486 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH. ANN. 18 
ared bear. It turned and looked at the old woman until she called out 
to it to go and spare none. 
The bear then went away until he came to the village on the great 
river. It met aman just going for water and it quickly tore him to 
pieces; then the bear stayed near this village until he had killed more 
than half of the people, and the others were preparing to leave it in 
order to escape destruction. He then swam across the Yukon and 
went over the tundra to the farther side of Kuskokwim river, killing 
every one he saw, for the least sign of life seemed to fill him with 
fury until it was destroyed. From the Kuskokwim the bear turned 
back, and one day it stood on the creek bank where it had become 
endowed with life. Seeing the people on the other bank he became 
filled with fury, tearing the ground with his claws and growling, and 
began to cross the creek. When the villagers saw this they were much 
frightened and ran about, saying, ‘Here is the old womau’s dog; we 
shall all be killed. Tell the old woman to stop her dog.” And they 
sent her to meet the bear. The bear did not try to hurt her, but was 
passing by to get at the other people when she caught it by the hair 
on its neck, saying, ‘‘Do not hurt these people who have been kind to 
me and have given ine food when I was hungry.” 
After this she led the bear into her house and, sitting down, told 
him that he had done her bidding well and had pleased her, but that 
he must not injure people any more unless they tried to hurt or abuse 
him. When she had finished telling him this she led him to the door 
and sent him away over the tundra. Since this time there have always 
been red bears. 
THE LAST OF THE THUNDERBIRDS (MO-TUGH’-O-WIK) 
(From the lower Yukon) 
Very long ago there were many giant eagles or thunderbirds living 
in the mountains, but they all disappeared except a single pair which 
made their home on the mountain top overlooking the Yukon river near 
Sabotnisky. The top of this mountain was round, and the eagles had 
hollowed out a great basin on the summit which they used for their 
nest, around the edges of which was a rocky rim from which they could 
look down upon the large village near the water’s edge. 
From their perch on this rocky wall these great birds would soar 
awa) on their broad wings, looking like a cloud in the sky, sometimes 
to seize a reindeer from some passing herd to bring back to their young; 
again they would circle out, with a noise like thunder from their shaking 
wings, and descend upon a fisherman in his canoe on the surface of the 
river, carrying man and canoe to the top of the mountain. There the 
man would be eaten by the young thunderbirds and the canoe would 
lie bleaching among the bones and other refuse scattered along the 
border of the nest. 
Every fall the young birds would fly away into the northland, while 
the old ones would remain. Then came a time, after many hunters had 
