The elk is killed; now what. First thing is to thank it for giving it's life to you, and second is to thank the power that helped you stumble into the animal.
To get this far back, the hunter has traveled light; doesn't have much at all with. The hunter stands in awe. The elk is beautiful. The elk is huge. Wow, the animal is huge; it is too big to move. The hunter doesn't carry much, but has rope. The hunter knows the elk will stay here tonite. The rope is used to hold the legs, hold the elk, so it can be gutted. After the elk is gutted, the lower legs are cut off, and the hide is peeled back up the leg. The hide needs to be peeled back so it doesn't freeze around the knee, and become extremely difficult to remove.
Before leaving the ivories are cut out, and pocketed. Before leaving the location is marked on the gps. Before leaving one last look around, and a very humble thank you to the elk, and to the power.
As the hunter heads out, attention is paid to walking out such that a good path is found for carrying the elk. Tomorrow will be a very strenuous day. It will take three trips to get the meat to the truck. Care is taken to find a good path.
Tonite, if the hunter is not alone, around the fire the story will be told, and the ivories will be shown.
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