Big-Raven and the Kamaks - Koryak Raven-Big said, "I will slide down hill." [He slid down hill.] He went and found a mountain, which was the largest of all. From that mountain he slid down, and rolled into the porch of the house of the kamaks [1]. There he came in. Small kamaks went to the porch, and said, "Oh, human game has come to us of its own free will!"--"I am not human game, I am a man." They took him into the house, and began to eat his body joint by joint. Still he was alive. They consumed Big-Raven. Then he carne home, because he was a shaman. He recovered his senses, and said to his wife, "Cook some soup for me!" She cooked some soup, and he ate all alone a large kettleful. Then he said to Miti', "Bring the big hammer! [2]" She gave him the hammer, and he swallowed it. He arrived at to the house of some kamaks, and vomited through the vent-hole. (He filled the whole house) and made them climb upward. The big kamak was standing in the middle of the house. Big-Raven struck him with the hammer. He killed him. Big-Raven came home. That is all. Footnotes [1] Evil spirit (cf. W. Jochelson, The Koryak, l. c., p. 27). [2] A large stone hammer with a narrow groove for hafting. Koryak Texts, by Waldemar Bogoras; Publications of the American Ethnological Society vol. V; Leyden [1917] and is now in the public domain. Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Beaver Medicine - Blackfoot Two brothers lived together in the old time. The elder, who was named Nopatsis, was married to a woman who was evil, and who hated his younger brother, Akaiyan. Daily the wife pestered her husband to be rid of Akaiyan, but he would not agree to part with his only brother, for they had been together through long years of privation --- indeed, since their parents had left them together as little helpless orphans --- and they were all in all to each other. So the wife of Nopatsis had to resort to a ruse well known to women whose hearts are evil. One day when her husband returned from the chase he found her lamenting with torn clothes and disordered appearance. She told him that Akaiyan had treated her brutally. The lie entered into the heart of Nopatsis and made it heavy, so that in time he conceived a hatred of his innocent brother, and debated with himself how he should rid himself of Akaiyan. Summer arrived, and with it the molting season when the wild water-fowl shed their feathers, with which the Indians fletch their arrows. Near Nopatsis's lodge there was a great lake, to which these birds came in large numbers, and to this place the brothers went to collect feathers with which to plume their darts. They built a raft to enable them to reach an island in the middle of the lake, making it of logs bound securely with buffalo-hide. Shoving off, they sailed to the little island, along the shores of which they walked, looking for suitable feathers. They parted in the search, and after some time Akaiyan, who had wandered far along the beach, suddenly looked up to see his brother on the raft sailing toward the mainland. He called loudly to him to return, but Nopatsis replied that he deserved to perish there because of the brutal manner in which he had treated his sister-in-law. Akaiyan solemnly swore that he had not injured her in any way, but Nopatsis only jeered at him, and rowed away. Soon he was lost to sight, and Akaiyan sat down and wept bitterly. He prayed earnestly to the nature spirits and to the sun and moon, after which he felt greatly uplifted. Then he improvised a shelter of branches, and made a bed of feathers of the most comfortable description. He lived well on the ducks and geese which frequented the island, and made a warm robe against the winter season from their skins. He was careful also to preserve many of the tame birds for his winter food. One day he encountered the lodge of a beaver, and while he looked at it curiously he became aware of the presence of a little beaver. "My father desires that you enter his dwelling," said the animal. So Akaiyan accepted the invitation and entered the lodge, where the Great Beaver, attended by his wife and family, received him. He was, indeed, the chief of all the beavers, and white with the snows of countless winters. Akaiyan told the Beaver how cruelly he had been treated, and the wise animal consoled him, and invited him to spend the winter in his lodge, where he would learn many wonderful and useful things. Akaiyan gratefully accepted the invitation, and when the beavers closed up their lodge for the winter he remained with them. They kept him warm by placing their thick, soft tails on his body, and taught him the secret of the healing art, the use of tobacco, and various ceremonial dances, songs, and prayers belonging to the great mystery of 'medicine'. The summer returned, and on parting, the Beaver asked Akaiyan to choose a gift. He chose the Beaver's youngest child, with whom he had contracted a strong friendship; but the father prized his little one greatly, and would not at first permit him to go. At length, however, Great Beaver gave way to Akaiyan's entreaties and allowed him to take Little Beaver with him, counseling him to construct a sacred Beaver Bundle when he arrived at his native village. In due time Nopatsis came to the island on his raft, and, making sure that his brother was dead, began to search for his remains. But while he searched, Akaiyan caught up Little Beaver in his arms and, shoving off on the raft, made for the mainland, spotted by Nopatsis. When Akaiyan arrived at his native village he told his story to the chief, gathered a Beaver Bundle, and commenced to teach the people the mystery of 'medicine', with its accompanying songs and dances. Then he invited the chiefs of the animal tribes to contribute their knowledge to the Beaver Medicine, which many of them did. Having accomplished his task of instruction, which occupied him all the winter, Akaiyan returned to the island with Little Beaver, who had been of immense service to him in teaching the people the 'medicine' songs and dances. He returned Little Beaver to his parents, and received in exchange for him a pipe, being also instructed in its accompanying songs and ceremonial dances. On the island he found the bones of his vengeful brother, who had met with the fate he had intended for the innocent Akaiyan. Every spring, Akaiyan visited the beavers, and as regularly he received something to add to the Beaver Medicine Bundle, until it reached the great size it now has. And he married and founded a race of medicine-men who have handed down the traditions and ceremonies of the Beaver Medicine to the present day. Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Beaver and the River - Potawatomi by This story was told to me by my father, so I am retelling the story to you Many Moons ago, the Beaver was as big as a Warrior! At this time all the animals could talk to everyone and had connection to the Great Spirit! The Beaver was very lonely and he lived by the River, that ran very peaceful in this area and everyone man and animal loved being beside this gentle giant of a River. This Beaver watched the Warriors and Maidens come by and he often heard the drums and wanted to join them in their celebrations. There celebrations seem to happen during the change of seasons. Sometimes they happened in between seasons for weddings, births and even deaths. He always wanted to join, but never did because this was for the Tribe only. And he never asked nor did any of the other animals or creatures of the forest. He only watched and listen from a distance. He watched the Warriors and Maidens of the tribe, but he almost everyday saw a maiden by the river and she admired the beauty of the river. And he was awed by her and her love for nature. She always smiled at him and continued her work. The beaver decide the next time he saw her, he would come closer enough to talk to her. So, the next day and the days to come he came closer and closer to her. Finally one day he was sitting beside her and spoke to her. They soon fell in love with each other. They both loved the river and all the animals and nature, which they both respected. As time went on they grew more in fond of each other. They couldn't stand being apart living apart from each other. One day the maiden's father came to her and told her that she was coming of age to marry and wanted her to find a warrior to wed. But she didn't like want to marry any warrior of her tribe, because they were either married already or vain and thoughtless of nature. This saddened the beaver, because she was looking for a mate and he a beaver and would not make a suitable mate for the beautiful maiden. The beaver, talk to the Great Creator for a answer. How could he be married to this maiden he loved. The Great Spirit thought for a moment and told beaver what he must do. First he must make a canoe for his wife to be. Second, the Great Creator will turn the beaver into a man. Third, that he could never return to the river, not even for a swim or he would return back into a beaver. After he agreed to what he needed to do so that he could be with his Beautiful maiden, he suddenly turned into a handsome Warrior. The beaver thanked the Great Spirit for allowing him to change form from a beaver to a man. After he changed into a strong man. He walked to the village where his maiden was living, he found her. She looked into his eyes and saw something about this man that she thought she recognized. The man/warrior talked to her and they took long walks together along the river. And soon they became inseparable, because they had fallen in true love for each other. Soon he told her about what the creator had done for him, so that they may get married. He then gifted her with the canoe he made her. And that he could no longer go for a swim in his river. She could go and enjoy the river in her canoe. He knew he couldn't join her or else he be turned back into a beaver. This saddened him greatly! Because he loved the river and wanted to be with her every second of the day! The two were married very soon and lived very happily for many months. One sunny morning the maiden decide to take her canoe on the river. Her husband the beaver/warrior watched her for that is all he could do is watch her. He thought how beautiful she looked in the canoe and how he longed to be with her. As he watch her start to go around the bend in the river, she saw him and turned to smile and wave at her husband. When she did this she leaned to far and the canoe she was in flipped over. He became so upset that he forgot what the Great Creator had told him, and jumped into the river. Only thinking about her drowning and trying to save his beloved wife. All of a sudden he turned back into a Beaver, just like the great spirit had warned him that if he entered the river this would happen to him. He swam in the direction of his wife. But he didn't find her, only the canoe. After his continually looking for her he came across another beaver. He looked into her eyes and knew that his wife was now a Beaver as well. They swam down stream to where he once lived. And lived there many happy years. Now the Tribe called this river the Tippy Canoe River in honor of this couple. Submitted by redbud Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Blessed Gift of Joy is bestowed Upon Man - Kanglanek Once there was a time when men knew no joy. Their whole life was work, food, digestion, and sleep. One day went by like another. They toiled, they slept, and they awoke again to toil. Monotony rusted their minds. In these days there was a man and his wife who lived alone in their dwelling not far from the sea. They had three sons, all spirited lads, anxious to be as good huntsmen as their father, and even before they were full grown they entered into all kinds of activities to make them strong and enduring. And their father and mother felt proud and secure in the thought that the boys would provide for their old age and find them food when they could no longer help themselves. But it happened that the eldest son, and after a while the second one, went a-hunting and never came back. They left no trace behind; all searches were in vain. And the father and mother grieved deeply over their loss and watched now with great anxiety over the youngest boy, who was at this time big enough to accompany his father when he went hunting. The son, who was called Ermine (Teriak) liked best to stalk caribou, whereas his father preferred to hunt sea creatures. And, as hunters cannot spend all their lives in anxiety, it soon came about that the son was allowed to go where he pleased inland while the father rowed to sea in his kayak. One day, stalking caribou as usual, Ermine suddenly caught sight of a mighty eagle, a big young eagle that circled over him. Ermine pulled out his arrows, but did not shoot as the eagle flew down and settled on the ground a short distance from him. Here it took off its hood and became a young man who said to the boy: "It was I who killed your two brothers. I will kill you too unless you promise to hold a festival of song when you get home. Will you or won't you?" "Gladly, but I don't understand what you say. What is song? What is a festival?" "Will you or won't you?" "Gladly, but I don't know what it is." "If you follow me my mother will teach you what you don't understand. Your two brothers scorned the gifts of song and merrymaking; they would not learn, so I killed them. Now you may come with me, and as soon as you have learned to put words together into a song and to sing it--as soon as you have learned to dance for joy, you shall be free to go home to your dwelling." "I'll come with you," answered Ermine. And off they set. The eagle was no longer a bird but a big strong man in a gleaming cloak of eagles' feathers. They walked and they walked, farther and farther inland, through gorges and valleys, onward to a high mountain, which they began to climb. "High up on that mountain top stands our house," said the young eagle. And they clambered on over the mountain, up and up until they had a wide view over the plains of the Caribou hunters. But as they approached the crest of the mountain, they suddenly heard a throbbing sound, which grew louder and louder the nearer they came to the top. It sounded like the stroke of huge hammers, and so loud was the noise that it set Ermine's ears a- humming. "Do you hear anything?" asked the eagle. "Yes, a strange deafening noise, that isn't like anything I've ever heard before." "It is the beating of my mother's heart," answered the eagle. So they approached the eagle's house, that was built right on the uttermost peaks. "Wait here until I come back. I must prepare my mother," said the eagle, and went in. A moment after, he came back and fetched Ermine. They entered a big room, fashioned like the dwellings of men, and on the bunk, quite alone, sat the eagle's mother, aged, feeble, and sad. Her son now said: "Here's a man who has promised to hold a song festival when he gets home. But he says men don't understand how to put words together into songs, or even how to beat drums and dance for joy. Mother, men don't know how to make merry, and now this young man has come up here to learn." This speech brought fresh life to the feeble old mother eagle, and her tired eyes lit up suddenly while she said: "First you must build a feast hall where many men may gather." So the two young men set to work and built the feast hall, which is called a kagsse and is larger and finer than ordinary houses. And when it was finished the mother eagle taught them to put words together into songs and to add tones to the words so that they could be sung. She made a drum and taught them to beat upon it in rhythm with the music, and she showed them how they should dance to the songs. When Ermine had learned all this she said: "Before every festival you must collect much meat, and then call together many men. This you must do after you have built your feast hall and made your songs. For when men assemble for a festival they require sumptuous meals." "But we know of no men but ourselves," answered Ermine. "Men are lonely, because they have not yet received the gift of joy," said the mother eagle. "Make all your preparations as I have told you. When all is ready you shall go out and seek for men. You will meet them in couples. Gather them until they are many in number and invite them to come with you. Then hold your festival of song." Thus spoke the old mother eagle, and when she had minutely instructed Ermine in what he should do, she finally said to him: "I may be an eagle, yet I am also an aged woman with the same pleasures as other women. A gift calls for a return, therefore it is only fitting that in farewell you should give me a little sinew string. It will be but a slight return, yet it will give me pleasure." Ermine was at first miserable, for wherever was he to procure sinew string so far from his home? But suddenly he remembered that his arrowheads were lashed to the shafts with sinew string. He unwound these and gave the string to the eagle. Thus was his return gift only a trifling matter. Thereupon, the young eagle again drew on his shining cloak and bade his guest bestride his back and put his arms round his neck. Then he threw himself out over the mountainside. A roaring sound was heard around them and Ermine thought his last hour had come. But this lasted only a moment; then the eagle halted and bade him open his eyes. And there they were again at the place where they had met. They had become friends and now they must part, and they bade each other a cordial farewell. Ermine hastened home to his parents and related all his adventures to them, and he concluded his narrative with these words: "Men are lonely; they live without joy because they don't know how to make merry. Now the eagle has given me the blessed gift of rejoicing, and I have promised to invite all men to share in the gift." Father and mother listened in surprise to the son's tale and shook their heads incredulously, for he who has never felt his blood glow and his heart throb in exultation cannot imagine such a gift as the eagle's. But the old people dared not gainsay him, for the eagle had already taken two of their sons, and they understood that its word had to be obeyed if they were to keep this last child. So they did all that the eagle had required of them. A feast hall, matching the eagles, was built, and the larder was filled with the meat of sea creatures and caribou. Father and son combined joyous words, describing their dearest and deepest memories in songs which they set to music; also they made drums, rumbling tambourines of taut caribou hides with round wooden frames; and to the rhythm of the drum beats that accompanied the songs they moved their arms and legs in frolicsome hops and lively antics. Thus they grew warm both in mind and body, and began to regard everything about them in quite a new light. Many an evening it would happen that they joked and laughed, flippant and full of fun, at a time when they would otherwise have snored with sheer boredom the whole evening through. As soon as all the preparations were made, Ermine went out to invite people to the festival that was to be held. To his great surprise he discovered that he and his parents were no longer alone as before. Merry men find company. Suddenly he met people everywhere, always in couples, strange looking people, some clad in wolf skins, others in the fur of the wolverine, the lynx, the red fox, the silver fox, the cross fox--in fact, in the skins of all kinds of animals. Ermine invited them to the banquet in his new feast hall and they all followed him joyfully. Then they held their song festival, each producing his own songs. There were laughter, talk, and sound, and people were carefree and happy, as they had never been before. The table delicacies were appreciated, gifts of meat were exchanged, friendships were formed, and there were several that gave each other costly gifts of fur. The night passed, and not till the morning light shone into the feast hall did the guests take their leave. Then, as they thronged out of the corridor, they all fell forward on their hands and sprang away on all fours. They were no longer men but had changed into wolves, wolverines, lynxes, silver foxes, and red foxes--in fact, into all the beasts of the forest. They were the guests that the old eagle had sent, so that father and son might not seek in vain. So great was the power of joy that it could even change animals into men. Thus animals, who have always been more lighthearted than men, were man's first guests in a feast hall. A little time after this it chanced that Ermine went hunting and again met the eagle. Immediately it took off its hood and turned into a man, and together they went up to the eagle's home, for the old mother eagle wanted once more to see the man who had held the first song festival for humanity. Before they had reached the heights, the mother eagle came to thank them, and lo! The feeble old eagle had grown young again. For when men make merry, all old eagles become young. The foregoing is related by the old folk from Kanglanek, the land which lies where the forests begin around the source of Colville River. In this strange and unaccountable way, so they say, came to men the gift of joy. And the eagle became the sacred bird of song, dance and all festivity. http://www.indigenouspeople.net/joy.htm Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Black and Yellow Buffalo-Painted Lodges - Blackfoot One time two men were sitting on a rock by the side of a river, making arrows. As they looked down into the water they saw a lodge standing on the bottom. One of the men said, "I believe I will enter this lodge." So he dived down into the water. When he got into the lodge he found no water on the inside. A great deal of medicine was hanging up in this lodge, and when the man came out he told all his people what he had seen. At another time the same men were camped at a place where some people saw another lodge down in the water. When this man heard about it, he dived down and entered, as before. Here, again, he saw a great deal of medicine hanging up. Now this was the beginning of the black-and-yellow buffalo-lodges. While the man was on the inside, he was taught the whole ceremony. And when he came up, he got together all the medicine, and painted the lodges as you see them now. These two are the most powerful painted lodges we have. Mythology of the Blackfoot Indians, Clark Wissler, New York, The Trustees, 1908. Anthropological papers of the American Musuem of Natural History; v.2, pt.1, and is now in the public domain. Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Big-Raven and the Mice - Koryak Some Mouse-Girls walked along the seashore. The youngest Mouse also wanted to follow. Her mother said, "Tie her (and leave her) on the seashore." They bound her with two strings of her diaper. She began to squeal, "Pawawawa'!" and they said, "What is it?"--"I have found a genuine small nail."--"Go to her!" They went to her. "What is it that you have found?" But it was only a small shell. "Oh, strike her!" They struck her, and she whimpered, "Igigi'!" After a while she turned to them again, and began as before, "What is it that I have found? Oh, indeed, it has nails! Oh, indeed, it has eyes! Oh, indeed, it has whiskers!"--"Go to her and see what she has found!" They came to her, and really it was a small ringed seal. Big-Raven said, "Eh, eh! Why are those Mouse-Girls shouting and dancing?" Miti' said, "Oh, leave off! Why do you want to go to them?" But he went to them. "Well, there! Mouse-Girls, what is the matter with you?" "Oh, nothing! only this Hairless-One grew angry with us." He said, "Louse me, (one of you!)" One Mouse-Girl said, "I have pricked myself with my father's awl." One might think she were the daughter of some artisan. He said to another small girl, "Louse me!"--"I have pricked myself with my mother's needle." One might think she were the daughter of some seamstress. "O Hairless-One! louse me." She said, "Eh, all right!" She loused him. (He said,) "Oh, say (these words): 'Grandfather's lice taste of fat!'" [1] Then he shook his head, and the small mice were scattered in all directions. Some fell into the sea, some into the coast-slime, others into the river, and others again on the pebbles. Big-Raven took the little ringed seal and carried it home. The Mouse-Girls crawled to the shore and asked one another, "Where did you fall?"--"I fell into the sea."--"Then you were cold."--"And where did you fall ?"--"I fell on the small pebbles."--"Then you were pricked."--"And where did you fall?"--"I fell into the coast-slime."--"Then you were cold."--"And you, Hairless-One, where did you fall?"--"I fell on the moss [2] spread by mother."--"Then you fell easy." They said, "Let us go home!" They went home and told their mother, "See, mamma! we have found a small ringed seal, but grandfather took it away."--"Did he? Then we will fetch it back. O daughters! go and look into his house." They looked in. Then they came back and said, "Eine'mqut is skinning it."--"Now you there, [you Mouse-Girl,] go and look in!" She looked in. "Just now they are cooking it."--"Now, you there, this one, go and look in there!" She looked in. "Just now they are taking the meat out of the kettle." Mouse-Woman said, "Oh, I wish Big-Raven would say, 'We will eat it to-morrow!' We must find a shaman's small stick (used in magic). Oh, you there, small Mouse-Girl! take this bundle of grass (on which magic had been practised) and carry it to Big-Raven's house. There drop it through the vent-hole." They (the Mice) took it and carried it there, and dropped it into the house. Big-Raven immediately said, "Miti', we had better eat this meat to-morrow." And she said, "All right!"--"Oh, you, small Mouse-Girl! go and look into the house!"--"Just now Miti' is arranging the bed."--"And now you, go and have a look!"--"Just now they have gone to sleep, they are snoring."--"Now, there, let us go!" They took bags and iron pails, went there, and put all the cooked meat into them, also what was left of the broth. They defecated (into the kettle), also filled Miti''s and Big-Raven's boots with small pebbles. Next morning they awoke. "Miti', get up! Let us eat!" Miti' began to put on her boots. "Ah, ah, ah! ah, ah, ah!"--"What is the matter with you?"--"Oh, nothing!" Big-Raven then put on his boots. "Ah, ah, ah! ah, ah, ah, ah!"--"And what is the matter with you? You cry now, just as I did."--"Oh, stop (talking), bring the cooked meat, heat the broth!" Miti' drank some broth, (and immediately cried out,) "It tastes of excrement, it tastes of excrement!"--"Oh, bring it here!" Then Big-Raven also cried, "It tastes of excrement, it tastes of excrement!"--"Mouse-Women have defiled us."--"I will not forgive this. I will stun them with blows. Bring me my big club!" She gave it to him, and he started to go to the Mouse-Women. "Oh, grandfather is coming. Tell him, 'Eat some pudding of stone-pine nuts!'" "What good are those puddings of stone-pine nuts! I have no teeth."--"Then have some cloud-berry-pudding." "Yes, I will eat some of the cloud-berry-pudding." He ate of the pudding. ""Grandfather, lie down on your back and have a nap!"--"Yes, I will have a nap, lying thus on my back." He slept, and they fastened to his eyes some red shreds. "Grandfather, enough, get up!"--"All right! now I will go home." He went home; and when he was approaching, and came close to the house, he shouted all of a sudden, "Miti', tear in twain the worst one of our sons, to appease the fire!" Without any reason she tore her son in twain. "And where is the fire? just now you said, 'It burns.' What happened to your eyes? They have shreds fastened to the eyelids. The Mouse-Women have defiled you." He said, "Hm! now at last grew angry. Bring me my club. I will go there and club them." He went there. "Oh, grandfather is coming! Say to him, 'Have some pudding of root of Polygonum viviparum!'"--"What for?" "Then have some pudding of berries of Rubus Arcticus."--"Yes, I will have some pudding of berries of Rubus Arcticus." He entered, and began to eat the pudding. "Grandfather, lie down on your side and have a nap!"--"All right! I will lie down on my side and have a nap." He slept, and they painted his face with charcoal. "O grandfather! get up, the day is breaking!"--"Yes, all right! I will get up." He awoke. "Grandfather, have a drink from the river there!"--"All right! I will drink." He went away, and came to the river. He began to drink, and there he saw in the water his own image. "Halloo, Painted-Woman! you there, I will drop a stone hammer as a present for you." Oh, he dropped it. "Halloo, Painted-Woman! I will drop down my own body! Halloo, Painted-Woman! shall I marry you?" Oh, he jumped down into the water. That is all. Footnotes [1]See Jochelson, The Koryak, l. c., No. 88, p. 260. [2] It seems that the Hairless Mouse-Girl, according to the custom of many native tribes of this country, was killing the lice with her teeth. [3] Used as a child's diaper. See W. Jochelson, The Koryak, l. c., p. 252. Koryak Texts, by Waldemar Bogoras; Publications of the American Ethnological Society vol. V; Leyden [1917] and is now in the public domain. 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Beaver And Porcupine - Tlingit A porcupine and a beaver were once very close friends.[b] They traveled about everywhere and reported to each other all that happened. The bear is very much afraid of the porcupine, but he hates the beaver. Wherever the beaver has a dam the bear breaks it up so as to let the water down, catches the beaver and eats him. But he is afraid of the porcupine's sharp quills, so the porcupine sometimes stayed in the beaver's house, which is always dry inside. When the lake began falling, they knew it was caused by the bear, and the porcupine would go out to reconnoiter. Then he would come back and say to his friend, "Do not go out. I will go out first." Then the bear would be afraid of the porcupine's sharp quills and go away, after which all the beavers began repairing their dam while the porcupine acted as guard. By and by the porcupine said to the beaver, "I am hungry. I want to go to my own place." Porcupine got his food from the bark and sap of trees, so he told the beaver to go up a tree with him, but the beaver could not climb. Then the porcupine told him to stay below while he went up to eat. Soon they saw the bear coming, and the beaver said, "Partner (xô'ne), what shall I do? The bear is getting near." Then the porcupine slid down quickly and said, "Lay your head close to my back." In that way he got the beaver to the top of the tree. But, after a while, the porcupine left him, and the beaver did not know how to climb down. He began to beg the porcupine in every way to let him down, but in vain. After quite a while, however, the squirrel, another friend of the beaver, came to him and helped him down, while the porcupine was off in a hole in the rocks with a number of other porcupines. By and by the porcupine went back and saw his friend swimming in the lake. The beaver asked him down to the lake and then said, "Partner, let us go out to the middle of the lake. Just put your head on the back of my head and you will not get wet at all." Because these two friends fell out, people now become friends, and, after they have loved each other for a while, fall out. Then the porcupine did as he was directed, the beaver told him to hold on tight, and they started. The beaver would flap his tail on the water and dive down for some distance, come to the surface, flap his tail, and go down again; and he repeated the performance until he came to an island in the center of the lake. Then he put the porcupine ashore and went flapping away from him in the same manner. Now the little porcupine wandered around the whole island, not knowing how to get off. He climbed a tree, came down again, and climbed another, and so on. But the wolverine lived on the mainland near by, so after a while he began to sing for the wolverine (nûsk)"Nû-u-sguê-e', Nû-u-sguê-e', Nû-u-sguê-e''." He called all the animals on the mainland, but he called the wolverine especially, because he wanted the north wind to blow so that it would freeze.[a] Then the wolverine called out, "What is the matter with you?" So he at last sang a song about himself, saying that he wanted to go home badly. After he had sung this the whole sea froze over, and the porcupine ran across it to his home. This is why they were going to be friends no longer. Then the porcupine made friends with the ground hog and they stayed up between the mountains where they could see people whenever they started up hunting. One day a man started out, and when they saw him, the porcupine began singing, "Up to the land of ground hog. Up to the land of ground hog." The man heard him. That is why people know that the porcupine sings about the ground hog. After this the man began trapping ground hogs for food and caught a small ground hog. He took it home and skinned it. Then he took off the head and heated some stones in order to cook it. When he was just about to put it into the steaming box the head sang plainly, "Poor little head, my poor little head, how am I going to fill him?" The man was frightened, and, instead of eating, he went to his traps in the morning, took them up (lit. "threw them off") and came home. Next morning he reported everything to his friends, saying, "I killed a ground hog, skinned it and started to cook the head. Then it said to me, 'Poor little head.'" After that he went out to see his bear traps. While he was endeavoring to tighten the release of one of these, the dead fall came down and struck him in the neck, making his head fly off. When he had been absent for two days they searched for him and found him in his own trap. This was what the ground hog had predicted when it said, "My poor little head.'" They took his body down to the beach, beat the drums for him, and had a feast on the ground hogs and other animals he had trapped. Footnotes [b] WutcyAqâ'wu, signifying friendship between people regardless of relationship. [a] See Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Abstract: Beaver And Porcupine Porcupine stayed with Beaver to protect him from Bear. By and by Porcupine went home and Beaver with him, and when Bear approached, Porcupine carried Beaver up to the very top of the tree and left him. Finally Squirrel came and helped Beaver down. Then Beaver carried Porcupine out to an island, from which he escaped only by calling on Wolverine, who caused the surface of the lake to freeze over. After that happened, Porcupine went to live with Ground hog. A man caught a ground hog, but, as he was about to cook its head, the head spoke. He was seared, stopped trapping ground hogs, and went up to see his bear dead falls, when one of these fell upon him and killed him. Tlingit Myths and Texts, by John R. Swanton; Smithsonian Institution; Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 39; Washington, Government Printing Office; [1909] and is now in the public domain. Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

BFC Family and Friends, Your response to our Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottle fundraiser has been overwhelming and we've been working hard to get all your orders packed and shipped. If you haven't yet ordered one, you'd better do so soon as they are selling fast and we don't have many left. These limited edition 27 oz (800ml) stainless steel water bottles were specially produced by Klean Kanteen to benefit Buffalo Field Campaign. Each bottle is printed with BFC's "Let Buffalo Roam" logo in addition to the logos of Patagonia, Osprey, and Klean Kanteen, the three outdoor retailers who teamed up with BFC to make this special fundraiser possible. Thanks to the generosity of Klean Kanteen, who created and donated these special bottles, 100% of the proceeds from this sale will go directly to Buffalo Field Campaign's work to protect the wild bison. Purchase a water bottle today and help Buffalo Field Campaign protect America's only continuously wild population of bison. For more information and to order, please click this link: https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/6876/shop/item.jsp?storefront_KEY=554&t=&store_item_KEY=2561 If you would like to make a contribution to Buffalo Field Campaign without purchasing a water bottle, you can do so here: https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/6876/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=3647 Thank you! Buffalo Field Campaign Unsubscribe from BFC's Updates from the Field: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/7926/p/salsa/supporter/unsubscribe/public/?unsubscribe_page_KEY=42

its about time to get notice crom a president but with all he is doing I wonder if comeing will be positive. I found a 10,000 pr older bison skelton on my place here on fossil lake. I sure miss Gardener but its in my heart still. Jim Martin is coming next May to do a dig for the rest of the bison not showing. Dan M Cherokee group. -- Dan M

Buffalo Field Campaign Yellowstone Bison Update from the Field August 13, 2009 ------------------------------ ------------------------------ In this issue: * Update from the Field * Obama Sign-On Letter * Update: Stockgrowers Lawsuit Against Wild Bison * Quarantined Buffalo: Tribe, Zoo, Group May Want Them * Join BFC for Wood Cut Week Sept. 14-20 * BFC Needs Two On-Demand Hot Water Heaters * Last Words * Kill Tally * Important Links ------------------------------ * Update from the Field On August 5 a bull buffalo was shot and killed after migrating from Yellowstone's interior through a corner of southwest Montana and into Idaho. You can read BFC's press release here http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press0809/pressreleases0809/080509.html. This marks another natural effort by buffalo to restore themselves in their historic native range of Idaho, only to be abruptly halted by government bullets. This time it was not Idaho Fish & Game who killed the buffalo, but USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) officials. APHIS is a participant in the Interagency Bison Management Plan, and also one of the agencies spearheading the bison quarantine feasibility study (see below for an update). Apparently APHIS was in the area inspecting captive elk at a facility that operates canned elk hunting. The APHIS official fired three shots from a 30.06 rifle to kill the buffalo. BFC was there to witness and document the incident, and to our knowledge, the bull never mingled with cattle. The theoretical threat of brucellosis transmission from wild bison to cattle is the continued excuse used by the government and cattle industry to prevent wild bison from gaining any ground outside of Yellowstone National Park's boundaries even though there has never been a documented case of wild bison transmitting the disease to cattle. Furthermore, the National Academy of Science states that bull bison pose virtually no brucellosis risk to cattle. And if brucellosis is such a dreaded disease, why then does the government so willingly give the meat of the buffalo they kill to tribal charities and food banks, as they did with the remains of this bull? Brucellosis is not the threat, but the excuse used to maintain control; what the cattle industry really fears is wild bison restoring themselves to their native range and eating the grass the cattle industry feels is for their cattle only. Idaho already has laws in place that prevent the migration of wild bison into its borders, effectively staunching any natural restoration efforts before they begin. The land continues to suffer with the absence of buffalo, but not for lack of buffalo trying. Meanwhile, the agencies implementing the Interagency Bison Management Plan met in Helena this week for another round of "public" meetings, where the public gets to sit in the audience while the talking heads shuffle paperwork and decide the fate of America's last wild bison. The agencies are due to make a report to Congress in response to the scathing Government Accountability Office's report that slammed the IBMP and called on the agencies to scrap it or make some real progress. So far, the agencies have held meeting after meeting with very little, if any, positive, on-the-ground change. Now the agencies are saying that to prevent future large-scale slaughtering of bison, they will haze bison more aggressively this coming season. Here's a brief news story http://www.kxmb.com/News/419396.asp. These government officials want to keep the focus off of the real solution: HABITAT. If left unchecked and unquestioned, they will repeat their rhetoric and mismanagement actions, wasting millions of U.S. tax dollars and harming wildlife and wild lands until America's last wild bison have been hazed, captured, shot, quarantined and killed to the point of genetic dysfunction, behavioral manipulation, wild integrity compromised; buffalo families harassed and annihilated to the point of no return. Only outside-the-box action will bring positive change for wild bison; outside the box that is Yellowstone: HABITAT. President Obama has the authority to move the agencies outside the confines of current thinking; he has the power to force the agencies to give the buffalo a fighting chance and he's on his way to Yellowstone now and he needs to hear from you! SEND AN EMAIL TO PRESIDENT OBAMA HERE http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26453 (Please edit the letter to give it that critical, personal touch!) Roam Free! ~Stephany ------------------------------ * Obama Sign-On Letter In addition to the more than 3,235 emails that you have already sent to President Obama through BFC's Take Action Center, we have been working with Native American tribes, businesses, and organizations on a sign-on letter we will send to the President in the fall. We will begin circulating this letter early next week and, in order to make sure the effort is as successful as possible, will need your help. If you are part of a group, business, or tribe that might like to join us in asking President Obama to protect America's only continuously wild population of bison, please contact BFC Executive Director Dan Brister at [email protected] Dan will then contact you with a copy of the letter. ------------------------------ * Update: Stockgrowers Lawsuit Against Wild Bison On August 4 Montana District Court Judge John Brown presided over oral arguments in a state lawsuit on the fate of wild bison in Montana. Attorney John Bloomquist representing Sitz Angus Ranch, Bill Myers and the Montana Stockgrowers Association filed suit against the Montana Department of Livestock claiming that the Interagency Bison Management Plan obligates all wild bison "be returned" to Yellowstone National Park "no later than May 15 of each year." The two ranchers who truck cattle in to graze seasonally on leased private pastures are seeking a court order compelling the slaughter or forced removal of wild bison in the entire Hebgen Basin, an area that encompasses tens of thousands of acres of bison habitat including Horse Butte Peninsula where cattle no longer graze. Earthjustice attorney Tim Preso, representing local Horse Butte residents, argued there is no "legal duty" for the State of Montana to kill or remove bison by May 15 every year who have roamed to range outside Yellowstone National Park. To download legal filings click here: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/legal/horsebutte.html Locals who intervened in the rancher's suit want wild bison to roam on places like Horse Butte without government harassment. The locals rightfully claim that their private property interest in allowing wild bison to be in their neighborhood is not represented, and that Montana livestock agents trespass and intrude where they are not wanted. "The majority of Horse Butte is public land. The National Forest Service has a responsibility to manage it for wildlife. We encourage them to do so," says Horse Butte resident Karrie Taggart, who also heads up Horse Butte Neighbors of Buffalo. "Since cattle no longer graze there it stands to reason that bison should be allowed room to roam." The nonprofit lawyers argue the bison plan is adaptive and Montana law is permissive in how bison can be managed. They were joined by Assistant Attorney General Norman Peterson, representing the Board of Livestock, who asked the court to dismiss the suit as the ranchers lack standing to sue and are not a party to the bison plan. It is unknown when Judge Brown will rule. But stay tuned as the fate of wild bison to occupy habitat year-round in Montana hangs in the balance of his decision. ------------------------------ * Quarantined Buffalo: Tribe, Zoo, Group May Want Them The unfortunate quarantined buffalo who were ultimately rejected by Northern Arapaho tribal officials may have found some folks who want them, though in some cases their existence will be behind bars. These buffalo, now numbering nearly 50 animals, have been confined to an ill-conceived Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service quarantine feasibility study since 2005. The buffalo were calves when they and their families were captured after migrating towards Yellowstone's boundary. The adults went to slaughter, while the calves grew up in small fenced enclosures, being treated like livestock, in a government experiment to "create a disease-free herd" with a goal of providing "seed stock" for bison restoration efforts. But, the bull that was shot in Idaho last week (see above) and the thousands of bison that attempt to migrate into Montana every year are enacting real buffalo restoration, yet the same agencies spend millions of U.S. tax dollars each year to prevent their success. Migration corridors to habitat, not quarantine, will be the real road to bison restoration. Read the news story about the latest on the quarantined buffalo http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mt-returnofthebuffal,0,2054917.story ------------------------------ * Mark Your Calendars: Wood Cut Week, Sept. 14-20 Join Buffalo Field Campaign in beautiful West Yellowstone during the week of September 14-20, and help gather, stack, and cut the wood that will keep volunteers warm and alive this coming field season. Room and board will be provided. Please contact Mike at [email protected] or 406-646-0070 if you are interested. Please let your friends know - the more the merrier!  ------------------------------ * BFC Volunteer Cabin Needs Two On-Demand Hot Water Heaters The BFC main cabin, which houses our volunteers, is in need of two on-demand hot water heaters in order to save energy and space. These energy efficient water heaters could shave 25% off our gas bill each month and will free up much-needed space in our crowded cabin. If you can help, please make a secure online donation (LINK https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/6876/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=3647) and specify that it is for the water heaters, or send a check or money order (no cash please) to BFC-Maintenance, P.O. Box 957, West Yellowstone, MT 59758. If you have questions or would like more detail, please contact BFC Maintenance Coordinator Chip at 406-646-0070 or by email at [email protected] Thank you!! ------------------------------ * Last Words To a Buffalo Skull "On the sable wall your great skull gleams, A regal ornament; A relic of weathered one and horn, Once lord of a continent. The war-lord, yea, of a countless host, But gone is your kingly sway; For never again will you head the herd In the spring when the young calves play. All bleached with the merciless sun and rain Of many and many a day, You're all that is left to tell the tale How the black lines passed this way." ~ Robert V. Carr Do you have something that we could use for Last Words? Something you've written, or a favorite piece by some other famous or as yet unknown? A quote, poem, song, story, a few lines, a paragraph, any words you feel are fitting to tell in these chapters of the buffalo's story? If so, please send them to Stephany at [email protected] Thanks! ------------------------------ * Kill Tally AMERICAN BISON ELIMINATED from the last wild population in the U.S. 2008-2009 Total: 23 2008-2009 Slaughter: 3 2008-2009 Hunt: 1 2008-2009 Quarantine: 0 2008-2009 Shot by Agents: 3 2008-2009 Highway Mortality: 16 2007-2008 Total: 1,632 Total Since 2000: 3,703* *includes lethal government action, quarantine, hunts, highway mortalities ------------------------------ Media & Outreach Buffalo Field Campaign P.O. Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 [email protected] http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org BFC is the only group working in the field every day in defense of the last wild buffalo population in the U.S. KEEP BFC ON THE FRONTLINES WITH A TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION TODAY https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/6876/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=3647 Join Buffalo Field Campaign -- It's Free! http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/6876/signUp.jsp?key=3378 Tell-a-Friend: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=3835 Take Action! http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26453 Unsubscribe http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2426/t/7926/p/salsa/supporter/unsubscribe/public/?unsubscribe_page_KEY=42 --

Before This Land - Luiseno Another tribe of Mission Indians in San Diego County of California are the Luisenos, who derive their name from the San Luis Rey Mission established in about 1770 by the Franciscan Junipero Serra Many cultural similarities existed between them and the Dieguenos Under American rule in 1846, the Indians were driven deeper into desert and mountain country, far back from the ocean. Today, descendants of those first Luisenos still thrive on their reservation in San Diego County. Long, long ago^ the Luiseno Indian tribe lived at the ocean side by the setting-sun. They loved their life there/ feeding on the many seafood available with little effort. Their life was leisurely, crops were plentiful, all seemed serene and their tribe prospered. The Luisenos worshiped their Great Spirit, the Sun-God. Always they did what was commanded of them by the Great Spirit. Their tribal leader and war-god, Uu-yot, was responsible to the Sun-God for the welfare of his people. Luisenos were loyal and obedient to both Uu-yot and the Sun-God. One day, Sun-God willed the Luisenos to move eastward and settle in the land of the rising-sun. Many boats were made by the young braves, and the Luiseno tribe began their voyage to find a new home. Uu-yot led the fleet eastward through heavy mist and fog up the San Luis River. To help keep the boats together, the Luisenos sang their sacred songs to each other while they traveled. At last they reached a beautiful canyon area with wide meadows and woods on either side of the river. They camped and rested, finding the land good. Plenty of acorns from the nearby oak trees were on the ground, providing their favorite dish of weewish, a kind of mush made by grinding acorn pulp in a stone metate. Weewish made delicious patty-cakes cooked over a fire or on hot rocks. Besides, the tribal children were kept busy collecting acorns for storage, a good winter food supply. After several days of rest at this natural homelike campground, Uu-yot declared this to be a good homeland for them to settle upon permanently. All the Luisenos were happy, and agreed. Immediately, the people set to work establishing their family homes, creating a village. That very evening the entire tribe gathered around a large campfire and participated in a tribal thanksgiving ceremonial led by Uu-yot. A large feast followed, which was prepared by the women of the tribe in gratitude for their new land. Much dancing and singing continued into the night, a "home-warming" affair. On the following days, garden land was prepared by young braves. Corn and root seeds were planted by all the families for a community garden. Others hunted for wild rabbits, deer, and other small game, as well as fishing the river for food supplies. Uu-yot gave thanks each day to sun-God for the many blessings bestowed upon his tribe, the Luisenos. Later and without warning, a period of darkness and storms descended upon the area, with sharp lightning flashes and roaring crashes of thunder. Torrential rains fell upon the land. The river overflowed, creating a dangerous situation for the tribe. Uu-yot led his people to higher ground and all were saved. They prayed to the Great Spirit to quiet the forces of nature that again they might live in peace and safety. Uu-yot gathered his tribesmen to smoke the sacred tobacco in the ceremonial circle, appeasing the Great Spirit and his gods of wrath. Soon thereafter, a thin line of light broke overhead through the black ominous sky and moved eastward. Next morning, out of the east, the Sun arose again, spreading widely its light, life, and warmth. The Luisenos were grateful and returned to their homes to clean up the debris left by the storm. Taken from Louis Thomas Jones. So Say the Indians. San Antonia, Texas, The Naylor Co.: 1970, pages 26-27 http://www.indians.org/welker/luiseno.htm Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Beaver Meat - BlackFoot There was once an old man who was very fond of beaver meat. He hunted and killed beaver so frequently that his son remonstrated with him, telling him that some misfortune would surely overtake him as a punishment for his persecution of the sagacious animals, which were then endowed with the magic powers of the medicine-men. The old man did not heed the warning, but continued to kill beaver nearly every day. Again the son said, " If you kill them, they will soon catch and kill you." Not long afterward the old man saw a beaver enter a hole in the bank; disregarding his son's advice, he plunged head foremost into the burrow to catch the animal. The son saw him enter the hole, and went in after him. Catching the old man by the heels, he pushed him farther in. Thinking another beaver had attacked him, the old man was at first too frightened to move, then he cried for mercy. "Let me go, Beaver, and I will give you my knife. "He threw his knife back toward the entrance, but received no reply to his entreaty. "Let me go, Beaver, and I will give you my awl." Again no answer. "Let me go, and I will give you my arrows." The young man took the articles as they were handed to him, and hastened away without making himself known. When the old man returned to the tipi, he said nothing of his adventures, and his son asked no questions. As soon as the old man left the tipi, the son replaced the knife and other articles in his father's fire-bag. "Where is your knife?" said the son when the old man returned. "I gave it to the beaver to induce them to let me escape with my life." "I told you they would catch you," said the son. The old man never hunted beaver again. http://www.snowwowl.com/legends/blackfoot/blackfoot10.html Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Beaver And Porcupine - Tlingit The beaver and the porcupine were great friends and went about everywhere together. The porcupine often visited the beaver's house, but the latter did not like to have him come because he left quills there. One time, when the porcupine said that he wanted to go out to the beaver's house, the beaver said, "All right, I will take you out on my back." He started, but instead of going to his house he took him to a stump in the very middle of the lake. Then he said to him, "This is my house," left him there, and went ashore. While the porcupine was upon this stump he began singing a song, "Let it become frozen. Let it become frozen so that I can cross to Wolverine-man's place." He meant that he wanted to walk ashore on the ice. So the surface of the lake froze, and he walked home. Some time after this, when the two friends were again playing together, the porcupine said, "You come now. It is my turn to carry yon on my back." Then the beaver got on the porcupine's back, and the porcupine took him to the top of a very high tree, after which he came down and left him. For a long time the beaver did not know how to get down, but finally he climbed down, and they say that this is what gives the broken appearance to tree bark. (TLINGIT: Swanton, Bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology, xxxix, 220, No. 63) Tales of the North American Indians, by Stith Thompson [1929] and is now in the public domain Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Berries And Nuts - Miwok Many varieties of edible berries were to be found in the Valley. From the berries of the manzanita, which grow in abundance on the Valley floor, a cider was made. These berries were also dried for winter use, as were blackberries, raspberries, or thimbleberries, strawberries, which, though very small, are of unusually fine flavor, currants, and choke-cherries, which if eaten raw are everything that their name implies. Pine-nuts were also considered a delicacy and were gathered in large quantities for winter use. The Lore and the Lure of the Yosemite: The Indians, Their Customs, Legends and Beliefs, and the Story of Yosemite; by Herbert Earl Wilson; San Francisco; A. M. Robertson [1922] and is now in the public domain.[ Miwok] Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Beaver and Muskrat - Thompson Formerly the muskrat had a broad tail like that of the beaver at the present day, while the beaver had a narrow tail, like that of the muskrat now. One day Beaver asked the loan of Muskrat's tail to try it, and gave his own to Muskrat to try. Beaver found that Muskrat's tail was much better than his own for swimming with, and thereafter kept it. He always avoided Muskrat, who was now unable to catch him. When they were transformed, it was ordained that each should keep the tail he had. The Transformer said that Beaver had more need of the large tail than Muskrat. Taken from: Myths and Tales from Nicola Valley and Fraser River collected by James Alexander Teit, 1911 and is now in the public domain. Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Bears Resemble People And Like To Dance - Miwok The Northern Mewuk say: Bears are like people. They stand up, they have hands, and when the hide is off, their bodies look like the bodies of people. Bears know a great deal. They understand the Mewuk language, and their hearing is so sharp that they hear a person a long way off and know what he says. Bears, like people, like to dance. Once an old Indian saw some bears dance in the forest. He saw Oo-soo'-ma-te the old she Grizzly Bear and a lot of little bears. The old she Bear leaned up against a young pine tree with her left hip and bent it down, and sang moo'-oo, moo'-oo. The little bears caught hold of the bent-over tree, hanging on with their hands over their heads, while they danced with their hind feet on the ground. The Dawn of the World; Myths and Weird Tales Told by the Mewan [Miwok] Indians of California; Collected and Edited by C. Hart Merriam; Cleveland: Arthur H. Clarke Co., [1910] ] and is now in the public domain Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Bears Lodge - Kiowa One day long ago a traveling party of the Kiowa People were crossing the great prairie and camped by a stream. Many of the Bear People lived nearby, and they smelled the Kiowa People. The Bear People were hungry, and some of the bear warriors went out to hunt the Kiowa People. Seven young girls from the Kiowa camp were out gathering berries, up along the stream, far from the campsite. The Bears came upon them and growled to attack. The girls ran and ran, out across the open prairie, until they came to a large gray rock. They climbed onto the rock, but the bears began to climb the rock also. The girls began to sing a prayer to the rock, asking it to protect them form the Bear People. No one had ever honored the rock before, and the rock agreed to help them. The rock, who had laid quietly for centuries, began to stand up and reach to the sky. The girls rose higher and higher as the rock stood up. The bear warriors began to sing to the bear gods, and the bears grew taller as the rock rose up. The bears tried and tried to climb the rock as it grew steeper and higher, but their huge claws only split the rock face into thousands of strips as the rock grew up out of their reach. Pieces of rock were scraped and cut away by the thousands and fell in piles at the foot of the rock. The rock was cut and scarred on all of its sides as the bears fought to climb it. At last, the bears gave up the hunt, and turned to go back to their own houses. They slowly returned to the original sizes. As the huge bears came back across the prairie, slowly becoming smaller, the Kiowas saw them and broke camp. They fled in fear, and looking back at the towering mountain of rock, they guessed that it must be the lodge of these giant bears. "Tso' Ai'," some People say today, or "Bears' Lodge." The Kiowa girls were afraid, high up on the rock, and they saw their People break camp and leave them there, thinking the girls had all already been eaten by the bears. The girls sang again, this time to the stars. The stars were happy to hear their song, and the stars came down and took the seven girls into the sky, the Seven Sisters, and each night they pass over Bears' Lodge and smile in gratitude to the rock spirit. http://www.angelfire.com/ca/Indian/BearsLodge.html Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Bears House - Crow Legend Once when some Crows were camped at Bears House, two little girls were playing around some big rocks there. There were lots of bears living around that big rock and one big bear seeing the girls alone was going to eat them. The big bear was just about to catch the girls when they saw him. The girls were scared and the only place they could get was on top of one of the rocks around which they had been playing. The girls climbed the rock but still the bear could catch them. The Great Spirit, seeing the bear was about to catch the girls, caused the rock to grow up out of the ground. The bear kept trying to jump to the top of the rock, but he just scratched the rock and fell down on the ground. The claw marks are on the rock now. The rock kept growing until it was so high that the bear could not get the girls. The two girls are still on top of the rock. This legend was told to Dick Stone by Rides the White Hip Horse. Goes to Magpie, Interpreter. http://www.nps.gov/deto/stories.htm Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Bears and Coyote - Nez Perce Many people were dwelling in their permanent camp. Among them was a modest, well-behaved Maiden [ipnalapqa' tmay]. She lived at the young maidens' lodge, and nobody about camp ever saw her. One night this Modest Maiden got up, went outside, and urinated. But nearby stood Lynx [qa' hap]. The Maiden went back to the lodge, and now Lynx went over to where she had been and urinated on the same spot. Days passed. The Modest Maiden became pregnant. Then the people would ask her, "Whose is it?" She would reply, "I don't know," because she did not know what Lynx had done. Her child was born, a baby boy. At once the baby seemed to miss his father and began to cry and cry, and nobody could make it stop. And now Coyote [itsaya' ya] decreed, "We, all who are men, will assemble, and one by one we will take the baby in our arms. Whichever of us will cause it to stop crying will thereby identified as the father. The baby is only crying for its father." All the men assembled and sat in a row. Coyote procured some marrow from the bone of a deer. He thought, "I will have the baby suck the marrow, and it will stop crying." The men began to pass the child from one to another. It was passed down the row, but continued to cry. Now came Coyote's turn, and he stuffed marrow into the baby's mouth. "Ah, then it was mine," Coyote exclaimed as the baby suddenly stopped crying. But Fox [tili' ptsxi'] interjected, "What are you doing to it? You will cause the baby to choke! What are you putting in its mouth?" "Confound you! Must you invariably interfere? As if it could be your baby!" Coyote berated Fox. While the two were scolding each other, the baby began to cry. Now the men began to pass it along down the row. Lynx, timorous, sat toward the end of the row. He rather suspected, "Very likely it is mine," because he happened to remember the night he had seen the Modest Maiden urinating. The people now observed, "There is Lynx." Coyote said, "Ho! When even I could not make the child hush, how can one such as he do it? But give it to him, then." The baby was handed to Lynx. The moment Lynx took it his arms the crying stopped, and there were only deep sobs of contentment ["Iak', lak'"] from the baby. "Oh, Lynx is its father!" exclaimed the men in amazement. [This incident predestined a practice. She who is considered by others to be superior and difficult to win in marriage, she who considers herself better than other women, she will be taken in marriage by homely and poor man.] So Coyote nourished a deep animosity toward Lynx. He proclaimed to all the people, "One test is not enough to establish the child as Lynx's. There is another way by which we will find out definitely whose baby this is. We men will pack in from the hunt to the mother, and whoever will bring in his pack first will establish himself and win her for his wife. Tomorrow morning everybody will go out hunting." Coyote made this pronouncement out of indignation, but all the men heeded his words because he was the hunting chief. As soon as Coyote had finished his announcement, he went surreptitiously out of camp to hunt. He had decided, "Let me kill my game this evening and hide it away for tomorrow." He shot a young deer, packed it, and hid it in a tree near camp. "Tomorrow, very early, I will take this and present it. I will be the first to arrive, for how could anyone bring in his game so early?" Coyote said to himself. The night passed, and dawn came. Lynx decided, "I too will go hunting." He went out of his lodge, plucked a whisker, and stuck it in the ground. At once a heavy fog arose, a dense fog impenetrable to the vision. He went off a short distance and shot a great antlered buck. He packed the meat and brought it to the woman. Meanwhile, Coyote went forth to get his tree-cache. He searched around in the fog. "I thought I put it here. Perhaps someone found it," he deliberated. He continued to search and search among the pine trees, but his pack was not to be found. He would look up into the trees, but the fog was too thick for him to see clearly. But as soon as Lynx had carried in and presented his meat to the woman, the fog suddenly cleared. Now when Coyote looked where he had been searching about, suddenly he saw his tree-cache as the fog lifted. "There it has been all the time; I just didn't see it," he said to himself as he began to take down the pack. "How could anyone have brought in his kill under these conditions? I will be the first to arrive." He started off toward camp with his pack. Just as he was arriving, he met some boys, his own children. They shouted, "Oh, our father packs in from the hunt!" "Be silent! I am taking this to the woman," Coyote told them. Now the boys informed him, "But another person packed in to her long ago, early this morning, while it was foggy." Upon hearing this. Coyote ran along and found that Lynx had won. In deep indignation, Coyote thought, "She will not be his wife." The people, however, were saying, "The woman becomes Lynx's wife, for he has outdone us twice." In his hatred Coyote now went to the flying people and said to them, "You are all splendid men, and it is not right that this good woman should become the wife of a destitute and loathsome man." [The woman was a vireo.] Coyote talked to the flying people for a long time, and now they were convinced. They said, "Yes, there is no question about it; Lynx should not be allowed to take a good woman of our kind from us. Thus we, too, are angry at him, and we will kill him. It is you say that Lynx is no good." Meanwhile, Lynx had begun to fear for his safety. He knew that Coyote did not think well of him. so he said to his wife, "If anyone should kill me, and even if they should pound me to a pulp, you must look for remains. Find even a very little piece of my body, wrap it in buckskin, and put it under your pillow." A few days later the flying people set upon Lynx and killed him. Eagle [wa' ptas], Robin [wi' tspiyaqs], Bobolink [timu' ytimuy] and all knew that Lynx had strong powers of resurrection. To preclude any such occurrence, they pounded him to a pulp, mixed the flesh with dirt, and ground up all, even the bones, to a pulp. Now all the people broke camp and moved away. Coyote went to the woman and said, "Now that Lynx is dead, you must come with me. The people are moving away, and you will do pitifully here all alone. You will do poorly by your child. Let me take the child, and let us go. Someday you will find another man, and why do you need to keep thinking of that ugly Lynx?" Coyote tried to convince her to go with him, but she did not heed him. She on sprang up into a tree and became a bird again. She gave her bird calls, and she wept. Coyote coaxed her, "Why do you feel such a deep attachment to him? I can take care of you just as well as he could have. Do come down." But she did not move. Coyote at last gave up hope and left her. When all the people had moved away, she came down out of the tree. She went to the place where Lynx had been killed, and she searched around for a piece of his body. But every part seemed to have been too finely pulverized, and nothing remained. She kept looking, and after a long search managed to find a very small piece of bone. She took the little fragment and wrapped it in buckskin. Now she erected a lodge and lived there. In about ten days she heard a noise, a stirring, in the buckskin packet that she kept under her pillow. It sounded as if someone were groaning very faintly. Then each day the moaning became more distinctly audible. One day she heard a voice from within the packet say, "Untie me now. I'm in a suffocating place, and I'm getting cramped." The woman unwrapped the packet, and Lynx emerged. Oh, he had sores all over his body. He said to his wife, "Go and make a bathing place for me." She did his bidding. Now Lynx began to sweat bath continually. He got better; he got stronger. One day Coyote decided, "How is it that nobody has gone to see the woman? I wonder how she has been getting along. I will go and take a look." He set out, and traveling along he saw a column of smoke. He crept up and saw a man sweat bathing -- it was Lynx. Recognizing him. Coyote approached and said, "Ah, friend, so you have recovered am very, very glad. At the time they attacked you, I told them point-blank, 'Do not do this to him.' But they were insistent, and they killed you. It was on Bear's [xa' xats] orders their action was founded; he caused them to attack you. And now it is for you to avenge yourself. When I told them, 'Leave Lynx alone,' they did not heed me. Now I say it is for you avenge yourself." Coyote returned home. The men were getting ready to go on a hunt, and Coyote began to officiate. "You go this direction, and you over this way to there. My nephews, the young bears, will go in this other direction past the place which is called, 'The-place-where-one-seems-to-be-aiming [nika' kunwaku's].' You bears will see a figure that appears to be aiming right at you, but think nothing of it. Do not be alarmed and think, 'Someone is about to shoot us.' " Their father, old Bear, thought, "I have never, never heard that name." And now became suspicious and alarmed because he had never in all his travels, and he had been every part of the country, heard of or seen a place where a figure appeared to be aiming anyone. Coyote continued his hunting instructions. "My brother Bear and I will go up the valley opposite each other." Coyote was thinking, "I will be able to run away very conveniently the moment it is found out that my lies have caused the death of the young bears. All the hunters went forth to their assignments. Bear was suspicious and worried. The young bears went along their designated route. Soon they saw a figure. "It looks like a person, and it is aiming right at us," they commented. "Yes, but our uncle told us that it isn't really a person," they added. But there stood Lynx, bow raised, aiming right at the approaching bears. His arrow was one of his whiskers. Now he shot; he hit all five of them. His arrow, penetrating from one to another, pinned them together. But a Marten [ispa' c'ax] had been following the bears, and the arrow struck him a glancing blow on the hip, tearing off a chunk of flesh. He fled from there, carrying the report news. "paq' paq' paq'", Coyote with his lies has caused the five young bears to be exterminated!" he shouted as he fled. "Brother," Coyote said to Bear as they went along up the valley, "brother they are shouting that the game is heading down the valley." "No," Bear replied, "they are saying something else. Wait, let me listen." The shouting was heard again, "Coyote's lies have caused the death of the five young bears!" This time Bear heard aright. He turned to Coyote and said, "Coyote, see where the sun now stands; you are now dead. Whatever form you may assume in your trickery, for you are like that, Coyote, I am going to kill you. Take a last look at the land; you are seeing it for the last time." Now Bear and Coyote began to fight. Bear shot Coyote on the forehead; but the arrow glanced off and only tore off a piece of skin. "The homely one has shot me!" Coyote shouted, and he fled. The blood poured out of the wound. The people who had been watching said, "Bear is killing poor Coyote. "Huh, not such a one as he! Coyote is powerful. He and I will soon be pit-cooking Bear," Fox told them. Coyote fled; he ran with the intensity of a breaking tendon. The blood trickled from his wound. Bear shouted after him, "You may run away, but I will not stop chasing you until I have bitten you to death!" Coyote ran far ahead and going along, charmed himself, "Let there be a foul, dingy lodge, an old, filthy lodge that has stood since the origin of the land. Let it be covered with ashes and stained with smoke. Let there be a dirty dog, sick and covered with sores. And let me become an old man, an old man hideously loathsome, verminous, and so repulsive that nobody would suffer to bite me to death or even to touch me. Let me be ill abed there." Coyote invoked his powers in this way as he ran, and as Bear came on. Coyote continued, "Then let there be a deep flood channel, a waterway with banks so steep that nothing could possibly climb out of the water. Let there be a piece of timber spanning this channel in the manner of a bridge, and let drops of blood be splattered across it." As he ran along, he saw the lodge which he had prescribed for himself up ahead. He rushed forward, entered the lodge, and lay writhing and gasping from exhaustion. Then quickly he threw ashes all over his body. He was very scared. In a few moments he heard the preaching footsteps and the angry snorting of Bear. The fury of Bear's pursuit was terrific. Inside, Coyote was gripped by fear in the thought, "He will recognize me and bite to death." He almost jumped up to run away, but he managed to control himself. "I will remain here," he vowed. Bear rushed up to the lodge, and the dog barked furiously at him. "You, Coyote, whatever form you may assume, I am bound to bite you to death. You are a vile person, Coyote," Bear raved as he pushed open the door of the dilapidated lodge. There he suddenly beheld a dirty, old, bedridden man. It was a revolting sight, and Bear halted at door. "Old man, have you heard anything pass by here?" he asked. "Well, there was something going along. I heard the dog barking, but I wasn't very able to get up to see who it was," the old man replied. "I am chasing Coyote because he caused the death of my five children, and I am determined to catch him and bite him to death," Bear explained. "Yes. I understand. It is too bad what he has done to your children. Coyote has always been a villain and a troublemaker," commented the old man. "Coyote is a vile person, indeed," said Bear. "Yes, I heard someone going past, and the dog barked at him. Perhaps he crossed over bridge. There is a bridge there, you know. When you cross over, you must watch yourself because the timber is aslant," the old man said. "Yes, he must have gone over the bridge. I was tracking him by a trail of blood. Perhaps there are drops of blood on the bridge," replied Bear. "Yes, perhaps there are. Let me go with you to the bridge, and I will hold it steady for you to cross," offered the old man. He got out of bed with the greatest difficulty and followed Bear. There they saw a trail of blood on the footbridge. Bear said, "Yes, he went across here all right, and now I will take up the chase again " "Yes, you certainly ought to kill him," the old man encouraged him. Bear began to edge his way across the bridge. The old man held the timber steady and cautioned Bear, "Be careful. This footbridge has always been aslant." Bear crept along, and just as he reached the middle, the old man suddenly tipped the plank. Bear gasped and toppled into the water below. Coyote danced around and shouted in glee, "Why did you think there would be an old man living here? Now I am going to kill you!" Bear pleaded with him, "Coyote, let me live! Do not kill me! Now it is established that are more powerful than I, and you can let me live!" But Coyote only gloated, "We were angry at each other, and you told me, 'Look at the for the last time.' Now, I tell you the same thing because I am going to kill you " Bear pleaded and begged for his life, but Coyote only took an arrow and shot him dead. The body floated down with the current. Then Coyote made another pronouncement. "Let there be a plain, and let Bear's body float ashore there." Now he went along down the water channel, and here it had floated ashore. Then Coyote and Fox made a great barbecue; they pit-cooked the bear meat. Meanwhile Bears wife ran away and hid. She was afraid of Coyote because he had already killed six of her family. Taken from Tales of the Nez Perce by Donald M. Hines, Ye Galleon Press; Fairfield, Washington, 1999 [gathered from other source books dated between 1912 and 1949] Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/

Bear, Tiger, Rattlesnake, And Fire - Hitchiti Fire was going to teach Bear, Tiger,[1] and Rattlesnake together while they fasted.[2] While Fire was teaching them, all were to stay in one place, but Bear got tired and ran away. They had said Bear was to receive a rattle, and when he ran away Bear took the rattle with him and disappeared. Next day Fire said, "Bear started off, but did not get far from us; he, is lying asleep near by." The rest had remained together. He taught Tiger, Bear, and Rattlesnake together for three years. Bear, who was to have received the rattle, had it taken away from him, and it was given to Rattlesnake. Fire said to the latter, "You must always carry this." Fire gave him the rattle and to him and the other two all kinds of knowledge. Then Fire went away. He set out fires and scattered the fire. The rain fell to put it out, but could not do so, and it spread. It continued raining, but in vain, and when it stopped all men received fire. The fire was distributed. When the red men received knowledge it is said that it was through the fire that they received it. So it is said. Footnotes [1] Meaning Panther. [2] This is in accordance with the old usage when youth were initiated into the secrets of medicine. Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians, by John R. Swanton; Smithsonian Institution, USGPO, Washington, D.C.; Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 88 [1929] and is now in the public domain. Come visit us at. "Keeper of Stories". http://www.newkeeperofstories.com/