ABSTRACTS. 525 
91. THE BEAR MEDICINE AND CEREMONY. 
Man kills bear while his wife is with child. Girl is born, possessing spirit of 
bears. When her finger nails are trimmed she nearly dies. She grows to woman- 
hood, has three children, first two dying ininfancy, Third child, boy, when about 
ten years old, is taken with party on hunt. Boy returns sick. Medicine-men fail 
to cure him, he dies and is buried, and his mother mourns at his grave for several 
days. Shereturns from hunt, having cut her hair and gashed her armsand legs. A 
hunting party returns, reporting that grave of boy has been robbed. She goes to 
grave, finding her son’s body exposed. She mourns by grave four days, when she 
goes to drooping cedar tree under which she crawls, fearing animals. In night she 
hears bear growling. Bear speaks to her, saying that they have taken pity on her. 
She is asked to follow bear, sliding down steep bank and entering bears’s den, which 
is like lodge. There she meets his wife and six cubs. She is asked to run after cubs, 
and is told that she may have children equal to number of cubs that she can catch, 
After much difficulty she is able to catch two cubs. She is told that she may take 
them home. Bear blows colored breath upon her face, telling her that thus she 
may restore wounded men. Next, bear’s wife hugs woman, coughs up piece of 
cherry, which woman eats; also piece of hackberry and piece of bullberry, and these 
she told woman are to be used in doctoring. Bear gives her paint and red feather, 
while his wife gives her yellow paint and a yellow feather, saying that she is to 
use them, too, in doctoring. She is instructed to make tipi of buffalo hides, 
and on it to paint yellow circle, black band and red band, picture of cedar tree, 
and owls, who guard bears’ den. She is also told to kill two cubs when she gets 
them home and to make sleeping bags of their hides for her children; that spirit 
of cubs will return to bears. She starts home with bears, one of which strays 
away. Other bear she carries into village, although bear does not like odor of 
human beings. In night in vision she sees woman bear, who tells her not to be 
afraid to killcub. She kills cub, tans skin, which she paints yellow, placing yellow 
feather on its head. She hangs skin up on pole so that sun may strike it. Thus 
spirit of bearis present with woman. Whenever she is touched she grunts like bear. 
When woman’s husband returns he recognizes her power. Enemy attack village; 
she gives red paint and feathers to her husband. Enemy’s arrows do not affect him. 
He fights bravely. After battle, wounded man is brought to them. As he grunts 
like bear, they send for woman. Tipi is prepared, she and her husband put on 
their paints, she sings bear song, grunts like bear, and in morning she inhales power 
from sun and her husband smokes to it. They go to wounded man’s lodge. She 
blows different colored breaths upon wound, which becomes fresh, and blood flows. 
She becomes savage like bear, and cedar leaves are burned. Four days later she 
and her husband again doctor wounded man in similar fashion. Fourth time 
wounded man begins to get well. Man she has cured sees woman often in his 
dreams as cinnamon bear, and he decides to become poor through offerings he pro- 
poses tomaketoher. She learns of his thought, goes to him and tells him that he is 
not to worry about recompensing her. He is made member of bear society and she 
feeds him from her mouth with cherries. He makes her many presents, at which 
time she opens her bundle, placing her bear hide on west of fireplace with paints 
and feathers by it. She then passes her hand through mouths of ponies which have 
been given her for healing wounded man, mixing saliva of ponies with tobacco and 
offering it to different gods and to the bears. Then woman tells her husband of songs 
