Fate of two Indian men

Two hunters endured a fruitless fall and winter hunt and, guided by a dream of porcupines, secured meat but later abandoned a bear’s carcass after sampling its fat. Wolves devoured it while they were away, provoking regret. On their final journey back, desperate for water, their lips froze to the creek’s ice, and they perished in the cold, their tale a cautionary lesson in prudence.

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


Conflict with Nature: They struggle against the elements, hunger, wild animals, and the deadly cold throughout their expedition.

Trials and Tribulations: The men face a succession of hardships—failed hunts, near‐freezing, wolves stealing meat, and icy mishaps.

Dreams and Visions: A prophetic dream of porcupines directly leads them to their first source of sustenance.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Naskapi people


Two Indian men who had gone off for the fall and winter’s hunt were living by themselves. They were very unsuccessful in procuring furs and food, so that when the depths of winter had approached and the cold was intense they resolved to seek the camp of their friends. They were provided with nothing but bows and arrows. The next morning they started off and tramped all day without seeing a living thing. They made their camp and lamented they had no food.

They finally prepared to sleep, when one of them remarked to the other, “Tonight I shall dream of porcupines.” They slept, and in the morning the one related that he had seen a lot of porcupines around the tent while he was dreaming.

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They determined to proceed, but the one finally thought if they would stop there for the day and succeeding night they would have all the porcupine meat they would want. They remained there that day, and in the middle of the night they were aroused by a noise which proved to be porcupines gnawing the bark from the tent poles. The one man said, “Slip out and kill some with a stick;” but added, “Go out in your bare feet.” He went out barefooted and killed two or three, and dashed back into the tent with his feet nearly frozen. He stuck his feet into the hot ashes and told the other man to bring in the animals. The other man did so, and began to prepare the flesh for cooking. They ate one of the porcupines, and by daylight were ready to begin their journey. They went idly along, shooting their arrows in sport at anything they could see. They continued this amusement until near sunset, when one exclaimed, “My arrow has struck something; see, it is moving.” The other replied, “What can it be, when it is sticking only in the snow?” The other said he would try and find out what it was. He cautiously examined, and found when he began to dig it out that the arrow had entered the den of a bear. So they scratched away the snow and soon saw a long, black hair sticking out of the hole. He jumped back and. exclaimed, “It is some sort of animal with black hair.” The other replied, “Let us try and get it out. It may be good to eat.” They finally drove the bear out and soon killed it. They began to skin it, which was soon done. One of the men then said, “It is too big and ugly to eat; let us leave it.” The other, however, cut off a large piece of fat and put it on the sled. They then prepared their camp, and when morning came they started off and traveled all day. When night came they made their camp and soon had a huge fire burning. One of the men hung the piece of fat over the fire and the oil soon dripped into the fire. It created such a nice smell that one of them said, “Let us taste the fat; it may be good to eat.” They tasted it and found it so good that they rated each other soundly for being so foolish as to leave such nice flesh so far behind them. They resolved to return for it. So they returned for the carcass of the bear, which was far behind them, and as it had tasted so good they determined to lose no time in starting. They went immediately, although it was now dark and very cold. They came to the place where it had been left and discovered that the wolves and foxes had eaten all the meat, leaving nothing but the bones. They were very angry, and began to lay the blame each on the other for having left it. They regretted they had left such meat for wolves and foxes. They determined to proceed to where they had camped the third time. On the way they became very thirsty, and, stopping at a creek to drink, they drank so long that their lips froze to the ice of the water hole, and they miserably perished by freezing.


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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

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.


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A young man carries about fire all winter

In a sub-arctic tale, a young man, lacking proper fire-starting tools, carries embers throughout winter. After discarding partridge feet post-meal, he later, starving, consumes them. A partridge appears in his dream, chastising his pride and predicting future abundance. The next evening, he discovers a fatally frozen moose beneath the snow, providing ample sustenance and teaching him humility.

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 young man struggles against the harsh winter conditions, facing challenges such as scarcity of food and the necessity to carry fire for survival.

Dreams and Visions: A partridge visits the young man in his sleep, delivering a message that foretells an improvement in his circumstances, which subsequently comes true.

Loss and Renewal: The young man experiences a period of deprivation and near-death, followed by a renewal of fortune when he discovers the moose, providing him with ample sustenance.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people


Obtained in English from Ike through John Bourassa

There was a young man who went around alone one winter. He had neglected to provide himself with the proper stones for making fire before the snow came and covered them up. He was therefore obliged to carry fire with him wherever he went. He was without food and starving one night when he killed a partridge. He scraped away the snow, built a fire, and cooked the partridge. He ate the bird and when he had finished dropped the feet in the snow behind him.

The next day he went on and wandered about for many days without being able to kill anything. Finally, he came back to the same place and cleared away the snow for a fire. As the fire melted the snow away he saw the discarded partridge feet. He then recognized his former camping place.

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He picked up the feet and ate them. That night a partridge came to him in his sleep and said, “You were proud. You were too proud to eat my feet as other people do, but now you want to have them. You are miserable and about to die, but from now on you will be all right. By tomorrow night you will have plenty to eat. The next day he went about thinking all day long he would find some game as had been promised. Night came without his having had a chance to kill anything. He moved the snow away and built his fire against a drift that the heat might be reflected toward him. He sat there wondering that an animal should deceive him by making a promise that had not been fulfilled. As the fire grew hot he heard a sound like the frying of grease. He kept pushing the fire together and as he did so the sound was heard again. He finally noticed the drift of snow covered a moose which had been killed in the fall when it was fat. The fire had been built near the hips of the moose and the choicest parts were ready cooked. He had the whole moose to himself and was all right after that.


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Ceremony for otter

In a dream, a man overheard otters singing about an impending threat at the narrows, predicting all but one would be killed. Upon reaching the narrows, the man killed all the otters except the one that had foretold its escape. This narrative explains why otters are now drawn to him. However, if someone sings the otters’ song mockingly, the otters may not approach.

Source: 
Chipewyan Texts
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 1
New York, 1912


► Themes of the story

Dreams and Visions: The man receives a prophetic message through a dream, guiding his actions.

Prophecy and Fate: The otter’s song foretells the future, and the events unfold as predicted, highlighting themes of destiny.

Cunning and Deception: The man uses the knowledge from his dream to outwit and hunt the otters.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Chipewyan people


A man in a dream heard some otters say. “They will kill us all, ahead there in the narrow. I am the only one who will be able to run away.” He heard the otters singing this as they walked. When they came there to the narrows, he killed all of the otters except the one who had said this. He escaped. “That is why otters now come to me,” he said. Sometimes when one sings that song the otters do not come to him because he only laughs.

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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