Chapter 24

It was the day after Thanksgiving and William sat in his hunting stand watching the area in front of him for an older buck to appear. Several does and a young buck had passed in front of him a little after sunrise, but they were young animals that would strengthen the herd. He was waiting for an older deer to come through.

There was a nip of cold in the air that was usual for that time of year. He could actually see his breath. Frost had covered the few grasses that grew along the banks of the small stream that ran through his land. Now with the sun having been up for an hour, the frost had disappeared. The crystalline looking vegetation had transformed into brown dried out grass. It had been such a slow process that he hadn't realized it had happened until it was over.

There was a light wind that blew into his face. Little gusts occasionally kicked up that threatened to bring tears to his eyes. There wasn't too much that he could do about that. He was wearing a bandana over his mouth and nose to help keep warm. His layers of clothing kept out most of the cold out, but his butt felt like it was going to freeze off.

William enjoyed hunting. It wasn't so much the act of hunting, but the chance to just sit and watch the world. Problems that bothered him were often resolved while waiting patiently in his hunting stand.

A shot rang out a half of a mile south of him. The shot had come from the stand in which Patrick was hunting. Dale was a mile south of him, Leroy was a half a mile north of him, and Bill was a mile north. He waited a minute to hear if there was a second shot. William smiled and said, "It sounds like Patrick may have gotten his first buck. I had better teach him how to field dress a deer."

He opened the chamber of his rifle and removed the bullet. He left the bolt open and slung the rifle on his back. It took a little maneuvering to get out of the stand and onto the ladder. He climbed down and headed to where his horse was tied. Once he reached the horse, he slipped his rifle into the carrying case. With ease, he tightened the cinch straps. He led the horse a few steps and tightened the straps a second time. He climbed into the saddle and made his way towards Patrick's stand.

While riding, he sang a little song to make sure that no one confused him and his horse for a deer. Young hunters on their first real trip were often a little over enthusiastic about getting their first deer. He made his way to the stand and looked around. He spotted Dale a hundred yards away. Tying up his horse to the legs of the tree stand, he loosened the cinch straps. There was no reason for the horse to be uncomfortable while he was busy.

Dale looked over at William and said, "Patrick got himself a nice buck. I've already tagged it. We were waiting for you to get here."

"That's good," William said looking over at the buck. The tag already hung off one of the antlers. It was a six pointer, but of a good size. He figured it was about five years old. Grinning, he winked at Dale and added, "I guess it is time for us to explain how to field dress a deer."

"I'd say you're right," Dale said scratching his belly.

"I see he got a buck," William said. "I brought garter belts, a bra, and a dress in case he got a doe. Did you bring pants and a shirt?"

"Yes, I did," Dale said with a grin.

Patrick looked over at the pair of them and laughed. He said, "I know better than that."

William knelt down next to the deer and opened its mouth. Looking over the teeth, he said, "The premolars are moderately worn. I'd say this fellow is about five years old."

Dale looked over and said, "I'd have to agree with you on that."

Patrick asked, "What are you talking about?"

Dale said, "Deer are vegetarians. That means they have to chew their food rather than shred it. As they age, they wear down their teeth. You can estimate how old a deer is by the condition of their teeth."

"I thought it was by the size of the rack," Patrick said.

Shaking his head, William said, "That's not really reliable way to estimate a buck's age. The population is relatively high here and food is scarce so the antlers will not have as many points. Last year, he might have had ten points. This year, he's done pretty good to have six."

"Besides, the teeth work for doe's too," Dale said.

"Oh," Patrick said.

"We've been waiting for a cougar to move into the area to trim the herd a bit, but one hasn't shown up. Maybe one will show up later this winter when food gets scarce elsewhere," Dale said.

Nodding his head in agreement, William said, "That's why we invited so many people out to hunt this year."

Dale said, "The first thing to do before you even make a cut is to mentally go through what you need to do."

"Okay," Patrick said.

William asked, "Do you want to field dress it here or over there where it is a little flatter?"

"I guess I'd rather do it over there," Patrick answered.

"Good choice," William said.

"Let's drag it over there," Dale said.

It took the three of them a minute to move the deer. Standing up, William said, "Usually if you don't know where all of the other hunters are, you'd put up something to let folks know that you are here. We know where everyone is, so you don't have to worry about that."

"We're going to place the buck on his back so that you have access to its abdomen," Dale said.

"Okay," Patrick said rolling the deer over onto its back.

Kneeling down, Dale said, "A lot of people think that the first thing you have to do is get rid of the scent glands. You don't, but there are a lot of folks who would argue with that."

"Chief White Feather told me to do that," William said.

"So we'll do it," Dale said with a chuckle.

"Why do it if you don't have to do it?" Patrick asked.

"Some folks think that it will ruin the meat," Dale said.

"Other folks think that if you leave them on the deer that you'll get the scent on your hands while field dressing the deer and that will ruin the meat," William said. He held out a plastic baggy and said, "Put this over your hand while cutting off the scent gland. That way the scent gets on the baggy rather than your hand."

"Okay," Patrick said.

"I have a knife that I use only for that purpose," William said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife.

Patrick stood back and said, "While you're showing him how to do that, I'll build a fire."

Smiling, William looked over at Dale and said, "Good idea."

"What do we need a fire for?" Patrick asked.

"We're going to have some liver," Dale said.

"I hate liver," Patrick said.

William laughed and said, "You've never had fresh liver."

"Is this a tribal custom?" Patrick asked.

Dale said, "No. We do it because it tastes good."

"Real good," William said.

While William walked Patrick through the process of field dressing a deer, Dale built a small fire. While the fire was burning down to coals, he got a small skillet out of his saddlebags, a small sack of flour, an onion, and a small bottle of cooking oil. He didn't find his little bag of spices and called over to William, "Have you got any spices?"

"In my saddle bag," William called back.

"You are serious about eating the liver," Patrick said.

"That's right. We do that every time one of us gets a deer," William said. Patrick might not have realized it, but he had just taken a big step into becoming part of the tradition that would last the rest of their lives.

Dale called out, "I found it."

"Great," William called back.

The sound of a shot rang out in the distance. Patrick said, "It sounds like someone else got a deer."

"That's probably Bill," William said based on the sound of the gun and the distance. Looking back at the deer, William said, "We had better get to work if we're going to be eating liver any time soon."

The young man field dressed the deer without getting too bloody. Dale could have done it without getting a drop of blood on him. He pointed out the liver and the heart saying, "Take them over to Dale so that he can clean and cook them."

Patrick held up the liver looking at it suspiciously. He didn't like liver and wasn't looking forward to choking it down. He picked up the heart and headed over to Dale. Shaking his head, he returned to William and asked, "What now?"

"Now we hang the deer so that it can cool down," William said.

"Oh," Patrick said.

William and Patrick took the deer over to the largest tree in the area and hung it head down. The tree was barely big enough to keep the nose out of the dirt. Once they were done with that, William asked, "Where's your knife?"

"Uh," Patrick said. He checked his sheath and found that it was empty. He said, "I left it back over there."

"Let's go find it," William said shaking his head. He hoped that it wasn't buried under some organs.

"I feel pretty stupid," Patrick said.

"Don't worry. I did the same thing when I got my first deer," William said. Robert White Feather had admitted that he had done it when he'd gotten his first deer.

After finding the knife, the pair joined Dale at the fire. Sitting down, William said, "It smells good."