The Last Hunt

THE LAST HUNT

by Milton Lott

 

Nomination: National Book Finalist 1955

 

Date Read: December 27, 2021

 

The Last Hunt is a fictional recounting of the decimation of the last buffalo to roam the prairies of America. Sandy and Charlie are a mismatched team of buffalo hunters, killing buffalo for the profit of their skins. While Sandy is measured and calm, going about his business with a level-head and sense of purpose, Charlie is hot-headed, easily triggered and a generally unlikeable sort.

 

What will remain memorable for me is that all the participants in these buffalo hunts know what the outcome of their excess will be. They are fully cognizant of the fact that at some point, with their rate of unprecedented killing, that the buffalo will eventually become extinct. And yet, like all humans that are aware of the outcome, they continue anyway, killing even more buffalo than they can skin.

 

Around the campfire, the hunters acknowledge that there may not be any buffalo left by next winter but this understanding doesn’t deter their ambitions. They can see how dumb the buffalo and man is: “Kill off the buffalo for their hides, then trail in cattle for meat – and them freeze to death.” Because of the widespread slaughter of buffalo, their demise was removing a vital food source from local tribes. The government began bringing in cattle to prevent widespread starvation but the cattle couldn’t withstand the winters. I would argue the starvation of indigenous tribes was an intended/unintended consequence.

 

The skinning of Indians that was referred to a few times was also shocking. I am unsure whether Lott was basing these references on fact or supposition but either way, it was absolutely horrifying. One of the hunters casually pulls out a tobacco pouch that is made out of the breast skin of an Indian with the nipple at the bottom. I don’t care who you are but carrying around this kind of “trophy” is simply an advertisement for your own barbarity.

 

Finally, the old man that lives on the prairie and who will ultimately save Sandy’s life, is met by the hunters while he’s collecting buffalo chips for his garden. The hunters notice he doesn’t carry a gun. He replied: “I don’t carry one. I don’t need to. A gun is an attitude, a state of mind – it’s a way a man feels about what’s outside of him.” I couldn’t agree more.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Gentleman In Moscow

Image
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2018, Goodreads Finalist 2016, Kirkus Finalist 2016   Date Read: February 24, 2017   From Kirkus Reviews:   “Sentenced to house arrest in Moscow's Metropol Hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal for writing a poem deemed to encourage revolt, Count Alexander Rostov nonetheless lives the fullest of lives, discovering the depths of his humanity.   Inside the elegant Metropol, located near the Kremlin and the Bolshoi, the Count slowly adjusts to circumstances as a "Former Person." He makes do with the attic room, to which he is banished after residing for years in a posh third-floor suite. A man of refined taste in wine, food, and literature, he strives to maintain a daily routine, exploring the nooks and crannies of the hotel, bonding with staff, accepting the advances of attractive women, and forming what proves to be a deeply meaningful relationship with a spirited young girl, Nina. "We are bound to find comfo
Read more

An Island

Image
AN ISLAND by Karen Jennings   Nomination: Booker Longlist 2021   Date Read: December 10, 2022   A short but mighty novel, An Island explores the concept of home, family, identity, the impact of political upheaval and the immigrant experience, when one’s suffering is so intense they move from one shitty country to the next. Samuel has finally found a peaceful home on an island somewhere off the coast of Africa. He was hired as a lighthouse keeper and after a tumultuous life, most of which was spent in prison as a political prisoner, he has carved out a life for himself on this island, enjoying a tranquil existence that basks in the quiet tasks of daily living.   Only after exploring Samuel’s life does the reader understand why such an isolated, spare and lonely existence satisfy him, with no desire to escape but only to grow deeper roots. His life witnessed the end of the British occupation, the installation of a brutal dictator and yet another dictator after the first was poisoned. Sam
Read more

The Changeling

Image
THE CHANGELING by Victor LaValle   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2019, LA Times Finalist 2017, PEN/Jean Stein Finalist 2018   Date Read: July 21, 2024   From Kirkus Reviews: “A  tragedy thrusts a mourning father into peculiar, otherworldly corners of New York City. When Apollo and Emma have their baby, Brian, it feels like both reward and challenge for the new dad. Apollo, the son of a single mother, had been scraping by as a bookseller who hunts estate and garage sales for rare first editions, so even the unusual circumstance of Brian's birth (in a stalled subway train) seems like a blessing, as does the way Apollo stumbles across a first edition of  To Kill a Mockingbird  (inscribed by Harper Lee to Truman Capote, no less) shortly after. But after some young-parent squabbles and inexplicable images on their smartphones foreshadow trouble, the story turns nightmarish: Apollo finds himself tied up and beaten by Emma, then forced to listen to the sounds of Brian’s murder. LaValle has
Read more