hokfmax] THE BEAR ANa'mAQKI'u 179 



husband. She hastened forward to learn where they led, but ere she 

 readied the bushes, upon which her eyes were momentarily directed, 

 she came to the cavity where the bear was hidden aud where her hus- 

 band lay dead. Slipping into the hole, feet foremost, the bear grasped 

 her and broke her neck. The bear then returned to the wigwam of the 

 Bear chief and reported what he had done, in revenge for the attack 

 made on his brothers by the young hunters. 



As their mother and father did not return home the youngest son 

 and his sister became alarmed, and instantly felt that some great mis- 

 fortune had befallen them. They felt confident that their parents were 

 no more, but could not imagine how they had perished, nor through 

 what manner they had brought upon themselves the anger of someone 

 unknown to them. 



Near the wigwam occupied by the two orphans stood a large tree 

 with strong, wide-spreading branches, upon which the boy often amused 

 himself and from which he could see a great distance. He kept watch- 

 ing for the return of his brothers, then for his father, and now he 

 strained his eyes in trying to see some sign of life, as, since his mother 

 also was among the missing, he felt very lonely and sad. The respon- 

 sibility of providing for his little sister now devolved on him, and as 

 he was compelled to hunt for something to eat he decided to prepare 

 himself also for making search for the missing ones. 



The little boy told his sister that he would go away to hunt some 

 game, and also to see if he could ascertain anything regarding the fate 

 of his brothers and his parents, but the girl cried and begged him to 

 abandon such a dangerous undertaking. The boy was not to be 

 influenced, but began to prepare himself for the journey. He made 

 four arrows, one having a shaft of osii'skimino'na, 1 another of pewo'- 

 naskiu (reed), another of mo'nipio'nowe (tamarack), and the fourth of 

 okapuowe (kwapu'owe=hazel). He also made a small bow, and went 

 out to the large tree near the wigwam and got down his snowshoes, 

 which had been hanging there. The right snowshoe was called dodo'pa 

 (small saw- whet owl) and the left snowshoe was called the kuku'kuu 

 (horned owl). 



Early next morning he went to a small bark box, under which he 

 kept his little dog, called Waisau'wita' (Red-mouth), and let it out 

 so that he might accompany him. Then the little hunter started out 

 on the trail on which his brothers and his parents had departed, and 

 traveled along for a great distance until he came to an immense tree. 

 Here he rested, but his little dog began barking at the tree, and this 

 led the boy to think that perhaps his parents might have been killed 

 there; so he stepped back, and taking one of his arrows out of his 

 quiver he attached it to the string of his bow, and shot it into the root 

 of the tree, whereupon the latter took fire, with a noise like the rum- 

 bling of thunder, and was consumed by the flames. 



1 A common weed growing about gardens and in tbo woods. 



