Surviving In A Primal Forest

                                            Surviving In A Primal Forest



    Thugg, the caveman, stumbled through the dense forest, his hunger pains now becoming worse.  Desperately looking for some dinner, he snatched up small lizards and other creatures, careful to avoid the poisonous snakes common in the moist undergrowth.  He knew that lizard-on-a-stick was his family's favorite dinner so he filled his bear-skin bag with many of the reptiles and trudged back to his cave.  To find food was difficult and often hazardous.  He usually hunted with his pack of friends but today he had to hunt alone as his friends were sick with some kind of chill.  Sickness was usually not a problem as they were tough and immune to most diseases, but there were many dangers lurking in the forest. Danger was not only in the form of animals but sometimes other tribes were quite aggressive and war-like.  Lugging his catch he also carried a large stone for protection against animals or anything else harmful.

    Sometimes he wished he had some kind of tool or weapon to catch animals.  Using his hands, sometimes a big rock, he was limited to killing fairly small animals.  He often longed to catch one of the large water animals living in the marsh. Their soft fur would be so warm for a coat.  Once they did kill one, a young one, but it was so small all they could do was to make some small belts, but it was a luxurious belt.  Other times they would track an older bear, one not too large, then cornering it, they would club it to death with stones. It was very messy and it usually ruined the fur.  Even with six of his friends helping it was difficult to kill it and sometimes they suffered many wounds.  Thugg still had many ugly scars over his body.  Except for the lizards in his bag, many of the reptiles were poisonous and they usually stayed clear of them. Insects were sometimes a problem and they often grew to a large size. The large ones didn't bother him so much as they were easier to hit. The small insects drove him crazy when they crawled all over his hand when he ate. Others in the cave didn't seem to mind them.  Some of the bugs tasted good but he still preferred red meat.

    Life was all about surviving.  Though high on the food chain humans didn't have much defense against starvation, large predators and  just freezing to death.  The only way to keep from being eaten by a predator was to run as fast as you could.  Man did have strong legs and efficient lung power but it was still difficult to outrun a saber-tooth tiger.  It was an endless cycle of looking for food, running from predators and looking for more food.  Thugg had heard that some tribes living in the lowlands were putting seeds in the ground and growing food, but he liked meat too much.  Where he lived it was hilly and mountainous, too rocky to plant seeds.  Often they did find berries and nuts to eat but meat was their main diet. Also, he felt safer in his cave higher in the mountain.  Sometimes they would meet a tribe from the lowlands and try to communicate with them.  They were not aggressive and they were very shy.

    As he came home to his mate she was happy to see him, knowing he always brought home some food. Thugg looked at her face, running with sweat and marked with scars.  He felt a fondness for her even though they neither showed much affection to each other.  Dumping the bag of lizards she began to make a meal with some bones from the last kill.  Thugg was fortunate to find this cave as it was hidden from view and large enough for their tribe.  They made it comfortable with bear skins and piles of twigs and leaves to soften the hard ground.  While his mate prepared the meal, carrying their infant child, Thugg wondered if the boy would survive the coming winter.  Their first child, now almost four seasons old, had survived so far and was running around the fire, playing with the hot cinders.  Soon he would teach him how to hunt and kill small animals and other skills to survive.

    After he had met his mate some five seasons ago, during the mating season, he soon had two offspring to care for.  When he first met Thongg, she was ugly as an old bear but she was sturdy as an ox and she made an awesome rat stew.  Besides that, she was nice and warm to snuggle up to at night.  Being a large sturdy female was important to not only raise a healthy offspring but to just survive the harsh life they led.

    Thongg took the bag of reptiles and skewered them for the meal.  She was proud of her mate as he always brought home food to eat.  He too was ugly but he was fast on his feet and a good hunter. Thugg was somewhat shorter than the other males but he was a skilled fighter. Not so aggressive as some, she liked his more gentle manner. At times she liked it when he would wrestle with her, playfully beating her. They didn't talk much with their limited vocabulary so body language was their main way of communicating.  The tribe usually got along well but being hungry all the time, they sometimes fought over the food.  The males were fed first while the females usually got what was left over.  Thugg was different than the other males; he would save some of the fatty parts of the meat for his mate knowing she had to nurse his two boys.

    The others in the tribe huddled around the fire to keep warm, waiting for the lizard-on-a-stick.  Most of them were related except for two females who were quite old.  Their wrinkled sagging bodies looked to be over fifteen seasons old.  They counted two seasons as one year: the Cold Season and the Warm Season.  The two females had lost their mates when a large predator killed them in a hunt.  It was a burden on the tribe but the two females would take care of the young ones when the tribe went out hunting.  Huddled together around the fire, waiting for their meal, they found it fascinating to just watch the bright flames flicker, giving so much warmth.  Without the fire they could easily freeze to death in Winter and keeping the flame was critical.  If the fire was neglected and burned out it would take much time and effort to restart it as flint stones were still new to them.  Thugg did not like the cold. He shuddered at the thought of having no fire to keep warm.

    Once, during a heavy rainstorm that lasted for many moons, they ran out of dry wood and the last day they almost froze to death.  He longed for the Summer when he could lay in the Sun and soak up the heat. They all had much body hair which helped to keep them warm but they envied the bears with their thick fur. The saber tooth tiger had beautiful warm fur that would make a nice coat but they were too dangerous to hunt. 

    As Thugg munched his charred lizard he played with a stick and his brain began ticking. He was always thinking.  Others in the cave thought him strange at times, always looking at the sky, the sun and the moon.  He didn't know why but he found it interesting to see these things, to wonder about them.  The moon was always changing. He loved the full round brightness, then all the many crescents, small ones and others upside down.  The first time he noticed the moon was missing he felt a sadness.  All the tiny points of light at night fascinated him.  He often thought of climbing a big mountain to try to touch them.  The streaks of blue light flashing across the darkness scared him yet fascinated him. Even the thunder was fascinating in its horrendous noise and bright flashes of light.  He didn't know why he had these thoughts, but he did.  Once in hunting far away, they saw some mountains that spewed great clouds of fire which frightened them.  They were glad where they lived as it was always quiet and peaceful, although the ground would shake sometimes.

      Still playing with his stick he wondered if he could make a larger stick with a pointed end.  Maybe he could throw it as a weapon.  The other males nearby were playing their game of  tossing stones at each other, seeing who would end up with the most stones.  Thugg wasn't interested in their silly games, besides his brain was larger than the others and he was always thinking.  He was tired of the struggle to survive.  He picked up a sharp stone and carved the end of the stick to a pointed shape.  Looking for a target he saw his friend Mugg sitting nearby.  Mugg was the slow-learner of the group.  He often played around the fire and he still hadn't learned that picking up hot cinders would burn his fingers.  However, he was the largest of the group and being so powerful he was useful in a hunt.  Also, with a large body he was nice to sleep with being so warm.

    Thugg carefully threw the pointed stick at Mugg and was surprised it stuck into his leg.  Not liking this new game Mugg became quite irritated.  Yanking out the stick, blood running out, Thugg laughed loudly at this new discovery. If he could  use this as a weapon instead of stones it would be easier to hunt.  To carry many stones around was not only heavy but was not very efficient.  After consoling Mugg with the bloody leg, licking his wound, Thugg decided to make a prototype of his new idea. 

    The next day, after food gathering, he found a long stick from a tree and with a stone he sharpened the end.  Tying an animal skin to a tree he practiced throwing the stick.  Calling his new idea a 'spear,' he practiced every day but soon he realized he needed a moving target.  Convincing his mate to be a target he dulled the end so as not to injure her too much.  This was eons before women's rights.  Though Thongg wanted to help him she didn't appreciate the spear hitting her legs and she learned to avoid the spears by leaping around.  Surprised how spry she was he found it difficult to hit her but after awhile he made many hits.  Now he was ready to try his new weapon in a hunt.

    Thugg took his companions out to hunt, carrying his new spear.  The others were dubious of this new device.  After awhile they found a furry dog-like creature and chasing it they managed to corner it and he threw his spear at the creature. Missing it he tried again and this time, to his amazement, it stuck into the animal and quickly killed it.  Thugg jumped around with joy knowing this was a great idea.  Instead of beating it with a rock, messing up the fur, the spear made a clean wound and they could use the fur for a coat.

    Now convinced this new weapon was useful Thugg showed his friends how to make their own spear.  Maybe with six of them they could kill a larger animal.  At first they laughed at the funny sticks but after awhile they began to be fascinated how it stuck into things.  Mugg, not so bright, used curved sticks and when he threw them they would fly off in the wrong direction.  The others soon realized a straight stick worked the best. 

    Confident of  their new tool, they went hunting for larger game.  The forest was full of many animals but some were too fast to catch while others were either too dangerous or poisonous.  Every living thing was fair game for the larger animals.  Even insects and bugs would eat you if you gave them the chance.  Finally chasing a smaller bear, with its thick fur, they cornered it and speared it, but the pointed sticks would not penetrate the thick fur far enough.  Now wounded and in pain the bear attacked them and soon two of them were injured.  It soon became clear that their spears had limitations.  The pointed end would break off too easily and Thugg had to find a new answer to this problem.

    The next night, chewing on a leg-bone for dinner, he pounded  his head trying to think of what to do about the spears.  Near his foot he noticed a sharp stone and picking it up he almost cut his finger. Scratching his head he tried to attach the stone to his spear but nothing worked.  Finally, wrapping it to the stick with some vines he went out to a tree to see if it would work.  Throwing the spear at a nearby tree he was surprised  how well it stuck into the wood. 

    In the morning he showed his friends how to make a sharp stone and tie it to the end of the spear and after making many of them they decided to go hunting to see if it would work.  They chased a few small animals, usually missing them, but soon they they found a slow-moving scaly creature.  So very slow it was an easy target and they rejoiced in how the sharp stone penetrated it's skin..  Now they had to hunt some larger prey.  Thugg knew of a marsh where many creatures lived. He took them through the undergrowth, looking for one of the water creatures with the thick luxurious fur, which would make a warm coat.  Though the creatures were quite large they were plant-eaters and of little danger to them. Finally chasing one they surrounded it and speared it.  As it thrashed in the water, their spears stuck into the creature, killing it in a short time.  The new spears were working.  They happily took it back to the cave knowing they now had some good meat and the fur was not damaged, making a warm coat for many of them.

    Over time they improved their spears and their throwing, but they still had not killed a larger prey.  Low on food one day, they went hunting armed with their new spears.  Though they had killed smaller bears they longed to bring home a large bear as it would make coats for everyone. 

    With his good nose Thugg followed the scent of a bear, leading the others, hoping to find a large one.  Quietly stalking their prey, careful to not make a sound, little did they know they were being hunted.  Then,  crouching in the undergrowth Thugg suddenly heard the noise of a large animal running towards them.  Humans were also good to eat and the bear was hungry.  To their horror it was a giant bear and before they could run it was on top of them, its huge claws tearing at them.  As Thugg threw his spear at the bear, it only wounded him, making the creature roar with pain.  With everyone throwing their spears into the bear it swung around and grabbed Thugg into its jaws.  Trying to fight him off, Thugg was tossed to the ground with the creature above him, slashing at him.  As they fought off the attack, its fangs piercing his neck, Thugg  realized he may not survive and it flashed through his mind that his two young boys needed him to survive.  Mugg, the largest of the group, leaped on the bear's back, trying to distract him.  As the bear released its grip, Thugg crawled away and moaned in pain, his body covered in blood. Now, mortally wounded, the bear ran off, leaving them to tend their wounds. They knew the bear wouldn't go far with its wounds, then they could finish it off and skin it at their leisure.  Everyone had injuries, but Thugg had a large hole in his neck, gushing with blood.  Struggling back to their cave they all laid by the fire, moaning in pain. 

    His mate Thongg was horrified to see his many wounds and the large hole in his neck, running with blood.  Comforting him, cleaning his wounds she stuffed the hole in his neck with leaves, stopping the bleeding.  That night, holding him close, licking his wounds, Thongg knew she had to save him.

    After many days Thugg slowly recovered and he was able to hunt again, but he felt older now.  Skinning the large bear they now all had warm coats for the winter and the meat lasted many weeks.  Also, the claws and teeth made good tools. 

    Still a good hunter Thugg decided to teach his oldest boy the skills of hunting and the boy learned quickly.  Though Thugg didn't know the meaning of mortality he sensed an ending to his life coming soon.  Now resting in his cave all day he found a new activity while his friends went hunting.  Carving figures on the walls of the cave, he found it enjoyable to make them colorful with the reddish clay, showing figures of them hunting and other daily activities.  His friends often teased him of the silly drawings but soon they too joined him in this new activity.

    Thugg lived to a ripe old age of  29, passing away with his mate and two young boys at his side.  The older boy now had to take care of his family and he too had new ideas to make life easier.  Like his father he liked to think and try new ideas.

    As he enjoyed playing in the woods he found a stick that bowed into an arc and attaching a vine he made a bow.  Strumming it, making a nice sound, he wondered if he could make it into some kind of weapon.  Son of Thugg also had a creative mind. Soon, he would find a use for this new discovery.