Bonesetter — Laurence E. Dahners

A "historical fiction" or prehistory account of a boy in a primitive society who learns to "set bones" for others who are injured. In the way of Jean Auel's heroine Ayla, he discovers other primitive technologies and his mastery of these skills gradually elevates his position in his society from despised and downtrodden to respected and admired. ExcerptWhen he found openings that didn't resemble tunnels-and most of them didn't- he made a noose from one of his thongs and tied the other end firmly to a stout branch. Then he carefully suspended the loop within the opening from small twigs. The top of the noose went at the top of the opening and the bottom of the loop he suspended across the opening about half way up. This he envisioned would catch below the animal's neck. He worried that the animals would stop upon seeing the thong hanging across the opening. If they stopped to smell it and smelled Pell's scent they might not enter. If only he could be chasing them so that they would run into their tunnels too fast to investigate! But he would never be able to do that very often. While working on placing one thong, it became tangled in the brush. When he pulled it out it had leaves twisted about it. Aha! He twisted grass leaves about the most visible part of the thong where it hung across the entrance. As he got up to leave he saw some rabbit droppings and had another idea. Hunters often smeared themselves with herbivore dung before hunting to hide their scent. He'd seen wolves doing the same thing by rolling in droppings. He took some fresh rabbit pellets back to the trap, smeared them on the thong and then re-wrapped it with grass. As he walked he smeared the rest of his thongs with rabbit dung.