A man avenges his son-in-law

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

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

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.

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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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A woman agrees to betray her sons to the Cree

A widow with three sons is visited by a Cree band. They threaten to kill her unless she agrees to keep their plan to attack her sons secret, promising her a husband in return. She consents, but her youngest son overhears her anticipation of their demise. The brothers decide to flee but, before leaving, one fatally wounds their mother, thwarting her betrayal.

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

Love and Betrayal: The mother’s betrayal of her sons for personal gain.

Revenge and Justice: The sons’ act of killing their mother as retribution for her treachery.

Family Dynamics: The complex and tragic relationships within the family, highlighting themes of loyalty and betrayal.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Secured in English from Ike through John Bourassa.

There was a woman whose husband died leaving her with three small boys. She supported herself and her sons by killing rabbits and other small game. When the boys were grown up and were away one day hunting, a band of Cree came to their camp. They told the woman that they were coming the next morning to kill her sons. They were going to kill her right then unless she promised not to tell the sons. If she did not tell them they would let her live and she might have her choice of the whole band for a husband. She promised on this condition.

The sons came home late and went to bed. The youngest woke up early in the morning and saw his mother looking through a hole in the tipi. She was saying to herself, “I wish day would come quickly so I may have a husband and be rid of these boys.”

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When the son heard this he pushed a stick through a birchbark dish, lighted it in the fire for a torch, and ran outside. There he found the strangers’ tracks. When he told his brothers what he had heard and seen they agreed that they had better go to the larger camp. As they went out the door one of them shot the mother in the throat saying, “You will not have a husband.” When the Cree came they found the woman dead.

The treacherous wife

A man searches for his wife, abducted by the Cree. Upon finding her, she betrays him, leading to his capture and torture. An old man rescues and heals him. Later, the old man bets his daughter in a footrace, which the young man wins using a magical bird. The treacherous wife is returned to her original husband, while the young man gains a new, loyal partner.

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

Love and Betrayal: The man’s wife is abducted by the Cree and later betrays him by not acknowledging him and reporting his presence, leading to his capture and torture.

Revenge and Justice: The old man, whose children were killed by the same people, rescues the tortured man and later orchestrates events that lead to the man’s wife being returned to him, serving as a form of justice for her betrayal.

Trials and Tribulations: The protagonist endures significant hardships, including the abduction of his wife, a perilous journey to find her, and being captured and tortured by the Cree.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

There was a man whose tipi stood by itself. His wife was carried off by the Cree during his absence. He looked for her in vain; it seemed she was completely lost. His brother-in-law helped him look for her for a time and then gave it up. The husband started out alone thinking she had been stolen by people from a distance. He finally saw his wife as she was coming for water. “You are still alive,” he said to her. “I am in distress from a lack of moccasins.” The woman did not speak to him. She had not believed he would follow her.

He sat there waiting for her at the shore end of a sharp point of land that ran out into the lake.

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The woman went up to the camp and reported that there was a stranger sitting down below. As soon as she said it the men who were sitting about the camp rushed down after him. They caught him and built a platform on which they put him with a big fire underneath to roast him alive. The man was screaming as he slowly roasted.

There was an old man living a short distance away all of whose children, except one daughter, had been killed. He heard a man screaming over at the camp and said to his daughter, “Go and see what my son is saying.” The girl went over there and sure enough the man who was screaming was just like her older brother whom they believed had been killed. She looked at him and went back to her father saying, “Father, the one who is making that noise is just like my brother.” The old man put on his war outfit and went over there. When he came where the man was being cooked he said to them, “What is this you are doing? You are cooking a man that looks like my son.” They took him down from the platform and carried him home to the old man’s camp. There the father made him well again with his supernatural power.

There were many people living there who were not like human beings. They had killed the old man’s children. The old man did not hunt and they did that for that reason, and because they were too many for him to resist.

At another time they agreed to have a footrace. The old man said to the young man who had been roasted, “My son they say they are going to have a footrace tomorrow. I am going to bet your sister who is all we have.” He was planning that the man’s wife should be killed. The old man sang, beating the tipi poles. As he was drumming on them a live bird fell out. He took this bird, fixed it properly, and placed it in his sack. They had the footrace, but the young man paid no attention to it. The father joined in the race having the eagle. Because he was old and not strong they placed him ahead. The old man ran with his legs behind the others. The young man who was over there out of sight went into the bird and ran after them. Before long he passed the others and ran ahead of them. He came back to the camp first of all and took down the meat. The woman who had been his wife was laughing at him. Another woman asked her why she was laughing. That woman had many relatives among the people from whom she had come. Then the man who had married the woman came back and was looking for the meat, but it was gone. “Who has taken it?” he asked. “The man over there took it. He came back first.” “There was no one ahead of me as far as I knew. He did that to me because I bet you. Go to the man who has won you,” the man said. He sent her to the man whose wife she had been before. When she came to the door she said, “Let us two go over there close to the camp.” The man did not say anything to her but to his father said, “I hate her mouth. Do anything you please with her.” His father killed her.

A stolen wife is recovered from beyond the sea

A man and his wife camped by a vast lake. While he was hunting, someone abducted her, leaving a trail of disturbed vegetation. Following the signs, the husband reached the lake’s edge and saw his wife being taken across by canoe. Utilizing beaver teeth, he conjured a canoe, enlisted his brothers-in-law, and pursued them. Guided by feathers his wife dropped, they located the abductor’s camp, confronted him, and successfully rescued her.

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

Quest: The husband’s journey to retrieve his abducted wife represents a classic quest, involving a challenging journey to achieve a significant goal.

Love and Betrayal: The narrative centers on the husband’s love for his wife and the betrayal he feels due to her abduction.

Conflict with Authority: The confrontation with “Rabbit-tail,” who appears to be a figure of authority or power in the context of the story, highlights a struggle against an oppressive force

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Obtained in English from Ike through John Bourassa

A man left a large camp in which he had many brothers and camped alone with his wife. As they moved about they came to a large lake that one could not see across and camped by it. One day while he was away, hunting, someone stole his wife. He could see where she had been taken along, for as she resisted being pulled along she pulled out herbs and tore off brush which she dropped by the way. The husband followed until he came to a place where he could see across the sea. When the man who had captured the women came there with her she had asked him to shoot some partridges which were in sight for her. The man shot them and gave them to her. They got into the canoe to cross the sea on the further shore of which the man lived. The canoe was still in sight when the husband came to the shore. He called to him, “Agia, my partner, bring my wife back.”

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The man in the canoe shot several arrows at the husband saying, “These are all you will get.” They went on until they were out of sight. The husband resolved to do something about it; he was not going to lose his wife without an effort to recover her.

He had with him some beaver teeth which he always carried, for according to his dream, he could do anything he wished with them. He put them by the water’s edge and said, “I want these to turn into a good canoe tonight.” Then he went back to the large camp where his brothers-in-law were and told them someone had stolen his wife. He asked them to go with him and help him fight to get her back. They went with him and when they came to the shore of the lake a fine canoe was floating there, where he had left the beaver teeth. They paddled out on the lake in it. The woman knowing her husband would come after her, had strewed the partridge feathers along the way they had gone. Where they stopped for the night she put the wing feathers. This she did until they were across. The men who were coming behind them followed the trail of the feathers stopping for the night where the long feathers were found. When they came near the shore they saw many canoes drawn up on the beach. There was no camp there, only a small shelter of poles from which smoke was coming out. The pursuers went in and found an old man there and an old woman. There were fish hanging there which the hosts roasted for their guests. After they had eaten they asked the old woman if a stranger had brought a woman there. “Oh yes,” the old woman replied, “a man named ‘Rabbit-tail’ (gatce) brought a fine woman from the other side of the lake. This morning the camp was moved a little way over where there is plenty of wood.” Hoping to deceive the old woman who did not know them, they asked if this man’s tipi was different in any way from the others. “Yes,” she said, “an otterskin is always hanging at the top of it. When you see that you will know it is his tipi.” Seeing a number of fine spears behind the old woman’s lodge they asked her about them. She replied that they belonged to Rabbit-tail who used them to kill people. The strangers asked to be allowed to examine them and the old woman passed them over. Having examined them they killed the old man and old woman with them.

They went to the new camp where they found the tipis already up but the women were still cutting wood. The husband hid near his wife and called her to him. She said the chief would be hard to kill for he had horns on his head. The husband said they would remain there that night. He told her to get her captor to sharpen her knife which was dull. When they went to bed she was advised to play with her husband for a long time so that he would sleep soundly. Just at daybreak they would rush the camp and when she heard them coming she was to cut the man’s throat with the knife he would have newly sharpened for her. Then she was to rush out before Rabbit-tail’s mother, a medicine woman, sleeping on the other side of the fire, could do anything. Just as day was breaking the next morning they rushed the camp and the stolen wife cut the man’s throat and ran out. The old woman asked what dog was lapping up blood. It was the blood gurgling from her son’s throat she heard. The attacking party killed the old woman and everyone else in the camp, using the spears they had taken. The man started back with his wife. When they came to the lake they broke all the canoes they found there before they recrossed.

It was explained that since the horns were on the sides of the man’s head he had to sleep on his back and it was easy to cut his throat.

They crossed the lake in three days traveling fast with supernatural power.

A man overcomes obstacles in rescuing his sisters

A man embarks on a journey to rescue his two sisters, who have been taken by a distant tribe. Despite their warnings about their powerful husband, he insists on bringing them home. They face supernatural obstacles, including impassable cliffs and lakes, which vanish after they sleep. Upon returning, they discover that many years have passed, though it felt brief to the brother.

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

Quest: The protagonist embarks on a journey to retrieve his sisters.

Time and Timelessness: The discrepancy between the perceived short journey and the significant passage of time upon their return.

Family Dynamics: The central focus on the brother’s determination to rescue his sisters.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

A man who had just come home was scolded by his wife and went out again. The wife thought that he had gone out without any particular intention, but asked her son to look for his father. The boy wondered what was the matter and replied that his father was still standing there.

The man had run off. The woman looked after him and then set out to follow him. He had just come back from killing a caribou and he took along the head, dragging it behind him. His wife followed the mark left by the dragged head and by the bones which lay along the way. After a time she turned back, but the man kept on.

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Finally, he came to the trail of some strange people and followed it until he overtook them. He thought they were people but they were really partridges. They gave him some of their food. He went on again and found another trail which he followed. They were porcupines this time. They gave him some of their food, pitch, which seemed to him to be meat.

This man’s two sisters had been taken by a people who lived at a great distance and he was going to get them back. After a time he saw their trail and followed it until he overtook them. He found they were both married to the same man. When he told his sisters that he had come for them, they told him their husband was such a powerful man it was no use, he could do nothing to help them. The young man declared that having come so far for them he would not go back without them.

His brother-in-law had killed a moose and told his wives to bring the meat before it spoiled. “This is our chance,” the young man said, “now we will start back.” They traveled toward their homes day and night without stopping to sleep. Finally sleep was overpowering them and they lay down. When they got up in the morning their way was barred by a sheer cliff no man could climb. The girls began to cry but their brother said they would lie down and sleep again. When they got up the next time the cliff had disappeared.

They went on again toward their homes until sleep again forced them to he down. When they awoke, a lake which they could not cross lay in front of them. The brother told them to lie down again. When they got up the next time a narrow neck of land ran across the lake on which they were able to pass to the other side.

When they came back to their home they found their father so old he could not get up. The man’s wife had been in the prime of life when he left and now her hair was white. The man who had made the journey was a young man when he set out. It had been a long time since he left but it did not seem so to him. He thought it was only a short time before. That was a powerful man who by supernatural power made a long journey, although it did not seem long to him.

A young man carries about fire all winter

In a sub-arctic tale, a young man, lacking proper fire-starting tools, carries embers throughout winter. After discarding partridge feet post-meal, he later, starving, consumes them. A partridge appears in his dream, chastising his pride and predicting future abundance. The next evening, he discovers a fatally frozen moose beneath the snow, providing ample sustenance and teaching him humility.

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 young man struggles against the harsh winter conditions, facing challenges such as scarcity of food and the necessity to carry fire for survival.

Dreams and Visions: A partridge visits the young man in his sleep, delivering a message that foretells an improvement in his circumstances, which subsequently comes true.

Loss and Renewal: The young man experiences a period of deprivation and near-death, followed by a renewal of fortune when he discovers the moose, providing him with ample sustenance.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Obtained in English from Ike through John Bourassa

There was a young man who went around alone one winter. He had neglected to provide himself with the proper stones for making fire before the snow came and covered them up. He was therefore obliged to carry fire with him wherever he went. He was without food and starving one night when he killed a partridge. He scraped away the snow, built a fire, and cooked the partridge. He ate the bird and when he had finished dropped the feet in the snow behind him.

The next day he went on and wandered about for many days without being able to kill anything. Finally, he came back to the same place and cleared away the snow for a fire. As the fire melted the snow away he saw the discarded partridge feet. He then recognized his former camping place.

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He picked up the feet and ate them. That night a partridge came to him in his sleep and said, “You were proud. You were too proud to eat my feet as other people do, but now you want to have them. You are miserable and about to die, but from now on you will be all right. By tomorrow night you will have plenty to eat. The next day he went about thinking all day long he would find some game as had been promised. Night came without his having had a chance to kill anything. He moved the snow away and built his fire against a drift that the heat might be reflected toward him. He sat there wondering that an animal should deceive him by making a promise that had not been fulfilled. As the fire grew hot he heard a sound like the frying of grease. He kept pushing the fire together and as he did so the sound was heard again. He finally noticed the drift of snow covered a moose which had been killed in the fall when it was fat. The fire had been built near the hips of the moose and the choicest parts were ready cooked. He had the whole moose to himself and was all right after that.

The shiftless husband

A man and his wife face starvation during winter. The husband fails to catch fish or rabbits due to his laziness, while his wife successfully provides for them by fishing and setting snares. The story explains the origin of shiftless men, suggesting that such individuals exist because of this man’s behavior.

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

Moral Lessons: The story imparts a lesson on the consequences of laziness and the virtues of hard work and responsibility.

Conflict with Nature: The narrative involves attempts to procure food from natural sources like fishing and hunting, underscoring the challenges of survival in a harsh environment.

Cultural Heroes: The wife emerges as a cultural hero by exemplifying the values of diligence and competence, ensuring the family’s survival.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

A man who was camping by himself ran out of food and went with his wife to a lake to get some fish. He went out on the lake and sat by his hook, but came home at night without any fish. His wife wondered what was the matter, for fish had always been taken in that lake. She told her husband that she herself would go fishing the next day. Her husband assented to this. The woman got some fish very quickly. She found her husband had not even cut a hole entirely through the ice, and that was why he had not taken any fish. The woman got a good many. The man himself had gone to set snares for rabbits but came home without any. The wife wondered why he hadn’t caught any, for rabbits were plentiful.

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“I will go to look after your snares tomorrow,” she told him. “All right,” he said, “you look after my snares.” She found he had merely cleared away the snow on the top of the mountain and sat there all day. He had set two of the snares and thrown the remainder down in the snow. She gathered them up and set them. She caught many rabbits which she took home with her. The man had spent the day fishing but had not caught any fish, for he had not gotten the hook into the water.

Now the woman suspected what sort he was. If it had not been for his wife he would have starved. They lived through the winter because of the woman’s effort. He was not a manlike fellow and had concluded he could not live anyway.

When the point of the story was asked for, the informant said this man was the first of such men. Because he was a shiftless man we still have them.

The killing of the large human mosquitoes

Enormous mosquitoes once preyed upon humans. A woman, encountering one, climbed a tree to escape. She tricked the mosquito into giving her his spear, then fatally wounded him. The mosquito returned to his camp, where others attempted to aid him, but he died. The remaining mosquitoes pursued the woman but were thwarted by a medicineman’s strategy, leading to the extermination of the giant mosquitoes.

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

Cunning and Deception: The woman’s clever tactics to deceive and ultimately kill the mosquito highlight the use of wit to overcome danger.

Mythical Creatures: The presence of giant, human-like mosquitoes introduces elements of mythical beings within the narrative.

Guardian Figures: The medicineman acts as a protector, devising a plan to safeguard the community from the mosquito threat.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Obtained from Ike, in English through John Bourassa

Long ago there used to be large mosquitoes which killed people. Once when a company of people was traveling along, a dog lost the load off his back. As a woman was looking for the lost bag she suddenly saw a canoe with someone in it paddling around a point. The woman thought immediately as she saw him that he must be one of the kind who were accustomed to kill people and that he would kill her. She climbed a tree to escape him. As he was coming up the tree after her she called to him, “Do not come up the tree for your moose,” meaning himself. “The tree leans over the river and your moose will fall in the river and be lost if you kill me here. Wait, and I will come down and then you can kill me.” Agreeing to this, he went a little way from the tree while the woman came down.

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She started to run and cross the point around which the river made a long bend. The mosquito jumped into his canoe and paddled around the point. When the woman saw him coming she climbed another tree which leaned over the river. He was about to pass under the tree when the woman let fall some urine on him. He wondered where water could be coming from for the sun was shining. Looking up he said, “Oh, my moose is sitting on the tree.” He started to climb the tree after her, holding his spear in his hand. When he was close the woman told him to give her his spear while he climbed up. “I will give it back to you when you get up here and you may stab me with it,” she said. He gave her the spear and she went further up the tree with it. When he came up close to her she speared him on the crown of his head. The man fell down. Holding the spear up as it was still sticking in his head he started home, crying, “The moose is killing me; the’ moose is killing me.”

He came back to the camp still holding the spear which he was unable to pull out. When he came near the camp the mosquitoes all ran out saying, “Oh, the moose killed a man.” When they had tried in vain to get the spear out they sent for a smart man to see if he could do it. This man advised driving the spear down through as the easiest way to remove it. They did this, driving the spear down through so it came out under his chin. The man died.

The mosquitoes then decided to follow the woman’s track since she could not be far from the camp. When the mosquitoes were near the camp of the people a medicineman advised that mooseskins should be hung all around where the mosquitoes were camped, so that the larger ones at least would not be able to come through. They did this and only the small mosquitoes, those of the present size, were able to come through the holes in the skins. All the big ones were killed with the aid of the medicineman.

The potency of war songs

A war party sought enemies but found none. They sang war songs, which revealed the presence of the Cree. After testing their strength by uprooting large stones—leaving handprints still visible—they attacked at dawn, annihilating their foes. This story underscores the believed power of war songs and rituals in summoning adversaries and ensuring victory.

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

War and Peace: The central focus is on the planned attack and ensuing battle between the two groups.

Magic and Enchantment: The act of singing to summon or locate the enemy suggests a belief in the magical power of war songs.

Sacred Objects: The large stones, which retained the handprints of the warriors, may hold symbolic or mystical significance.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

This was told in response to a question about a stone that used to be by the ford at Haliska, west of Vermilion. It is the common belief that if this stone is moved from its place it’ returns of itself. The informant said a half-breed once threw it into the creek, but when he next passed it was back in its place. When the informant was asked where it is now, he said it was near Peace River where a half-breed had carried it. He gave as his opinion that the stone had been so long unused that no life was now in it.

Once when breechcloths of skin were still worn, a party of Indians went to war. They failed to find the enemy they were after and therefore could not accomplish their purpose.

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They began to sing for the Cree and then they saw them. They started for the place where the Cree were, but when they came near, decided to postpone the attack until the next morning. While they were waiting they tried their power by lifting out large stones. [Two stones were pulled out of the ground by the competing men. The stronger (in magic) pulled out the larger.] The prints of their hands can still be seen where they took hold of the rock. They made the attack and killed them all, leaving not one of them living.

The man who talked to the buffalo

A man communicates with buffalo, instructing them to enter water backward, facilitating their hunting by the tribe. The buffalo comply, and the tribe successfully spears them. Notably, the calves vocalize “mother” similarly to humans. One bull consistently escapes, believed to be the offspring of a man who married a buffalo, highlighting the deep connection between humans and buffalo in this lore.

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

Supernatural Beings: The man’s unique ability to communicate with buffalo and the existence of a bull with human-like features suggest interactions with beings possessing supernatural attributes.

Trickster: The man uses cunning to manipulate the buffalo into positions where they can be easily hunted, showcasing trickster behavior.

Ancestral Spirits: The story references a young man who disappeared and was believed to have integrated with the buffalo, indicating a connection between ancestors and the present.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

One time there was a man who used to talk to the buffalo, and they would do what he told them to do. He would tell them to go to a certain place, to go into the water, and to give him food. Then they would go into the water backwards, and the Indians would kill them with a spear. The calves would say, “unnai” (mother) just as plainly as people do. They took hold of them and killed them. There; was one bull they did not kill. He always ran through between the people. [The narrator in conversation afterward referred to the well-known story of the man who married a buffalo. The bull, which invariably escaped, was the result of this union. “There was a young man who disappeared. They supposed he went among the buffalo. After that they used to see a bull with hair just like a man’s. The buffalo understands what people say because a man used to live among them.”]

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Then they would take the dead buffalo ashore and eat them. [He added that the female organs of the buffalo cows were cut off and pushed back into the water before the bodies were removed. No one was allowed to look while this was being done.]