84 MYTHS OF THE IROQUOIS. 



with them upon nuts, corn, and berries. But when fall came, and with 

 it the return of the hunters, the good bear explained her device to the 

 boy, saying: "'My cubs must now take care of themselves, and you can 

 rejoin your friends; but always feel kindly toward the bear tribe" ; upon 

 which she resumed her proper shape and disappeared into the woods. 

 The boy never, even when grown, was known to kill a bear. 



INFANT NURSED BY BEARS. 



A man and his wife and child went off hunting from an Indian village 

 and encamped a long way from home. At first, good luck attended the 

 hunter, who bi'ought into camp plenty of d^er and other game. At 

 last, game became scarce, and day after day the hunter returned empty- 

 handed and famishing with hunger. Before leaving, the hunter resolved 

 to try his luck once more. Soon after he had lelt the camp his wife, in 

 searching for roots, found a hole in a large tree in which was a black 

 bear. This she succeeded in killing, and after cutting it up and cook- 

 ing some for herself and child she carefully secreted the remainder from 

 her husband. But the boy hid a piece for his father, who soon returned, 

 very weary. Then the hunter was enraged at the conduct of his wife, 

 whom he forced to eat of the meat until she died, with her little infant 

 to which she had given birth the same hour. 



Then the hunter buried his wife and threw the infant into the hollow 

 tree. After this the hunter had better luck, and continued to live in 

 the same place with his little boy. In the course of time he found that 

 his little son must have had company, for little footprints were to be 

 seen around his wigwam. So he left a second small bow and arrow, 

 which, in time, he found had been used, and his son told him that a small 

 boy had been playing with him. The next day the father watched and 

 saw a little boy leave the tree where he had placed what he supposed 

 to be the dead child. Then he entered his home and said to the child, 

 "You are my child"; but the boy could not understand him, and was 

 frightened and uneasy, and ran away to the tree, where the hunter dis- 

 covered he had been nourished and cared for by a friendly bear. The 

 hunter would not kill the kind benefactor, but took some of the soft 

 bed of dried bark, to which the child had been accustomed, to his home, 

 whereupon the child was happy and contented to remain with his 

 father and brother. 



In time the two excelled in hunting and brought home owls and 

 strange birds. Finally, they told their father they were going to the far 

 west to kill the great beasts which were harming the human race. The 

 hunter, who perceived that the children were becoming very strange, 

 was afraid of them and consented. Then they bade him go back to 

 his native home and get three of the bravest warriors to follow them to 

 the wiest, where the warriors would find the carcasses of the animals 



