Tag: 30. Cunning and Deception

Using wit or deceit to achieve goals

The starving Indians

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

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

► Themes of the story


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

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

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

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Naskapi people

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

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

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

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The starving wolverene

Facing starvation, a wolverene seeks aid from his wolf brothers on a journey filled with trials. The wolves conjure tents, fires, and meals, then trick him into eating harmful fat until he falls ill. Armed with the secret of fire-making, he tries to return home, but his greed and disobedience—discarding flint and looking back—lead the wolves to ruin his provisions, teaching harsh lessons of trust.

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 wolverene embarks on a perilous journey to find his wolf brothers and secure food for his family.

Trials and Tribulations: He faces repeated tests, from gathering firewood to resisting the wolves’ mysterious hospitality.

Cunning and Deception: The wolves repeatedly trick him with bark, hidden tents, and a sabotaged sled.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Naskapi people

On the approach of winter a wolverene, which had been so idle during the summer that he had failed to store up a supply of provisions for himself, his wife, and children, began to feel the pangs of hunger. The cold days and snowstorms were now at hand. The father one day told his wife that he would go and try to discover the place where his brothers, the wolves, were passing the winter and from them he would endeavor to procure some food. The wife desired him not to remain away long, else the children would starve to death. He assured her that he would be gone no longer than four days, and made preparations to start early on the succeeding morning. In the morning he started and continued his journey until near nightfall, when he came to the bank of a river.

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On looking at the ice which covered its surface he descried a pack of wolves ascending the river at a rapid rate. Behind these were four others, which were running at a leisurely gait. He soon overtook the latter group, and was perceived by one of these old wolves, which remarked to the others, “There is our brother, the wolverene, coming.” The animal soon joined the wolves and told them that he was starving, and asked for food. The wolves replied that they had none, but that the wolves in advance were on the track of some deer and would soon have some. The wolverene inquired where they would camp for the night. They told him to continue with them on the track of the others until they came to a mark on the river bank. The wolves, accompanied by the wolverene, continued their way until one of the old wolves called attention to the sign on the bank and proposed they should go up to it and await the return of the others. They went up and began to gather green twigs to make a clean floor in the bottom of the tent. This was no sooner done than the young wolves (the hunters) returned and began to put up the tent poles. The old wolves said they themselves would soon have the tent covering in place. The wolverene was astonished at what he saw and wondered whence they would procure the tenting and tire. The old wolves laughed as they observed his curiosity, and one of them remarked, “Our brother wonders where you will get the tent cover from.” The wolverene replied, “I did not say that; I only said my brothers will soon have up a nice and comfortable tent for me.” The wolves then sent him off to collect some dry brush with which to make a fire. When he returned the tent was already on the poles. He stood outside holding the brush in his arms. One of the wolves told him to bring the wood inside the tent. He entered and gave the brush to one of the young wolves (the leader of the hunters). The leader placed the brush in position to create a good fire, and while that was being done the wolverene wondered how they would start the fire. One of the old wolves remarked, “Our brother wonders where and how you will get the fire.” He made no reply, as one of the young wolves (the leader) took up a kettle and went outside to get some snow to melt for water, and returned with it full of snow. He set the kettle down and sprang quickly over the pile of brush and it started into a blaze in an instant. It was now an opportunity for the wolverene to wonder whence should come the supply of meat to boil. One of the old wolves said, “Our brother wonders where you will get some meat to cook for supper.” One of the young wolves went out and brought in a brisket of deer’s meat. As soon as the wolverene saw the meat he asserted that he did not wonder about the source of the supply of meat, but that he only wished there was some meat ready for cooking. The meat was cut up and placed in the kettle and when it was ready it was served out. The choicest portions were selected for the wolverene and placed before him with the injunction to eat all of it. He endeavored to consume it, but the quantity was too great even for him. He, having finished his meal, was about to place the remainder on one of the poles when a wolf, observing his action, told him not to place it there or else the meat would change into bark. He then laid it down on a piece of clean brushwood and when he suspected the eyes of the wolves were not turned toward him he stealthily inserted the portion of meat between the tenting and the pole. The wolves saw his action and in a few minutes the wolverene became very sleepy and soon retired. One of the wolves carefully displaced the meat from the pole, where the wolverene had put it, and thrust in its stead a piece of bark. In the morning when the wolverene awakened his first thought was of the remnant of food. He reached up for it and found nothing but the piece of bark. The wolves were on the alert and one of them said, “Did I not tell you it would change into bark if you put the meat in that place?” The wolverene hung his head and answered, “Yes,” and again laid down to sleep. By the time he awakened the wolves had a second kettle of meat cooked. They desired the wolverene to arise and eat his breakfast. The leader told him to hasten with his meal, as he had discovered some fresh deer tracks. The wolverene thought he would watch how they broke camp and see where they put the tentings. He went off a few steps and while his back was turned the tent disappeared and he failed to discover where it was secreted. The animals then started off, the young ones taking the lead while the four old ones and the wolverene followed leisurely behind. After they had crossed the river the wolverene began to wonder where they would halt for the night. One of the old wolves told him they must follow the track of the leader and they would come to the sign made for the site of the camp. They continued for the entire day, but just before sundown they came across the bones of a freshly killed deer from which every vestige of meat had been removed, apparently eaten by wolves; so the wolverene thought he would stand a poor chance of getting a supper if that was the way they were going to act. The party continued on the track and soon came upon the mark for the tent site. The wolverene was glad to rest, but sat down and began to look ahead in the distance for the returning hunters. After a few minutes he looked around and saw the tent standing there. The wolves then sent the wolverene for dry brush, while they gathered green branches for the tent floor. He brought so small a quantity that it would not suffice. The young wolves returned at the same time and they directed him to again procure some brush. When he returned he found they had stripped all the fat off of the deer meat, although, he had not seen them bring any when they returned, and placed it around the inside edges of the tent. The brush was put down and again the leader jumped over it and a bright, crackling fire started up. The wolves then said to themselves in a low tone of voice: “Let us go outside and see what our brother will do when he is left alone with the fat.” They went outside and immediately the wolverene selected the nicest and largest piece of fat and began to swallow it. The wolves at the same moment inquired of him: “Brother, are there any holes in the tent cover?” His mouth was so full, in his haste to swallow the fat, that it nearly choked him. They repeated their inquiry and the wolverene gasped out the answer, “yes.” The wolves then said: “Let us go inside.” The wolverene sprang away from the fat and sat down by the tire. They put on a large kettle of meat and soon had their supper ready. They gave the wolverene all the fattest portions they could find. Having eaten so much of the frozen fat he became so violently ill, when the hot food melted the cold fat in his stomach, that he vomited a long time, and was so weak that he became chilly and shivered so much that he could not sleep. He asked for a blanket, but one of the wolves placed his own bushy tail on the body of the wolverene to keep him warm. The wolverene shook it off and exclaimed: “I do not want your foul-smelling tail for a blanket.” So the wolf gave him a nice and soft skin blanket to sleep under. When he awakened he announced his intention to return to his family, as they would soon be dead from hunger. One of the old wolves directed the younger ones to make up a sledload of meat for the wolverene to take home with him. The wolf did so, but made the load so large and long that the wolverene could not see the rear end of the sled. When it was ready they told him of it, and, as he was about to start, he requested they would give him some fire, as he could not make any without. The leader asked how many nights he would be on the journey homeward. He answered, three nights. The wolf told him to lie down in the snow. He did so and the wolf jumped over his body three times, but strictly enjoined upon him not to look back at the sled as he was going along. The wolverene promised he would comply with his instructions. After the animal had started and got some little distance from the camp of the wolves he thought of the peculiarly strange things he had witnessed while among those animals; and, to test himself, he concluded to try the method of making a fire. He stopped, gathered a quantity of dry brush and placed it as he had seen the wolves arrange it. He then sprang over it and a huge blaze gave evidence of the power within him. He was so astonished that he resolved to camp there. He melted some snow and drank the water and retired to rest, without having looked at the sled. The next morning he started early and made his camp before sunset, as he was very tired. He gathered some brush and made the fire by jumping over the pile of fuel. His supper was only some melted snow which he drank and retired. In the morning he started to continue his journey homeward and still had not seen the sled which he was dragging. As he was ready to start he was so confident of his ability to create fire that he threw away his flint and steel. He traveled all day until toward sunset he was so fatigued that he concluded to make his camp for the night. He was so elated with his newly acquired faculty of making fire that he eagerly gathered a great quantity of dried twigs and branches, until a large heap was before him. He jumped over it, and turned round to see the flames creep up and watch the sparks fly. There was not a sign of a blaze or a spark to meet his gaze. He again jumped over it, and again, until he was so exhausted that he could not clear the top of the pile, and at last he knocked the top of it over, as his failing strength did not enable him to avoid it. The only thing left for him to do was to return for his flint and steel, which he had so exultingly thrown aside. The animal berated himself soundly for having done such a silly trick. Not having seen the sled he was surprised to find how quickly he regained the site of the camp of the previous night. Having recovered his flint and steel he returned, and soon had a fire started; but it was now near daylight. He resolved to start on his journey as soon as he had some water melted for a drink. He began to think how quickly he had made the trip for his flint and steel, and concluded that the great length of the sled had been purposely made to cause him unnecessary fatigue, as it could not be so very heavy, or else that he must be extraordinarily strong. He determined to examine it, and did so. He could not see the farther end of the load. He flattered himself that he was so very strong, and concluded to continue his journey. He attempted to start the sled, and found he could not move it in the least. He upbraided himself for permitting his curiosity to get the better of his sense. He removed a portion of dry meat and a bundle of fat, and made them into a load to carry on his back. He placed the remainder on a stage, and was about ready to start homeward to his wife and children, whom he believed must be by this time nearly dead from starvation.

He put the pack of meat on his back and set out. That evening he arrived at his home, and as soon as his wife heard him her heart was glad. He entered and informed the family that he had brought home a quantity of meat and fat, and had procured so much as to be unable to carry it all at once. His wife begged him to fetch her a piece of meat, as she was nearly starved. He went out and brought in a large piece of fat. The wife devoured such a quantity of it that she became very ill, and suffered all through the night. In the morning the wolverene stated he would return for the meat which he had stored away the previous day. He started in the early morning, so as to return by daylight.

As soon as the wolverene looked upon the sled loaded with meat the spell was broken. One of the old wolves ordered the young wolves to go and destroy the meat and fat which the wolverene had left on the stage. They eagerly set out on the track of the sled, and soon saw the staging where the wolverene had stored the remainder of the food. When they came up to it they fell to and devoured all but a few scraps of it. The wolves then went away, and in a few hours the wolverene returned. He saw what had happened and exclaimed: “My brothers have ruined me! My brothers have ruined me!” He knew it had been done because he had looked back at the sled, although strictly enjoined upon not to do so under any circumstance. He gathered up the fragments which the wolves had left and returned home. When he arrived there he informed his wife that his brothers had ruined him, because they had eaten all the meat which he had stored away while out hunting.

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Origin of the whitish spot on the throat of the marten

A cunning marten enamored of a man’s wife repeatedly tries to lure her away during her husband’s absences. Discovering its deceit, the husband sets a boiling kettle trap, dousing the marten when it visits. Scalded, the creature flees into the woods, its burned breast driving it into the densest forests, thus explaining why martens remain elusive and shy of humans.

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


Origin of Things: The tale explains why martens avoid humans, attributing their shy behavior to the scalding the marten endured.

Love and Betrayal: The story centers on the marten’s attempt to betray the marital bond.

Cunning and Deception: Repeated attempts by the marten to deceive the wife highlight this theme.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Naskapi people

A man had a wife whom a marten fell in love with and endeavored to possess. Whenever the man would go away from his home the marten would enter, sit by the woman’s side, and endeavor to entice her to leave her husband and go to live with him. One day the man returned unexpectedly and caught the marten sitting by the side of his wife. The marten ran out. The man inquired of his wife what the marten wanted there. The woman replied that the marten was striving to induce her to desert him and become his own wife. The next time the man went off he told his wife to till a kettle with water and put it on the fire to boil. The man went outside and secreted himself near the house. He soon saw the marten go into the house.

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The man stole quietly to the door of the house and listened to the marten, which was talking to his wife. The man sprang into the house and said: “Marten, what are you doing here, what are you trying to do?” The man seized the kettle of hot water and dashed it on the breast of the animal. The marten began to scratch his burning bosom and ran out into the woods; and because he was so severely hurt he now keeps in the densest forests, away from the sight of man.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The wolfs daughter going to seek her lover

A wolf mother sends her daughter to claim the otter as husband to save the family from starvation. The clever otter tests the wolf, then agrees to provide fish and slays deer with remarkable skill. The wolf rescues her starving kin, but after her brothers mock the otter, he abandons his wolf wife, dives back into the lake, and vanishes forever.

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 wolf daughter undertakes a perilous journey to find her destined lover to save her starving family.

Cunning and Deception: The otter outwits his would-be captor and uses clever tricks both in escaping and in procuring food.

Love and Betrayal: A bond formed under duress ultimately unravels when mockery and mistrust lead the otter to abandon his wolf wife.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Naskapi people

An old mother wolf one morning said to her daughter, “You must go and look for your lover or else we shall all starve to death, as your brothers can not kill any deer.” The daughter inquired of her mother, “Who is my lover?” The mother replied, “The otter is your lover. He lives in the water. If you go to the narrows of the lake you will find him.” The daughter said she would go. So early in the morning she started off, and as she was going along the shore of the lake she saw an open hole in the ice, and in the water the otter was sitting. The wolf went up to the otter, but the otter swam away and was going to dive, when the wolf said, “Do not dive and go away. My mother says you are my lover.” The otter asked, “How can I be your lover when I live in the water!” The wolf replied, “You can live on the land as well as in the water.”

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The otter answered back, “I will not live on the land.” The wolf retorted, “You will have to live on the land, and if you do not come out I shall smother you in the water.” The otter said, “You can not smother me, for I have a number of holes made in the lake ice.” The otter dove into the water and disappeared. The wolf began to howl dismally when the otter vanished. The wind began to blow and drifted the snow furiously. The snow fell into the otter’s breathing holes and filled them with slushy snow, which soon froze and completely stopped all the holes in the ice but one where the wolf was sitting. This hole was kept clear of snow and ice by the wolf scraping it out as fast as it collected. Soon she heard the otter going to the holes for breath, but when he came near the hole where the wolf was sitting she could hear him snuffing for air, and she stood with open jaws ready to seize him when he should appear. The otter was nearly exhausted, so the wolf went off a little distance, and the otter came up to the surface of the water nearly out of breath. He crept out of the water and rolled himself in the dry snow to take the water off of his coat of fur and exclaimed to the wolf, “I will live with you; I will live with you.” The wolf then addressed her lover and said, “Did I not tell you I would smother you?” The otter did not reply to this, but asked her, “Have you got a piece of line? give it to me, and I will go to catch some fish for you if you will go and prepare a tent.” The wolf drew out a piece of fishing line and handed it to the otter. The otter went down into the same hole in the ice whence he had come. He was gone some time, and in the meantime the wolf was busy making the tent, which was completed before the otter returned. Soon after, however, the otter came back to the hole with a long string of fish which he had killed and had them all strung on the line. He left the string of fish in the hole in the ice with one end of it fastened to the ice. The otter rolled himself in the snow to remove the water from his fur, and then went to the tent to tell his wife to go and get the fish which he had left in the hole in the ice. The wolf went and hauled up the line, which was full of fish, and began to devour so many that soon she could scarcely move. She hauled the remainder of the fish home to the tent.

The otter was sleeping when she returned. She proceeded to clean the fish and put on a large kettle full of the fish to boil for supper. She then crept into bed with her husband, and the next morning she was delivered of a young otter and a young wolf. After the father and mother had taken their breakfast the latter sat with her head hanging down and seemed to be in a miserable mood. The otter inquired of the wife wolf, “What is the matter with you that you sit so quietly?” The wolf answered: “I wish I had some deerskins with which to make clothing for the children. How nicely I should dress them!” The otter replied: “Open the door and I will show you where I get the deer. “It was yet early, and the otter went away to seek the deer. The otter saw a band of thirty deer, but had no gun with which to kill them, so he frightened them, and as they were running away he sprang at them each, and jumped through them from end to end. He killed all of them in this manner and then rolled in the snow to cleanse himself. After that was done he wended his way home, and on arriving informed his wife (for it was then a little after sunset) that on the morrow she should go to bring home the deer he had killed, adding that she could follow his track, and thus find them. The wife had a big pot of fish cooked for him when he returned, and when he had finished his supper he went to bed. As soon as the wife suspected her husband to be asleep she went after the deer, and by hauling four at a time she soon had them all brought, and laid them before the tent. When that was finished she went to bed. In the morning the otter told her to get up and make a fire, as she would have to go for the carcasses of the deer which he had killed the day before. The wife replied: “I have already brought them all home.” The otter asked her: “How could you bring them home in the dark?” The wife answered: “Look out through the door if you do not believe me.” The otter looked and saw the thirty deer all piled up before the door. He turned and looked at his wife, but made no remark. The wolf asked him: “Why do you look at me, so hard?” The otter said: “I was wondering how you could get them home in such a short time.” The wolf said: “Come, and take your breakfast, for you will have to help me skin the deer.” After they had finished eating their breakfast they began to skin the deer, and soon had them done. The wolf told her husband to make a stage or scaffold for the meat, adding that she would clean the skins. The otter prepared the stage, which in a short time was completed. The meat was placed on the stage and the skins hung up to dry around the tent. They then went in to take their supper. The wife was not in a talkative mood, and soon went to bed. The next morning the wolf hung her head down, and the otter seeing her again in such mood, inquired what was the matter with her that she should be so quiet. The wolf replied: “I am thinking of my poor father and mother and brothers; I suppose they will all be starved to death. My old father told me to tell you to put a mark on the middle of the lake so they would know where I am.” The otter went to the middle of the lake and erected a pile as a mark by which the wolf’s relations should know it. The brothers of the otter’s wife were on the hill looking for the mark set up by their sister’s husband, and when they saw it they exclaimed: “Our sister has saved us! our sister has saved us!” and ran back to their old father’s home to give him the joyful intelligence that they had seen the mark put up by the husband of their sister. The old wolf then told his family that they would go and seek their sister and daughter to live with her and her husband. They all went to the hill by the lake, and from the top of it they saw the mark, and from it they followed the track of the otter until they saw the tent in the edge of the woods. They exclaimed: “There is our sister’s tent, for the deerskins are hanging outside.” They raised such a joyful shout at the prospect before them, that the noise frightened some young otters (for the family had now become larger) which were playing outside. The little ones scampered in and hid themselves behind their father’s back. The father inquired, “What is the matter, that you are so frightened!” The little ones replied: “We are running from the Hunger” (for that was the name they applied to the wolves). The mother replied: “Perhaps they see my father, mother, and brothers coming.” The otter told his wife to go out and see. She complied, and when she opened the door they saw a row of gaunt wolves; nothing but skin and bones. The newcomers immediately fell to, and began to devour the meat which was on the stage. The otter’s wife remonstrated, and said: “Do not be so greedy; my husband is not a stingy man. I take my meals when he is sleeping, and pretend not to eat much during the day.” They all went into the tent and the otter soon went to bed. When they thought he was asleep, they began to eat all the raw meat and fish, and soon finished it. In the morning when the otter had awakened, he remarked to his wife: “I think your brothers will make a fool of me.” The wife asked: “What makes you think so?” The otter replied: “They look at me so hard, that I do not know where to turn my eyes. “After breakfast the otter and his wolf brothers went away to look for deer. They soon came upon a band of them, and the otter told the wolves to go and kill them. The wolves ran after the deer, but got only one of them. After the deer were frightened by the wolves, the otter sprang after the deer and soon killed every one of them in the same manner he had killed the others. He then cleaned himself in the dry snow and returned home. The wolves had started for the tent before the otter, so when the latter returned they asked the otter: “How many deer did you kill?” The otter replied: “I killed all that were in the band,” adding, “In the morning you will have to go for the deer. “So everything was got ready for an early start and they all retired to bed. When they awakened in the morning, one of the wife’s brothers said to another: “Look at our otter brother; he has a white mouth.” The otter turned to his wife and said to her: “Did I not tell you that your brothers would make a fool of me?” The otter then took his two otter children in his arms, and told his wife that she would have to make her living as best she could, as he would not live with her any more, that he was going away to leave her. He darted off to the lake, and disappeared under the ice, and was never seen again.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

Kanweo and the cannibals

Two brothers—Kanweo and his sibling—encounter a tribe of cannibal giants. After escaping an initial ambush, Kanweo leads his people in a spirit-guided raid that routs the enemy. When the cannibals later kill his brother, Kanweo pretends friendship, lures them to a beaver lodge, and exacts revenge. Sparing only the innocents, he secures justice and returns home to restore peace.

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


Good vs. Evil: The battle between Kanweo’s people and the cannibal tribe frames a classic moral struggle.

Revenge and Justice: After his brother is killed, Kanweo’s actions are motivated by avenging that wrong and restoring order.

Cunning and Deception: Kanweo feigns friendship at the beaver lodge to lure and overcome his unsuspecting foes.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Cree people

Collected at Rupert’s House

There were once two brothers. They lived well, but not upon people. Nearby was a tribe called Witigo (Cannibal). These people hunted in the ordinary manner but when they could, they killed and ate men. Once, in the summer, when the two brothers were traveling about together, they came upon the Cannibals first and were able to escape. Kanweo thought he would return and get the things he used for war, and prepare for battle. He returned and told his people they would have to get ready to fight or all be killed. Kanweo began to conjure, and asked if he would be victorious if he went to war with the Cannibals. The spirits replied that if he had a mind to go he would be victorious. Kanweo at once got his people together. The Cannibals always lived together. The people at once began to get their war spears and “sword arrows” [a “sword arrow” is one having a pointed pile, or head, set in the shaft] etc., together and started out.

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Kanweo prepared to attack the Cannibals slyly not intending to let them know before he tackled them. There was a big hill there, just at the back of the place where the Cannibals were staying. Kanweo told his men to go up on top of this hill to watch first. He told his men, “We will watch to see when they are not ready and then we will attack them.”

The next day the Cannibals began to build sweat houses and he said, “Now is the time to go down upon them slyly.” None of the Cannibals had anything ready. Kanweo and his men ran down and began to spear them as they ran out of the sweat houses. Some of the Cannibals burned themselves on the hot stones. It was a dreadful fight. Some of them escaped. Of course, he did not kill the women and children. The great warrior, Kanweo, was driven back towards the water where the giants (the Cannibals were very large, they say) were attempting to escape by canoes. There were two or three attacking him, but he backed away and fell into a canoe. He thought he was finished, but he managed to get up and killed all those who were attacking him.

There was one old man, who was a chief, and his sons, among the cannibals. He was not killed and was escaping with his children in the canoe. Kanweo saw him and ran right out in the water to him and gripped the head of the canoe but the water was too deep and he could not hold it. His own canoe was hidden a long way off.

All the women and children of the Cannibals escaped. Whether there were any of Kanweo’s party killed is not known, but a great many of the Cannibal giants were killed. The Kanweo stopped and went back to his place again. He lived there with his brother and they went about as usual.

One winter, his brother went off to hunt in another direction. The brothers came upon the Cannibals again and they killed him when they came on him unawares. They took his wife and children alive.

Next summer, where the brothers had appointed to meet, there was no sign of the brother and Kanweo learned from other Indians what had happened to his brother. Kanweo thought to have his revenge on account of his brother but he didn’t know where the Cannibals were. Some time after that he thought to himself he would try and find out. It was winter and he was living alone with his family. One day he was off hunting. Before he went off that morning he told his wife he was sure to meet somebody that day. He put on his oldest and worst clothes and made himself very miserable looking. Right enough, he went off that day. He was looking for beaver, trying to find where the beaver were. He took nothing with him except his chisel to bore the ice. He came to a place where there were beaver, where the beaver were lodging. He came to a beaver house and cuttings near by. He looked at the house and then went down to see if he could find the dam where they had shut up the creek.

As he was going along down the creek he saw someone coming up stream. He knew now this was the man he was expecting to see. This was the old man who had escaped from him two or three years before in the battle with the Cannibals. The old man was looking for beaver too, and had only his chisel with him. This was the same man who had killed his brother. Kanweo pretended he did not see the Cannibal and the Cannibal who saw Kanweo did likewise. They drew together, the Cannibal thinking he would knock Kanweo down and kill him before Kanweo saw him. Kanweo knew what the Cannibal was about to do and when he approached pushed him away, saying, “Don’t you see me? Look out where you are going.” The Cannibal lied, and said, “Oh, I did not see you.” Then they began to talk like friends.

Kanweo told the old man he was looking for beaver, and the old man said he was doing the same. They had just met you see, at the dam, and Kanweo asked the old man, “Where are you thinking of going?” The old man replied that he thought of going where the beaver were. Kanweo told the old man that they would come there and chisel the beaver together the next day. The Cannibal said that he had three sons who would come along with him too. The great warrior Kanweo told the old man to tell his sons to cut sticks to stake in the river and when they were to carry the sticks down to the river they were not to wear their snowshoes but beat the path with their feet. After they had planned what they were going to do, they separated, and each went back to his own place.

When Kanweo came home, he had some dry beaver outside his tent and he took four in with him and told his wife to cook them. He said, “We must try to finish all that beaver tonight.” He was making a feast so that he might be prosperous to kill his enemy. “We must try to finish these before daylight,” he told her after they were cooked.

He told his family that he had met someone and they had planned to chisel beaver together. He told them they might come, but not with him. They began to feast. He told them if they managed to finish the feast they might be able to overcome the enemy.

Next morning, he got out his war tools, his spear, etc., and went off, his family following behind. He told them to make camp at a certain place that he would mark which was not close to where he was going to have the battle. Kanweo went there first, before the rest, where the beaver were. He marked the creek where they were going to stake it in. Then he saw the old man coming with his sons. When the sons saw him they said to their father, “We are sure that man must be the one called Kanweo who used to fight with us.” They were afraid, for they knew he had something against them as they had killed his brother and held his wife a prisoner.

Kanweo was in charge of the beaver. He told the young men where to go to cut the sticks. He told them to leave their snowshoes down by the creek and beat the path in their moccasins, so they would not make much noise. Then he said to the old man, “We’ll chisel the ice, make a trench right across the ice to put down the sticks.” Kanweo had a chisel with a blade at each end, that he could turn as he liked to see which chisel was sharpest. The old man was chiseling and Kanweo told him to make the hole big in one place in the middle of the river where they were to set the net. Kanweo would turn his chisel now and again to see which end was sharper.

Every time Kanweo would turn his chisel the old man was afraid and would jump. “You seem to be afraid,” said Kanweo, “every time I turn my chisel.” “Oh, no,” said the old man, “I’m not afraid, but I very nearly slipped.” At last, they had the hole big enough, and Kanweo told the old man to skim the ice out of the hole. The old man sat down on his knees to do this and Kanweo knew that the hole was big enough. All at once, when the old man was not thinking, Kanweo stabbed him in the back, with his chisel and threw him under the water. The old man managed, however, to give a shout as he was going under, and the young men, who were cutting sticks heard it. The old man struggled beneath the ice for a moment, and very nearly burst the ice through it was so thick. When Kanweo saw the old man was killed, he took his bow and arrow.

The young men came running to the creek when they heard their father call. Kanweo took his bow and arrow and shot at the young men when they tried to escape. He killed two when they were putting on their snowshoes, but the third got his snowshoes on. Kanweo, however, managed to shoot him before he got very far. The family of Kanweo soon came up and soon after came the Cannibal’s family. When they heard that the old man was dead, they began to cry, but Kanweo did not harm them. At last, the old man’s wife came up, but when she saw the others crying, she refused to believe her husband was dead, for she did not believe any one could overcome him.

Kanweo told her to come and see the old man’s body which Kanweo had pulled to the hole they had made. He was not on the ice but his head was out of the water. Kanweo used his body as one of the stakes to shut up the creek. Then the old woman believed and became angry. She attempted to make an end of Kanweo. She got her big ax off the sled and was going to kill him with that. Of course, Kanweo knocked her ax away, and he took her ax from her and knocked her down. He told her she had to die, and with the same ax with which she wanted to strike him he struck her and killed her.

Kanweo’s sister-in-law was there, a prisoner, and she wanted to come and live with him. She didn’t want to stay with them any more. Kanweo would not allow her to come. “I’ve heard,” he said, “you helped them kill your husband. I don’t want to have anything more to do with you.” He let the other go and she had to return with them. That is the end of this story.

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Mishi Shigak, Big Skunk

Big Skunk eats a toad, uses his potent flatus to destroy obstacles as he pursues starving animals who flee to Beaver’s camp. Beaver’s flatulence mars his generosity, so the animals depart. Big Skunk is finally captured and slain by Wolverine and the beasts, his gas salting the sea. Wolverine returns home but is deceived and murdered by his wolf brothers-in-law, who also kill his family.

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


Origin of Things: The tale explains why the sea is salty, attributing it to Big Skunk’s flatus.

Revenge and Justice: The animals band together to capture and punish Big Skunk for his relentless pursuit.

Cunning and Deception: The wolves deceitfully murder Wolverine after feigning familial goodwill.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Cree people

Albany version

Big Skunk went hunting one day but he found no game to kill except a toad. He told his wife to cook the toad, and after he had eaten it he went to bed and had a sleep.

He dreamed that someone had seen his tracks so next morning, when he got up, he told his wife to go and get what was left of the toad, and when he had finished it, he went back over his trail of the day before. Sure enough, he saw that someone had come out from under the snow and had seen his trail and followed it. It was Weasel.

There were a lot of animals of all kinds camping near by and they were starving. They were very much afraid of Big Skunk, so when they learned that Weasel had seen his trail they all fled away from him.

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As the animals were fleeing, they came to Beaver’s camp. They all went in and begged for food. Beaver always has plenty of food in his camp and he wished to feed the poor animals. He had big bundles of all kinds of meat so he started to pull one out. It was so heavy that the strain made him break wind. This made Otter snicker. The other animals were very much frightened at this because they feared Beaver would be offended and not give them anything to eat. Beaver tried to lift the bundle a second time and again he broke wind. This time Otter simply could not help bursting out laughing, and it made Beaver so angry that, just as they feared, he refused to give them anything to eat. It was just as well, however, for had the animals taken any of Beaver’s meat, they would ever afterwards have been obliged to live on bark and grass as Beaver does. All the animals left Beaver’s camp.

As soon as Big Skunk found Weasel’s track he began to pursue him. He knew he was with the other animals. As he went along he thought he would see if his rump was powerful enough to kill game. He backed around and aiming at a stump, blew it all to pieces with his discharge. Then he took up the trail again. After a while, he came to a steep mountain, and backing up to it he blew it all to pieces. “Now, that is all right,” he said, “I can kill them all now.”

He went off until he came to a camping ground and found the animals had all fled. One old otter (not the one who laughed at Beaver) was all tired out and too feeble to flee from him. When this otter saw Big Skunk coming it pretended to be dead. When Big Skunk came up he began to examine it all over to see how it had been killed, but he could not find any marks on its body. At last, he thrust his finger up Otter’s aboral aperture. “Well, that is the place the bullet went in,” said Big Skunk. “When I come back I will pick him up,” he said and covered Otter with brush.

The animals continued to flee before Big Skunk. They tried to pick out a hilly road to tire him out. At last they came on Wolverene who was chiseling beaver. The animals were starving, they had been fleeing from Big Skunk for several days and had had no food. Wolverene sent the animals to his camp to get food. “If Big Skunk comes, I’ll shout,” said he to them.

Shortly after, Big Skunk did come up. “I’m entirely played out now,” said Big Skunk to Wolverene. “I have followed those animals over a good many mountains and hills. “Well,” said Wolverene, “you shouldn’t run about so much. You should stay in one place.” “Do you wish to make me angry?” said Big Skunk. Then he turned about and discharged his flatus at Wolverene. Then Wolverene bit Big Skunk’s anus and closed it with his mouth. He held on so that Skunk could not fire. He shouted to all the animals for help and they all ran out. Then Otter took his tail and stabbed Big Skunk with it as though it had been a spear, right through the body.

Lynx got a bad cramp when he was running to the spot so that he could not move, but one of the animals returned and cured Lynx so he recovered and coming up grabbed Big Skunk by the neck and finished him.

Then Wolverene could not open his eyes, for Big Skunk had discharged full in his face. “Make a hole in the ice,” said Wolverene to the beasts, “so I can wash my eyes.” “Don’t wash yourself at the lake,” said they, “go out to the sea and wash there. It will be salty if you do.” So Wolverene started off for the sea. When Wolverene struck against a tree, he could not see anything, he would say, “Who are you?” “I am Black Spruce,” “I am Tamarack,” or “I am White Spruce,” whatever they were, those trees told him truly. At last, he ran into a stump, “Who are you?” he said. “I am a stump, lying on the shore.” Then he struck something else. “Who are you?” “I am the ice.” Soon he fell in the water and washed himself clean. That is why the water of the sea (James and Hudson’s Bay) is salt. It is Big Skunk’s flatus that made it so. Then, when Wolverene could see, he came ashore. As he started for home, he sang a song which he made to himself.

“Niki ki poti yepaw mishi Shigak.”
“I closed Big Skunk’s anus for him.”

As Wolverene was returning, three wolves heard him singing. They were his brothers-in-law, for he had married a wolf. They planned to hide and scare him. “Hello brother,” they cried, “what are you singing about?” Wolverene was afraid and climbed into a tree. “Are you single?” asked the wolves. “Yes,” lied Wolverene. After a while he consented to come down.

It was winter. When it was night they sent Wolverene ahead to find a suitable place to camp. Wolverene wanted to camp in the thick forest. The wolves at once claimed that he had deceived them since only a married man would wish to camp in the thick forest. Then they camped in the open in a hole in the snow. Wolverene nearly froze. He was so cold that he wept. He begged the wolves to cover him with their tails. They covered him with their tails from opposite directions and at last he went to sleep. Before they went to bed they made a, fire. Wolverene lighted it with a flint and steel. Then the wolves jeered, “No single man ever carried a flint and steel. This is the way we make fire,” said the wolves. They piled up the wood and leaped over it, and it blazed up.

Next morning, they found a deer track and followed it. They noticed something in the snow, and at last they found a deer-killing implement. They came to a lake and killed the deer there. Then they divided it into four equal parts of flesh, and marrow bones. They ate the deer flesh, and in the evening they began to split the bones for the marrow. When the wolves were to split their bones, they told Wolverene to close his eyes or a splinter would fly in them and blind him. Wolverene did as he was bidden and the wolves took up a bone and struck him over the head with it. Wolverene cried out, and the wolves replied that he must have been looking.

Wolverene then told the wolves to close their eyes while he split his marrow bones. He took up a bone and struck one of the wolves over the head and killed him. This made the other two very angry. Wolverene tried to explain that his victim must have been looking but the wolves told him he must leave them. He went off the next morning. The wolves gave him the power of lighting the fire by jumping over it, but told him to use it only after having hunted.

The next day Wolverene tried his power at mid-day, although he had not hunted. He only got smoke. Finally, he succeeded in getting fire. At night, he again succeeded in making fire so he threw away his flint and steel. The next day he tried to light his fire this way but could not succeed. Then he tried to find his flint and steel but he could not. He nearly froze. He walked four days before he met his family.

His brothers-in-law (the two wolves) and his mother-in-law were there before him. Their tents were close together. Wolverene began to hunt. He killed a lot of beaver but the wolves couldn’t kill anything. One day, the wolves tracked a moose. They asked Wolverene to help them but he said he did not want to eat moose, he wanted to eat beaver. The wolves drove the moose on to the lake where Wolverene was chiseling beaver and it passed him as it fled. When the wolves came up, they asked Wolverene for their quarry. Wolverene replied, “If his tail had been long enough, you would have seen it.” So the wolves hurried up and caught and killed the moose.

Wolverene wanted some moose meat. He had been so stingy with his beavers that he was afraid the wolves would not give him any. He could see the moose fat hung on a pole in front of the wolves’ lodge. The wolves knew that he would beg for some, so they had frozen the inner stomach of the moose into a club to kill him when he should ask for it. Wolverene went home and loaded his sled with beaver meat. He intended to make his mother-in-law a present and then ask for some moose meat. He put large beaver tails on the front of his sled so that his mother-in-law would find them at once. When he arrived at her lodge she asked him why he was bringing them meat when they had plenty and had not done so before, when they were starving. However, she gave him some fat, and told him to close his eves while he ate it. The wolves hit him with the “bowl” of the frozen inner stomach. [This seems to refer to the fact that the inner stomach of the moose and caribou is sometimes used as a cooking utensil by the Eastern Cree.] Wolverene cried out in pain, but they hit him again and killed him. Then they took the frozen fat from his mouth, for they said it was getting dirty and was too good to waste. The wolves then killed his two little ones and speared his wife to death.

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The son of Aioswe

Jealous of his growing son, Aioswe abandons him on a rocky island, where the boy survives by deceiving a walrus and aided by his mother’s conjuring. Armed with a magical ermine skin and cryptic advice, he dispatches murderous hags and outwits hunting dogs before returning home. Confronting his father with power, he rescues his mother and they transform into birds, leaving the wicked man perished.

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


Family Dynamics: The story revolves around the fraught relationships between Aioswe, his two wives, and his son, highlighting jealousy and parental betrayal.

Cunning and Deception: The boy survives by lying to the walrus, tricking the witches into killing each other, and using a decoy ermine skin against the hunters.

Quest: At its heart, this is a journey story: the son must overcome supernatural and human obstacles to return safely to his mother’s arms.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Cree people

Rupert’s House Cree; also Moose Factory

Once there was an old man named Aioswe who had two wives. When his son by one of these women began to grow up, Aioswe became jealous of him. One day, he went off to hunt and when he came back, found marks on one of the women (the co-wife with his son’s mother) which proved to him that his son had been on terms of intimacy with her.

One day the old man and the boy went to a rocky island to hunt for eggs. Wishing to get rid of his son, the old man persuaded him to gather eggs farther and farther away from the shore. The young man did not suspect anything until he looked up and saw his father paddling off in the canoe.

“Why are you deserting me, father?” he cried. “Because you have played tricks on your stepmother,” answered the old man.

► Continue reading…

When the boy found that he was really left behind, he sat there crying hour after hour. At last. Walrus appeared. He came near the island and stuck his head above the water. “What are you crying for, my son?” said Walrus. “My father has deserted me on this island and I want to get home to the mainland. Will you not help me to get ashore?” the boy replied. Walrus said that he would do so willingly. “Get on my back,” said Walrus, “and I will take you to the mainland.” Then Walrus asked Aioswe’s son if the sky was clear. The boy replied that it was, but this was a lie, for he saw many clouds. Aioswe’s son said this because he was afraid that Walrus would desert him if he knew it was cloudy. Walrus said, “If you think I am not going fast enough, strike on my horns (tusks) and let me know when you think it is shallow enough for you to get ashore, then you can jump off my back and walk to the land.”

As they went along, Walrus said to the boy, “Now my son, you must let me know if you hear it thunder, because as soon as it thunders, I must go right under the water.” The boy promised to let Walrus know. They had not gone far, when there came a peal of thunder. Walrus said, “My son, I hear thunder.” “Oh, no, you are mistaken,” said the boy who feared to be drowned, “what you think is thunder is only the noise your body makes going so quickly through the water.” Walrus believed the boy and thought he must have been wrong. Some time later, there came another peal of thunder and this time. Walrus knew he was not mistaken, he was sure it was thunder. He was very angry and said he would drop Aioswe’s son there, whether the water was shallow or not. He did so but the lad had duped Walrus with his lies so that he came where the water was very shallow and the boy escaped, but Walrus was killed by lightning before he could reach water deep enough to dive in. This thunderstorm was sent to destroy Walrus by Aioswe’s father, who conjured for it. Walrus, on the other hand, was the result of conjuring by his mother, who wished to save her son’s life. [One version of this tale says that Walrus dived and escaped, leaving the boy struggling in the water and that a gull pitied him and carried him ashore.]

When Aioswe’s son reached the shore, he started for home, but he had not gone far before he met an old woman, who had been sent as the result of a wish for his safety by his mother (or was a wish for his safety on his mother’s part, personified). The old woman instructed the lad how to conduct himself if he ever expected to reach his home and mother again. “Now you have come ashore there is still a lot of trouble for you to go through before you reach home,” said she, and she gave him the stuffed skin of an ermine (weasel in white winter coat). “This will be one of your weapons to use to protect yourself,” were her words as she tendered him this gift, and she told him what dangers he would encounter and what to do in each case.

Then the son of Aioswe started for his home once more. As he journeyed through the forest he came upon a solitary wigwam inhabited by two old blind hags, who were the result of an adverse conjuration by his father. Both of these old women had sharp bones like daggers protruding from the lower arm at the elbow. They were very savage and used to kill everybody they met. When Aioswe’s son approached the tent, although the witches could not see him, they knew from their magic powers that he was near. They asked him to come in and sit down, but he was suspicious, for he did not like the looks of their elbows.

He thought of a plan by which he might dupe the old women into killing each other. Instead of going himself and sitting between them he got a large parchment and fixing it to the end of a pole, he poked it in between them. The old women heard it rattle and thought it was the boy himself coming to sit between them. Then they both turned their backs to the skin and began to hit away at it with their elbows. Every time they stabbed the skin, they cried out, “I am hitting the son of Aioswe! I’ve hit him! I’ve hit him!” At last, they got so near each other that they began to hit one another, calling out all the time, “I am hitting the son of Aioswe!” They finally stabbed each other to death and the son of Aioswe escaped this danger also.

When the young man had vanquished the two old women he proceeded on his journey. He had not gone very far when he came to a row of dried human bones hung across the path so that no one could pass by without making them rattle. Not far away, there was a tent full of people and big dogs. Whenever they heard anyone disturb the bones, they would set upon him and kill him. The old woman who had advised Aioswe’s sons told him that when he came to this place he could escape by digging a tunnel in the path under the bones. When he arrived at the spot he began to follow her advice and burrow under. He was careless and when he was very nearly done and completely out of sight, he managed to rattle the bones. At once, the dogs heard and they cried out, “That must be Aioswe’s son.” All the people ran out at once, but since Aioswe’s son was under ground in the tunnel they could not see him, so after they had searched for a while they returned. The dogs said, “We are sure this is the son of Aioswe,” and they continued to search.

At length, they found the mouth of the hole Aioswe’s son had dug. The dogs came to the edge and began to bark till all the people ran out again with their weapons. Then Aioswe’s son took the stuffed ermine skin and poked its head up. All the people saw it and thought it was really Ermine. Then they were angry and killed the dogs for lying.

Aioswe’s son escaped again and this time he got home. When he drew near his father’s wigwam, he could hear his mother crying, and as he approached still closer he saw her. She looked up and saw him coming. She cried out to her husband and co-wife, “My son has come home again.” The old man did not believe it. “It is not possible,” he cried. But his wife insisted on it. Then the old man came out and when he saw it was really his son, he was very much frightened for his own safety. He called out to his other wife, “Bring some caribou skins and spread them out for my son to walk on.” But the boy kicked them away. “I have come a long way,” said he, “with only my bare feet to walk on.”

That night, the boy sang a song about the burning of the world and the old man sang against him but he was not strong enough. “I am going to set the world on fire,” said the boy to his father, “I shall make all the lakes and rivers boil.” He took up an arrow and said, “I am going to shoot this arrow into the woods, see if I don’t set them on fire.” He shot his arrow into the bush and a great blaze sprang up and all the woods began to burn.

“The forest is now on fire,” said the old man, “but the water is not yet burning.” “I’ll show you how I can make the water boil also,” said his son. He shot another arrow into the water, and it immediately began to boil. Then the old man who wished to escape said to his son, “How shall we escape?” The old man had been a great bear hunter and had a large quantity of bear’s grease preserved in a bark basket. “Go into your fat basket,” said his son, “you will be perfectly safe there.” Then he drew a circle on the ground and placed his mother there. The ground enclosed by the circle was not even scorched, but the wicked old man who had believed he would be safe in the grease baskets, was burned to death. Aioswe’s son said to his mother, “Let us become birds. What will you be?” “I’ll be a robin,” said she. “I’ll be a whisky jack (Canada jay),” he replied. They flew off together.

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The painted canoe

An old man lives blissfully with his daughter until she marries, prompting him to attempt repeatedly to kill his sons-in-law through freezing or drowning. Each victim survives his treachery using cunning. Eventually, the younger son-in-law crafts an exquisitely decorated canoe as a gift; entranced, the old man ventures out in a sudden storm and vanishes, finally undone by the device meant to test its craftsmanship.

Source: 
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians 
by Fred Swindlehurst 
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905

► Themes of the story


Good vs. Evil: The old man’s repeated, malicious attempts to kill his son-in-law pit pure malice against the young man’s struggle for survival.

Revenge and Justice: Ultimately, the son-in-law turns the tables on his father-in-law, ensuring the old man’s disappearance as retribution.

Cunning and Deception: The narrative hinges on strategic deceit: ambush in woods, canoe sabotage, and swapped boots.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Cree people

Long ago an old man and his daughter lived by the shore of a river. They were very happy until an Indian came along and married the daughter.

The old man resolved, however, not to be so easily deprived of his only comfort, so he took his son-in-law out into the woods and left him to freeze to death.

To the dismay of the old man the daughter married again, so he at once set about treating this young man as he had done the other. In the spring at the time the sturgeon spawns he invited his son-in-law to go out with him to spear the fish.

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The young man happened to step on the edge of the canoe, and the old man, taking advantage of the chance thrown in his way, jerked the canoe to one side, and the young man fell into the rapid. When he came to the surface he saw the canoe in the distance, but managed by swimming hard to reach land in safety. When the old man came ashore he was questioned as to the whereabouts of the young man, and replied that he supposed his son-in-law must be drowned, as he fell out of the canoe. To his astonishment they told him that his treachery was discovered and that the young man was alive in his tent.

The old man next invited his son-in-law to go hunting with him, and again he agreed. They journeyed far from their tent and camped in the woods. At night-time it is the custom of the Indians to hang their boots before the fire to dry. The old man and his son-in-law did this, but the young man, suspecting treachery, changed the position of the boots and hung his own where his father-in-law’s had been placed. The old man arose in the night, took his son-in-law’s boots and put them in the fire, never dreaming that he was about to become the victim of his own treachery. He then aroused the young man and told him his boots were on fire. The young man on coming out of the tent said, “These must be your boots. Mine are on your poles and are all right.” He then put on his boots and left his father-in-law to freeze to death. He had not gone far before he heard footsteps behind him, and upon waiting saw that the old man had tied brush (twigs of fir-tree) upon his feet, and was all right.

The young man saw that there would be no peace until he could rid himself forever of his father-in-law’s company. He made a canoe and painted the inside more beautifully than any canoe had before been painted. He also made handsome paddles and presented these to the old man, who was delighted and became so anxious to try the merits of his new canoe that he went out without noticing the threatening weather. He was so taken up with the beautiful way in which the canoe was decorated that he gave no heed to his course. A storm sprang up, and he was never seen nor heard from again.

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The Wolf and Wolverine

A Wolverine provides beavers to his Wolf wife but secretly visits a Wildcat, arousing her suspicions. The Wolf trails him to a riverside tipi, discovers the affair, and cleverly lures the Wildcat into a boiling pot, killing her as revenge. The Wolverine mourns his loss, finds new hunting grounds, and returns home, where he and his wife live in renewed harmony and abundance.

Source: 
Athabascan Myths 
by Frank Russell 
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.13, No.48, pp. 11-18
January-March, 1900

► Themes of the story

Revenge and Justice: The Wolf enacts retribution by tricking and killing the Wildcat to restore marital honor.

Cunning and Deception: The Wolf uses deceit to lure the Wildcat into the boiling kettle.

Forbidden Love: The illicit relationship between the Wolverine and the Wildcat defies marital bonds.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Gwichʼin (Loucheux) people

There was once a Wolverine who married a Wolf, and for some time he was very faithful in providing beaver for food. In the course of time he stayed longer upon his hunting trips, and brought home fewer beaver for his wife to cook. She reproached him for this and he said that he had to go farther for beaver now, that was why he was detained so long. His wife thought there was surely something wrong and decided to watch him. One day, as he set out on his hunting trip in his canoe, she followed along the river bank under cover of the forest. At length she saw her husband go ashore with a beaver which he had killed, and with which he entered a tipi that stood by the riverside. When he went away again, the wife went into the camp and saw a Wildcat sitting before the kettle in which the beaver was cooking.

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She saw that her husband had been unfaithful, and determined to kill the Wildcat. She told the Cat to look into the kettle and she would see herself there; when the Wildcat looked into the kettle the Wolf pushed her in, so that her face was burned so severely that death resulted. The Wolf then dragged the Wildcat to the top of the bank overlooking the landing-place, and hid herself in the adjoining bushes. Her husband came back with more beavers, and as he came up the bank he said to the Wildcat which he saw above him, “Are you waiting for me? What are you laughing at me for?” for the shrivelled and grinning head appeared to be laughing. But when he saw that the Cat was dead, he exclaimed, “Ah, that is what the trouble is,” and he began to weep. He stayed a long time at the camp, and finally carried the Wildcat away into the forest. At last he started for home, and his wife ran back in time to be at work carrying wood when he arrived. The Wolverine asked, “Why is there no fire?” “I have been out all day gathering wood,” replied his wife; “why are you back so soon today?” “Because I have found a new place where there are plenty of beaver,” said the Wolverine. But he was very sad and unhappy for some time afterward. “Why are you so different lately?” asked the Wolf. But he would not tell her, and hunted very faithfully and brought home many beavers, so that they lived very contentedly together ever afterward.

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The Xudele

Three separate episodes depict cunning hunters outwit the cannibalistic Xudele tribe. In winter, a lone Ts’ets’a’ut lures pursuers into a snowfield abyss; in summer, he poisons invaders with stone-laden dog soup; finally, he escapes a bear trap, kills his captor, and discovers the origins of martens and minks from the slain cannibals’ children. His clever ruses, bravery, and justice preserve his people and explain local fauna.

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


Origin of Things: The tale explains the origin of martens and minks as the transformed children of the slain Xudele.

Revenge and Justice: Each episode culminates in the hunter’s retributive killing of the Xudele for their murderous ways.

Cunning and Deception: Deception is the hunter’s primary weapon, tricking the Xudele into sliding off cliffs, eating lethal soup, and underestimating him.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Tsetsaut people

I do not know of any Athapaskan legend resembling the present in detail, but in the collection of traditions published by Petitot beings half dog and half man play a very important part. They are described as having the faculty of taking the scent of man in the same manner as the Xudele. Similar tales may be found among all the Eskimo tribes, who call the fabulous inlanders, who are half dog, half men, Adla or Eqigdlit.

The Xudele are cannibals. They are very lean. Their noses are turned up and their eyebrows run upward. Their faces look almost like those of dogs. They wear small axes in their belts, with which they kill men. They take the scent of men like dogs.

One day the Xudele had gone hunting man. They found the tracks of a hunter who was on the mountains. He saw them coming, and tried to escape. When he came near a snow-field that terminated abruptly at a precipice, he cut steps into it and climbed down. Half way down he found a small rock shelter, where he stayed. He re solved to make an attempt to kill his pursuers by a ruse. He built a fire and roasted a porcupine that he had caught. The Xudele saw the smoke and smelled the roasting meat. When they came to the snow-field it had grown dark. They shouted down: “Where are you? Let us have some of your meat!” The Ts’ets’a’ut shouted back: “You must slide down this snow-field, then you will find me. I invite you to take part in my meal!” Then the Xudele began to slide down the snow-field one after the other, and were precipitated into the abyss. Finally only one of their number was left. He did not dare to slide down, and shouted: “Where are all my friends?” The man replied: “They are all here.” But the Xudele could not be induced to slide down. He cut steps into the snow, and climbed down as the man had done.

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Finally he reached the man. When he did not see his friends, he asked what had become of them, and the man told him that they had all perished because they had slid past his shelter. Now the Xudele, who did not dare to attack the man single-handed, offered to gamble with him, and said they would stake their lives. The Ts’ets’a’ut refused. He had employed the time while the Xudele were sliding down the snow-field to make a heavy club, which he had placed near his fire. While he was talking with the Xudele he watched his opportunity, and slew him with his club. Then he returned to his village and told what had happened. The people were afraid that the friends of the Xudele might come to look for them, and moved to another place.

At another time a man had gone out hunting. It was in summer. He discovered a vast number of Xudele coming right up to him, so that he could not escape. There happened to be a swamp close to the trail which he was following. He jumped into the mud and lay down, keeping motionless. He looked just like a log. He extended his arms, so that they looked like limbs of a tree. The Xudele came, and one after the other passed him without noticing him. Finally, one of their number noticed the resemblance of the supposed log to a human figure. He raised his axe, and was about to strike him. But since the man did not wince, he concluded that it was nothing but a log and passed on. When all had passed, the man jumped up and ran on the nearest way to his village. There he told the chief that the Xudele were coming. He called a council, and they resolved what to do. They killed a number of dogs and cut them up, skin and bone and intestines. Then they pounded flint to dust, mixed it with the meat, and made a soup of it. When the Xudele came, they invited them to the chiefs house and set the soup before them. Before they began eating, a little boy happened to walk past a Xudele, who seized him, tore out his arms and legs, and ate him. The Ts’ets’a’ut did not dare to remonstrate. Now the Xudele began to eat. Soon the effects of the poison — the pounded stone — began to be felt. They acted as though they were drunk, and some of them fell dead. Then the Ts’ets’a’ut took up their clubs and killed them one and all.

The Xudele put up traps for catching men on the trails which they travel on their snowshoes. They cover a stick with moss and snow, which is so arranged that it catches in the snowshoe of the traveller. A few feet in front of this stick is another, sharp-pointed stick, put into the ground point upward. When the snowshoes catch in the first stick, the traveller falls forward on to the pointed stick, which pierces him. One day a hunter was passing over a trail: He saw a small irregularity of the snow, and discovered that it was the trap of a Xudele. He intended to go on, when he saw the Xudele to whom the trap belonged. As he was unable to make his escape, he tried a stratagem. He struck his nose so that it bled and smeared his chest with blood. Then he lay down on the pointed stick of the trap. The Xudele approached, and when he saw the man, he smiled and said: “Again my trap has caught something for me.” He took the man off the stick, put him into his bag, and, after having reset his trap, turned to go home. The man was very heavy, and he had to put down his load from time to time. Then the man blew the air out of his compressed lips, thus imitating the noise of escaping gases. The Xudele said: “He must have been in my trap for a long time, for the body is decomposing already; the gases are escaping.” When he arrived at home he threw the body down near the fireplace. The man glanced around furtively, and, saw stores of dried human flesh in the house. There was a black woman in the house, and three children were playing near the fire. The Xudele went to fetch his knife in order to skin and carve the man, and he sent his wife for water. The man saw an axe lying near the fire, and when the Xudele turned his back he jumped up, seized it, and split the head of his captor. The Xudele cried: “Sxinadle, asidle,” and died. (It is said that the Xudele always utter this cry, which is unintelligible to the Ts’ets’a’ut, at the time of their death.) When the children saw their father dying they ran out of the house, assumed the shape of martens, and ran up a tree. The man threw the body of the Xudele into the fire. Then he went out of the hut to kill the woman, whom he met carrying a basket of water. He split her stomach with his axe. Then two minks jumped out of her and ran into the water. She died and he burnt her body. When he returned to his country he told what he had seen. Therefore we know that the martens and minks descend from the Xudele.

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