A470 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT (ETH. ANN. 18 
hunter drew near, singing as on the previous night. Noanswer reached 
him, but he thought he saw his wives standing on the shore, and although 
he raised his song in 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-bu/-ka heard his cries of sorrow when he saw them. 
P: tikh’-cho-lik’ rushed raging from the house, wailing with sorrew, 
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. Thé 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. Ina 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. 
