parsons] folk tales 405 



they found her very happy and glad. On the fourth day in the morn- 

 ing she told her father and mother that she never wanted to marry 

 anybody until she found a bear, and that she had found Bear, and she 

 was going to marry him that night. Her father and mother started 

 crying and told her how crazy she was to think of marrying Bear old 

 man. "How could Bear old man come and get you?" By night the 

 girl was ready to go with Bear old man. AVhen he came she went out 

 with him. After the old man went out and saw the girl sitting on 

 Bear old man's back, he asked all the people to help him kill that bear 

 so he could not take the girl away with him. The men went out with 

 their bows and arrows and koanla (thunder sticks) to kill Bear old 

 man. After they went away, the rain started to fall and it washed 

 away the bear's tracks. They coidd not find his tracks anywhere. 

 When Bear old man and the girl got to the cave in the mountain, they 

 took a big stone from the mouth of the cave. When they went inside 

 the cave, they found a nice place like an Indian home. Bear old man 

 told her that there she was to hve and grind corn, but she could not 

 go out anywhere. That way she lived with Bear old man day after 

 day. Finally she got in the family way. She had two boys, twins. 

 They were half bear and half human — bear babies (koauu). They 

 became great hunters. One time when they were out hunting the 

 people saw them and tracked them to the cave. They kUled the 

 boys and took their mother home. (Bear old man was already dead.) 

 When they brought the woman home, her father was no longer living, 

 nor her mother, and she herself died from sorrow for her sons who were 

 killed. 



18. The Borrowed Bear Cubs 



There were living a man and a woman, and this man became t'aika- 

 bede. They had a daughter. All the people had to take care of the 

 t'aikabede, give liim food and clothes, and he never did any work. 

 W^hen his daughter grew up, she was the best grinder and maker of blue 

 bread among the people. One time a man came to ask the t'aikabede 

 to let him have his daughter to marry. T'aikabede said that he 

 would not give his daughter up until he found a good hunter and 

 shooter with bow and arrow. So the boys would practice shooting 

 and would go hunting to become good hunters. Finally one appeared 

 to be the best hunter of them all and the best shooter. T'aUva- 

 bede called a gathering for them to shoot with their bows and 

 arrows. He put the shinny ball of buckskin on top of the pole of his 

 ladder. The rival marksmen were to shoot down that ball. Nobody 

 hit it, e.xcept the one who said he was the best marksman. His arrow 

 hit the ball. So he won the first trial. Then they had a council to 

 tell the boy that he was to show he was the best hunter by bringing in 



