Thurn and his wife Marla were slowing down with age. Each winter it was harder for them to keep up with the tribe as they followed the game to their winter-feeding grounds. So, after one particularly long winter the couple decided they were going to find a place to make a permanent home. Every spring the tribe would camp in a fertile river valley where there was plenty of wild game, gathering, and fish. The river also led to the sea several miles away and they would take their dugout canoes down it and fish and then come back at weeks end.
It was here that Thurn and Marla decided to stay. The gathering was plenty and between the fish and game they figured they could save enough food to last them the winter. Plus, with the river near by Thurn could always supplement their stores with fish, and whatever game he could trap. The valley was full of trees for firewood and shelter from the cold winter winds. When the tribe got to the valley it was then that the couple told their adult children and the rest of the tribe they were staying put. They were met with a reluctant acceptance, but everyone figured something like this was bound to happen. They knew that as the couple got older, they were having trouble keeping up, and if they were going to do something like this, they would want to do it while still young and hearty enough to make it work.
It came to pass that in the beginning of the spring Thurn decided they needed something more permanent to live in than their tent made of animal hides. Thurn found a spot on a rise not far from the river. It was there he decided to build their dwelling. Thurn and his three sons started by digging down into the earth to the depth of his waist. Next, they cut down many trees that his two hands could barely wrap around. They sharpened one end and drove it into the ground. They would drive two into the ground two of his feet apart from each other. One would be against the side of the hole they had dug out and the other was brought towards the center, creating a place to hold the straw bunches they would be stacking there. They drove many of these sets all around his hole. They would put two strides distance between each set.
As they were digging the hole and driving the supports, Marla was twisting a great length of thin rope together. She was also gathering many smooth stones from the river and she would put them in the bottom of the pit so it had a solid floor instead of mud. Once The men had all of the supports set, Thurn found a log to stand on and he would take some of the rope that Marla had made and bent the inner most support logs toward the center and tied them there. This created a nice dome structure that was about five strides across from any direction. Next, he went out into the tall grasses that grew near the water and he collected as much of it as he could. He then left the grass out in the sun to dry until it had turned brown and rigid like straw.
As the grass dried, he would go out and hunt. The couple was able to survive on fish he would catch each day and what ever nuts, seeds, berries, roots, and fruits that Marla could find each morning. They would then work on the hut for the remainder of the day, but as spring progressed into summer they knew that they needed to start getting some of the large grazers to build their stores for winter. Thurn knew that there was a small herd of aurochs not far from where they were. One of these large bovines could fill their larder for all of the winter. Thurn went to where the tribe was settled across the river and asked for help from his three sons. His sons had helped him dig the hole and cut the trees for his dwelling, now they would help him hunt.
The men left camp early the following day armed with their stone axes and stone tipped spears. Their spears were light weight and fletched, they were designed to be thrown. By mid-morning the men had found the herd. The herd was down in the bottom of a flood ditch that was dry this late in the spring. All of the snow had melted and the heavy rains ended and now the long dry of summer had begun. Though the summer would have many large storms, the river typically didn’t flood this late in the year. The men planned on using this to their advantage. They knew this flood ditch. It ended not far from where they were with a drop off into small lake that was fed by the rains and snow melt of spring. The lake was in a natural basin. The ditch sat a few feet above the waterline of the lake and when the water was up the lake would drain through the ditch. Or more often the river would swell and this ditch would feed the lake several miles away.
From where the mighty aurochs were to the lake the walls of the ditch were shear and tall. The men planned on scaring the bovines and sending them into the lake. The water was deep enough that the creatures would have to swim making them easy targets from their canoes. Thurl the youngest son of Thurn was elected to be the one to herd the wild cattle towards the lake. He was chosen because he was the quickest at climbing the dirt walls of the ditch. This was important because the beasts were as likely to charge the lone man as they were to run from him. Thurn’s second son, Bulch, would run along the top of the ditch marking the progress of the aurochs. Thurn and his eldest son, Gurn, would wait in the lake in their dugout canoes. Once the wild cattle were in the water, they would spear one of the large cows and try to get a rope over its horns so they could keep it from getting to shallow water. The large bovid creatures were very dangerous when on dry land and could easily gore and trample unwary hunters.
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They wanted a cow due to they were a bit safer to hunt than the bulls were. A fully mature bull was more than a match for even the large sabre toothed cats that prowled through the plains. Thurl quietly climbed down once Bulch signaled that Gurn and Thurn were ready. Thurn then started shouting and making a racket all while flailing his arms. He steadily walked towards the aurochs in hopes of scaring them down the dry ditch. The cattle put the young behind them and turned to face the threat. They created a wall of horns and if they decided to charge this lone predator Thurl’s only hope would be to climb out before they could get to him. Thankfully once he was within throwing distance the herd decided to turn and run. Now the chase was on. Thurl kept driving the wild cattle towards the lake where his father and brother waited. It wasn’t long until the cattle got to the end of the ditch and jumped the few feet into the water. After the last of them were in Thurl climbed up and me Bulch by a canoe. The two headed out to help with the hunt. By the time they got there Thurn and Gurn had already speared a large cow. They were trying to get a rope around her head so they could keep her from getting to the shallows. Thurl and Bulch quickly stuck a spear into her and put their canoe between her and the shore. Bulch was able to get a rope around one of her horns. They tied the other end to their canoe and started padding towards their father and brother. The two of them were able to over power the wounded beast as it tried to swim. The rest of the herd made it to land and were disappearing into the trees. Once the cow’s struggles started growing weaker the two men started towards the shore. They wanted to get it onto the land while it still had enough strength to get there so they wouldn’t have to drag it out of the water to clean it. They were able to get it onto the sand of the beach but the cow didn’t have the strength to stand anymore.
Thurn walked up with his flint knife and after offering a quick thankyou to the beast slit its throat, bleeding its life out quicker. Once the cow breathed it’s last the men set to work. One of the most dangerous times for them was getting their kill ready for transport. The smell of fresh blood would attract many predators to the area, and they didn’t want to face a pack of dire wolves nor a hungry bear. Thurn and Thurl set to work cleaning the kill while Bulch and Gurn watched the surroundings in case a predator did show up wanting to scavenge their kill. The two men cleaning the cow quickly cut open the abdomen and removed the guts. They saved the heart and liver, the rest of the organs were removed and set to the side, they would be left for any scavengers that came by in hopes that it would distract them from following the men back to the hut. Once all of the organs were removed the two quickly set to skinning the beast. Once the skin was off and spread on the ground they started removing the meat from the bones. The two men keeping watch cut two small trees and lashed the hide to them creating a litter sled. They then stacked all of the meat and what bones they could fit on the sled. Thurn and Gurn lifted one side, Bulch and Thurl the other. They headed back toward Thurn’s hut.
The hunt and subsequent cleaning lasted about six hours and the sun was starting on it’s slow descent by the time they were heading home. By the time they got to the building site the sun was starting to dip below the horizon. Thankfully they saw no sign of predators and the fires that would be going to smoke and preserve all of the meat would keep most scavengers away. Thurn gave his sons the hide, bones, and organs as a thank you for the help with the hunt. The meat would be enough to get him and Marla through most of the winter.
With most of the winters supply of meat secured the couple breathed easier. Thurn would still catch their meals for the day and he would hunt for deer in the evening so they would have extra hide and meat for the winter. After a few weeks the grass was finally dry and ready to be bundled. Thurn tied the grass into bundles and stuffed it between the supporting logs, once he had the whole hut covered, he bent the outer logs and tied them together in a dome as well. With the help of Marla they would carry buckets of water and add them to the dirt pile from digging the hole. They then took this mud and coated the inside and outside of the hut with it so that it had a protective layer to keep any sparks from starting the grass on fire and to keep water and bugs out. Once the hut was completely coated in mud with the only openings being a small hide covered entry and a hole in the roof to let the smoke out, they started a large fire inside. The fire dried out the mud making it hard and strong. They now had a small yet well insulated hut that would keep them warm through the winter.
