Hunting experiences

These narratives recount close encounters with moose, martens, weasels, bears, and grizzlies, highlighting the hunters’ skills, challenges, and the unpredictable nature of the wilderness. The stories offer a glimpse into the traditional hunting practices and experiences of the Dane-zaa people.

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Nature: The hunters face challenges posed by animals and the environment, highlighting the struggle between humans and natural forces.

Trials and Tribulations: The hunters undergo a series of challenges, such as tracking elusive prey and dealing with malfunctioning equipment, testing their perseverance and skills.

Ancestral Spirits: References to advice from elders and traditional hunting practices indicate a connection to ancestral knowledge guiding present actions.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

I. I had been hunting all day without seeing a track when toward sunset I started toward some distant pines. Just at dusk I came near a bluff and there I saw a moose track. A strong wind was blowing. “I wish I had seen your track in the day time,” I said to myself. I started after the moose and when I was about to pass behind the pines I looked ahead and saw a moose standing by a tree. I came up to it, raised my gun and aimed it. I could not see the sights of the gun. My father had told me to put snow on the end of the gun when shooting at night. I did this and aimed low when I saw nothing and then high, gradually lowering the gun until it seemed to me right when I shot. The moose ran along one side of me.

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I looked for it again toward the west and again saw it standing. I reloaded the gun and again put snow on the end of the barrel. I raised the gun again until I thought it was aimed right and fired. The moose ran in the same direction again.

As I went after the moose again I saw something dark on the snow. “What is it?” I thought to myself and taking some of it up I put it in my mouth. It was blood and I thought I had killed the moose, I went where there was something dark under a tree. I took up a stick and stabbed it under its head. I had killed it.

II. We were making a road and carrying some traps we were going to set. My brother-in-law and my elder brother went on ahead while I set a trap. I came where my brother-in-law was sitting by a little creek. He was killing himself with laughter. I asked him why he was laughing and he told me to look. A marten and a weasel were fighting. Although the weasel is small, he is smart. We sat there watching them. Just as we decided to shoot and kill the marten they started to fight again. “Fight hard,” my brother-in-law told them and they ran off. We killed nothing after all.

III. It happened once when I was a boy that I was after a bear. The bear chased me and when he came up to me my gun would not go off. I threw it away and fled empty handed. I pulled out my knife and ran under a leaning tree and jumped back over it. The bear did the same and we jumped toward each other. The bear struck out with his foreleg and I disemboweled him with the knife which was two-edged.

IV. I had a single-barreled gun when two dogs were barking in front of a grizzly’s den. The bear ran out after the dogs but my gun would not go off. The cap came off. The bear chased me all about until I bit the cap together and then the gun went off. The bullet broke the bear’s backbone. I went with dogs after a moose in the early morning. The dogs barked at the moose which stood still and then ran after the dogs. It ran so close to me, it stepped on my snowshoes. It was so close I could hear its heart beat. I was holding the gun by its muzzle and I fired. The moose fell and I jumped off the snowshoe. Its leg was sticking through the snowshoe. I skinned the moose and went home to my tipi.

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The escape of the brothers from the beaver lodge

Two brothers enter a beaver lodge to hunt. Unaware that a Cree war party has attacked their camp, they become trapped when the Cree set the lodge on fire. Facing suffocation, the older brother leads an escape through an underwater passage, pulling his younger sibling to safety. Despite freezing conditions, they survive, highlighting their resilience during times of conflict.

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 brothers face aggression from the Cree, who represent an oppressive force threatening their lives.

Trials and Tribulations: The brothers endure significant challenges, including escaping the burning lodge and surviving the freezing conditions.

Cunning and Deception: The brothers use their knowledge of the beaver lodge’s structure to outwit the Cree and escape through the underwater passage.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

There were two young brothers who went in under a beaver lodge. They were waiting there listening to detect the beaver. While they were there, a party of Cree came and killed the people at the camp. The young men did not find it out, but the Cree saw them and came to the hole which they had cut in the beaver lodge and brought a quantity of dry wood which they pushed in and set on fire. The men inside were in great distress, and could hardly breathe on account of smoke. They were about to die and there was nothing they could do to help themselves. They plunged into the water, for they knew that down stream there was a hole which had been cut through the ice. The older brother succeeded in reaching the hole and came out.

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I suppose he did not do it without some reason. [Interpolated by the narrator to explain that the man had supernatural help in escaping.] His younger brother was behind him, for the older brother had said, “Keep right behind me.” He felt for his brother and caught him by the foot just as he was passing the opening. They both got out safely and went away and hid. The clothes they had on, being wet, froze. They were nearly frozen to death, but escaped.

There were no white people here at that time. They had a hard time because of the Cree who were always killing them. This happened when they had breechcloths of skin.

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.

A man, frightened by his wife, kills swimming caribou

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

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Nature: The man engages in a struggle to hunt caribou, highlighting the challenges humans face against natural forces.

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

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

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

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

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

A man and his wife are saved by lightning

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

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

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

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

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

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

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

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

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

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

Two brothers escape the enemy by flight

Two brothers camped together, despite ominous dreams. Spotting approaching Cree enemies, they fled, with the older brother insisting on carrying a roasted beaver for sustenance. After three days of pursuit, they managed to escape, ate the beaver, and regained their strength, ultimately finding safety.

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 brothers face the challenge of evading their pursuers over an extended period, testing their endurance and resolve.

Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on the relationship between the two brothers, highlighting their cooperation and differing perspectives during their escape.

Cunning and Deception: The brothers employ their wits and strategies to outmaneuver the Cree and ensure their survival.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Once there were two brothers who were camping together. They were not having good dreams. “We better not do as we are doing,” one of them said. “We are doing all right here,” the other replied. “We will roast the beaver and eat it, and remain here until the snow melts.” The older brother looked around and then said to his younger brother, “You say we are in a good place. What is that over there?” He looked and saw there were Cree in the direction they were going. “What shall we do?” asked the older brother. “I will carry the beaver,” he said. “We will run away,” said the older one. “Never mind the beaver, throw it away,” the younger one said. “Well, if we get out of this alive it will be hard to get along without meat. I will carry it over there,” the older brother said.

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They ran off and the Cree chased them. They could not get away from the Cree who came up to them and were about to kill them. The younger brother was usually able to run very fast but he could not run like that now. “He will be killed; he is clumsy with fright,” the older brother said to himself. His legs were pounding together with fear. Then he ran like a moose and got some distance from the Cree. “You carry this beaver,” the older brother said. “Never mind it, we will throw it away,” the younger brother replied. “Do not do that. Carry it,” he insisted. Then he consented to carry it and they ran away from the Cree nevertheless.

After they had been running three nights they made a camp and slept. They roasted the beaver and ate it. After that they lived happily again. They were very tired but after they had eaten they were all right again.

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.

The treacherous wife

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

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

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

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

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

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

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

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

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

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

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

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

A magician spends a winter in a lake

A man, believing in his supernatural abilities, requests to be placed in a sack and submerged in a lake through an ice hole. He remains underwater throughout the winter, surviving until the snow melts, when he is retrieved alive. Others who attempted this feat often perished, indicating that only those with significant supernatural power could endure such trials.

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

Magic and Enchantment: The man’s belief in his supernatural powers and his survival suggest influence beyond the natural realm.

Trials and Tribulations: Enduring an entire winter submerged in a lake represents a significant test of endurance and faith in his abilities.

Conflict with Nature: The act of immersing oneself in a frozen lake for an extended period highlights a direct confrontation with natural elements.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

A man was put in a sack which was then lowered into a lake through a hole which had been cut in the ice. The man to whom it was done had said, “Do that to me.” He thought he had supernatural power to endure that. The others kept watch while he sat in the water all winter until the snow was nearly melted. They saw he was still alive and took him out.

Some who tried to do that died and others lived. Those who were not very powerful supernaturally, died. Many who did such things to each other died. Before white people came there was no sickness. At first they died only when they were using supernatural power on each other.

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A magician cuts his throat with impunity

Two men, sharing a wife, decide to test their supernatural powers by beheading each other. The first man survives decapitation unharmed, but when the second man attempts the same, he fails to restore himself and seeks help. The first man heals him, revealing their unequal abilities. This story highlights themes of hubris and the limits of one’s power.

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The protagonists possess supernatural abilities, allowing them to survive otherwise fatal injuries.

Trials and Tribulations: The men undergo a dangerous test to prove their powers, facing life-threatening challenges.

Cunning and Deception: The story involves elements of testing and outwitting death through supernatural means.

► 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 who had great supernatural power. The man with whom he shared a wife said to himself, “I, too, am just the same sort.” Thinking they would test their power they decided to cut off each other’s heads. The first man had his head cut off but he did not die. Then his companion cut his throat. He tried in vain to fix it again. He drew his hand across his throat twice but it made no difference. He was unable to restore himself. He went to his companion and said, “I thought I was the same kind as you but I am not.” Then his partner called him to him and put his hand on his throat. After that he got well. They lived all right. They were only testing themselves. At first before there were any white people, the Indians were powerful men. They secured their livings by means of supernatural power. That was when they used to wear leather.

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