The spirit guiding a child left by its parents

A lice-infested boy is left behind by his parents but is saved and lice-picked by the spirit of a dead man. Riding the spirit’s back, he follows his mother’s trail, hunts a hare, and is reunited with his baffled parents. After graciously feeding the spirit, he tracks him across frozen lakes, only to see him depart and, in time, forget his spectral benefactor.

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

Love and Betrayal: The mother’s decision to abandon her infested child, despite her maternal bond, embodies a poignant act of betrayal.

Journey to the Otherworld: The spirit’s intervention transports the boy into a realm beyond the living, guiding him along a supernatural path.

Ancestral Spirits: The benevolent dead man who rescues and mentors the boy represents the influence of forebears on the living.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

An Indian and his wife had but one child, which was so infested with vermin that when the parents contemplated, going to the tents of some distant friends the father advised the mother to leave the child behind. The next morning after the mother had taken down the tent the little boy asked her “Mother, are you not going to put on my moccasins?” the mother replied, “I shall put them on after I have put on my snow-shoes.” The little boy said, “Surely you are not going to leave me!” She said, “No;” but took hold of her sled and started off. The little boy cried out, “Mother, you are leaving me,” and endeavored to overtake her in his bare feet; but the mother soon was out of sight. The little boy began to cry and retraced his steps to the tent place.

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There he cried until the spirit of a dead man came to him and asked, “Where is your mother?” The boy replied, “She has gone away and left me.” “Why did she leave you?” asked the old man. “Because I was so covered with lice,” replied the boy. The spirit said it would remove all of the lice, but three. So it began to pick them off. After this was done the spirit asked, “Where did your mother go?” The boy pointed out her track. The spirit then said to the boy, “Would you like to go to your mother?” The boy answered, “Yes.” The spirit put the boy on his back and started on the path made by the sled of his mother. After a while they came to a tree and in looking at it the boy saw a porcupine sitting among the branches. The boy greatly desired to have the animal. So he said, “Grandfather, I wish you would kill the porcupine.” The old man answered, “It will make too much smoke for me to kill it.” After a time they came across a hare which the boy again desired to have. To this the man assented. So he put the boy down in the snow and soon caught the hare and killed it. It was now becoming dark, so they made their camping place for the night. The spirit gave the boy the hare and told him to cook it. After the meat was cooked the boy asked the old man what parts of the animal he preferred. The old man said “Give me the lungs and kidneys.” The boy gave him those parts and consumed the remainder himself. They laid down to sleep and in the morning they again started on the sled track. About noon they came to the tents of the Indians, and among them was the tent of the father and mother of the little boy. The spirit placed the boy down on the outside near the door of the mother’s tent and told him to go in. The boy entered and saw his father and mother sitting near the fire. The mother in astonishment said, “Husband, is this not our little boy whom we deserted at our late camp?” The husband asked the boy, “Who brought you here?” The little boy answered, “My grandfather.” The mother inquired, “Who is your grandfather?” The father asked, “Where is he now?” The boy replied, “He is sitting outside.” The father asked his wife to look outside and see if any one was there. The woman did so and informed him that “I see some one sitting there, but I do not know who it is.” The spirit replied, “You should call me somebody when you are no one to leave your child to perish.” The husband directed his wife to invite the old man into the tent.

The spirit declined to enter. The father then asked the son to tell him to come in. The boy went out and conducted the old man within the tent. The latter seated himself across the fire (this is intended to mean opposite the door but on the other side of the fire). They slept in the tent that night, and when the little boy awakened he found all the people preparing to snare deer. The people asked the little boy to accompany them. He did so, and when he was ready to start he asked the old man what part of the deer he should bring home for him. The old man replied that he would enjoy the lungs better than any other part. The boy promised to bring a quantity for him on his return in the evening. Toward evening the boy returned loaded with choice bits for the old man who had conducted him to his father and mother. While outside of the tent he called to the old man, saying that he had brought home some food for him. Hearing no reply he entered the tent, and not seeing the man he inquired of his mother where the person was. The mother announced that he had departed, but did not know where he had gone. It was late, but the boy resolved to rise early and follow his track. He was up at daybreak, and finding the track followed it until he observed the spirit crossing a large lake which was frozen over. The boy cried out to the old man to wait for him. The spirit awaited his approach. The boy said to him, “Why did you go away when I had promised you some choice food?” The spirit replied that it could not dwell among living people, as it was only a spirit and that it was returning to its abode. The old man advised the boy to return to his people. The boy did so, but the next morning the desire to see the good old man seized the boy, and again he started to find him. The other people then tied the boy to a tree and he soon forgot his benefactor.

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The Indian and his beaver wife

A hunter spares a talking beaver who beckons him to live underwater as her spouse. Unaware, he marries her in her submerged lodge until his brother’s prophetic dream prompts a rescue mission. The brother dam’s the stream, slays the beaver family, and frees his sibling. Forced to eat beaver meat, the husband’s grief summons his slain wife back to life as they swim together down the river.

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

Quest: The brother’s determined journey to find and rescue his sibling drives the narrative’s central action.

Journey to the Otherworld: The hunter’s immersion into the beaver’s underwater home represents a venture into a realm beyond human experience.

Resurrection: After her death and skinning, the beaver wife miraculously reappears swimming alongside her husband, symbolizing a return from death.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

One day an Indian was hunting along the bank of a stream and in the distance saw a beaver’s house. In a moment he perceived a beaver swimming toward him, he drew up and was on the point of shooting it when the animal exclaimed, “Do not shoot, I have something to say to you.” The Indian inquired, “What is it you have to say?” The beaver asked him, “Would you have me for a wife?” The Indian replied, “I can not live in the water with you.” The beaver answered, “You will not know you are living in the water, if you will follow me.” The Indian further remarked that he could not live on willows and other woods like a beaver. The beaver assured him that when eating them he would not think them to be willows. She added, “I have a nice house to live in.”

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The man replied, “My brother will be looking for me if I come in and he will not know where I am. The beaver directed the man to take off his clothing and leave them on the bank and to follow her. The Indian did as he was instructed. As he was wading through the water he did not feel the water touching him; so they presently began to swim and soon reached the home of the beaver. The beaver told him as she pointed ahead, “There is my home, and you will find it as good and comfortable as your own tent.” They both entered and she soon set before him some food which he did not recognize as willow bark. After they had slept two nights his brother became alarmed and went to search for him, and soon found his track. In following it up his brother came to where he had left his clothing on the bank of the stream.

The brother was distressed at finding such things, so went sorrowfully back to the tent thinking that his brother had been drowned, and so told the other Indians when he arrived. With a heavy heart he went to bed and in the morning he awakened and told his wife that he had dreamed his brother was living with a beaver. He told his wife to make some new clothing for the lost brother as he would go and seek the haunts of the beavers to discover his brother. The man occupied himself in making a pair of snowshoes, while the wife prepared the clothing. The next day she had the clothing done and he directed her to make them into a small bundle as he would start on the search early the next morning. Other young men desired to accompany him on the search, but were advised to remain at home as their presence would prevent him from reaching the beaver’s retreat. Early in the morning he started off, taking the clothes and snowshoes with him. After some time he found the place where the beaver had her house and in which he suspected his brother to be living. He went to work to make a dam across the stream so as to decrease the depth of water around the beaver’s house. The wife had borne two children to the husband by this time, and when the father had seen the water going from their house he told the children: “Your uncle is coming and he is certain to kill you.” The water had soon gone down sufficiently to enable the man to cross the stream to where the house was situated.

On arriving there he began pounding at the mud walls. The father told the children to go out or else the house would fall on them. The man outside quickly killed the two young ones. The wife knew she would soon be killed also, and after they had heard the deathblows given to their children she said to her husband, “If you are sorry that I am killed and ever want to see me again, keep the right hand and arm of my body; take off the skin and keep it about you.” In a few minutes the brother had begun again to tear out the sides of the lodge. The husband told her to go out, and that his love for her would make him keep her right hand. She then went out and was quickly killed with a stick. When this was done and the husband had heard it all he was very sorry for his wife. Again the man began to destroy the rest of the house and soon had a large hole in the wall of one side. The husband then said to him, “What are you doing? You are making me very cold.” The brother replied, “I have brought some warm clothing for you and you will not feel cold.” “Throw them in,” said the husband, “for I am freezing.” He put on the clothes, and while he was doing it the brother noticed the hairs which had grown on the other’s back, but said nothing about it. The husband then sat in his house until the other was near freezing to death. The brother then said to him, “Come with me; you can not stay here.” The husband demanded, as a condition of returning, that the brother should never say anything to him to make him angry if he went back. The brother promised him not to do so. They then Started to return, the brother taking the bodies of the children and mother on his back, the husband walking ahead. They soon arrived at the home of their people. The brother threw down the beavers and directed his wife to skin them. The husband of the beaver asked for the right hand and arm of the beaver who had been his wife. It was given to him. He got one of the other women to skin it, and told her to dry the skin and return it to him. Three nights after their return to their people a great many beavers were killed and a large kettle full of flesh was boiled for food. The people pressed the runaway brother to eat of the flesh of the beavers. He informed them that if it was the flesh of a female beaver he would not eat it. They told him that the flesh of the male beavers was all finished long ago. They forced him to eat a large piece of meat, and when he had swallowed it they gave him more of it. The second piece was no sooner down his throat than a large river gushed from his side. The Indian jumped into the river, while the rest ran away in terror and, as these latter looked down the river, they saw the man swimming by the side of his wife who had been a beaver.

The young man who went to live with the deer

A young hunter dreams of a deer inviting him to join their world. Guided by a talking doe and her father, he enters a hidden valley where fire, water, and plentiful meat await. Promised eternal life and provision for his own father, he leaves behind his hunting gear. When his human kin attempt to snare him, the deer protect his escape, affirming his choice to live in harmony with the deer.

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

Prophecy and Fate: The young man’s dream of a deer summoning him sets his destiny in motion.

Journey to the Otherworld: He follows the doe into a hidden valley beneath a hill, entering the deer’s mystical home.

Harmony with Nature: The deer offer him abundance and balance in contrast to the hardship of hunting.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

A young man one morning told his old father that he had dreamed the night before that a deer had asked him to come and live with them. The old father replied, “That is a good sign; you will kill many deer after that dream.”

The young man went away to hunt, and while out he saw a large herd of deer. A young doe from the band ran up toward him, and he was about to fire at her when she said to him, “Do not fire, for my father has sent me to you. Please put up your arrows.”

She came nearer and informed him that her father had sent her to ask him to come and live with the deer forever.

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The young man inquired, “How could I live with you when it is upon deer that I live! I live in a tent and can not live outside. I can not live without fire. I can not live without water.” The doe replied, “We have plenty of fire, water, and meat; you will never want; you will live forever. Your father will never want, as there will be enough deer given to him.” The man consented to go with them. The doe pointed to a large hill and said, “That is our home.” She told him to leave his deerskin mantle, snowshoes, and arrows on the ground, but to keep the bow. As they were walking along they came to a big valley. She informed him that that was their path. The two went toward the steep hillside and found the ground to be covered with deer. Some of the deer were frightened when they saw the man coming, and started to run. The doe’s father said to the frightened deer, “Do you not pity the poor Indians who have to hunt for their living while we do not?” When the young man and the doe came up, the father of the doe addressed the young man, asking if he was hungry. The man replied, “Yes.” The father then gave him a piece of nice meat and some fat. After the man had finished eating the father inquired, “Is your father also hungry?” The son replied, “Yes.”

The old buck informed the young man that they would give the son’s father some deer tomorrow. After the young man had slept out one night his father, in the morning, went out to look for his son, but found only his mantle, snowshoes, and arrows, which had been cast aside the day before, and also found the tracks in the valley leading to the home of the deer under the hill. The old man returned to his tent and told the other Indians that his son had gone away to live with the deer. The old man then said, “Let us make snares and we will yet take him, as he can not run as fast as the deer.” The Indians prepared a number of snare nooses and went to the valley to set them among the bushes on the path. The father of the young doe saw what was going on in the valley and told the rest, “Let us go and give the old man some deer.” He told the young man to come with them. The man replied that he could not accompany them, as he would be left behind in no time while they were running. The old buck instructed the young man to keep among the rest of the deer and he would not be left behind them. All the deer then went out to the valley. The young man kept among them; and as they were going through the bushes he heard the shouts of the Indians who were concealed behind them. The deer saw the snares and some of the animals fell into the nooses and were caught. The remainder, with the young man, were soon beyond the snares. The Indians began to kill the deer which had been taken in the nooses, and when they had finished they found they had not captured the young man. They consulted together and decided to search among the tracks of the escaped deer to ascertain whether his foot-prints were among them. They found his track and also the mark of his bow as he had dragged it along in the snow.

The young man’s father then said, “Let him go if he thinks he is able to live with the deer;” and the people returned to their tents.

The Beaver wife

A man tests various female animals to find a clever wife, finally choosing the whisky-jack, then the beaver under a bond to bridge every creek. Neglecting this, she flees to her river-home, and he learns to live underwater as her mate. Years later his brother, guided by dreams, traps the beaver, rescues him from near-total transformation, and restores him to human life.

Source:
Notes on the Eastern Cree
and Northern Saulteaux
by Alanson Skinner
The American Museum
of Natural History
Anthropological Papers
Volume IX, Part 1
New York, 1911

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The man gradually adopts beaver traits and even becomes nearly indistinguishable from them.

Prophecy and Fate: Both the beaver wife and his brother learn of coming events through dreams that shape the story’s outcome.

Journey to the Otherworld: The man dives into an underwater beaver lodge—a hidden realm ruled by his aquatic wife.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

There was a man in the olden days who tried every female animal to see who was the smartest to work that he might keep her to live with him. He tried the deer (caribou) first, but she did not please him, so he sent her away. He next tried the wolf. She did not please him, as she was too wicked and greedy. He then came across the moose and did not like her. Then he tried the fisher but she did not please him either. He tried the marten and she did not please him. He tried the lynx and lived with her a while. She was smart but still she did not please him. He went off and lived with Otter but she was too funny and made too much noise. Then he thought he would try some of the flying animals. He tried the owls, but they did not care for his tent properly when he was away hunting, and besides they ate too much.

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As the whisky-jack (wiskatcak, Canada jay) was always about him, he asked her if she could look after his tent. She said she could try it. She staid for a while; she was very cleanly and kept the tent decent.

One day, he told her he would go and hunt caribou and chisel beaver. She had everything ready, water and wood, when she expected him back. He came home in the evening and threw down his game (three or four beaver tied together) at the tent door. He came in without his game, as is customary among the Cree, and hearing the bundle fall she ran out to get it. It was so heavy that it broke her legs when she tried to lift it. She couldn’t rise so she told her husband and he brought in the beaver. He said he would get his bowstring and bind up her legs so that they would get well. He did so and she recovered. Ever afterwards, however, one can see the marks of the wrapping on the whisky-jack’s legs. He continued to live with her until she got well, then he told her she could leave as the work was too hard for her.

One day, when he was walking about, he met Beaver cutting down a tree. She left her dwelling and came to him. She was very attentive and a good worker. She could do anything a man might wish; she could wash and dress fur well. When the man found she was so pleasing he asked her if she would become his wife and live with him.

Before she would promise she said to him, “It will be hard for me to do what you ask me, and hard for you too. There is only one condition under which I will live with you. As I live in the water and you on the dry land, you must never forget when crossing a little valley or creek to break down a stick and lay it across the water or else it will become a big river. You must promise never to forget this even when you are tired and in a great hurry, or the river will appear and we will be separated.”

He lived with her for a while. At last, he became careless. One time, towards the spring (it was not yet summer) he was leading the way through the forest. She followed, hauling the tent utensils. At last, he crossed a valley that did not look as though water would ever run through it. He thought “Surely this can never become a river,” and put nothing there. He went on, found a suitable camping place, left his sled for his beaver wife to pitch the camp and went off hunting. “When he returned he found his sled still there, and there was no sign of his wife. At once, he remembered his neglect to put the stick across the valley, but he could not believe this to be the cause of her absence. When she did not return he went back to the place where the omission occurred and there he found a great river and saw his wife swimming about in it building a beaver house. She had it already finished.

He began to cry for he was very fond of his wife and now he knew he had lost her. He begged her to come to see him but she would not come ashore and acted as though she was afraid of him. She told him to come to her. He did not know what to do, as he feared to drown. She said, “At first you’ll find it hard, but if you dive down and come up inside the house, it is dry there.”

At last, he thought to himself that he would try, although he was rather afraid. He swam out and she came to meet him. She told him where to dive and he followed her into the door, and came up on the inside where it was dry. He lived with her for a long time. He had to eat what she ate, willows and bark of trees. It was not very nice for him after eating meat and men’s food. After a time, he began to become able to swim about and act like a beaver. Occasionally he went ashore and walked about. He learned to build beaver houses, but could not cut down a tree with his teeth as they did. For this, he used his ax which he brought with him. He lived with the beavers a good many years.

This man had a brother who missed him as the years went by. At last he dreamt what had become of his brother and went to look for him. Right enough, he found different signs where the beaver lived. Trees had been cut with an ax, etc. The brother could not find him, as he only came out at night when the beaver did and slept all day. The brother had to wait till winter, when he declared he would find him. When the middle of the winter arrived, the brother went off to find the lost man. The beaver man dreamed that his brother was coming and told his wife that this would happen and that they would soon be separated.

Sure enough, the brother came, and staked in the river on both sides of the houses. (The beavers had a lot of holes besides their houses; the beavers ran out and were caught. The beaver man who now had much of the nature of the beaver, told his wife to be careful, as he knew all about the nets having himself taken beaver in this way. He showed the beaver how to make holes in the bank which they never knew about before.)

At last, the brother found the holes in the bank and killed the beaver wife in one of them. Later still, he found her husband. He was almost changed to a beaver with hair all over his body, like one. His brother knew him, however, and told him he had come for him and brought clothes for him to wear. So the man dressed up and went home with his brother. When they got there, the brother gave him something to eat.

The beaver man told him never to give him any of the meat of the female beaver to eat, for said he, “As sure as I eat a piece of the flesh of a female beaver, I’ll turn into a beaver again, and you will never be able to get me back to a man again.” After this he lived with mankind until he died.

The History of the Che-che-puy-ew-tis

After his mother’s death at the hands of a devil, an unborn child is saved by a helpful mouse and later reunited with his brother. Together they avenge their parents and survive harrowing adventures, including underwater explorations and repeated attacks by lynxes. Seeking a wife, the younger brother tests various animal partners before settling with a beaver, only to be transformed into one himself—becoming the ancestral spirit and protector of his new tribe.

Source:
The History of the Che-che-puy-ew-tis
A legend of the Northern Crees
by Robert Bell
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.10, No.36, pp. 1-8
January-March, 1897

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: Explains how the beaver tribe and the Canada jay acquired their distinctive traits.

Cultural Heroes: Che-che-puy-ew-tis emerges as a wise founder and counselor of the beaver people.

Journey to the Otherworld: The hero dives into an underwater wigwam at the lake’s bottom.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

The following is the most complete account of the hero which I have obtained. It was compiled by Mr. C.H.M. Gordon, at Rupert’s House, near the southeastern extremity of James Bay, from several versions of the narrative, as told by different Indians living in that part of the country, and I give it mostly in his own words.

Once upon a time there lived an Indian, his wife, and their only son. The period had nearly arrived for the woman to be delivered of her second child. The husband had a presentiment that something was going to happen to his wife, for he repeatedly warned her when he went off hunting to take care of herself, and that if any sign of danger arose she was to hide their son under the brush flooring of the wigwam.

One day, while the man was away from the wigwam hunting, a Toosh, or devil, came, and finding only the woman in the tent, cruelly killed and disembowelled her, throwing aside the womb containing the unborn child.

The Indian returned from his hunt and found the mutilated corpse of his wife, but he was in time to catch the Toosh, which he put to an ignominious death. His son he found alive, as his wife had taken the precaution to hide him under the brush of the wigwam floor, as she had been told.

For a number of days the man remained in his tent, mourning the death of his wife.

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It happened that just after the womb had been thrown aside, an A-pook-a-shish (mouse) chanced to hunt in that direction, and saw what she thought to be food, but on nibbling at it she was surprised to find it quivering, and on further examination she saw what proved to be a living child. Being of a kind disposition, she took it home and nursed it tenderly, and called it Che-che-puy-ew-tis (the little one that moves or quivers). The Indian and his son now moved their wigwam (which is an universal custom among these people when a death has occurred).

When the son had almost arrived at manhood he became a keen hunter, but was very unfortunate in losing his arrows. So frequently did this happen that at last he told his father of it. “Come now,” said the old man, “shoot an arrow a short distance from where we stand, and we cannot fail to see what will become of it.” The boy did as he was told, and was surprised to see an A-pook-a-shish run away with it. “This is how my arrows are lost,” he said. “I will follow and see where she takes them.” He did so, and came to the wigwam of the A-pook-a-shish. On entering he saw all the arrows he had lost, but they were in possession of a young boy, who was amusing himself with them. The A-pook-a-shish now told the young man that this child was his brother, and related exactly the manner in which she had saved him, but cautioned him not to tell his father when he returned, as the old man might not be pleased. The lad did as the A-pook-a-shish told him, and after that he often went and visited his brother. Occasionally, when they thought the father was absent, they returned home together.

The father at last noticed that there were footprints of two sizes about the tent, and questioned his son regarding them. But the boy, still wishing to keep secret the identity of his brother, gave a misleading answer. The A-pook-a-shish having heard about it, said it would be much better for them to go to the wigwam together, for sooner or later their father would be certain to find them out: So Che-che-puy-ew-tis took his little brother home to their father’s wigwam.

When the Indian returned in the evening with his hunt, he noticed the boy in the tent, and asked his son who the little stranger was, and where he had found him. The lad told him it was his young brother, and related how the A-pook-a-shish had discovered him after the murder of his mother, and gave him full particulars, which satisfied the man that this was really his child. He pretended to be very glad, and told his sons to go at once to the A-pook-a-shish’s wigwam with the meat of a whole beaver, and thank her for having rescued his son. But all the time he was meditating on a scheme to get rid of both the boys, as he intended taking a second wife. Still, for some time after this they all lived together in harmony with one another.

Whilst the father was off hunting, the sons always used to remain about the wigwam, but they noticed that he always went to hunt in one direction, and wondered why he did this. So they made up their minds to follow his path when an opportunity should occur, and find out the reason for his strange behavior.

The next day the old man did not go hunting as usual, so the boys took advantage of this chance to investigate, and they followed up his tracks until they stopped at the margin of a deep lake, and further pursuit seemed impossible. But Che-che-puy-ew-tis was equal to the occasion. He said to his brother: “Pull up some strong spruce-roots [”watap”] fasten them around my waist, then take hold of the other end and I will go under the water. When you feel the roots shake, be sure and pull me out again.” Che-che-puy-ew-tis then went into the water and found, as he expected, a large wigwam in the bottom of the lake. At the door were two Pishews (lynxes). He took hold of both of them, shook the roots, and his brother pulled him to the surface again. They killed the Pishews, and returning presented them to their father; but the old man, instead of being pleased, wept bitterly, and told his sons that hereafter it would be better for them to live separate; so going out of the tent, he left them together.

Che-che-puy-ew-tis, knowing their father was angry, said to his brother: “Our father will certainly come again in the morning, so let us make a number of arrows and be prepared. They did so, and, as the elder brother said, their father appeared in the morning, in company with a number of Pishews, who began to attack the boys; but the arrows they had made the night before played havoc among the Pishews, so that not one of them escaped. The following morning the attack was repeated with a fresh lot of Pishews, but Che-che-puy-ew-tis this time, after the animals were all slaughtered, shot an arrow at his father and slew him also.

The two boys now lived together and were very happy, hunting in company and killing all kinds of game.

Years had passed when one night Che-che-puy-ew-tis was awakened by his brother talking to some person, as he thought, and wondered who it could be. In the morning, when his brother went out, Che-che-puy-ew-tis looked into his robe, but found only some rotten wood. He threw it out of the wigwam, saying, “Why do you soil my brother’s robe?” The next night he again heard his brother in conversation with some unknown person, and in the morning, on looking into his robe, found this time an Atik (frog), which he threw outside with the same exclamation.

Then Che-che-puy-ew-tis said to himself, “I will find wives for my brother,” and he did find them, bringing home two young squaws, whom he presented to him. Thus they lived for some time, the younger brother having two wives and the elder not even one. At length one of the wives became discontented and said to the other: “I will remove to the left side of the wigwam, where our brother-in-law sits. He has no mate, and besides I find it inconvenient for both of us to be staying with one man.” The other wife consented, and the next time the young men returned they found only the oldest of the wives sitting in her usual place on the right side of the wigwam, the youngest having gone over to the left side, where Che-che-puy-ew-tis generally sat

When the men laid down their day’s hunt at the door, as is customary, the youngest of the women pulled Che-che-puy-ew-tis’s share to the side she had taken possession of, which clearly showed that she wanted this hunter for herself. But Che-che-puy-ew-tis did not agree with the arrangement which had been made by the women, and he also knew that his brother would be displeased with it. Besides, he wanted a wife of his own choosing. He therefore left the tent secretly.

After Che-che-puy-ew-tis had walked a considerable distance, he met with an Atik (deer). They conversed together for some time, and then he told her to find a suitable spot on which to erect a wigwam whilst he went hunting for some food for their supper. He returned in the evening and stayed with Atik one night, but would not remain another, as he thought Atik’s legs were too long. So he departed in the morning.

He next met a Muskwa (black bear), but only remained with her one night as he had done with the Atik, her claws being too long and sharp to suit him.

Then he fell in with Kak (porcupine), but again one night was sufficient for him to remain with her. She could not look him straight in the face, her neck being too short and her sharp quills were also very disagreeable. So he left her, as he had done the others, and went on his journey, still determined to find a suitable mate.

The next creature Che-che-puy-ew-tis fell in with was a Wes-ku-chan (“whiskey-jack,” the Canada jay). They made a wigwam for the night, as usual, and Che-che-puy-ew-tis provided a beaver for their supper, leaving it, Indian fashion, at the door. But it proved too heavy for poor Wes-ku-chan to manage, and she broke both her legs in trying to haul the carcass into the tent. Che-che-puy-ew-tis was equal to the occasion, and, taking the string off his bow, he bound the legs up nicely and the little bones soon grew together again, but to this day the marks of the bowstring can be seen on the legs of all Wes-ku-chan’s descendants. Che-che-puy-ew-tis did not remain more than one night with her, she being altogether too inquisitive. So he proceeded on his way again.

All at once an Amisk (beaver) met him, and without waiting to be asked she said to him: “If you want a mate, I will go and live with you.” She appeared more to his taste than the others, so he answered: “Yes, but you must not be lazy. You will always require to work hard; and one thing which I shall insist upon is, that whenever we come upon a creek you must lay brush or sticks for me to walk upon. If you fail once in doing this, the creek will turn into a river and we will be lost to each other.” So the Amisk agreed to the terms and they lived happily together. One day, unfortunately, Amisk (who was supposed to know a creek when she came to one) made a mistake. She was not certain that what she saw was a creek or not, and did not lay sticks or brush for her husband as usual.

Che-che-puy-ew-tis, when he returned to his mate in the evening, was horrified to find that the water at which he had left her had now turned into a large river. He only now found out that Amisk had made a mistake, and he bewailed the loss of his mate for a long time.

Walking one day along the bank of this large river, he saw to his surprise his wife swimming and diving about in the water, evidently enjoying herself. Che-che-puy-ew-tis called out: “Come ashore; you must not leave me.” But Amisk said: “I cannot live ashore any longer; I find this water more to my liking; you had better come to me instead; see how easy it is to swim and dive. Throw me one of your mittens and I will show you that the water is not even wet.” This she said in order to entice Che-che-puy-ew-tis to go to her. He threw one of his mittens to her as she had requested, and Amisk, diving down, brought it to the surface quite dry, having secretly anointed it with her oil. She threw it to Che-che-puy-ew-tis, saying: “Have I not told you that the water will not even wet you, just as it does not wet your mitten?” Che-che-puy-ew-tis was now convinced, so he jumped into the water and was astonished to find that he was quite at home therein, and he stayed with his mate and lived as the beavers live.

Towards the autumn they started to build a house, but Che-che-puy-ew-tis was not at all satisfied with the way Amisk set about it, which was after the manner of the old-time beavers. He knew that, if they did not make it better than that, the Indian hunters would surely be able to kill them, as they had killed so many beavers already, if they should find their house. So he showed Amisk how to fasten the large sticks, knit together the smaller ones, and mix them with stones, and how to plaster it with mud which would freeze solid, till at length they had made quite a secure abode. They lived happily together there for a time, but after a while something happened which broke the harmony, and one day Che-che-puy-ew-tis said to Amisk: “As I left my brother’s wigwam without his knowledge, and as I know he has a great regard for me, I am certain, it being now winter, that he will look everywhere till he finds me, and if he discovers us here he will be sure to kill you. Come, let us make holes along the bank, so that, should the house be broken into, you will be able to escape.”

Several months had passed, and the elder brother (Mejigwis) was very much annoyed at Che-che-puy-ew-tis for having left him without giving any warning, and was displeased with his youngest wife, who had been the cause of his departure. Whilst hunting this winter it had seemed to him that the character of the Westa (beaver houses) had changed,—that the Amisks had constructed them differently from those of former years. In consequence of this he now found it difficult enough to keep his family in beaver meat. At last it dawned upon him that there must be some one wiser than the Amisks themselves guiding and directing them, and who could this person be but his brother Che-che-puy-ew-tis. He therefore redoubled his efforts to find him, and, acting on the idea he had formed, he directed his attention to the beaver-houses. One day, while out hunting, a larger Westa than he had been accustomed to see attracted his attention, and cautiously approaching he broke into it and was rewarded by finding his long-lost brother; but the Amisk escaped to the holes they had made in the bank.

Che-che-puy-ew-tis was brought back to his brother’s wigwam, and the best of everything was given to him, but one thing he stipulated was, that when any of the party brought home a Pay-uko Amisk (a solitary beaver), he was to be sure and mention it, as he was afraid that some day his brother might kill his mate, and he did not wish to eat her, as he knew that something would happen to himself if he did so.

His brother obeyed his wish as long as there were plenty of Amisks to kill, but frequently he was able to bring home only barely sufficient meat to feed the party, and one day he came back to the wigwam with only one beaver, and it was a Pay-uko Amisk. But he did not let Che-che-puy-ew-tis know about it, as they did not like to see him take no part in the meal. So they cooked the Amisk, and first offered Che-che-puy-ew-tis some of the liquid it had been boiled in; but he refused it, saying he feared that, as his brother had killed only one, it might be a Pay-uko Amisk. “Oh, no,” said his brother; “there were quite a number of Amisks along with this one, only all the rest escaped.” So Che-che-puy-ew-tis, believing his brother, drank of the liquor and ate of the flesh; but immediately after he had done so, he was transformed into a real Amisk, and jumping into the creek, on the bank of which the wigwam stood, he dived under the water and was lost forever to his brother. But he still lives as a Kitche-kisai-misk (a great old beaver), and it is his wisdom to this day that prevents the Indians from entirely exterminating the Amisk tribe, of which he is the great chief and counsellor.

The stars

Abducted by star-husbands into the sky, two sisters endure thirst, scarce food, and forced marriages. Ingeniously, they escape by lowering a rope of thongs, glide to a spruce, and evade a fisher and a grizzly who seek to marry them. Surviving months alone, they finally reach their homeland. Though their mother at first disbelieves, the sisters’ token convinces her, but grief drives the villagers to suicide.

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

Journey to the Otherworld: The sisters are carried aloft into the sky by star-husbands, embarking on a perilous sojourn in a realm beyond human experience.

Trials and Tribulations: From enforced marriages and thirst to escaping the fisher and the grizzly, they face and overcome a succession of daunting challenges.

Supernatural Beings: The story revolves around encounters with otherworldly figures: the star-men, the fisher spirit, and the grizzly bridegroom.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tsetsaut Lore

Learn more about the Tsetsaut people

There were two sisters who were playing in front of their house. They made a small hut and lay down in it to sleep. During the night they awoke, and saw the stars in the sky. One of the sisters said: “Do you see that white star? I will have him for my husband. You take that red star.” They joked and laughed on this proposition, and finally went to sleep again. While they were sleeping two men entered their hut. One of them wore a white blanket, the other wore a red blanket. The latter married the elder sister, while the former took the younger for his wife. They removed them from the house into the sky. They were the two stars of whom the girls had been speaking. When the sisters awoke and saw the strange men by their sides, they did not know where they were.

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On the following morning their mother called them to come to breakfast. When she did not receive an answer, she grew angry and went to call the girls. Then she saw that they had disappeared. During the night a boy had heard how the girls had been talking about the stars, and thus the people were led to suppose that the stars had abducted the girls. The stars go out every night with bow and arrows hunting cariboos. Then they look through the holes in the sky and see what is going on on earth.

The two stars who had married the girls also went out every night, and brought home many cariboos. The young women skinned and carved them. They made gloves, shoes, and dresses from the skins. They cut long thongs from the skins of others, cutting spirally around their bodies. They hid the clothing and the thongs carefully from their husbands. There was no water, no cloud, and no rain in the sky, and they were always suffering thirst. They had nothing to eat but meat Therefore they longed to return to their own country. When they had prepared a sufficient number of thongs and of cloths they made ready to escape. One day, when their husbands had started on a long hunting expedition, they went to the hole in the sky. They tied stones to one end of a thong and let it down towards the earth. When one thong was paid out they tied a new one to the end of the first, and thus they continued from morning to night. The one woman brought the cloths and the thongs from their hiding-place, while the other let them down. Finally, after four days, they felt the rope striking the ground. They could not see the earth because it was hidden by smoke. They shook the thong and it fell a little farther, but finally it seemed to have reached the ground. At least they felt that it was held by something. Now they tied two pairs of sticks together, one being on each side of the rope. They put on four suits of clothing, four pairs of shoes, and four pairs of gloves. The elder sister stepped on one pair of sticks and they began to glide down, the sticks acting as a brake. The rope swung to and fro, and the sister who had remained behind gradually lost sight of her. Finally the young woman reached the end of the rope and found herself on the top of a tall tree. Her clothing and her gloves were almost worn through by friction. Then she shook the rope, and upon this signal her sister began to slide down in the same manner. She came down very much quicker, because her sister was holding the end of the rope. Looking upward, she beheld a small dot in the air. It was coming nearer and increased in size. Soon she recognized her sister, who finally reached the top of the tree. There they were on the top of a tall spruce-tree, and there was no way of getting down. They broke off some branches, and made a bed in the tree. The elder sister, before starting, had tied an additional piece of thong around her waist, thinking that she might use it in case the long rope should not have reached the ground. She untied it, and fastened it on to the long rope, but still it was not long enough.

After a while, the young women saw a number of men passing the foot of the tree. They were armed with bows and arrows, and were on snowshoes. They recognized the wolf, the bear, and many other animals. They called to them, asking them to help them down, but they passed by without paying attention to their entreaties. The next morning they saw another man approaching the tree. They recognized the fisher. They called him, and he at once climbed the tree. The young women asked him to carry them down, but he demanded that they should first marry him. The elder one said: “I will do so, but first carry me down.” The fisher finally agreed and carried her down. When they arrived at the foot of the tree, she demanded from him that he should first carry down her youngest sister. Reluctantly he was compelled to do so. Then he demanded from the youngest sister that she should marry him. She said: “I will do so, but carry me down first.” He took her down. When he insisted upon his former demand, the elder sister said: “We are almost starved; first bring us some food.” He went away and soon returned, carrying a bear that he had killed. During his absence the young women had lighted a fire. He wanted to roast the bear meat, but they said they wished to eat it boiled. Then the fisher made a basket of bark, and placed stones into the fire, which he intended to use to boil water in the basket. Meanwhile the young women had hidden a few pieces of meat under their blankets, and now they pretended to go to fetch water in which to boil the meat. As soon as they were out of sight they ran away down the mountains. After a while the eldest sister flung a piece of meat at a tree, asking it to whistle. They went on, and again she threw a piece of meat at a tree, asking it to talk. In this manner she continued to give meat to all the trees.

When the young women did not return, the fisher followed them to the brook, where they had gone to fetch water. He discovered their tracks, and saw that they had escaped. He pursued them. Soon he came to the tree which they had asked to whistle. It did so when the fisher went past. Then he thought they were on the tree, climbed it, and searched for them. When he did not find them, he continued his pursuit. He came to the second tree, which spoke when he went past. Again he thought the young women might be on the tree. He climbed up, but did not find them. Thus he lost so much time that they made good their escape.

Towards evening they reached a deep canyon. They walked along its edge, and soon they were discovered by the grizzly bear, who was residing here. He wanted to marry them, and they did not dare to refuse. But they said: “First go and bring us something to eat. We are almost starving.” While the bear was away hunting, the girls built a platform over the steep precipice of the canyon. It overhung the abyss, and was held in place by two ropes which were tied to a tree that grew near the edges of the canyon. Its outer edge was supported by two slanting poles which leaned against a ledge a short distance down the precipice. When the bear came back, he found them apparently asleep on this platform. He did not bring any meat; he had only roots and berries. The young women said that they could not eat that kind of food, and demanded that he should go hunting again. It had grown dark, however, and the bear proposed to go out on the following morning. They lay down on the platform, and the young women induced the bear to lie near the edge, while they lay down near the tree to which the platform was tied. They kept away from the bear, promising to marry him after he should have obtained food for them. Early in the morning, when the grizzly bear was fast asleep, they arose without disturbing him, cut the ties with which the platform was fastened to the tree, and it tipped over, casting the bear into the abyss.

The young women travelled on, and for a whole month they did not fall in with a soul. Then, one day, they discovered tracks of snowshoes, and soon they found the hut of a woman who had given birth to a child. They entered, and recognized one of their friends. They stayed with her for a short time, and when the young mother was ready to return to the village, they sent her on in order to inform their relatives of their return. She went to the mother of the two lost girls, and told her that they were waiting in the woods, but she would not believe the news. The young mother returned to her friends and told them that their mother would not believe that they had come back. Then they gave her as a token a skin hat that was decorated with stars. She took it to the village and showed it to the mother of the two young women. Then she began to think that there might be some truth in the report, and went out to look. There she saw and recognized her daughters. At that time all the men were out hunting. The women on hearing of the return of the two lost girls went out to see them, and they told of their adventures. Then they climbed two trees, tied their skin belts to the branches, and hanged themselves.

The visit to the sky

A man mysteriously awakens in the sky among unfamiliar beings. Undergoing a transformative ritual, his body is hardened like stone. He marries the chief’s daughter and returns to Earth via a rainbow path. Despite warnings, he reveals his celestial journey to his community, leading to unforeseen consequences. This tale explores themes of transformation, forbidden knowledge, and the interplay between celestial and earthly realms.

► Themes of the story

Journey to the Otherworld: The protagonist’s ascent to the sky represents a voyage to a realm beyond human experience.

Divine Intervention: The chief of the sky orchestrates events, influencing the man’s fate and granting him a celestial bride.

Forbidden Knowledge: The protagonist is admonished not to disclose his experiences in the sky, highlighting the theme of restricted truths.

► 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 man who had a large family. One morning his wife and children, upon awaking, were unable to find him. He had disappeared.

When he awoke he found himself in a strange lodge among strange people. The house stood on a vast open prairie. A young girl was lying at his side. It was very beautiful there. Now he heard the chief speaking. He looked around, but he did not see a soul. The girl said to him: “You are in the sky. My father is going to make you clean and strong.” Then he heard the chief saying: “Build a large fire and put stones on top of it.” A giant arose, who built a fire and put on stones. After a while the chief asked: “Are the stones red hot?” The giant replied: “They are hot.”

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Then the wood was taken away, the red hot stones were piled up, and, after the man had been placed on top, a blanket was spread over him. Then the ashes were placed on top of the blanket, and a new fire was built over the whole pile. This was kept burning for a whole day. In the evening the chief said to the giant: “I think he is done.” The fire and the ashes were removed, and the man was found to be red hot, but not steamed. He was taken from the pile of stones with wooden tongs and placed on a plank, which was supported at each end.

The girl was crying all day, because she believed him dead. Early the next morning the chief sent the giant to see if the visitor was still alive. He lifted the blanket which had been spread over the red hot body. Then the plank, which had been burned by contact with the body of the stranger, gave way, and he fell down. But he arose at once hale and well. Then the chief had a mat spread for him in the rear of the house and said: “I burned you in order to make your body as hard as stone. Sit down with my daughter. She shall be your wife.” He married her, and the young woman was glad. The chief said: “If you so desire, you may take her down to the earth. She shall see what the people are doing.” The chief’s lodge was full of many kinds of food, which, however, were not known to the visitor.

When they prepared to descend to the earth, the chief gave his daughter a pot and a black tube, through which she drank of the liquid contained in the pot. Nobody except herself was allowed to use these, and she herself did not partake of any other kind of food. The chief ordered the giant to open the road that led to the earth. He opened a hole in the ground, took the rainbow at its one end, and placed the other end on the earth. Before they parted the chief forbade the man ever to tell where he had been and what he had seen and to talk to any woman except his present wife. They departed, and reached the earth not far away from the village where the man had formerly lived. He did not recognize the country, but his wife showed him the way and told him that they would reach the village in the evening. When they approached the camp the people recognized him. All assembled and asked him where he came from. He told them that he had been in the sky, and that his new wife was a daughter of the chief of the sky. He was invited to return to his former wife and to his children, but he did not go. He built a lodge outside the camp. He took a girl into his lodge to be a servant to his wife. Every day he himself had to fetch water for his wife in the pot which her father had given to her. This she drank through her tube. The latter had the property of swimming on the water as long as her husband was true to her. It went down when he had spoken to any other woman but her.

One day when he returned bringing the water his young wife asked him if he would like to talk to his former wife. He did not reply, thus intimating that he did not care for her. But when the young woman placed the tube into the water it sank. She knew at once that her husband had spoken to his former wife. Then she said: “I came to take pity on you and on your friends; but since you do not obey my father’s commands I must go back.” She wept, and embracing her servant she said: “Hide in the woods under the roots of a large tree where the rays of the sun will not strike you, else you will perish with all the rest of the people.” The girl did as she was bidden. Then the rainbow appeared. She climbed up and disappeared from view.

On the following day the man went hunting. Then the sun began to shine hotter and hotter. There was no cloud in the sky. The camp grew quiet, even the dogs ceased to howl. The rays of the sun had burned the whole camp. Only the man and the servant girl had escaped destruction. The man, when the sun was shining so fiercely, had cooled himself with the snow and the water of the mountains, while the servant girl was protected by the roots of the tree. When the sun set the fire went out and the girl returned to her friends, to whom she told what had happened. Nobody knows about the further fate of the man.

The sisters who married stars

Two sisters, enamored by a red and a white star, wish to marry them. Their wish is granted, and they find themselves in the sky, each with a star-husband. Longing for Earth, they craft a rope from skins and descend. Encountering Wolverene, they cleverly escape his advances and return home. This story highlights themes of desire, ingenuity, and resilience.

Source:
Kaska Tales
by James A. Teit
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.30, No.118, pp. 427-473
October-December, 1917

► Themes of the story

Forbidden Knowledge: The sisters’ discovery of a way to return to Earth from the sky-world involves uncovering hidden truths and crafting a plan to escape their celestial confines.

Cunning and Deception: The sisters employ cleverness to deceive their star-husbands and later the wolverine, orchestrating their return to Earth and evading unwanted advances.

Journey to the Otherworld: Their initial ascent to the sky represents a voyage to a realm beyond human experience, exploring the unknown and interacting with otherworldly beings.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Kaska Lore

Learn more about the Kaska people

Once two sisters made camp together, and before retiring looked up at the stars. They saw two particularly brilliant stars, — a red and a white one. One sister said to the other, “I shall take that red one for my husband, and you may take the white one.” That night, when asleep, they went up to the stars, and awoke next morning in the sky, each with a man by her side. The sister who had chosen the red star was covered with a red blanket belonging to the man with whom she slept, and the man of the other sister had a white blanket. The women lived with these men in the sky-world, as they knew no way of getting back. Their husbands hunted every day, and killed plenty of game. Thus they had an abundance of food.

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The women decided to try and get back to earth. They cut up skins and made a very long rope. When their husbands were away hunting, they worked at digging a hole in a hidden place in the timber. At last they dug through, and could see the earth beneath. They tied a stone to the end of the rope and let it down, but the rope was too short. By adding rope to rope they at last found that the stone reached the earth. They made many pairs of gloves to wear while sliding down the rope, to prevent friction on the hands and to guard against the rope getting worn out. One day when their husbands were away, the younger girl slid down and reached the earth, and the elder followed her.

When the men returned from hunting, they searched for the women, and, finding the hole and rope, they threw the latter down. The sisters found they had alighted on the top of a large tree near a main trail where people were constantly passing. They saw the Moose, Wolf, and many others pass. As each one passed, he called, “My brother-in-law is coming behind!” At last the Wolverene came in sight, carrying his snare on his back. (This is why the wolverene now has the peculiar marks on his back like a snare.) When he arrived under the tree, the women whistled, and he looked up. When he saw the women there, he was glad, and climbed the tree. When he reached them, he wanted to have connection with them; but they said, “Take us down first!” He carried one of them down, and then wished to have connection with her; but she said, “Bring my sister down first.” He ascended and brought down the other woman. Then he wanted to have connection with both; but they told him, “You must provide us with food first, for we are hungry.” Wolverene went off and stole dried meat from somebody’s cache. When they had eaten, he demanded again to have connection with them. They told him, “Our father advised us never to have a man unless he was able first to provide fat caribou-meat. You cannot expect to have a woman until it is certain you are able to kill fat caribou.” He went off hunting, and the sisters fled. They ran until they came to the canyon of a river, which they were unable to pass. They sat down, and before long they saw Wolverene coming. He was carrying a heavy pack of fat caribou meat. As soon as he arrived, he wanted to have connection with the women, without even waiting to take his pack off. The sisters knew what he would do when he reached them, and had arranged that one of them would pretend to let him have connection, and the other one would then kick him over the cliff. One woman lay down near the edge of the cliff, and he went to have connection with her. She told him the right way to do was first close his eyes and fold his arms. The other sister then kicked him over the cliff into the river below. The women then ran along the canyon to a narrow place, where a large man (who was a kind of snipe) aided people in crossing. There was very bad water (rapids) in the river at this place. They called on the man to help them cross; and he stretched his long legs across, and they walked over on them. They said to him, “We will pay you porcupine quill garters if you will let Wolverene drop into the river. When he comes, just stretch one leg across, and turn it when he is half way over.” He agreed, and they gave him the garters. Wolverene came along, carrying his pack. He said to the man, “Where did you get my garters? I will kill you if you do not help me to cross at once.” The bird man stretched one leg across for him to walk on. When he was half way over, he turned his leg, and Wolverene fell into the river and was drowned.

The sisters went back to their parents, and lived with them. They told their parents, “When we travel, you must go ahead and make bridges for us over every creek, and even over every swampy place and wet spot.” Their father always did this. At last one time, feeling tired, he neglected to bridge one little spot. The sisters never came to camp, and their mother went back to look for them. She found that they had turned into beavers, and had already built a house. After this they were beavers.

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.

The underwater people

A mysterious young man leads three companions to an underwater realm beneath a lake. There, they encounter a community living in skin tipis and are welcomed by the headman. After a brief stay, the headman provides them with a fragile canoe for their return. As warned, the canoe dissolves near the shore, but all four men manage to reach land safely.

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

Journey to the Otherworld: The protagonists travel to an underwater realm inhabited by otherworldly beings.

Forbidden Knowledge: The men gain insight into a hidden underwater world unknown to others.

Sacred Spaces: The underwater realm serves as a significant and mystical location within the narrative.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

While the people were sitting by the camp they suddenly saw a young man passing along carrying a blanket on his back. “Where are you going and what are you going to do?” one of them asked him. “I am going to become a young man again,” he replied. “How will you do that? We will go with you,” they said to him. “Do as you please,” the stranger replied. The young man who had spoken and two of his brothers-in-law went with him. They walked along until they came to a lake. Suddenly this man who had been walking ahead said “Xwui” and went through the ice to the bottom of the lake where he had a wife. “You do as I do,” he told his companions. There were many skin tipis standing there and many people walking about.

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They went toward one of the tipis which was very large. The stranger walked ahead and the others did as he did according to the directions he had given them. Suddenly, someone jumped on the foot of the man who had suggested accompanying the stranger. It was a frog that did it, but he thought it was a man. The man who had gone ahead as the leader had a wife there and he used to go there to visit.

It seemed to them they had been there but a short time, when the head man of the underwater people said to them, “I do not like it that the minds of your relatives are so intent on us.” They started back in a canoe the head man made for them. “Take care how you use my canoe, for it is not very good,” he warned them as they started away. They came nearly to the shore in it when it melted as the owner of it had told them it would. Two of the men came ashore, but two of them were missing, one of the young men and his brother-in-law. The two who got ashore believed the others were dead, but as they were sitting on the bank they saw the head of a man appear and reappear. The man swam ashore and stood up. The other one was seen swimming as a jackfish. He turned into a man so that finally all of them came ashore and returned to their camp.