The starving Indians

A starving band of Indians neglected to store food and faced starvation until one old man, who had preserved provisions, offered a morsel to a hungry child. Using cunning, he convinced the boy’s father to give his daughter in marriage in exchange for the entire supply, hosted feasts, and taught the community deer-snaring. Through this trick and the snares, the band transitioned from scarcity to abundance.

Source:
Ethnology of the Ungava District,
Hudson Bay Territory
by Lucien M. Turner
Smithsonian Institution
Bureau of American Ethnology
Annual Report 11, 1889-1890
Washington, 1894

► Themes of the story

Sacrifice: The boy’s family gives up their daughter in marriage as the price for vital provisions.

Family Dynamics: Complex relationships unfold as the father, mother, and sister are drawn into the old man’s scheme.

Cunning and Deception: The old man’s deliberate ruses orchestrate feasts and teach the band self-sufficiency.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

A band of Indians, who had neglected to store away a supply of food for a time of scarcity, were upon the point of starvation. An old man who lived at a little distance from the camping place of the band, had wisdom to lay by a good store of dry meat and a number of cakes of fat, so that he had an abundance while the others were nearly famished. They applied to him, begging for food, but they were refused the least morsel. One day, however, an old man came to him asking for food for his children. The man gave him a small piece of meat. When the man’s children ate this food they began to cry for more. The mother told her little boy to stop crying. He persisted in his clamor until his mother asked him: “Why do you not go to the old U’sets kwa ne po?” (One whose neck wrinkles into folds when he sits down).

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This old man heard the mother tell her child to go to him, and muttered to himself, “That is just what I want.”

The little boy went to the old man’s tent door, and lifting aside the flap, said: “I want to come in.” He went in and the old man addressed the boy by his own name, saying: “What do you want, U’ sets kwa ne po? in such a kindly voice that the boy felt assured. The boy said: “I am very hungry and want some food.” The old man inquired in an astonished voice: “Hungry? and your meat falling down from the stage!” The old man bade the boy sit down, while he went out to the stage and selected some choice portions and brought them into the tent and gave them to the boy. The old man then asked the boy if he had a sister. The boy said that he had a father, mother, and one sister. After the boy had finished eating, the old man directed the buy to come with him and see the meat stages. They went out and the old man said: “Now, go home and tell your father that all of this food will belong to you if he will give me his daughter.” The little boy went home and repeated what the old man had said. The father signified his willingness to give his daughter in marriage to the old man. The boy returned to the old man and stated that his father was willing to give away his daughter. The old man immediately went out, took some meat and fat from the stage, and then cooked three large kettles of food. When this was done he selected a suit of clothing for a man and two suits for women. He placed the nicer one of the latter near his own seat, and the other two suits directly on the opposite side of the fireplace (the place of honor in the tent). He then told the little boy to call all the Indians, adding: “There is your father’s coat, your mother’s dress, and your sister’s dress. Tell your parents to sit where they see the clothing,” pointing to the clothes intended for them, and the sister to sit near the old man, pointing to his own place. The boy ran out and apprised the people, together with his own relations. The boy returned to the old man’s tent before the guests arrived. The boy’s father came first, and the boy said: “Father, there is your coat.” The mother then entered, and the boy said: “Mother, there is your dress.” The sister then entered, and the boy pointed to the dress, saying: “Sister, there is your dress.” All the other Indians then came in and seated themselves. They took two kettles of meat and broke the fat into pieces and feasted until all was consumed. The old man helped his wife, her father, mother, and brother to the contents of the other kettle. When all the food was finished the old man said to the boy, “U’ sets kwa ne po, go and set your deer snares.” The old man went with him to find a suitable place. They could find only the tracks of deer made several days previously. They, however, set thirty snares and returned home. The next morning they all went to the snares and found a deer in each one. The people began to skin the deer and soon had a lot of meat ready for cooking. They began to feast, and continued until all was done. By this time a season of abundance had arrived.

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The Sun and the Moon

A young woman in a nameless village refuses all suitors and secretly takes a nightly lover who scratches her head in sleep. Curious, she ties a feather in his hair only to find it on her brother. In anger and shame she sacrifices her breasts, accuses him, then ascends to the sky as the sun. Her brother, in haste, follows as the moon—forever marked by their tragic bond.

Source:
Athapascan Traditions
from the Lower Yukon
by J.W. Chapman
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.16, No.62, pp. 180-185
July-September, 1903

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: This tale explains how the sun and moon came into being.

Sacrifice: The sister mutilates herself, offering her breasts as evidence and as an ultimate sacrifice.

Family Dynamics: The central conflict arises from the twisted relationship between siblings and its devastating consequences.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Athabaskan Lore

Learn more about the Athabaskan people

There was once a large village, where there lived a family of four boys, with their younger sister, making five children. And, as the story goes, the girl refused to marry when she grew up, even though many suitors came from a distance as well as from her own village. And, as she continued to refuse them, by and by the men and women of her set were all married off. At that time, I must tell you, there was no sun and moon, and the earth was in a kind of twilight. So this woman lived on, though the strangers no longer came, and her own mates took no further notice of her, being married already.

At length, one night, some one came and scratched her head while she was asleep. “There are no strangers in the village,” thought she. “Who can this be?”

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Nevertheless, she spoke with him. Every night this man who spoke with her did the same thing, and finally he became as her husband. “But who can it be,” she thought. “Every one in the village is married, except my older brother, and there are no strangers here. I will tie a feather in his hair, and when they leave the kashime, I will go and see who it is that has his hair tied.” “Come,” said she, “leave me and go to the kashime. Come! You must have some sleep, and I am sleepy, too.” So she spoke after she had tied the feather in his hair, and he left her and went to the kashime, while she lay awake, thinking.

When it began to grow light, she went out and stood at the door of their house, and saw the men coming out, according to their custom, but none of them had the feather in his hair. Suddenly her older brother rushed out. She looked, and there was the feather. The blood rushed to her face, and everything grew dark; then she was overcome with anger. At daylight she brought in (from her cache) her best parka, a beautiful one which had never been worn. Berries also, and deer-fat she brought, without a word, and did not even answer her mother when she spoke to her.

Then, when she had made the fire, she bathed herself, and attired herself in her beautiful parka and her moccasins (as for a journey). Then she took the frozen food (which she had prepared) and put it into her brother’s bowl, and taking her housewife’s knife, she reached down within her parka and cut off her breasts and put them upon the frozen food, and thrust an awl into each, and went with it to the kashime.

Inside the door, she straightened herself up. Yonder, on the opposite side of the room, sat her brother. She set the dish down by him. “There is no doubt that it was you who did it,” she said; “I thought surely it must be some one else. A pestilence will break out upon all mankind for what you have done.”

She left the kashime, and yonder, in the east, she went up in the sky as the sun. Then her brother drew on his parka and moccasins also, but in his haste he left off one of them. “My sister has escaped me,” he thought; and he too, going after her, became the moon.

“And,” adds the story-teller, “we do not look at the sun, because we sympathize with her shame.”

The marmot woman

A hunter’s son captures a young marmot, leading its mother to transform into a woman and become the hunter’s wife. She cleanses him, enhancing his hunting success. However, when he mistakenly kills her marmot brother, she revives all the slain marmots and returns to their realm, with the hunter following and ultimately transforming into a marmot himself.

Source:
Traditions of the Ts’ets’a’ut
by Franz Boas
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.9, No.35, pp. 257-268
October-December, 1896
Vol.10, No.36, pp. 35-48
January-March, 1897

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Nature: The man’s hunting leads to unintended consequences with the marmot community.

Sacrifice: The man sacrifices his human form to join his wife in the marmot world.

Forbidden Knowledge: The man gains insight into the marmot’s realm, a world hidden from humans.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tsetsaut Lore

Learn more about the Tsetsaut people

Once upon a time there was a widower who had a son. He had built his lodge near the upper end of a valley which abounded in marmots. Every day they went hunting, but he was unsuccessful. It so happened that one day the boy caught a young marmot. He did not kill it, but took it home. Its mother saw what had happened, and followed the boy to his lodge. There she took off her skin, and was at once transformed into a stout woman. She stepped up to the entrance of the lodge, and said to the men: “Give me my child.” They were surprised, for they did not know who she was, but the father invited her to enter. She said: “No, your lodge is not clean.” Then he arose, gathered some grass, which he spread on the floor for her to sit on. She entered and sat down.

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The boy gave her the young marmot, which she at once proceeded to suckle. Then the woman asked for eagle’s down. After she had received this, she said to the hunter: “You are unsuccessful in hunting because you are unclean. I will cleanse you.” She wiped the inside of his mouth and removed a vast quantity of phlegm. Now he was clean. She became his wife. Before he again went out hunting she ordered’ him to seek the solitude of the mountains, and to fast for three days. He went, and on his return the woman gave him a small stick with which to kill marmots.

The first day he went out hunting he saw numerous marmots, and killed twenty. He carried them home, and his wife at once began to skin and carve them. She hung up the meat to dry. While her husband had been away, she had gathered a vast quantity of salmon berries, and they lived on berries and on meat. On the following day the man again went hunting, and killed fifty marmots. The lodge was full of meat.

Often while he was out hunting he noticed that one marmot was following him all the time. It was tame, and played around him. Therefore he did not kill it. One day, however, when there were no’ other marmots to be seen, he killed it and carried it home. When his wife opened the pouch and pulled out the game, she began to cry and to wail: “You have killed my brother! you have killed my brother!” She put down the body, and laid all the other marmots that her husband had procured around it. Then she sang: “Brother, arise!” (qoxde kuse khek!) [this is said to be Tlingit]. When she had sung a little while, the body began to move. The dried meat began to assume shape. She threw on it the skins, and all the marmots returned to life and ran up the hills.

She followed them, crying. Her husband was frightened, but followed her, accompanied by his son. After they had gone some distance, they saw her disappearing in a fissure of the rocks, which opened and let her in. When they reached the fissure, the father told his son to stay outside while he himself tried to enter. The fissure opened, and on entering he found himself in a lodge. His brother-in-law had taken off his skin, which was hanging from the roof. He was sitting in the rear of the lodge. The women were seated in the middle of the floor, and were weaving baskets and hats. The chief spoke: “Spread a mat for my brother-in-law.” The people obeyed, and he sat down next to his wife. The chief ordered to be brought a cloak of marmot skins. When he put it on, he was transformed into a marmot. He was given a hole to live in, and a rock on which he was to sit and whistle as the marmots are in the habit of doing. The son saw all that had happened, and returned home in great distress.

Two years after these events, the brothers of the man who had been transformed into a marmot went hunting. They pitched their camp at the same place where their brother had lived. After having cleaned their bodies and fasted for four days, they set their traps. They were very successful. One day one of the brothers saw a marmot jumping into a crack of the rocks. He set his trap at the entrance of the fissure, and when he came back in the evening he found the animal in his trap. He put it into his pouch with the rest of his game, and went home. His wife began to skin the marmots, and to dress the meat. She took up this particular animal last. When she cut the skin around the forepaws she saw a bracelet under the skin, and her nephew, who was staying with them, recognized it as that of his father. Then she put the animal aside. At midnight it threw off its skin, and resumed the shape of a man. On the following morning they recognized their brother who had been lost for two years. He told them of all that had happened since the time when he had left his son at the fissure of the rock, how he had become a marmot, and how he had lived as one of their race.

The Flood

A man, his wife, and mother-in-law fled rising floodwaters by ascending a mountain. As waters continued to rise, they placed their children into hollowed trees sealed with pitch. After the flood receded, the children emerged, found the land covered in seaweed, and struggled to survive. Eventually, they became the ancestors of the Ts’ets’a’ut people.

► Themes of the story

Sacrifice: The parents’ decision to place their children in hollowed trees, sacrificing their own lives to ensure their offspring’s survival.

Mythical Creatures: The mention of eagle and wolf clans may symbolize totemic or ancestral connections to these creatures.

Sacred Objects: The hollowed trees serve as protective vessels, almost sacred in their role of preserving life during the flood.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tsetsaut Lore

Learn more about the Tsetsaut people

Once upon a time a man, his wife, and his mother-in-law went up the mountains to hunt marmots. When they had reached the higher parts of a hill, they saw the waters rising. They climbed higher and higher, but the waters rose steadily. All the people fled up the mountains. Finally, when the water was about to reach them, they resolved to inclose their children in hollow trees, hoping that there they might be safe until the waters would retreat. They hollowed out two trees, in one of which they placed the children of the eagle clan, while in the other one they placed the children of the wolf clan. They gave them an ample supply of food, and then closed up the trees with wooden covers, which they caulked with pitch. The water continued to rise, and all the people were drowned.

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The children who were inclosed in the trees heard the waves breaking in the branches and felt the swaying of the trees. Finally, the trees were entirely covered by water. After a few days the water began to retreat. Again the trees were swaying. The children heard the waves breaking, first in the highest branches, then farther down, and finally everything was quiet. They went to sleep, and when they awoke one of the boys opened the hole. They saw that the water had disappeared, but the branches were still dripping. The ground was wet and soggy, and everything was covered with seaweeds. Then the children came forth from the trees, but the ground was so wet that they were unable to start a fire, so that many died of cold. Finally the ground dried up. They made a fire, which they fed with their supplies of mountain-goat tallow. They married, and became the ancestors of the Ts’ets’a’ut.

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.

The redeeming of a doomed man

A man attempts to harm another using supernatural power, declaring he will go no further than a white patch of soil. The targeted man encounters an old figure at this spot, who urges him to retrieve his belongings. Upon learning of this, his father-in-law confronts the old man, offering an otterskin to negotiate his son-in-law’s safety, ultimately saving his life through supernatural means.

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 father-in-law offers an otterskin to the underground person to save his son-in-law’s life, symbolizing a personal sacrifice.

Supernatural Beings: The narrative includes an “underground person” with supernatural abilities, highlighting interactions with otherworldly entities.

Moral Lessons: The tale imparts a lesson on the importance of courage and the protective role of family members.

► 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 having a bad quarrel and because of it one man tried to injure another through his supernatural power. “There is no one stronger than I and because of that you will go no further than that patch of white soil,” he said of the man he wished to injure. The man went hunting and came to a white patch of soil. [The Beaver seers refer to winter as the white patch and summer as the dark patch; winter may have been the original meaning here and the Indian informant has wrongly construed it.] An old man sitting there said to the man as he came near him, “Quick, go back and get your personal property.” The man started back for his property. “Hurry,” he called after him.

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The man came back to his camp and was tying up his things, when his father-in-law asked what he was going to do with his property. “A man who was sitting in front of me told me to come back to him quickly and I am doing it,” replied the son-in-law. “You did not used to be afraid of a man’s mind. Pay no attention to what he said. Sit here and I will go to him,” the father-in-law said.

He took an otterskin and started away to the place where the man was sitting. When he came to the white spot, and the man sitting there saw him, he called out, “Am I nobody that I call a man and you come instead?” “Well, let him alone anyway,” he said. He made a trade with him for the otterskin and left him.

They say the old man did that. He bought off his son-in-law who was about to be killed. That man was an underground person. They say the old man saved his son-in-law’s life by his supernatural power.

The giant beaver and muskrat

The story tells of a giant man who attempts to hunt a massive beaver. After spotting the beaver under a frozen lake, he drives it back to its lodge and kills it. Discovering unborn young inside, he releases them into the water to calm the restless ice. The tale also mentions a muskrat that reacts to passing canoes, though it no longer does so.

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

Mythical Creatures: The presence of giant animals, such as the beaver and muskrat, indicates encounters with beings beyond ordinary experience.

Sacrifice: The man releases the beaver’s offspring into the water to calm the ice, suggesting a form of offering to restore balance.

Harmony with Nature: The act of releasing the young beavers to calm the ice reflects an understanding of and attempt to maintain balance within the natural world.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Said to have happened on Great Slave Lake. Stories of giants in the north are common; the particular incident explains a local hill as is indicated in the last sentence.

At first they say there was a large man who chiseled for a large beaver. He worked in vain for he could not kill it. He could not find its track anywhere nearby. He went out on the large frozen lake and saw the beaver walking along under the ice. He tapped on the ice and drove the beaver back into its house where he killed it. She had young ones in her and because of that the ice would not remain quiet. He cut the mother open, took out the young ones, and put them in the water. The ice then became quiet. That was why he did it. They say both the man and the beaver were giants. The beaver house is still standing.

Out to the east where there are no trees, away from the country in which beaver are found, there used to be a muskrat. If a canoe passed by, the muskrat would hear it. They say one did not speak when he paddled by the place. It is not long since someone in passing there felt the water move. He is not there now and since he is gone they do not feel the water move.

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The orphan boy kills beaver

In a time of famine, an orphaned boy and his sister discover a beaver lake. The boy asks his sister to cut a hole in the ice and make him willow arrows. He successfully spears many beavers, providing food for their people. Later, as starvation looms again, the boy’s anger leads him to consume a beaver leg, after which he kills more beavers, ensuring their survival.

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 sister’s dedication to her brother, carrying him and assisting in his endeavors, exemplifies personal sacrifice for a loved one.

Conflict with Nature: The act of hunting beavers in a frozen environment highlights the struggle against natural elements to secure food.

Family Dynamics: The close relationship between the orphaned siblings, with the sister taking on a parental role, underscores the complexities of familial bonds in challenging circumstances.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

There was a young girl and her younger brother whose father and mother had died. The girl raised her brother. Once when the people were dying of starvation they came where there was a beaver lake as they were moving about. The boy’s sister was carrying a load on her back. [Perhaps this sentence should mean she was carrying her brother on her back.] The boy asked his sister to cut a hole through the ice for him so he might fish there. He also asked her to make him some arrows of a willow, saying he would try to get some fish. She was also to build a fire on the shore. To all this she gave her assent. They went to the bank and sat by a fire for a time. Then he started again to the lake where he stuck his arrows into the water and speared many beaver which he pulled out and killed with a club.

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He went back to his sister and asked her to bring the beaver for him. She went for them and brought them to the fire where she singed them. Then she started out after the other people carrying the singed beaver and her brother. The boy sat on his sister’s back working at the beaver. As she was carrying him along there someone saw him. They ran up to him. His sister put him down. The people took all the beaver tails from him.

After that they were again dying of starvation. The boy was angry. He ate the leg of a beaver because he was angry. Starvation was killing them and they sent for him. He defecated and again he killed many beaver They lived all right after that.

Atcecq kills buffalo

In a time of famine, a group of Indigenous people discovered buffalo but lacked the means to hunt them. A boy named Atcecq took initiative, despite the community’s anger and threats against him. He skillfully hunted the buffalo, distributing the meat based on family size, thereby saving the community from starvation. This tale highlights themes of courage and resourcefulness.

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

Hero’s Journey: Atcecq embarks on a transformative adventure, taking initiative to hunt the buffalo and ultimately becoming a hero to his people.

Conflict with Authority: Atcecq defies the community’s decision to wait until the next day to hunt, challenging their authority by acting on his own.

Sacrifice: Atcecq risks his life and faces the community’s wrath to provide food for his people, sacrificing his safety for their well-being.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

One time when a band of Indians were without food, someone saw some buffalo. They did not have guns and since the buffalo were in an open place without cover they did not know how they could get them. They decided to wait until the next day when they could make a fence and drive them into a corral.

A boy, named Atcecq, started after the buffalo by himself, and the people were all angry. “Let us kill him,” they were saying. They went after him. They prepared a large fire for him and sat down by it waiting for him. As he was coming back he found his grandmother who had raised him, sitting behind the fire crying.

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“Why are you crying, grandmother?” he asked. “These people say they are going to kill you,” she replied. “Show me which one of them says that of me,” he asked of his grandmother. They were afraid of him.

Then they started after the buffalo and found them still where they had been seen. “Be careful, they might see us,” they said. The boy followed along after the others. They also told him to take care the buffalo did not see him. This boy had killed all the buffalo. From a man who had many children he had taken two of his arrows, but if there was only one child he took only one arrow. With these arrows he had killed all the buffalo, allotting them one or two animals according to the number of children. They were all saved from starving.

The bear and the man

A man suspects a bear is pulling on his canoe’s gunwale and discovers he’s correct. The bear invites him to find a creek abundant with fish, but their journey extends into autumn without success. They build a shelter for winter, with the bear offering sustenance to the man. In spring, the man’s people find them and kill the bear. The man mourns his companion’s death, attributing his tears to smoke when questioned.

Source:
Chipewyan Tales
by Robert Harry Lowie
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 3
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Sacrifice: The bear sacrifices itself to ensure the man’s survival and reunion with his people.

Transformation through Love: The bond between the man and the bear leads to personal growth and a deep sense of loss upon the bear’s death.

Community and Isolation: The man experiences isolation during his time with the bear and later reintegration into his community, highlighting the contrasts between solitude and belonging.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Chipewyan Lore

Learn more about the Chipewyan people

Once a man was cutting out the gunwale of his canoe in the brush. He carried it homewards, one end on his shoulder, the other trailing on the ground. From time to time it seemed to get heavier, and he said to himself, “I am sure, a bear is pulling at the wood.” He turned around, and saw it was really a bear. The Bear said, “Do you hear the noise of the creek near by?” The man said, “Yes.” “There are lots of fish there, let us go thither.” They started off. The bear bade him leave his wood behind, and he did so. They walked on and on for many days, and by autumn they had not yet reached the creek. Then the Bear said, “Let us make a house.” He dug a hole in the ground, and told his companion to get grass to stop up the entrance. They went inside, and the boy was told to sit farthest from the door.

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“If you get thirsty,” said the Bear, [said to be a male by the narrator] “you may suck me, and if you get hungry, you can do the same. Thus you will be able to live with me all winter.”

They lived together in the cave. Towards spring, the Bear said, “Some of your friends are thinking of you and will soon be thinking of me.” When the snow began to melt he said, “Perhaps tomorrow your people will be here. Make a mark with your hand outside the cave, so they’ll know that you are here and won’t shoot inside.” Next day they heard a noise above, and snow began to fall down the air-hole. The Chipewyan detected the mark of the boy’s hand and said, “Surely some person is inside.” The Bear said to the boy, “Tell them there is a bear-man here. If they kill me, you may eat my flesh, but not my entrails, though your friends may.” The boy went out, and the people shot the bear, made a big fire, roasted him and feasted on him. The boy went on the opposite side of the fire, where it was smoky, and began to cry on account of his friend’s death. When they asked him why he cried he said it was on account of the smoke.