470 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.ann.18 



hunter drew near, singing as on the previous night. No answer reached 

 him, but he thought he saw his wives standing on the shore, and although 

 he raised his song iu praise of them, they gave no answer. He became 

 angry and stopped his song; then he began to scold and upbraid them, 

 but still they were silent. Landing, he hurried to the silent figures 

 and then on to the nearest house. There and at the second house he 

 found nothing, but in the last he saw his wives as they lay dead, and 

 Ta-hu'-ka heard his cries of sorrow when he saw them. 



Pi tikh' cho-lik' rushed raging from the house, wailing with soreew, 

 shouting in wild anger, "If any bad spirits have done this, I fear them 

 not. Let them come and try to work their evil upon me. I hate and 

 scorn them." All remained quiet. "If any evil shade, man or beast, 

 has done this, let it come out from its hiding place," he shouted, "and 

 dare to face a man who will tear out its heart and eat its blood; oh, 

 miserable good-for-nothing!" 



As if in answer, he heard a deep growl coming from the hillside, and 

 there he saw a red bear standing on its hind feet, swaying its body 

 back and forth. This was Ta-ku'-ka, who had placed a flat stone on 

 each side of her body to protect herself from wounds by arrow or spear 

 and had wrapped herself in the bearskin. 



Pi-tikh'-cho-lik' saw her and thought she was really a bear and began 

 calling every opprobrious name he could think of, while he quickly fitted 

 an arrow to his bow and loosed it. The arrow struck one of the stones 

 aud fell harmless, and the bear turned its other side toward him. Again 

 he shot a well aimed arrow, and again it fell harmless. Then the bear 

 rushed down the slope straight at him, and Pi-tikh'-cho-lik"s spear, 

 striking the bear's side, broke in his hands. In a few moments the bear 

 had thrown him down lifeless and torn out and eaten his heart. Then 

 the fury which had urged Ta ku'-ka on seemed to leave her and her bet- 

 ter feelings began to return. She tried to take off the bearskin, but 

 it closed about her so firmly that she could not. 



Suddenly Ta-ku'-ka thought of her children at home, so taking her 

 basket of berries from the hilltop, she started for her dwelling. As she 

 went along she began to be frightened at her strange desire for blood, 

 mingled with the thoughts of her children. Hurrying on she came at 

 last to the house and rushed in. The two children were asleep, and as 

 soon as Ta-ku'-ka saw them a fierce, uncontrollable desire for blood 

 again came over her, so that she at once tore them to pieces. After this 

 she went out and wandered over the earth, filled with a desire to destroy 

 every one she came across. 



Up to that time red bears had been harmless, but Ta-ku'-ka filled 

 them with her own rage, so that they have been very savage ever 

 since. Finally she reached Kuskokwim river and was killed by a 

 hunter, whose arrow found its way through a crack that had been 

 made in one of the stones on her side. 



