Yesterday my hunting group went out to hunt for some meat for our tribe. We spent all day trying to track anything we could kill but didn't find anything that was worth killing. Finally, at the end of the day, we found a lone, woolly mammoth that was straggling behind the rest of its group. We formed a circle trying to contain the beast and then kill it with our spears. We were unorganized and it was hard to get the men to collaborate with each other. When we finally got into position to strike, we all threw our spears at the beast as a group. The beast was injured but still able to run away in agony. We immediately started following the dying beast and it took a long time before the animal collapsed.
Using sharp edged rocks, we chopped the beast up into sections. Most of the pieces were carried on our backs, but the carcass was strung on poles and carried by two men. When we got back to the campground the women got out of their tents and took the meat from us. They worked fast to skin and gut the beast because we were very hungry.
After we ate, most of my people, (except I), went to sleep. As I sat watching fire, I started to think about the hunt and how difficult it was to kill the mammoth. I realized that when we threw our spears at our prey, the spears (most of the time) never made it to the animal, or if it did, it didn't even penetrate the skin. I then had an idea and took a thin straight branch, bent it, and tied it together with some wool-string we had from our sheep. I put a small rock against the string, pulled back, and let go. The string shot the rock a pretty-good distance from where I was sitting.
I didn't try it during our hunt the next day because I knew that the rock was not large enough to kill a beast. I then decided that I could make it work by putting something that is pointy like a spear against the string. It took me all night and a little of the morning, but I found the supplies I needed. I tried them out as soon as I got some rest and they worked better than anything we had. I even killed a bird of some-kind that I later ate after roasting it over a fire.
I showed this new hunting device (that I call a bow) to the tribe leader. He was thrilled and amazed at what I had made. He told me that when we went out hunting the next day at dawn, we would test this new tool in the field.
I can hardly wait.
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