Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/343

 Athabascan Myths. n

��ATHABASCAN MYTHS. 1

LOUCHEUX TRIBE. I. LITTLE HAIRY MAN.

The Loucheux Indians once cached a quantity of meat, which the Polar Bear (So) discovered and began to eat. The people were unable to kill the animal themselves, so they called upon the Little Hairy Man. The bear came to rob the cache (tsi) at night, and the Little Man concealed himself in a tree to await the coming of the thief. The people were to give the Little Man a big knife if he killed the bear ; he took this knife with him into the tree, and when the bear appeared he jumped down upon and easily killed it, thus gaining possession of the knife. The Little Man left the place, and continued his wanderings as usual. As he went along, he came upon two brothers who were separated from the rest of the tribe, so he asked them what they were doing. They replied that they were just travelling about, and in turn they asked the Little Man what he was doing. "I am wandering about also ; let us journey together." The Little Man called one of his companions " Breaking Mountain " and the other "Breaking Sticks." They asked him what his name was, and he replied that he had no name, but that anything that they asked of him would be granted. They decided to call him Little Hairy Man. As they went along together, they came upon two deserted houses, which they occupied for a time. Little Man and Breaking Mountain went off to hunt and cut wood, while Break- ing Sticks stayed at home to attend to the cooking. When the hunt- ers returned they found no dinner cooked, but Breaking Sticks was lying in his blanket groaning. The following day Little Man and Breaking Sticks went out, leaving Breaking Mountain to take care of the camp, but as he repeated his brother's experience Little Man said, " You two go and cut wood and I will stay at home and get the dinner." As soon as they were gone a strange pigmy entered the house and said, " What are you doing here ? Who gave you permis- sion to stop here ? " The stranger tried to whip Little Hairy Man, but the latter was too quick for him, snatched the whip away and drove the fellow out and into a hole under the other house. When the two brothers returned a dinner was awaiting them, and the Little Man said, " So that is what troubled you two. The pigmy gave you a whipping." " You must have caught it yourself to-day," they replied. " No, I whipped him and chased him into his burrow

1 Told by a Loucheux woman at McPherson, the northernmost Hudson's Bay trading post, to Captain J. W. Mills.

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