Chapter 2

Finally! My first day of hunting with the tribe’s other hunters. I would finally be able to demonstrate my abilities at stalking and killing prey to my fellow hunters.

Armed with my spear and war club, I slung my freshly filled water skin over my shoulder and secured my empty small game bag to my waist, and then hurried to get to where I was to meet the other hunters. When I arrived, the leader of the tribe’s hunters, Kamil, took me off to the side.

Kamil said, “Tomms, this is your first hunt. Young men dream of this day; but when it comes, they all learn that being a new hunter is not what they expected.

“We will be hunting bison today. Bison can be very dangerous and in order to bring one down the hunters must work together.

“I know this will be disappointing, but today will be your first of many learning days. You need to learn how we hunters work together to kill various types of prey. All experienced hunters know what we must do to kill a bison without exposing each other to unnecessary risk. We all learned how to do this in the same way that you will be doing during the coming hunts.

“Today, I will explain to you how we hunt bison as we travel to where the bison graze. Then, as the rest of us stalk and kill the bison, you will need to sit in a tree and watch how we work together. I will ask about what you observed. If you are ready, the next time we hunt bison, you will be paired with an experienced hunter and allowed to be part of the kill. There is a lot for you to learn and he will guide you until you are experienced in hunting bison.

I was disappointed that I would not be hunting today. But as Kamil had talked, I recalled how my friend, Kore, had told me about his first hunts. I knew that Kamil was right about my not knowing how the hunters worked together. My father had been killed by a bison, so I knew they were dangerous. I also knew that if I were to hunt today, I might make a serious mistake that would get me or another hunter hurt or killed. While I did not like what Kamil said, I knew it was the right thing for me to do. So I let him know I understood and I would do what I was told to do.

I asked, “When it comes time for me to be paired with an experienced hunter, will you pair me with Kore?”

“Yes, I can do that for you. Kore is one of our trainers. It is good for friends to work together.”

As we traveled to the grasslands where the bison lived, Kamil explained how the hunters worked together. Kamil told me it sounded easy, but doing it without alerting the bison was harder to do than it sounded. He reminded me that the grasslands were also home to lions, pigs, and other animals. So in addition to stalking the bison, the hunters had to be aware of what was happening around them if they did not want to come to harm.

When we arrived at the edge of the forest bordering the meadow where the bison grazed, Kamil said while pointing to a tree, “Tomms, the limb about halfway up that tree is the best perch for seeing all of the meadow. Take your position on the limb and try not to move. Once you are in position, we will move to the edge of the meadow to begin the hunt.

The hunters split into two groups and they had moved onto opposite sides of the meadow. I watched as first one group slowly crawled on their hands and knees into the meadow, and then halted and lay flat to let the bison lose interest in them. Then the second group began their approach to the herd. Kamil had told me this was a small herd, and the bison would be more nervous than those of a larger herd. He also said the bison’s hearing and sight were not as good as an aurochs.

The second group lay flat when they stopped crawling to let the bison lose interest in them. When they stopped, I noticed the first group had been crawling on their stomachs through the high grass toward the bison. When they stopped the second group began to crawl through the grass in the same manner.

It seemed odd to me that the two groups could coordinate their movement when they couldn’t see each other. Then I remembered Kamil had told me he would take a position in a tree on the edge of the forest, so he could direct the movement of the hunters. I could not see Kamil, but I could see the faces of the hunters. I could see them looking toward the forest on my side of the meadow, while they lay flat on the ground. They must be watching Kamil as he gave them hand signals from his tree.

A young cow was grazing a short distance from the herd and it was apparent that Kamil was guiding the hunters toward the cow. The hunters seemed very close to the cow. It had its head lowered to graze, when suddenly, the hunters charged the cow. The cow turned to run from the first group of hunters and then saw the second group. She turned to try to catch the herd that was rapidly heading away from the hunters. She was too slow. The hunters thrust their spears into her sides before she made more than two steps toward the herd. As soon as a hunter buried his spear into the bison, he would move away from it. Kamil had told me a wounded bison could be very dangerous when trapped. I could see the bison stagger and then go to its knees and fall onto its side. Once it was down, the hunters who still had their spears moved in and finished the kill.

I stayed in my tree until Kamil came for me. He asked me what I had observed as we walked into the meadow. He was happy with what I told him and told me the next time we hunted bison, I would be Kore’s hunting partner.

The bison did not seem as large as it looked when it was standing. Kore told me that the animals always seemed larger while they were alive and a threat to the hunters. Kamil sent me into the forest with most of the hunters to bring back five long poles that we could use to carry the bison after it had been skinned and quartered. Kore said carrying the kill to the camp was the hardest part of a hunt.

The hunters and I cut down five young trees about two hand lengths around at head height with the flint axes they carried for this purpose and for quartering what we killed. I needed to get an axe. Maybe my mother still had my father’s axe; she never threw away anything useful.

After removing the limbs from the trunk and cutting the trunks to length, we took them back to the bison. While we had been gone, the other hunters had cut the bison’s throat to bleed it. They had then removed the skin and the entrails from the chest and abdominal cavities. The edible entrails and those used for other purposes were placed on the skin. The rest of the entrails were lying in a pile off to the side. We would tie the entrails and the head, once it was cut off, in the skin to make it easier to carry them back to camp with us. What we didn’t eat would be used for other purposes.

By the time the hunters had removed the bison’s head and quartered the rest, they were covered in its blood. The four quarters and the bison’s skin containing the entrails and head were lashed to the poles I had helped cut. At the first opportunity, we would take a rest break near a stream, so the hunters could wash the blood from themselves and from their knives, axes, and clothes.

As we approached our camp, I heard Tandoor beating on the drum log to let the camp know we were coming toward the camp. Tandoor’s broken leg had healed, but it gave him problems when he had to move quickly. He was now a lot more careful going up and down the path.

The bison skin, entrails, and head I was helping to carry were heavy. We were all tired from today’s hunt, so we were happy when the people from camp relieved us of our burdens.

I was familiar with the process of dividing a kill amongst the tribe’s families for I had watched the division for many years. However, this was the first time that I would receive a hunter’s portion of the kill.

The Widow’s Council was there, as usual, to take possession of the Widow’s Cave’s portion of the kill when the division was complete. I walked with them back to the cave and Tonni walked by my side carrying my share of the kill. When we arrived at the cave, Tonni gave me my share and I gave the Widow’s Council my hunter’s portion of the kill. Some of the kill we brought back to the cave would be dried and stored for the next cold season. The rest would be cooked tonight for everyone in the cave to eat.

That evening over our late-day meal of bison stew, my mother, Tonni, and I talked about the cave they found for us, while I was hunting. The camp had an adequate supply of meat for tomorrow; so we hunters would not be going out to hunt. My Mother and Tonni would take me to the cave, so I could see if it was adequate for us. Over the past seasons, I had come to realize that women made their decisions and then gave their mates a choice. Their mate could do what their women wanted them to do or else their home life would become uncomfortable. No man wanted to live with an upset mate.

I did not envy Milt. As the leader of the tribe, everyone wanted him to do what they wanted. When our wants conflicted, there was no way he could satisfy all of us. If his mate, Dani, had a preference, Milt did what she wanted him to do, or else. We were fortunate that Dani usually wanted what was best for the tribe.

The next morning, Tonni and my mother talked to me again about the cave they had found as we ate and why it would be the perfect home for us and my widow. That was when I remembered our tradition, but I put it out of my mind for now.

After eating, they led me to what I already knew would be my new cave, if I did the smart thing. My Mother and Tonni did not have the ability to withhold my mating rights with them for I did not have mating rights with them. In our tribe, mating with a mother or sister was wrong. So since they couldn’t mate with me, not honoring my mating rights could not be used to make me uncomfortable. However, there were other ways to make me uncomfortable, and I had experienced those ways in the past.

When we got to the cave, we went in and I let my mother and Tonni point out all of the good features of the cave. I saw a few things that may not have been ideal, but I did not mention them. What I did do was stand in the middle of the cave nodding my head in agreement with what they said. After standing there looking as if I was making a decision, I said, “Yes, this cave will be perfect for us.”

My mother would be happy to tell Luna how smart I was to have my sister and her look for a cave for us and to take their advice as to what a woman needed in a cave. She may even show our new cave to Luna. I hope Luna liked the cave and told Teal that a mate who listened to his women would be a good mate to have. Teal may even have Tonni and her sister Robin take her to the cave before her Mother announces that I had been accepted as Teal’s future mate.

At my mother’s insistence, I spent the rest of the day cleaning our perfect cave. She wanted it as perfect as I could make it, so it would be acceptable to both Luna and Teal as Teal’s new home. Tonni assured me that Mother was right. No one wanted to sleep on animal dung, so I made sure to remove all I could find and most of the loose dust.

I was not aware of it, but while I was working on my new cave, Kamil had sent two hunters out to find an aurochs herd. He had decided that we had to have more meat for the women to dry and store for the next cold season, and to eat over the next few days. The weather was still cool from the cold season, so the aurochs meat would last for a hand of days before it would start going bad, if it was not being dried.

I left early for the hunters’ meeting place. I did not want to be late for leaving on today’s hunt. I had made a loop in a new strip of leather, which I tied around my waist. My father’s axe was in the loop and I had threaded the strap through the carrying case of my father’s flint knife. When I arrived, Kore was already there. After nodding in approval at my new axe and knife, he said, “Kamil told me I would be your hunting partner and responsible for training you in how we hunted the different animals.

“Today we will be hunting aurochs. You will watch the hunt from a tree, and after the kill, Kamil will ask you what you observed. He will decide whether you are ready for your first aurochs hunt with the hunters.”

“I was expecting to watch the hunt, but I didn’t realize that Kamil would have you be my trainer. I thought that he would tell me how we hunted aurochs and other animals, and then you would be my hunting partner when I was ready.”

“Yes, that is a common impression of new hunters, but that is not how we do things.

“What you need to know about hunting aurochs is the process is almost the same as hunting bison. Aurochs are taller than bison and their sight and hearing are better. They can see things approaching them better than a bison and hear the sounds of hunters crawling. If the sound is too loud, the aurochs will run away from us, so the hunters have to crawl slowly in order to be very quiet. What Kamil will do is wait for an aurochs to move away from the herd. Then he will give us hand signals that will tell us when and in which direction to move. When we get as close as we can to the aurochs, Kamil will have one group stand up and attract the aurochs’ attention while the rest of the herd flees.

“Standing and attracting the aurochs’ attention is the most dangerous time of the hunt. The aurochs herd usually moves away from the standing hunters, but sometimes they will stand and prepare to charge the hunters. All of the hunters need to be ready to run back into the forest and climb a tree if the aurochs herd does not move away from them. When an aurochs herd takes an offensive position and the hunters run, the herd usually stands where it is and watches us flee, but not always.

“If the herd moves away, the lone aurochs usually continues to stand facing the hunters. It does not want to turn away from the hunters because it fears they will attack if it tries to leave, and it sees too many enemies to fight. It may threaten to charge the hunters and sometimes it does.

“Once the hunters have the aurochs’ attention, Kamil will give the group of hunters behind the aurochs the signal to move toward the aurochs. If the hunters make noise while approaching the aurochs, it is likely to turn and attack them. When the hunters are close enough, Kamil gives them the signal to make a quiet attack. A hunter approaches on each side of the aurochs and drive their spears through the aurochs stomach into its chest hoping to pierce its heart. That is why an aurochs spear is so long. Once they thrust their spears into the aurochs they quickly move away from the aurochs.

“What Kamil has us do next depends on what the aurochs does.

“If its heart was pierced, it will collapse very quickly, and then Kamil will have us wait until the aurochs dies. A wounded aurochs is one of the more dangerous things we hunters have to face. It is best for us to stand clear of the aurochs until it dies. However, if it takes too long to die, the hunters will move closer and kill the aurochs.

“If the aurochs turns to face the hunters that attacked it, it will see the two hunters fleeing and hopefully it will not see the hunters hidden in the grass. The first group of hunters will make noise to regain the aurochs’ attention so it will turn back to them and allow two more hunters to approach and make their spear thrusts. Four spear thrusts are usually enough to make the aurochs collapse. Once it collapses, it is only a matter of time before it dies, but as I said, we are sometimes impatient and want to get back to camp, so we help it die sooner.

“If the aurochs continues to face the second group of hunters, a pair of hunters from the first group will attack it from the rear like I just explained.