A Dog-Rib kills some men

In a time before European contact, a Dog-Rib individual prepared a camp for an approaching group and warned some Beaver people about nearby fox holes, intending to harm them. A conflict ensued, resulting in many Beaver deaths, though some escaped. This violence stemmed from ongoing hostilities with the Cree. Eventually, the Beaver and Cree reconciled, ending their conflicts.

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 Dog-Rib individual’s deceitful actions can be seen as a challenge to the established norms or authority within the community.

Cunning and Deception: The Dog-Rib uses deceit by falsely informing the Beaver about fox holes, leading them into a trap.

Revenge and Justice: The subsequent attack by the Beaver can be interpreted as an act of retribution for the Dog-Rib’s deceit.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

One time a Dog-Rib who was making a camp ready for those who were coming said to some Beaver, “There are fox holes where you are.” He said it because he thought he might kill them. The Beaver went in and began to shoot. They killed many of the Beaver but a few got away. They killed them as they ran. It was his younger brother who did this.

It was on account of the Cree. They were very miserable on account of them. Before white people came they were hunting each other. The Cree were trying to kill the Beaver. Now they have made friends with each other and nothing happens now.

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A blind man’s attempt at defence

A war party visits an old blind man, suspecting he is part of a troublesome band they’ve been seeking. The blind man, aware of their intentions, prepares to defend himself with a concealed knife. His son-in-law, sensing danger, flees. The old man attempts to attack the intruders but mistakenly stabs a blanket. The visitors then kill him and his wives, acknowledging that his blindness made their assault possible.

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 elder attempts to deceive the intruders by hiding his weapon and pretending to be hospitable, aiming to catch them off guard.

Tragic Flaw: The elder’s blindness, while not a moral failing, serves as a vulnerability that leads to his downfall.

Revenge and Justice: The attackers seek retribution against the elder’s band, whom they consider troublesome, leading to the elder’s death.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Once a party went to war. After they had been traveling some time they came where people were living. Thinking they had found the people they were seeking, they went into the tipi to visit them. An old man [this old blind man’s name was deskj, a “Rocky Mountain” Indian, (tsa’t’u) that is, Fort St. John Beaver] sitting there asked them where they were going. They replied that they were just camping about. The old man, suspecting they were not telling the truth, asked a boy if there were children in the party. The boy told his grandfather, “No.” “That is what I thought,” the old man replied. “If they were camping about there would be children along.”

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Then those who were visiting him said, “Grandfather, what did you say? You talk a foreign language all the time.” The old man sat with one foot on a knife with which he was intending to kill them. He was blind and did not know the knife was partly in sight. He reached behind his back and found some choice pieces of meat which he took out and roasted. He ate it by himself thinking that it was his last meal. He did not offer food to his guests.

Just then his son-in-law came back and entered the tipi. “I want a drink,” he said to his wife. “I think the water is all gone.” “You are not an old man, get it yourself,” the old man said. He took up the vessel and went for the water. He had left his snowshoes and bow and arrows at some distance from the camp because he did not recognize the visitors and suspected they were only pretending to pay a visit. Instead of getting the water he went back where he had left his things, and taking them, started to run away. When the strangers saw him, they called to him, “What are you doing, my friend? You are running away and we are paying you a visit.” The young man ran on until he was out of sight.

The old man was holding his foot on the knife so that the knife was projecting a little. “He will do something,” the guests said in Cree. They folded up a blanket and put it between themselves and him, saying he would mistake it for a man. The old man did as they thought he would. He stabbed the blanket thinking it was a man. The men then ran out and began to shoot at him from a distance. They killed him. He too was shooting at the strangers and nearly killed a man although he could not see them. “If he had not been blind we would not have succeeded in killing him,” they said to each other.

They killed all his wives. They were hunting for that man for his band was bad and had been annoying the Indians.

The killing of the children avenged

The story recounts a tragic event where, during a buffalo hunt, a group of children is killed by strangers. Upon discovering the massacre, the grieving parents rush back, but one young man remains composed. He later tracks down the perpetrators, mutilates them by cutting off their ears, and leaves them to suffer, thus avenging the slain children.

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 narrative centers on avenging the slain children, highlighting retribution and the restoration of moral order.

Tragic Flaw: The initial complacency or negligence of the community members may have contributed to the tragedy, underscoring human vulnerabilities.

Family Dynamics: The story delves into familial bonds, emphasizing the deep impact of the children’s loss on their parents and the community.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

The men were away after buffalo and their wives were moving the camp along after them. There was one woman living with them. “When you were named Wind-crossing-each-other, you used to say they (the Cree) are coming after us.” “Yes,” she said. This woman (?) who was coming along behind them turned off on another road. She made a road far from that place, not stopping to sleep until it was daylight. When one could see, the young buffaloes were coming from way over there. They drank up all the water. All the children were saying, “Mother, father, here is mother’s camp.” Now strange people had killed all the children. All the children had followed her along the upper road. She had put them in a hole there.

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An old woman ran from there to where the men were killing the buffalo and said, “Come, our children have all been killed. The men started running on the snow without their moccasins. They were crying because their children were all killed. There was one boy, the old woman’s son, who did not care. “Do as you please,” he told them. “I will come in the morning.” He did not care, he simply pulled the meat out of his mouth. When it was nearly daylight he started. The others were lying on the ground with cramps. He went after the others. They were crying because their children had been killed. He cut off the ears of some of them and let them suffer still living. He made them like the rest of his relatives. “Let them suffer,” he said and so he had revenge. [Both the text and the interpretation were so poorly done that the narrative is hardly intelligible.]

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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Torturing the enemy

A lone Beaver man encounters a Cree individual who invites him to his nearby camp. The Beaver man waits, constructing a fence and trail. When several Cree arrive, he kills them, including an old woman he enslaves and tortures. He then attacks two blind Cree elders and their young men, killing them all. The story highlights the Beaver man’s formidable prowess.

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 Beaver man’s actions can be interpreted as acts of vengeance, and the narrative explores the consequences of such retributive justice.

Cunning and Deception: The Beaver man employs deceit to gain the trust of the Cree before betraying and killing them.

Tragic Flaw: The Beaver man’s excessive pride or ruthlessness leads him to commit heinous acts, ultimately defining his character and fate.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

A man was walking by himself. A Cree, too, was walking from the opposite direction. When they met they sat down by each other and the Cree said, “Brother-in-law, how far away is your camp? My camp is close by.” “My camp is a long distance away,” the Beaver replied. “While you are waiting for me, break open this beaver house. We will come to you tomorrow morning,” the Cree said. While the Beaver was waiting for him he made a fence and beat down the snow, making a trail. Then while he was making the fence several Cree came there.

The old man, the Beaver, was sitting by the others cutting a pole in two. He tried in vain. “Brother-in-law, break it for me,” he said.

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Just as soon as he broke it he stabbed him and killed him. Among those who were coming up was the father of the young man who was stabbed. As soon as he heard his son scream they all began to rush forward. As they were rushing along the Beaver shot them with arrows. He killed them all not leaving a single one alive. The mother of the Cree was coming along. “I killed your sons here,” he said. “You are not coming here for nothing.” He made a slave of her causing her to suffer terribly. He used to burn her skin. He killed that old woman too. Afterward he took [as slaves] those who had lived with them.

The old man asked if they knew of any people living close by. He was told there were two old blind men who had enough young men to make a war party. “We will go after them,” the old man said. When they came there they saw the winter trail in the snow. “Wait for me here and be making camp while I go there,” the leader said.

He went to the two blind Cree men, took them by the hair and burned their faces in the fire. “I shall stay here in this condition until my young men get back,” one of the old men said. The other old man said the same thing, “I, too, shall remain in the same condition.” Then one of the young men was coming home and the Beaver man ran after him and killed him. He really killed them all. There were very many men but he himself alone killed them all. They say that Beaver was a powerful man.

A man wins his faithless wives by wrestling

An elderly chief with two wives struggled to provide food during a harsh winter. Suspecting his wives were mistreating him, he discovered they had left him for another man. Determined, the chief tracked them down and challenged their new husband to a wrestling match. Proving his superior strength, he defeated the rival and reclaimed his wives.

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

Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on the complex relationships within a family, highlighting issues of loyalty and betrayal between the husband and his wives.

Trials and Tribulations: The protagonist faces significant challenges, including abandonment and the struggle to reclaim his family, which he overcomes through personal effort.

Revenge and Justice: The old man seeks to restore his honor and rightful place by confronting and defeating the man who took his wives, serving as a form of personal justice.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

There was an old man who was highly respected and the chief of his band. He had two wives. They were starving, for although he was trying to secure beaver he did not succeed in killing any. He thought the women were starving but wondered at the way they were treating him. Occasionally he killed a small beaver. He would give it to the women and ask them to cook it for him. “Take it up away from the water,” he would tell them. They would leave only the shoulder of the beaver for him. The old man ate only that. “I think they are trying to starve me,” he said to himself. Wondering what they were planning to do, he went to bed. In the morning the two women got up. “Get up,” they told the old man, “what is the matter? You never acted this way before.”

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The two women went off and left him. The old man pretended he was trying hard to get up. “They are alive all right I guess but mean,” he said to himself.

He remained there all winter alone. When the snow was all melted he started off in the direction the women had gone. They had both married the same man. The man they had married was also a strong man. “I will go and see my wives’ other husband,” the old man said.

His rival was not far away. He came to him and they began to wrestle. The man who had taken the women away was thrown down for the other man was the stronger. They say the first man was called, “Strong Man.” The other one was strong. He left the man saying, “You wanted them; marry them.” He went off and began to chisel for beaver with a moose horn. This happened before there were any white people.

An old man escapes a plot only to be killed in revenge

An elderly man living alone with his young wife survives an assassination attempt by a young hunter who desires his wife. The old man kills the hunter in self-defense and flees, seeking refuge among strangers. Unbeknownst to him, these strangers are the hunter’s relatives. Upon learning of his deed, they exact revenge by killing the old man.

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 young man’s proposal to the old man’s wife and her implicit acceptance represent betrayal within a relationship.

Revenge and Justice: The old man’s act of killing the young man in self-defense leads to his own death at the hands of the young man’s relatives, highlighting cycles of retribution.

Tragic Flaw: The old man’s decision to share his story with strangers, who turn out to be the young man’s relatives, leads to his demise.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

There was one old man who camped by himself, living on rabbits which he was taking in snares. He had a wife who was a young girl. A young man who was living with some strange Indians was out hunting and came to the woman. He told her that he would kill the old man when he was out looking after his snares. “If I kill him I will marry you,” he told her. When the old man went out to look after his snares the young man went in the same direction. He watched for him behind some willows which were covered with snow. A rabbit had been snared and was hanging high up on the spring pole. When the old man stretched up to pull it down with a wooden hook he carried, the young man shot him. The old man jumped up and the arrow went under him.

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The old man rushed after the young man who tried in vain to run away. He caught him and killed him.

Because the young man had many relatives the old man ran off. He came to some people who were living far away whom he did not know. They were the relatives of the young man he had killed. He was telling them his experiences when they broke in on him saying, “You are telling us about our youngest brother whom you have killed. We were wondering who killed him and it turns out to be you.” They killed the old man, although he was very pitiful.

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.

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.