322 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY I Bull. 137 



cut it down with axes would take too much time. They have a more expedi- 

 tious method, which is as follows: 



They first choose the nearest tree they can find to that in which the animal 

 has made its retreat, after which one of them climbs up into it and seats 

 himself astride a branch, choosing if it is possible one of the same height as 

 the opening of the bear's den. Then his comrades below place in his hands a 

 big cane, 25 to 30 feet long, at the end of which is fastened a creeper or string. 

 At the end of this creeper or string the savages tie some dry canes and set 

 fire to them, and by swinging the cane, the man in the tree throws the fire 

 into the hole which serves the animal as a retreat. If he cannot succeed by 

 this means he ties a little string to the butt end of an arrow and to this 

 string a piece of tinder, a kind of touchwood, sets fire to this and thfen shoots 

 the arrow into the hole. The tinder, which is then suspended perpendicularly in 

 the center of the hole, gradually flares up, burns through the string to which 

 it is tied and falls upon the animal, which in moving about to sh'ake it off 

 sets fire to the straw, the dry grass, or the rotten wood commonly found in its 

 habitation. Then the female bear, unable to endure the ardor of this element, 

 decides to move, which it does back first, descending sedately, showing its 

 teeth from time to time and its tongue, which is of a most beautiful scarlet 

 color. It is not given time to descend far enough to place its feet on the 

 ground but is knocked down or shot while it is on the way. Some of the 

 little ones, wishing to imitate their mother, descend after her, but scarcely 

 have they reached a height from the ground equal to that of a man when they 

 are seized and cords passed around their necks. This is how they are 

 captured and tamed. Others try to save themselves by clinging to thfe branches 

 and are shot there. (Dumont, 1753, pp. 76-80; Swanton, 1911, pp. 67-68.) 



Du Pratz : 



After having wandered about the country for some time and found an 

 abundance of fruits, the bears become fat, and it is then that the natives hunt 

 them. In this state they know that the bears place themselves under cover, 

 that is, settle in old dead trees still standing but with their hearts rotted out. 

 There the bear makes his home. The natives make trips through the woods 

 visiting trunks of this kind. If they notice claw marks on the bark, they feel 

 certain that a bear is lodged within. 



However, not to be mistaken in their conjectures, they strike the base of 

 the tree a very heavy blow and run away quickly to hide behind another 

 tree opposite the lowest of the bear's openings. If there is a bear inside, he 

 hears the blow and feels the trembling of the trunk. Then he mounts to the 

 opening to see what importunate persons come to trouble his repose. He looks 

 at the foot of his fortress, and not perceiving anything there of a nature to 

 trouble him, he returns to the bottom of his dwelling, displeased no doubt that 

 he has been disturbed by a false alarm. 



Having seen the prey which they believe cannot escape them, the natives 

 collect dead canes and crush them with thfeir feet so that they will burn 

 more readily. Then they make them into a bundle which one man carries 

 up into the nearest tree along with some fire. The others place themselves 

 in ambush on other trees. The one with the fire lights a piece of cane and, 

 when it is burning well, throws it dart-fashion into the bear's den. If he does 

 not succeed [in rousing the bear] the first time, he tries again until the bear 

 is forced out of his refuge. When enough fire is in the trunk to set fire to the 

 rotten wood, the bear, not relishing such lively heat, comes out backward 

 abandoning his home to t^ie ardor of the flames. Then the ht^nters, who are 



