Chapter 10

I awaken the next morning way before sunup and head out to take a leak. I go back in and shake Sarbun and remind her that we need to get going. Nella is looking at me. I whisper that we are going out to hunt and that they should stay in the tent and sleep a while longer.

We gather our bows and paraphernalia and head out. The wind is blowing from us straight to where I figure the goats will be. I head us off sharply to the left so they can't smell us.

Since there is no food for the goats at higher altitudes, they must come down to graze in early morning, much like deer. It is no small wonder that the Other People aren't successful at hunting goats. The goats are always up in the hills by the time the Other People get here. They never think to make camp near the goats so they can hunt them in the predawn hours.

We surprise a lone male; he is magnificent. He is about five feet long and three hundred pounds. His horns look like long scimitars that curve back away from his head. The horns have little bumps across the top every few inches. He is a light tan with black markings on his throat and lower neck. He has a little white beard, too, so he is an old fellow. He doesn't make any noise, but he runs quickly up and down the hills.

We drop down to the ground as soon as we see him. We stay there for about fifteen minutes and then we start slowly forward. The thought of goat meat gets me salivating, and I hope we can get one or two. Goat is not lean like deer; lots of fat makes it quite delicious.

We come slowly around an outcropping and see a small band of goats, probably more than a dozen. There are three or four kids and the rest are does. Goats are a matriarchal society much like deer, with small groups of males or lone males, while the females raise their young in an extended family.

"We can not talk from here on out. We need to each pick one and shoot at the same time; it is the only way we can get two," I whisper to Sarbun. "Once we start shooting, they will run away quickly."

Sarbun simply nods her affirmation. We start slowly crawling towards our quarry. There are a few bushes, but mostly large rocks are what we hide behind. The rocks, though, are rough on our hands and knees.

I stop when I get to where I think we can get a good shot off, and she gives me a knowing look. I pick a broad head arrow and slowly nock it. She does the same. We draw slowly back and, peering over the rock, we each aim for a goat. I let mine fly and hers is a split second behind mine. As soon as the goats hear the twangs of the bows, they are running. Two of them are limping badly.

She stands up to chase after them, but I stop her by grabbing her arm. "They will run harder and farther if we chase them. If they are hurt badly enough, they will stop soon and die where they are," I explain.

"Yes, I will wait here with you. As usual, you are probably right, knowing how to do these things."

After ten or fifteen minutes we start up the hill towards our quarry. We each have another broad head nocked and ready. We find my goat not far away. It has a good lung shot close to the heart. It has bled out quickly.

Her goat is several hundred feet higher and still breathing. We come on it and it jumps up to make another dash; we each put another arrow into it. Mine hits him in the chest and hers in the neck. We watch it flounder. It is over in seconds.

"Sarbun, my mate, please go ask Nella and her son to come here. They can help us dress out our kills." The kids have run off with the does, so we have not made any orphans. "Oh, and make sure the dogs are tied up, but good."

I gut her goat and carry it down the hill. It is just a little heavier than a deer. There is no meat in the heads or the lower legs, so I cut all the way around the knees and neck and use my hatchet to sever the bones.

Sarbun is back in about a half hour with Nella and Algossi. They come up just as I hack the head off. I hand my knife and hatchet to Nella and say, "Here you go. You can clean the goat for your people. I am done with mine for now." She sets to work with a relish, knowing what to do and understanding the prize.

I know we will eat for a while on a goat. For her clan, this is only one meal, but a pleasant change to their normally boring diet. She saves the liver, heart, and brain from this one. I'm not much for organ meat; probably that mad cow connection.

When Nella finishes with the hatchet, I take it back. I select four saplings near by that are a few inches thick. I cut them down and trim them to length, removing the branches. I use the saplings and twine to create my travois. I make two, each made of two saplings interwoven with twine, wide at the front, tied together at the back. We sling a goat carcass across each travois to make carrying easier. With two of us on each sapling, we drag our kill back to camp.

When we return to our encampment, I instruct Algossi in keeping the dogs off our kill, so I finally get to hear him speak. When the dogs don't listen to him, Sarbun pitches in by shooing the dogs away and tying their ropes shorter. I go to a nearby creek to wash off the blood and gore from my hands and forearms.

Sarbun and Nella retrieve the furs from the tent and make quick work of packing them up for the trip. I fold the tent as they all get ready, too. I hear Sarbun bragging to Nella about how the tent kept out the mosquitoes. Oh, my! After this, Nella and Algossi seem more attentive, obedient, grateful, and safe. I realize that Sarbun has somehow elevated me to a mighty hunter in their minds.

We start back. I think the work is hard on Sarbun and me. Being a female and a boy is not a detriment to our helpers; Nella and Algossi are quite muscular and do not tire as easily as Sarbun and I do. When we get close to the camp of the Other People, Nella sends her son ahead to get some help.

Beke and Doubek return with them, thanking me over and over for the mighty hunt. That's what they call it — the mighty hunt. Nella and Algossi must have told them what a great hunter is the master of their new family. I have to put a travois, loaded with their goat, into their hands before they realize that I am giving them both the goat and the means to carry it, and they thank me profusely again. We bid them farewell, and they trot away with their prizes back to their camp.

With one goat gone, we spread the back of the remaining travois. The four of us each take a pole end and head straight home.

We munch on jerky as we walk. We know the way and we hurry because we have not had a good meal lately. We have only had dry jerky for the last few meals. It only takes a few hours to get back home.

After tying up the dogs, we set down the goat and open up the house. Before I know it, the two women are quickly gathered in front of the stove starting a fire and chatting away like magpies. This holds no interest for the boy.

I let the chickens out into their yard and feed them. I grab my ax and head off for some firewood, motioning for Algossi to follow. Once again, he is a fine, although quiet, helper and we return with lots of firewood. We will need to smoke a lot of meat, about 250 pounds.

The stove heats up quickly because the metal is relatively thin. I see the women are still inside, so I get a couple cans of navy beans and hand them in to Sarbun. I ask her to cook them with the last of our Aurochs jerky, and add a little bit of sugar to sweeten it up. We don't have ketchup - navy beans and meat by themselves are rather bland. I figure since sugar is one of the prime ingredients of ketchup, it can't hurt.

I go back outside and get a fillet knife from the pod. I skin the goat on the ground. Rope won't get any purchase on its truncated legs, but I have Algossi helping me. He pulls the skin as I cut it off, and this goes quickly.

I use the Bowie to cut the carcass into smaller pieces. I give Algossi a short lesson with the fillet knife and he is slicing away like hell. It looks like he's having fun, so I give him small, insignificant parts to cut up. He obviously hadn't spent his youth squishing ants and chasing little girls like I did.

We stop briefly for lunch. Sarbun has tea ready, so it is a pretty good meal. We have endured two days of short rations, so a home-cooked meal is welcome. The women clean up the dishes and join us at the goat. With my guidance, the four of us have that rascal cut up and on the drying racks in short order. We put the strips into my biggest pot, add some seasonings, and cover it and set it up high to meld the flavors.

"I need a bath," I say. Two days traipsing around, gutting and cleaning goats and just general living have me feeling grubby.

Sarbun pipes in, "Oh, yes, Nella, we take baths often. We take our clothes off and then we wade into the creek. It is deeper over there." She points in the general direction. "Sometimes it feels so good; we just stay there a while and feel clean. It is very nice."