A solitary man encounters a small man with two daughters and marries one. The father-in-law invites him to hunt “moose,” which are actually birds called tsebise. Confused, the man kills two owls in anger. Later, he hunts real moose, but the father-in-law, frightened by their size, flees, revealing that the “moose” he referred to were indeed birds.
Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912
► Themes of the story
Conflict with Nature: The protagonist’s hunting experiences and the differing perceptions of animals highlight a struggle or misunderstanding between humans and the natural world.
Family Dynamics: The relationship between the man and his father-in-law, including their misunderstandings and interactions, showcases complex familial relationships.
Cultural Heroes: The protagonist’s actions and experiences may reflect foundational narratives within the Beaver Indian culture, portraying him as a cultural hero.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Dane-zaa people
There was a man who was traveling around alone. At first he did not come where there were any people, but after a time he came where there was a small man living by himself who had two daughters. He was given one of these for a wife and lived there with them.
“There are some moose that live over here,” the small man said to his son-in-law one day, “let us go over there.” They went over there. He was living on birds only. “You stand here and watch that big tree and I will drive the game to you,” the father-in-law said. The Beaver was watching there supposing it was moose that was meant.
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Not long after, some birds flew by, but he paid no attention to them. After that his father-in-law ran up and asked where they were. “I did not see any moose, only some birds flew by,” the man replied. Those birds are called tsebise and stay here all winter. “You say only birds passed. Those are the ones. They are moose,” the father-in-law said.
Then the young man was angry and went back into the woods. Two owls had lighted there, and he went to them and killed them both. He was angry. He brought them to the old man and threw them at him. The head of one of the owls fell in the fork of a stick. The old man tried in vain to lift it out and when he could not, he cut it up where it lay. He told the son-in-law to go home and tell his mother-in-law to come after the meat quickly. When he came home he told them, “Go after the meat quickly, he tells you.” They went there and brought the meat back. They made a soup of the owl’s head. The old man said to his son, “Go and tell your brother-in-law to come here and eat the head soup.” When he told his brother-in-law that, he replied that he hated the water of owls’ eyes. “I will not go there,” he said. The old man was angry about it.
The next morning the large man went hunting and killed two real moose. They went out for the meat and the old man went out behind them. The moose had not yet been cut up, and when he saw the moose he was afraid and ran away. “It is the large animal that eats people he means,” the old man said and then he ran away from it. Those are the birds one sees around here which stay all winter. They say those birds were men at first.
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