At this point, most of the good meat has been cut up, and it's safe for now.
Top and I sat on a big tree, panting heavily. This job had one thing in common: it was exhausting!
But it's all worth it. As long as we get them back, we can lie down for more than a month without having to look for food.
Before, my adrenaline was surging, and I didn't feel anything while working. But now, as soon as I stop, I feel soreness all over my body.
It was so tiring. When I get back, I must find a way to make a set of pulleys so that I can use a less strenuous pulley system to pull the prey up the tree.
Top and I rested in the tree for a while, but still didn't find any trace of predators from this area.
After resting enough, I plan to continue my exploit. Since I've put in so much effort, I should try to make as much as possible.
Top and I climbed down the tree again with empty baskets on our backs. The antelope's body was not easy to move; it was mostly bones, and the meat yield was not proportional to the labor involved.
Approaching the antelope that had been dismembered into a stick, I took out a small, sharp knife. This type of knife has a long blade and a narrow tip, making it suitable for deboning.
I started by breaking down the meat from the back of the wildebeest, focusing on the shoulder blades and tenderloin.
In any case, prioritize getting the best meat first, and use the remaining meat to attract the attention of predators. If there is any danger, just run away.
This part of the meat was very easy to cut, and in less than five minutes, my basket was filled with another twenty pounds of lean meat.
Now, I estimate that there's only some flesh left in the chest and rib area of the entire skeleton. Looking at the large exposed skeleton, I nodded in satisfaction.
Some of this meat should be kept for survival; after all, when you come to these predators' territory to find food, you have to pay some toll.
I looked at the entire torso and found that there was one spot where I could get something good.
I turned the Nepalese machete upside down and used the back of the blade to strike the skull of the wildebeest. In no time, I smashed the skull open, revealing the white brain matter inside.
I carefully and completely removed all the brain matter with a knife and put it into Top's basket. I have to say, their brains are really not large in proportion to their bodies, no wonder they're not very bright.
Like spinal cord, brain marrow is rich in various amino acids and minerals needed by the human body. In addition to being consumed, brain marrow can also be used as a good tanning agent.
Crushed brain marrow is mixed with glycerin into a fine paste, which is then evenly brushed onto the treated tanned leather before tanning. This process results in leather that is softer and more comfortable.
However, this stuff spoils even more easily than meat, so unless you have a refrigerator, you can only use it as needed.
I think I'll probably put it in my and Top's stomachs first, to tan our hungry leather.
We've been out for most of the day now. We only ate two taro this morning, and after all this hard work, Top and I are already feeling hungry.
The area is likely frequented by these wildebeest, as there are many dead branches and broken pieces of wood scattered on the grassland. It looks like the wildebeest broke these bushes while scratching themselves or fighting.
I originally planned to set up a pot and cook a meal near the giant antelope skeleton, but then I thought the smell might travel very far.
It might attract predators; the terrain here is flat and the only cover is the tender grass that's less than knee-high.
If we were to encounter a ferocious predator, I reckon we'd barely have eaten half of what we were going to eat before those predators would stuff us, along with the food, into their stomachs.
So I used hemp rope to hang up the several large bundles of firewood I had collected, and then pulled them up from the tree.
My idea is to cook over a fire in a tree. To do that, the first problem to solve is how to isolate the flame from the tree.
I cut off a branch at a triangular fork in the tree with a knife, leaving only three stakes, each twenty centimeters long, in each direction.
Due to time constraints, I had to simplify some steps. I climbed down the tree and cut a lot of thatch with a knife, and also dug up some good-tasting soil from a nearby slope.
After I got them all up the tree, I started working.
I first used the method of building a bird's nest to lay a thick layer of thatch on the triangular tree branch. This was the last layer of insulation, so I used more thatch.
The next step is relatively easy: apply a layer of clay, then a layer of thatch as a barrier. Then continue by covering the thatch with another layer of clay, repeating this process until all the materials in your hand are used up.
The more layers of this progressively thicker the structure, the better the fireproofing effect. I don't remember how many layers I added, but I felt that the temperature of the flames definitely wouldn't harm the trees.
The final task is to use the remaining soil to finish the job. Cut a rectangular groove on one side of the bird's nest-shaped structure, and then use the remaining soil to shape a chimney in the rectangular groove.
Next, a wider opening was made on the side facing me to hold firewood.
This is necessary because I will be staying in this tree for a long time, and without smoke protection, my eyes will suffer great damage.
The entire structure is actually a simple Dakota fire pit system. This kind of simple earthen stove system itself has good combustion efficiency, and since it is now in a tree, the combustion efficiency should be even greater.
After doing all that, I used a knife to cut some of the dry branches I had collected into suitable lengths. Then I lit a fire and put my pot on it.
At this moment, all the smoke was expelled from the chimney I made. Thanks to the good ventilation system, the flames were quickly whipped up by the wind and started to roar, and a wisp of smoke rose from the pot.
I poured some water from the bamboo tube into a pot and brought it to a boil. The brain has a layer of blood film on it, so it needs to be blanched quickly to remove the blood film, otherwise it will have a strong bloody smell.
These deer have a low fat content, and unlike wild boars and other wild animals, their fat is not distributed throughout their bodies, but is concentrated entirely in their tails, also known as tail oil.
When I processed it, I cut off its tail and brought it back with me. To be honest, this kind of oil doesn't taste as good as lard. It has a strong gamey smell even before it's cooked.
However, this is the wilderness, not a hotel or restaurant. I'll still consume some fat, so I carefully cut off a small piece and tossed it into the dry pot, where it immediately sizzled.
A small piece of oil was quickly rendered into a clump of cracklings, and at that moment I noticed that the strong muttony smell didn't seem so strong anymore.
I scooped out the cracklings, mixed half of them, and handed them to Top. Top was delighted, took the cracklings, and took a bite.
But it quickly became unhappy, spitting it out and constantly scratching its mouth with its paws, as if it had eaten feces.
Seeing Top's reaction, I also put it to my lips and took a small bite, but after just one bite, I felt like I was about to ascend to heaven.
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