American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 202 The Treasure Trove of Fat (Multiple Images, Remember to Vote for Monthly Tickets and Win a Phone)
Kelly was overjoyed; she knew her chance had come!
Instead of trying to use brute force to overcome the incredible weight of the seal skin in the water, she used one end of the deadwood like a giant probe to insert into the cold seawater, sliding it along the lower edge of the ice to the bottom of the seal skin.

Next, he executed a clever lever maneuver, using the part of the deadwood on the ice as a fulcrum, and slowly pressed down on the other end of the deadwood with his own body weight.

This action caused the tip of the stick inserted underwater to begin to tilt upwards. The upward force was not great, not enough to lift the entire piece of skin, but enough to gradually push the edge of the seal skin out of the water.

"Come up... a little more..." she murmured, her eyes fixed on the water.

When the edge of a small piece of fur was finally successfully pushed out of the water and placed on the solid ice, the first step was a success!

Without stopping, she immediately changed her movements.

With the tip of the stick still holding the fur, she moved her body backward very slowly, pulling the seal skin out of the water and onto the ice.

The wooden sticks, used to lift furs, made a "shh-shh" sound as they scraped across the ice. At the same time, they brought more furs out of the water and laid them on the ice.

Then, use a stick to pull the seal skin little by little towards yourself.

"Success!"

The moment she grabbed the seal skin, she couldn't help but gasp!
Kelly quickly crawled back to a safe distance before revealing her uncontrollable ecstasy!

"Oh my God... Oh... my... God! Did you see that?"

Her voice was hoarse and broken, filled with sobs, and her breath blurred the lens, forcing her to raise her hand to wipe it.

"I did it! I fucking did it!"

She shouted incoherently at the camera, waving her fists excitedly, completely disregarding the danger she might be in. At that moment, she needed an outlet, and this cold camera was her only outlet.

"Just now...right there!"

Kelly pointed the camera at the area behind her where the seawater was churning, then turned to the huge trophy beside her.

"A seal skin! A whole, enormous seal skin!"

"And this! Look at this! Fat! It's fat! I don't have to gnaw on tree bark anymore! I don't have to go hungry anymore!"

Kelly turned the camera on herself again, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, leaving two clear tear tracks on her dirty cheeks.

"I thought I wasn't going to make it... Really, just a few hours ago, I thought it was all over. I was out of arrows, and I was exhausted."

She choked up as she spoke of a vulnerability she had never admitted to the camera before.

“But…but look!” She patted the seal skin beneath her, making a dull “slap slap” sound.

"This is the answer! This is the answer this land gave me! It tells me that as long as you don't give up, God and Lady Luck will favor you!"

She looked at the camera, her eyes filled with the madness of surviving a catastrophe and an almost manic sense of conviction.

"Ah!—Ah! I won! Today, I've won back a round from this land! I've won!"

She gasped for breath, trying to calm herself down, and it took her a while to gradually calm down.

As the adrenaline that had been fueling her receded like a tide, a strong feeling of exhaustion and an even greater chill instantly swept through her body.

She then realized that her forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, and that her shouts and screams might have carried for kilometers across the silent ice field.

"Damn it, Kelly, you idiot," she muttered, a wave of fear washing over her.

Kelly immediately looked around warily, and only after confirming that she was not being watched by anything did she stand up and begin to drag her spoils with all her might, as she had to get out of the area as soon as possible.

On the way back to the shelter, Kelly looked at the Thunderbird at her waist, then at the enormous seal skin and fat in her arms. An absurd sense of abundance and security, a feeling of going from abject poverty to sudden wealth, enveloped her, making her laugh again.

After laughing, she dragged the heavy seal skin back to the sanctuary with difficulty.

With every step she took, she imagined the feast that was about to begin, her saliva uncontrollably flowing from her mouth. She knew that there was no end to the work tonight, but all the work revolved around one core—eating!

The first thing she needed to do was immediately, right away, to put this precious fat into her stomach! To give her body the most direct reward and replenishment!

With the hunting knife that had accompanied her through countless difficult times, Kelly cut a small piece, about two fingers thick, from the huge block of solidified fat.

The blade hissed softly as it sliced ​​through the fat, which felt firm and elastic. She quickly started a fire, placed the iron pot over it, and tossed the small piece of seal fat directly into the hot, empty pot.

"Fuck-"

As soon as the fat touched the hot bottom of the pan, it made a pleasant soft sizzle, and its edges quickly became transparent as it began to shrink and melt.

Soon, a layer of clear, golden oil spread across the bottom of the pot, and a strong but not unpleasant, unique aroma began to permeate the air.

The aroma was primal and domineering, penetrating directly into her hungry stomach and causing her to unconsciously swallow.

While waiting for the fat to render, she cleaned the Thunderbird, skillfully skinned it, and then used the tip of her knife to neatly slice off two of the most prized breast meats along the sternum, before cutting them into small pieces.

When there was enough oil in the pan, she scooped out the cracklings that had melted down to just a small amount and turned golden brown and crispy. Without thinking, she threw them directly into her mouth, crunched them with a satisfying crunch, and her mouth was instantly filled with the aroma of caramelized oil, making her squint her eyes in bliss!
Then, without hesitation, she poured all the Thunderbird meat chunks into the boiling oil!

"Sizzle—"

The meat chunks met the hot oil, instantly creating an even louder sizzle and a stronger aroma! White steam rose up, blurring her vision, and the surface of the meat chunks quickly turned from pink to golden brown under the high temperature!

For someone who has been eating tree bark for two days, this is a feast for both the eyes and the nose!
In just a few minutes, a plate of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside "pan-fried thunderbird meat" was ready! She directly used the tip of her knife to pick up a piece of piping hot meat and put it in her mouth.

First came the rich, caramelized aroma of the crispy outer layer, infused with seal fat, followed by the still tender and juicy poultry inside. This complex flavor instantly revitalized her taste buds, which had become dulled from a diet of bland food!

She could even taste a faint, salty flavor from the seal oil, similar to cod liver oil. This didn't ruin the taste; instead, it made the meat's flavor more complex and wild.

Kelly devoured all the thunderbird meat; this meal restored her dignity and sense of happiness as a "civilized person." The warmth from her stomach after finishing this appetizer gave her body, weakened by prolonged hunger, a renewed surge of strength! She began to process the remaining abundant resources.

Kelly spread the huge seal skin out on the ground of the sanctuary and carefully used a hunting knife to peel off the thick layer of fat from the skin.

This is a long and delicate job. Her blade must be kept at a slight angle at all times, close to the inner layer of the skin, like a surgeon performing a separation operation.

With her left hand pulling the skin and her right hand wielding the knife, she could clearly feel the subtle sensation of the blade severing the last fiber connecting the fat and the dermis.

Extreme care must be taken to remove as much fat as possible, because every gram of fat is a key factor for her future survival.

In the end, she obtained a large pile of pinkish-white, cold, and slippery pure fat. She weighed the largest piece, estimated the total amount, and made a rough judgment in her mind.

“At least 15 pounds…maybe more! It’s a mountain of fat! Pure energy!” Kelly said to the camera, her voice filled with incredible excitement.

She put the pot back on the fire and this time filled it with more than half a pot of clean snow. After the snow water boiled, she cut the remaining seal fat into large chunks and threw them all into the pot.

What we need to do now is not for deliciousness, but for long-term preservation. Boiling can completely kill the potential microorganisms in the fat and remove some of the blood and impurities. This is also one of the traditional methods of fat preservation used by polar natives.

White fat chunks tumbled in the boiling water, and soon a thicker layer of grease floated to the surface. The smell was far less fragrant than when the meat was fried earlier; instead, an extremely strong, fishy, ​​and gamey odor filled the entire shelter.

When the fat became translucent and shrank in size, it was fully cooked. She used a fork made of a wooden stick to pick up a piece of fat that was still trembling slightly, blew on it, and then put it in her mouth.

The most authentic flavor of seal fat was revealed on her taste buds without reservation.

First, there was the strong fishy and gamey smell, even stronger than I had imagined. After being boiled, the fat became exceptionally soft and slippery, requiring almost no chewing. It was like a semi-solid grease that easily melted and dispersed under the pressure of the tongue.

"Guys, to be honest, the texture and taste are far from delicious. In the civilized world, this would be absolutely unpalatable."

But Kelly didn't care at the moment. She closed her eyes, forced herself to ignore the protests from her taste buds, and endured the unpleasant taste to eat it.

She could clearly feel that when the high-calorie substance slid down her esophagus and into her stomach, it was as if a long-dormant engine inside her body was reignited!
A surge of heat rose from her abdomen and quickly spread to every cell in her body. The cells in her body were cheering with joy because of the injection of this high-purity energy!
She knew that what she was eating was not food, but a ticket that would allow her to continue on this icy plain!
Kelly picked up one piece after another, swallowed them expressionlessly, and mechanically sent these "energy blocks" into her body.

She estimated that fifteen pounds was roughly equivalent to six and a half kilograms of pure fat, which, at 900 calories per 100 grams, amounted to over 61,000 calories.

Based on my current daily calorie requirement of at least 4000 calories, this amount of fat is enough to sustain me for fifteen days!

"Half a month..."

"For a full two weeks, I didn't have to worry about calories anymore."

This number gave her an unprecedented sense of security! It meant she had enough time and energy to study how to improve the stability of her arrows and to make better ones! Instead of being forced by hunger every day to go on adventures with imperfect arrows.

She scooped the remaining cooked fat from the pot and placed it on a clean piece of birch bark to cool. Cooked fat is easier to preserve; as it cools and solidifies, it forms a hard outer shell that further isolates it from the air.

Then, they wrapped them in layers of birch bark and tied them to a thick birch log with tripwire, burying them together in the deep snowdrift outside the shelter.

Low temperatures preserve them perfectly. Although it takes a lot of effort to dig them out of the snow and pry open the frozen birch bark each time you eat them, the trouble is nothing compared to the risk of them being stolen by other animals.

The remaining pot of oily soup wasn't wasted either; it was all drunk down while it was still hot. Every sip was a flowing warmth, and although the taste wasn't great, at that moment, it was an unparalleled delicacy!

Now, with food in her stomach and supplies around her, she has not only survived, but for the first time in this cruel land, she possesses something that can be called "capital".

Tonight, she can finally get a good night's sleep.

After a good night's sleep, Kelly woke up refreshed the next day. The fullness in her stomach and the abundance of energy made her feel like she could conquer the world. Humming a little tune, she planned to start making new arrows that day.

However, as she stepped out of the shelter to get a piece of fat for breakfast, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

On the snow, a clear row of plum blossom-shaped footprints stretched from the distant woods all the way to the snowdrift where she stored her fat, circled around a few times, and then disappeared in another direction.

“Foxes…” Kelly’s heart sank instantly. It was one or several Arctic foxes that had been attracted by the scent.

The snowdrifts showed signs of having been dug, but very shallowly, clearly unable to break through the frozen snow layer and thick birch bark.

But they know there is food here, and they will come back, which may even attract more powerful predators, such as wolves.

Yesterday's joy and sense of security vanished instantly, replaced by a feeling of being secretly watched.

She realized that this pile of fat was both her asset and a source of trouble that would attract all sorts of robbers!
However, after her initial panic subsided, a completely different idea flashed through her mind like lightning.

"Wait a minute." She looked at the camera, her eyes gradually shifting from nervousness to a sharp, calculating look.

Why should I just see them as a nuisance?

"What troubled me most before was not being able to find prey. I would wander around the forest like a fool for hours before I could be lucky enough to spot a grouse. I had a bow and arrow, but no target."

"But now, the target has delivered itself to our doorstep!" She glanced at the fox footprints in the snow, a cold smile even appearing on her lips.

"This pile of fat is not just my food reserves; it has now become a huge, deadly lure!"

This is both a crisis and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Kelly immediately abandoned her plan to make arrows. Her immediate priority was not simply to protect her property, but to turn the "side effects" of her property into profits.

She didn't choose to transfer the fat because no matter where she transferred it, the odor would leak out, which would only make her defenses longer and more passive.

Kelly decided to turn the tables and transform the area around the shelter into a sophisticated hunting ground, a death trap zone!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)