf held in his teeth, then tucked them away in a fold of his wrap. The hair from a living wild cave bear would make powerful charms.
The giant conifers of the lower foothills were replaced by shorter, sturdier upland varieties as they ascended, opening up to breathtaking views of the glistening mountaintops they had seen from a distance as they crossed the plains. Birch thickets appeared, and low-trailing juniper and rosy pink azalea, whose many-flowered blossoms were just beginning to bloom, splashing the primary green of nature with bright color. A multitude of wild flowers added more shades to the palette of vibrant hues: spotted orange tiger lilies, mauve and pink columbine, blue and purple vetch, light lavender iris, blue gentian, yellow violet, primrose, and whites in a diversity of shapes. The southern mountain range, like the one at the lower tip of the peninsula which was folded during the same orogeny, was a refuge for the flora and fauna of a continent during the Ice Age.
Occasional chamois made an appearance, and heavy-horned mouflon. They were almost into the scrubby dwarf trees of mountainous taiga, bordering the high meadows of low sedges and grass, before they came to a well-worn path that traversed a steep incline. The men of the host clan had much farther to go before they reached the open plains north of the mountains to hunt, but the proximity of cave bears made the place so lucky, they were willing to accept the inconvenience. It also made them more adept at hunting the elusive forest animals.
The people running to greet the newly arriving clan, when they first saw Brun and Grod appear around a bend in the trail, stopped short at the sight of