406 ISLETA, NEW MEXICO [eth. ann,47 



a little bear alive. So the next morning the hunter went out and 

 looked around for a bear cave. On the third day he found a cave 

 where Bear old woman (koahu) had two cubs. So he sat down and 

 made a cigarette. When he got to the cave he picked up a little 

 stone and rolled it into the cave. Bear old woman heard the stone 

 rolhng, so she peeped out to see what it was. The boy began to 

 smoke to pray to Bear old woman not to jump on him. Wlien she 

 saw the boy pra3ang, although she was angry she decided to take the 

 cigarette from the boy. After Bear old woman had smoked, they sat 

 down to talk, and the boy told her what had brought him there. 

 Bear old woman said, "I have two little ones inside, but I do not care 

 to intrust them to anyone. If I give you my little ones wCl you 

 promise to bring them back to-morrow night?" The boy promised 

 to do it. At the same time he made another cigarette and gave it to 

 Bear old woman to give him enough power, for the sake of the ciga- 

 rette, to take the little bears home and not have them run away from 

 him. 



So Bear old woman took this cigarette, and with it ordered her 

 children to go with this boy and do as they M-ere told by him. So 

 from there they went on and got to his house on the third day at 

 night. On the fourth day, early in the morning, before sunrise, this 

 boy told the two little bears that thej^ had to go to the t'aikabede's 

 house, and that they were to play up and down on the ladder, and not 

 hurt anyone and remember what their mother had told them. So all 

 three went together over to t'aikabede's house and he set the little 

 bears dowTi outside, and he went inside and told t'aikabede, "My 

 father, what I promised you, I have done. You asked me for one 

 little live bear but instead of one I bring two." And so t'aikabede 

 went out to see if this was so. He saw the little bears going up and 

 down on the ladder. So he told the kumpawilare to gather all the 

 people to come and see the httle bears the great hunter had brought. 

 So everybody came and saw the little bears going up and down on the 

 ladder all the day, and t'aikabede gave them his word that he would 

 give his daughter to this hunter. In 12 days every one was to come 

 to their wedding. Then the hunter took back the little bears in the 

 afternoon. On the way he killed a deer and took it to Bear old woman, 

 and \\-ith that he paid Bear old woman for letting him have the two 

 little bears. He gave the deer and promised her that the following 

 year, if there were pinon, he would bring her a sackful. So after he 

 came back, in 12 days, they got married. After that, as long as they 

 lived he and his wife would pick pinon every year for Bear old woman, 

 and he believed greatly in Bear until he died. 



