it. Tell me what you think and if you are on the right
track, I will help you with how to do it.”
Understanding was a faint glimmer in
Cano’s eye, but it was getting brighter as they talked. "They cannot
see as well as we can, but their sense of smell is better than ours. We must
not let them see us. That will be the easy part. Next, we must not let them
smell us; that will be more difficult."
Menla smiled “You are right on both
points. Now let us break the problem down. How can we have them not be able to
see us?”
Cano was enjoying this process. “The
easiest way not to be seen would be to look like something they are not afraid
of, something that they know is not dangerous.” An idea came to his mind, “Like
a bush.”
“Very good, we can cover ourselves
with small branches and leaves. This will solve the first part of our problem.
But what of the smell? How can we get rid of a smell?”
Cano thought about it but could not
see a way to get rid of something that was always there. He shrugged his
shoulders, “I don’t know,” he confessed.
“Good” Menla said. “You will
make a great hunter; it takes a good man to say ‘I don’t know’. It is good to
look at the problem and try to determine the best course of action. Usually it
is plain to see what must be done, but sometimes you must ask for help.
Today I am here and I can help. Sometimes you will think you are by
yourself and there is no solution to the problem. Nevertheless, remember there
are many ways to do anything. Some are better than others are. Even if you
cannot see a way to solve a problem that does not mean there is no way to do
it. Look at the different ways there are to do a thing and let your mind look
at the different ways it can be done. But, and this is important, the perfect
way to do what we need to do may not be practical.” Menla paused and
surveyed the positions of the mammoths before continuing. “The perfect way to
get that calf would be to have it walk back to our camp and die at our
fire. We know that’s not going to happen. We must look at another way to
get the food we need. We hunt and kill. To do this we must get closer to them
without them knowing we are there. You solved the first problem about hiding
from their sight.” Menla continued, “We can’t get rid of our scent, that
is a problem. However we can cover up our scent with one that is
stronger.” A smile crept over his face. “Any idea of how we are going to
do it?”
Cano thought for a few moments before
shaking his head. Menla pointed to a nearby pile of mammoth dung.
Cano looked at the pile and then back to Menla before shaking his head no
again.
Menla’s smile got bigger as he nodded
his head, yes. Menla crawled slowly over to the pile and motioned Cano to
follow. He reached in, scooped up a handful of the dung, and began rubbing it on
his skin. “Don’t worry; I’ll leave plenty for you.”
The scent was so strong that it made
Cano’s eyes water. As he moved up to the pile of dung, he looked over at
Menla and said, “I was enjoying this hunt up until now.” He thought for a
moment before adding, “You know, there is a lot to be said for ignorance.”
Menla gave him a smile and then a
long look before answering. “Most animals like things that smell good. The
problem is that different animals like different smells. It is true that
if you didn’t know about rubbing dung on your body, that you would smell better
to us, but not to the mammoth. Today we fool the mammoth with his own
smell, and in return, we get to eat. We trade one thing for
another. We can choose to smell better to ourselves, but then we do not
eat. This is not one of the fun parts of being a hunter.” He stuck his
hands deep into the dung and brought out a handful, which he rubbed into his
hair and face, then to the bottoms of his feet. Next, he applied it to his
knees and arms. Cano thought he was done, but he reached in, got
track, I will help you with how to do it.”
Understanding was a faint glimmer in
Cano’s eye, but it was getting brighter as they talked. "They cannot
see as well as we can, but their sense of smell is better than ours. We must
not let them see us. That will be the easy part. Next, we must not let them
smell us; that will be more difficult."
Menla smiled “You are right on both
points. Now let us break the problem down. How can we have them not be able to
see us?”
Cano was enjoying this process. “The
easiest way not to be seen would be to look like something they are not afraid
of, something that they know is not dangerous.” An idea came to his mind, “Like
a bush.”
“Very good, we can cover ourselves
with small branches and leaves. This will solve the first part of our problem.
But what of the smell? How can we get rid of a smell?”
Cano thought about it but could not
see a way to get rid of something that was always there. He shrugged his
shoulders, “I don’t know,” he confessed.
“Good” Menla said. “You will
make a great hunter; it takes a good man to say ‘I don’t know’. It is good to
look at the problem and try to determine the best course of action. Usually it
is plain to see what must be done, but sometimes you must ask for help.
Today I am here and I can help. Sometimes you will think you are by
yourself and there is no solution to the problem. Nevertheless, remember there
are many ways to do anything. Some are better than others are. Even if you
cannot see a way to solve a problem that does not mean there is no way to do
it. Look at the different ways there are to do a thing and let your mind look
at the different ways it can be done. But, and this is important, the perfect
way to do what we need to do may not be practical.” Menla paused and
surveyed the positions of the mammoths before continuing. “The perfect way to
get that calf would be to have it walk back to our camp and die at our
fire. We know that’s not going to happen. We must look at another way to
get the food we need. We hunt and kill. To do this we must get closer to them
without them knowing we are there. You solved the first problem about hiding
from their sight.” Menla continued, “We can’t get rid of our scent, that
is a problem. However we can cover up our scent with one that is
stronger.” A smile crept over his face. “Any idea of how we are going to
do it?”
Cano thought for a few moments before
shaking his head. Menla pointed to a nearby pile of mammoth dung.
Cano looked at the pile and then back to Menla before shaking his head no
again.
Menla’s smile got bigger as he nodded
his head, yes. Menla crawled slowly over to the pile and motioned Cano to
follow. He reached in, scooped up a handful of the dung, and began rubbing it on
his skin. “Don’t worry; I’ll leave plenty for you.”
The scent was so strong that it made
Cano’s eyes water. As he moved up to the pile of dung, he looked over at
Menla and said, “I was enjoying this hunt up until now.” He thought for a
moment before adding, “You know, there is a lot to be said for ignorance.”
Menla gave him a smile and then a
long look before answering. “Most animals like things that smell good. The
problem is that different animals like different smells. It is true that
if you didn’t know about rubbing dung on your body, that you would smell better
to us, but not to the mammoth. Today we fool the mammoth with his own
smell, and in return, we get to eat. We trade one thing for
another. We can choose to smell better to ourselves, but then we do not
eat. This is not one of the fun parts of being a hunter.” He stuck his
hands deep into the dung and brought out a handful, which he rubbed into his
hair and face, then to the bottoms of his feet. Next, he applied it to his
knees and arms. Cano thought he was done, but he reached in, got
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