Starving Beaver visit the Rocky Mountains

In a harsh winter, a group of Beaver Indians faced deep snow and severe starvation, lacking essential tools like knives, axes, or guns. They crafted snowshoes using stones and beaver teeth but continued to suffer losses until only three men remained. After subsisting on a porcupine, one dreamt of a distant inhabited place. Following this vision, they traversed the Rocky Mountains, discovered a camp with abundant meat, and survived. With the return of summer, they journeyed back to their homeland.

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

Trials and Tribulations: The survivors endure extreme hardships, including deep snow, lack of tools, and starvation, testing their resilience and determination.

Dreams and Visions: A pivotal dream guides the survivors to a place of refuge, highlighting the significance of visionary experiences in guiding actions.

Journey to the Otherworld: The trek over the Rocky Mountains into unknown territory symbolizes a passage into a realm beyond their familiar world.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

It has happened within recent years, that small parties of Indians, hunting in a vast, unexplored territory, west of Vermilion, have wandered from their hunting-grounds to those of the Fort St. John Indians, and Indians from Fort St. John appear in the neighborhood of Vermilion. Many Beaver Indians were traveling together. It was winter and the snow was deep. They had no knives, axes, or guns. They made snow-shoes with stones and beaver teeth for tools. They were having a hard time and dying of starvation. They kept dying until only three men were alive who set out to find other people. They were traveling along and were in a bad way for food when they killed a porcupine.

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Having eaten that, they slept, and one of them dreamed of the place where people were living. The next morning they started in that direction, and continued until they came to the Rocky Mountains which they climbed. They were traveling there with great difficulty, when suddenly they saw a fire. They came to the people who had the fire, and found them well supplied with meat. Those three men were saved. Then when summer came again, they came back in this direction to their own country.

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A woman hides bear meat from her starving husband

In a time of famine, a woman discovers a bear and secretly hides its meat, even from her starving husband. Unaware, he returns to find only bear fat and becomes fearful. Despite their children’s hunger, she conceals the bear, leading to tension. Eventually, they begin catching fish, sustaining the group until spring. This tale highlights themes of secrecy and survival among the Dane-zaa people.

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 secretly hides the bear meat from her husband and the rest of the starving group, deceiving them about the available resources.

Family Dynamics: The narrative explores the relationship between the woman and her husband, highlighting issues of trust and survival within the family unit.

Loss and Renewal: The community experiences a period of deprivation followed by a renewal of fortune when they begin to catch fish, illustrating the cyclical nature of hardship and relief.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Once a band of Indians were traveling about starving. There was one man who was a poor hunter and no one fed him. Then the man’s wife found a bear and hid it from the others. The man did not know about it either. He had been some distance ahead and returned to find his wife gone. He wondered what was the matter and turned back to look for her. When he came back close he stood listening, for he feared the Cree were about. He heard his children asking for fat. “Why do the children say that?” he said to himself. When he came home nothing but bear fat was to be seen. He was frightened. The woman was hiding it. “Since you have hidden it for a short time, you must continue to hide well,” he said.

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They were with the people and had eaten up a bear without their knowing it. They had not secured fish and the children were about to die of starvation, yet she had hidden the bear. The woman was not feeding that man. They had been many places for fish, but they had not killed any when suddenly they began to kill fish. He lived well with the people. They all lived until the snow melted.

A man and his wife alone escape the Cree

In a time of famine, a group of Beaver people hurried to a lake, hoping to find fish. Upon arrival, they were ambushed by the Cree, who killed all except one nearly starved man. He reunited with his wife, and they hid in the snow for four days without fire. When the man returned to the lake, he found the bodies of his slain people.

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 couple endures extreme conditions, sleeping in the snow without fire, highlighting their struggle against the harsh natural environment.

War and Peace: The story centers around the violent conflict with the Cree, resulting in the massacre of the man’s community.

Community and Isolation: Following the attack, the couple finds themselves isolated, being the sole survivors of their community.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

At first the people were starving. One man was nearly starved. They were hurrying to the lake for fish. “We will get to the fish by tomorrow,” they said. When they came down to the lake the Cree were there and killed them all except the miserable man. He was the only one that survived. He had started back after his wife and met her when she was nearly to the lake. He called to her to come to him. She went there and they cleared away the snow and lay down and slept four days without a fire. When the sun rose they got up and the man started over to the lake. Out on it was a black spot which proved to be the bodies of the people who had been killed. Not one of the Beaver was alive.

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A man scares off the Cree with a gun

An elderly man, sensing impending danger, warned his people to stay vigilant. The next morning, the Cree attacked. Positioned at the end of the row of tipis, the old man used a gun he had found earlier, with only four bullets. He shot and killed the lead attacker, causing the others to retreat, believing he was well-armed. This act of bravery protected his community.

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 old man devises a clever plan to use his limited resources effectively, deceiving the Cree into believing he poses a greater threat.

Conflict with Authority: The story involves a confrontation between the man’s community and the attacking Cree, representing a struggle against an opposing force.

Guardian Figures: The elderly man acts as a protector for his people, taking decisive action to safeguard them from harm.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

They were living there when one of them felt there was something wrong. He asked the people to keep good watch. The next morning the Cree attacked them. This old man had one gun and four bullets. His tipi was the last one in the row. When the Cree were coming there he fired the gun. He had planned what he would do. He killed the Cree who was running ahead and the others ran back. The Cree thought he had a gun and were afraid. That was a tough old man. They say he wintered on his flesh.

The old man had found the gun with four bullets lying beside it at a place where some people had been killed. He had kept it without firing it and now he killed a man with it. Then they say the old man had the use of it.

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A Cree, caught alone, is killed by the Beaver

Four young men, while checking their caribou snares, discover tracks of a lone traveler wearing round snowshoes, identifying him as a Cree. They decide to pursue and confront him. Upon catching him, they interrogate the man, who admits to killing “bad people,” implying their friends. Angered, they fatally stab him and dispose of his body in the water.

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 young men seek retribution against the Cree traveler, believing he has harmed their people.

Conflict with Authority: The act of taking justice into their own hands reflects a challenge to established norms or authority.

Tragic Flaw: The traveler’s admission and perceived arrogance lead to his demise, highlighting a personal weakness.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Some young men were out in the caribou country camping and snaring game. They visited their snares frequently. Four young men were out in the morning to look after the snares. When they were coming back they saw one man had passed along wearing round snowshoes. “This must be a Cree and we will kill him,” they said. They hurried after him. He was going toward their camp. He came out on a lake and was walking along ahead. The young men ran after him and caught hold of him. “Tell us what you are going after. Did you ever kill people?” they asked him, “Yes, I have killed people but they weren’t like people. They were bad people. Those are the only ones I have killed,” he replied. He meant the friends of these young men. They stabbed him through the body and put the body in the water. Those young men killed him.

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An entire band is killed by the Cree

A starving band of Beaver Indians hurried toward a fish lake, hoping to find sustenance. Upon arrival, they encountered the Cree. Both groups engaged in combat, but the Cree, being more numerous and stronger, killed all the Beaver warriors. Subsequently, the Cree also killed the Beaver women and children, leaving none alive.

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 narrative centers on a violent conflict between two groups, the Beaver and the Cree, resulting in the complete annihilation of the Beaver band.

Tragic Flaw: The encounter suggests a possible lack of preparedness or misjudgment on the part of the Beaver, leading to their ultimate demise.

Community and Isolation: The story reflects on the fate of a community facing isolation and the devastating consequences of their encounter with a more powerful adversary.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

A band of Indians were traveling in a starving condition. They were hastening frantically towards a fish lake. “We shall get there tomorrow,” they were saying. They came to the lake the next evening only to find the Cree there. When they came to an open place each party saw the other. There was nothing they could do so they began to kill each other. There were many of the Cree and they were stronger than the Beaver. The Beaver were not able to kill a single one of the Cree but were themselves killed to a man. Then the women and children came along behind and the Cree killed them all. They were slaughtered to the last one.

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A man, frightened by his wife, kills swimming caribou

A man and his wife face starvation due to a lack of caribou. When two caribou appear swimming across a lake, the man initially hesitates to hunt them. His wife’s desperate gestures prompt him to overcome his fear, successfully kill the caribou, and provide sustenance for them both. The man briefly distances himself but eventually returns to his wife.

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 man engages in a struggle to hunt caribou, highlighting the challenges humans face against natural forces.

Family Dynamics: The interaction between the man and his wife, especially his fear and subsequent actions, underscores complex marital relationships.

Trials and Tribulations: The couple faces the hardship of potential starvation, representing the broader theme of enduring and overcoming life’s challenges.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

A man and his wife were sitting where the caribou cross the lake. It looked as if they would starve to death. There were no caribou. Then suddenly there were two caribou swimming across. He had a canoe there into which he went and started to paddle toward the caribou. He did not paddle long and did not kill them, but turned around and started to paddle back. “What is the matter?” his wife said to herself. She was very hungry. He was paddling close to her. “What is the matter? We were about to die before; now we cannot live,” the woman was thinking. The deer were swimming over there in the middle of the lake. The man was paddling close and she spread her legs toward him. He was afraid and paddled away from her.

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He really left her and killed the caribou, and they blew ashore where the woman was sitting. The woman sat there, but the man was gone; he was far away. “I think he deserted me,” she said to herself. She did not know where the people were and feared she would die. Then he came back to her.

A man saves his parents-in-law from starving

In a time of famine, a man noticed his mother-in-law lagging behind due to hunger. He instructed her to wait and, after making noises to distract her, hunted and killed two moose. Meanwhile, his father-in-law had also hunted a bear. Reuniting, they sustained themselves with the meat and later rejoined their group, who had moved on and were suffering from starvation.

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

Sacrifice: The son-in-law prioritizes the well-being of his parents-in-law, sharing his hunted meat to ensure their survival during a famine.

Community and Isolation: The son-in-law and his parents-in-law are isolated from the larger group, highlighting themes of familial bonds and the dynamics of community support versus abandonment.

Conflict with Nature: The struggle to find food and survive against the backdrop of a harsh, unforgiving natural environment underscores this theme.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

One time the people were starving and were traveling where there was a cache. One old woman was so hungry she sat down. Her son-in-law on ahead knew that his mother-in-law had sat down. His brother was far away. “Sit here and wait for me,” he said to her. “If I go in the timber, and if you hear something do not pay any attention to it.” Her son-in-law made a noise by breaking a stick, but she did not go to him. She could almost see her son-in-law, who was making a noise with his bowstring. He had killed two cow moose. His father-in-law had been sitting over there with his wife. The son-in-law went again to bring the meat. His father-in-law who had killed a bear, had also gone for the meat. They met each other there and traveled on happily.

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Because the other people had deserted them, they did not follow after them. They lived happily where they were, using the meat of the animals which they had killed for food. Some time after, they followed the remainder of the band, and came to the cache. The meat was gone. These first comers moved away again, but they did not succeed in killing anything and they nearly died of starvation. Those who came last had meat, but they did net share with those who came first to the cache.

A beaver kills an entire band of Cree

A young Cree hunter, preferring rabbit over fish, camped separately from his tribe. One day, his wife noticed an enemy’s reflection in water. Anticipating an attack, the hunter sent his family to the main camp. At dawn, enemies assaulted his empty tipi. Using snowshoes and invoking a south wind, he led them away, causing them to overheat and discard clothing. Summoning a north wind, he froze and defeated them all.

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 man employs strategic deception by luring his pursuers away from their clothing and then changing the weather conditions to weaken them before attacking.

Trials and Tribulations: The protagonist faces the challenge of defending his family and himself against a large group of enemies, requiring resilience and resourcefulness.

Magic and Enchantment: The man’s ability to summon winds indicates the use of supernatural powers to influence natural elements in his favor.

► 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 large camp of Indians at Hay Lake where they were spending the winter living on fish. A young married man, not caring for fish, was camping by himself at some distance, living on rabbit. Fearing an attack, he took the precaution of keeping a trail broken between his camp and the large camp on the lake. He did this by going over it with his snowshoes once a month.

One morning while he was visiting his snares, his wife was sitting in the tipi lacing a pair of snowshoes. Her little boy who was just beginning to talk was playing beside her. The child looked into the dish of water in which the hide for lacing the snowshoes was being dampened and said to the mother, “Whose face is that in the water?” The mother looked in the vessel and saw the reflection of the face of a foe looking in over the door.

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Feeling sure there would be no attack in the daytime, the woman made no sign and went on rapidly with her work. The spy withdrew.

When her husband came home she asked him why he had peeked in over the door. Is not this your own tipi?” she asked him. The husband asked her if she was sure someone had done that. “Yes,” she said, “even the child noticed him. His track must be outside.” “I have been expecting this,” the man replied. “That is why I kept the trail to the large camp open. That is why I made the snowshoes, I wanted them to fight with. Hurry and finish lacing them by night, if you can. When it is dark so they cannot see you, you must take the child and go to the main camp. I will stay here and fight them alone. If we all go together to the big camp the enemy will follow and kill a good many.”

By hurrying, the woman finished lacing the snowshoes by dusk and, taking the child, went to the large camp, leaving her husband alone. Near morning, before the usual time of attacking, the man built a good fire and went out of the tipi taking his snowshoes and weapons. He sat down in the brush nearby to watch. At daybreak, a large party of the enemy attacked with much shouting. They surrounded the tipi and stabbed it through and through. Not hearing anyone, a man went in and called to those on the outside, “There is no one here.” “Yes there is,” the man called from his hiding place. He started to run on his large snowshoes which kept him on the surface of the snow. Making use of his medicine, he called for a south wind. It came and the party pursuing him began to sweat and drop off their clothes. When he had led them a long ways from their clothes he called for a north wind. It came, and the sweating enemy turned to go back for their abandoned clothing. On their way back they huddled around fires trying to keep warm. The man now turned on them and speared them, half frozen by their fires and killed them all.

He traveled all day to reach the large camp, fearing for the safety of his wife and child. As he approached the camp he heard the head man wailing for his supposed death. “No,” the man said, “I am not dead this time. I killed them all.”

A man and his wife are saved by lightning

A young married man is coerced by strangers into traveling to their distant land, where he faces starvation. They plan to kill him and take his wife, but he gives her a small piece of wood, instructing her to hold onto it. Lightning strikes, killing the strangers but sparing the wife. The couple endures a challenging journey home, surviving on beaver and bear meat.

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 Authority: The man is coerced by an unfamiliar group, highlighting a struggle against oppressive forces.

Divine Intervention: The lightning strike that eliminates the antagonistic group can be seen as an act of divine intervention, saving the protagonists.

Trials and Tribulations: The couple endures significant hardships, including abduction, starvation, and a perilous journey back home.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Some people came by who were not known. They took a fancy to a young married man and invited him to accompany them. He refused emphatically but when they insisted he went away with them. They were people who lived a long way off and he went with them a great distance to their country.

When they got there the young man began to starve. There was nothing he could do. He became weak. There was no meat and they gave him nothing to eat. He got so weak he walked with difficulty. “Well, never mind,” they said, “he will die. We will cross the large lake. The wind is very strong and cold against a man’s face. Let the cold kill him.”

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“We will take his wife,” they were saying to themselves. “Do not stay here,” they told her, “Go away. Do not wait for him. If you wait for him, you too will die.” They gave the man a piece of wood about four inches long. He did not take it but gave it to his wife. “If something happens suddenly do not let go of it,” he said to her. The woman moved her tipi.

The people could still be seen on the lake when the lightning struck among them. Not a flake of snow was left. There were many of the people and of them not one dark spot was left. The lightning had killed them all. There was just one dark speck out on the ice. The young man hurried out to see what it was. It was his wife and she was breathing a little. He took her back to his camp. There seemed to be no hope of their living, for their country was far away. “Although things are as they are, we will start back and go as far as we can before we die,” he said. They started back with nothing but their bare hands. With nothing to live on they were helpless. They were beginning to die of starvation when they suddenly came to an old beaver house. “I will set a net in the water for beaver,” he said to himself. “Make a fire and wait some place nearby for me,” he told his wife. He caught two beaver. They started back and traveled far with this food they had secured. When the beaver meat was gone and they were starving again they came where a large bear was lying. With that for food they came back until they reached their own land where there were small birds which served for food until they got back home. It was hard for them but they lived through it. Those people were like human beings but their only food was the flesh of foxes. [The informant said a tribe known as “Fox-eaters” used to live toward the south. The distance is indicated by the amount of food consumed by them, which the informant thought ought to have been sufficient for a very long journey.] The others were not accustomed to foxes and the flesh was tough for them.