A group of Beaver Indians embarked on a war expedition but found no enemies and decided to return home. On their way back, they discovered the severed head of a friend, killed by the Cree. Realizing his son-in-law was missing, a chief found his body nearby. In retaliation, the chief infiltrated a Cree camp alone and killed everyone. His party then attacked another Cree camp, leaving no survivors. Later, they encountered another Cree war party; only one Beaver man survived to tell the tale.
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
Revenge and Justice: The father-in-law seeks retribution for the death of his son-in-law by attacking and killing the Cree responsible.
War and Peace: The story involves conflict between different groups, detailing war expeditions and battles.
Tragic Flaw: The father-in-law’s overwhelming anger leads him to kill all members of the opposing camps, which may suggest a lack of restraint as his tragic flaw.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Dane-zaa people
A party of Indians went on a war expedition. The strange people for whom they went were not found, and the party turned back. When they came out on a lake there was a black spot in the distance. They thought wolves might have killed a caribou, and ran to it saying they would eat the marrow. One man outran the others and came to it. It was a man’s head. The Cree had killed a man, one of their friends. They went up to the shore to a camp where many people were sitting. One of them was the chief who had a son-in-law living there. They counted the people and found the son-in-law was missing. “He has run away. He had no moccasins with him and has frozen to death somewhere. Look around the edge of the camp,” his father-in-law said.
► Continue reading…
They found he had left the camp at a certain point and they followed after him. They found his body lying not very far away. His father-in-law just looked at him and since there was nothing he could do he left him.
They followed those Cree and came up to them where they had returned to their tipis which were grouped in two camps. There were many tipis. The father-in-law, indicating the place where the tipis were most numerous, said he would go there alone. He went there by himself and killed them all; not one was left alive. Then he cried. Because he was angry the entire party went to the other camp and killed them all.
They went home and came down to the lake again. The Cree were there again. That too was a war party. They were sitting there by their hooks and did not know anyone was about. One of them was not getting any fish. “I wonder what is the matter?” he said to himself. “I guess it is because the water is too shallow. I will make a hole in the ice further out.” He went out to another place where a man was sitting by his hook. The Beaver coming up to him thought it was one of his own people, but it was really a Cree. It was snowing hard when he came up to him. “My brother-in-law you will soon kill fish,” he said to him. There was a spear lying beside the Cree who took it up, thinking it was not a relative. He too had been carrying an ice chisel and killed the Cree with it. He ran away without telling his relatives who were all killed by the Cree. He was the only one to escape to his home alive.
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