Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/481

Rh cold of the ice gods and the white down of their mighty breathing, but, when the Bear, awakening, growls in the springtime and the answering thunder mutters, the strength of the ice gods being shaken, the reign of summer begins again.

The Chinese say that in spring the tail of the Bear (the Micmac three hunters) points east, in summer south, in autumn west, in winter north,—a correct statement for the forepart of the evening.

The Ojibway Indians have a legend which relates that a southern star came to earth in the form of a beautiful maiden, bringing the water lilies. Her brethren can be seen far off in the north hunting the bear, whilst her sisters watch her in the east and west.

The Onondaga Indians knew the stars representing the bear's den, which is formed by the stars in the constellation Corona Borealis. The Cherokees also know the legend of the celestial bear hunt, and say that after the three hunters have killed the bear in the fall they lose the trail and circle helplessly around till spring. They assert that the honey dew, which is noticeable in the autumn, comes from the bear's fat which they are trying out over a fire.

The Blackfeet Indians have known these seven stars of the Dipper as seven boys, all of whom had been killed by their sister save the youngest (the star Dubhe), who killed her in turn.

The Point Barrow Eskimos recognised the stars of the Bear with the seven hunters around him, and the Zuñis call the group "the Great White Bear of the seven stars." These stars seem to have played an important part in Pueblo mythology.

The Thlinkeets of the Pacific Coast regarded the stars of Ursa Major as representing a Bear. They thought that the Bear was so-called because its stars act so like a bear, slowly circling about; then too there is a den represented by a group of stars, and no other animal save the bear has a