Chapter Three
After Sebastian left for work the following day, Lula went to visit Ella. She was worried about her friend. They had tea together before Lula rushed home to do her daily chores, before they all needed to meet at Maggie’s place.
As she walked into Maggie’s cabin, Lula felt strong. Like she could conquer anything. She was excited to be hunting again and certain she could learn a lot about hunting in Alaska by working with Belle.
Belle looked at Lula after lunch. “How brave do you feel today?”
“Very! Why?”
“I thought we might take rifles today and see if we can get a brown bear. There’s so much meat in a bear, and it would finish filling up Sally’s cold house.”
Lula grinned. “Well, then, we’ll have to build another! I’m so excited! I’ve always wanted to hunt bear!”
“Bears are dangerous. You need to be sure to kill it with your first shot if possible. Otherwise, they’ll go after you, and they can run faster than we can. I promise!” Belle said.
“I’ll shoot for the head.”
“No, it’s best to shoot just behind the shoulder. There’s a better chance of the bear going down. If you shoot at the head and miss, you’ll just make the bear angry.”
“I never miss,” Lula said with a grin.
Belle laughed. “I noticed that. Let’s go then. Do you have a rifle, or do you want to use Everett’s?”
“When I was first married, my husband bought me a boy’s rifle.
It’s easier for me to handle because it’s shorter.
” She didn’t mention that she’d sold all her ball gowns and jewelry so they would have the money to do it.
Lula pursed her lips. “Would you mind if we stopped by my cabin on our way to find a bear?”
“That sounds good.”
As they made their journey to Lula’s cabin, she said, “I wish we hunted with rifles more.”
“Bullets are very expensive here. And some game we hunt wouldn’t leave enough meat left if we used a bullet. With the arrows, there’s a great deal more meat.”
“I brought bullets,” Lula said. “A lot of them.”
“You thought to bring bullets?” Belle asked. “I wish I’d thought of that. I may buy a few from you.”
“You’re not buying anything from me. I’ll give them to you, as I’m certain whatever you shoot will be going into my mouth as well as yours.”
Belle nodded. “Especially if we get a bear. A bear would feed both of our families for a month and a half.”
“I’ve never had bear meat.”
“It’s sweet,” Belle said. “Well, in the fall it’s sweet. I think you’ll like it.”
“It tastes different in other seasons?”
“It does! The meat tastes gamier in the spring and sweeter in the fall. It’s all those berries they eat that transition the flavor so much.”
“Am I right that they’re getting ready to hibernate?”
“They are. It’s that time of year.” Belle looked down at the bullets Lula was offering her.
“Why don’t I get those at the end of the day?
I don’t want to carry anything more than I have to.
Especially if there’s a possibility of getting a bear.
We’ll have to field-dress it. I brought two oil cloth bags to carry it back with, but it’s going to be a lot of hard work if we actually can get one.
I have Ella listening for gunshots. I showed her the area on the map this morning.
She doesn’t say much, but she pays attention.
She’ll come when she hears us. Bears are a lot of work, but they’re worth it. ”
Lula put the bullets back in her bag. “All right. Let’s go shoot a bear!”
Belle laughed. “I hunt because I know how, and we need meat. You do it for the sheer pleasure of it, don’t you?”
“Of course!”
“It’s nice to work with someone who is so enthusiastic about what we’re doing.”
As they walked away from Lula’s cabin and into the forest north of town, they both watched the ground for bear tracks. Belle was the first to spot some. “There. We need to follow those.”
“They’re huge!” Lula exclaimed.
“Brown bears are very big. That’s why we must shoot to kill.”
Lula took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
They walked slowly through the forest, trying not to make a sound, and following the bear’s path exactly.
It was two hours of walking in silence before they saw the bear. Belle slowly lifted her rifle and nodded at Lula to do the same. It makes sense for both of us to shoot at the same time. Better chance to kill the beast.
Belle waited until Lula raised her rifle and then nodded.
They both shot, and the bear charged toward them.
Lula shot again, and the bear fell. Lula walked slowly toward the bear, needing to ascertain if another shot would be necessary to kill the animal.
She knew if it was just wounded, it could come after her at any time.
As she approached the bear, she felt Belle’s presence beside her. Belle put the barrel of her rifle to the bear’s head and shot once. She looked at Lula with a grin. “We did it.”
Lula dropped to her knees and thanked the bear for its sacrifice. “I’ve never seen a creature this big!”
“I’ve shot one other brown bear, and this one is bigger. I can’t believe we got it on our first try! Last time it took me three days to track one and kill it. You must be my lucky charm.” Belle pulled a large knife out of the bag on her shoulder. “Now the real work starts.”
As they worked, Lula worried about what Sebastian would think when she was late for supper, and she wished she’d left him a note letting him know they were hunting for bear. Hopefully, he wouldn’t mind.
They were still cutting the meat into portions when Lula heard a shout. “Lula?”
“I’m here!” she called back.
Sebastian came into the copse of trees where they had killed the bear. He carried a large oilcloth sack. “I noticed your rifle was gone, which told me you were hunting for bear. I thought I’d see if I could find you so I could help tote the bear back.”
Belle smiled at Sebastian. “I think you’re my new favorite man in town. Other than Everett, of course.”
“Of course,” Sebastian said, trying not to laugh. “It looks like you ladies are mostly done.”
“We need to pack up the meat yet,” Lula said. “But that’s the last part.”
There was another shout from the trees. “Belle? Lula?”
“We’re here,” Belle called back.
Ella stepped into the clearing with another oilcloth sack in hand, her eyes going immediately to the bear and then to Lula—checking both before allowing herself to speak. “How should we divide it up to carry it back?” she asked.
“Are we going to keep the hide?” Lula asked.
Belle nodded. “That’s why I was so careful when I sliced into him.”
“What will we do with it?” Lula asked, never having been around bears or their hides.
“I sell them to Katie, and she handles everything from there,” Belle replied. “I suppose we could use them to make coats and thick mittens, but I don’t want to have to learn how. I think we do quite enough.”
“But won’t we get bored in the winter?” Lula asked.
“We knit and crochet and quilt in the winters,” Belle said with a smile. “It will be a lot more fun this year with all the new ladies who have arrived. I’m actually looking forward to winter.”
“We won’t hunt at all in winter?”
Belle shrugged. “Most of the animals we would hunt will either fly south for the winter or hibernate. Of course, if you want to brave the cold to hunt, you’re welcome to do so.”
“I’ll see how I feel,” Lula said. She couldn’t imagine being happy when all she had to do was sit indoors working on sewing or knitting, but she’d have to see just how cold it really was.
They packed all the meat they could into bags and carried it down to the river and loaded it onto the canoe.
They carefully used the rope Ella had tied to the canoe to float it down the river to Belle’s cabin.
It took several trips to get the meat into the canoe and then to get it to Belle’s cold house.
“Do you want me to help you from here?” Lula asked.
“No, I can take it from here. Everett is always willing to be pressed into service.” Belle picked up something wrapped in brown paper from the counter. “Venison. It’s been thawing all day, so should be ready to cook.”
“Thank you!”
“You’ll probably have some vegetables at home. Usually, when the foraging is finished, it’s divided and dropped off for each family.”
“Thanks again!”
Belle grinned. “It’s fun having a hunting buddy.”
“I agree. I’ve never hunted with anyone else before.
” For a moment, Lula thought of the dog she and Bill had during their brief marriage.
Pepper had followed her everywhere, and he’d been a good hunting companion.
She hadn’t been allowed to take him to the hotel with her, so she’d given him to the child of a neighbor.
“I’ll see you at Maggie’s tomorrow!” Belle said. “I think we’re going to hunt for moose tomorrow.”
“Sounds good to me.” Lula and Sebastian left to go to their cabin.
“It’s an unusual arrangement you have with the other ladies, but it seems good for us. I love having meat all the time,” Sebastian said.
“I do too! And I love hunting.” She wasn’t as fond of household chores, but she didn’t tell him that. Instead, she talked about the hunt, and how they’d gone about killing a brown bear.
“I’m impressed. I see a brown bear, and all I can think about is running. And you go looking for one. You should have been named Skadi. She’s the Norwegian goddess of the hunt.”
“Really? I didn’t even know there was a Norwegian goddess of the hunt.”
“Oh, yes. My family is Christian, but we remember the old ways. My father loved to tell us about the Norse gods as bedtime stories.”
“That sounds fascinating. I want you to tell me all the stories. And we’ll pass them down to our children.”
Sebastian smiled. “We’ll do that.”
“Supper is going to be late tonight. I hope that’s all right with you.”
“You shot a bear today! I should be cooking supper.”
“No, I want to make a venison stew. It will take a while to cook, but it will be delicious.”
He frowned. “I’m not sure I can eat that late. Perhaps you can make the venison tomorrow, and we can do some oatmeal tonight.”