Bear Gets Challenged

by Mark J. Green (Wą́nihegá)
translated by Bill Hall (Hų̄ka)

William Hall, ca. 1895

A man who had been at the council was preparing to leave for his home. He wanted his nephew called, so someone singled him from the crowd and when he learned his uncle was returning home, he decided to go along. The uncle said, "I promised to be back so we have to go now."

Upon their return they saw that someone had made a shade. And a "white box," [as] it was called, was placed there for him to sit on. He then said, "I have returned as I said I would." He laid down and slept a little.

Then, a man was talking as he approached, walking faster. The man who had slept, woke and sat on the box. The man who had just come stood before him, "Are you the one they used to call 'The Bear'?" "Yes," he answered. He recognized his voice. He grabbed him over the brow and pushed him on his back. "When they told about you, did you hear about it? When ever I saw you, this is what I would do to you, this is what I always thought. Whenever you feel like challenging me, I will welcome it, and if you should run, I will kill you!"¹ 

Commentary

Alice C. Fletcher

Hōcąk Birch Bark Lodges with an Arbor between Them

"a shade" — in the summer, the presumed time at which this event took place, an arbor might be constructed as a shaded place where work could be done and cooking performed in greater comfort.

"The Bear" — in Hōcąk this would be Hųcká, which is obviously a Bear Clan name.

"if you should run, I will kill you" — at first this incident seems very strange, and also not to the credit of Bear at all. Why didn't the assailant just kill him? Why didn't Bear fight back? And why would he kill him only if he ran away? Upon reflection, it becomes obvious: Bear seduced his daughter. Normally, a relationship that is consummated actually constitutes a marriage – there is no marriage ceremony. The suitor then becomes a son-in-law, and does service to the bride's family often for as long as it takes for the first child to begin walking. This embodies a long and serious commitment. So if a man seduces a woman, then just leaves her, it is a serious insult to her father. Notice that the man says, "Whenever you feel like challenging me, I will welcome it." The challenge here is to publicly state that he is not marrying the man's daughter whom he seduced. The irate man does not kill Bear on the spot, but physically humiliates him, then tells him if he should flee, (only) then he will kill him. So the angry man is mainly concerned that he not run away, and we can now appreciate why: this is the only way in which Bear can avoid marrying the man's daughter whom he had seduced. The man does not kill Bear on the spot because that will cause his daughter to suffer; but if he were to flee, then the daughter's heart would be flattened anyway, in which case he might as well kill him for his personal satisfaction. The story is told of Bear to illustrate his boldness and heroic qualities, that he would commit such a brazen act of seduction.

Comparative Material. ...

Links: ...

Stories: about famous Hocąk warriors and warleaders: How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, Little Priest's Game, The Masaxe War (Hogimasąga), Wazųka, Great Walker's Warpath (Great Walker), Great Walker's Medicine (Great Walker, Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Šųgepaga (Dog Head), The Warbundle Maker (Dog Head), Digging a Trench and White Strategy (Dog Head), Black Otter’s Sacrifice to a Thunder, Black Otter's Warpath (Dog Head, Black Otter), The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara (Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Two War Chiefs are Called on to Spy (Dog Head, Black Cloud), Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath (Big Thunder, Cap’ósgaga), The Osage Massacre (Big Thunder, Cap’ósgaga), The Fox-Hocąk War (Cap’ósgaga), The Origin of Big Canoe's Name, White Thunder's Warpath, Four Legs, The Man who Fought against Forty (Mącosepka), Yellow Thunder and the Lore of Lost Canyon, The Hills of La Crosse (Yellow Thunder), The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, Fighting Retreat, Mitchell Red Cloud, jr. Wins the Medal of Honor (Mitchell Red Cloud, jr.), The War of Indian Tribes against White Soldiers (Dog Head, Black Otter, Big Sandbar), How Jarrot Got His Name, Jerrot's Temperance Pledge — A Poem, Jarrot's Aborted Raid, Jarrot and His Friends Saved from Starvation, Soldiers Catch Two Boys, a Black One and a White One, v. 1 (Dog Head, Short Wing, Bear), They Owe a Bullet (Pawnee Shooter); mentioning The Bear: Soldiers Catch Two Boys, a Black One and a White One, v. 1.

Themes: ...

Notes

¹ "Anecdote about The Bear," Archives of Traditional Music (ATM), Indiana University, translation by William Hall, recording by Milford G. Chandler of Mark J. Green - vocals, bef. 1921, Black River Falls, Jackson County, Wisconsin. ATL no. 527.1 8742.15 trs. 2, Recording 50.SCY 181501:52, Collection number (collection identifier): 54-196-F, p. 53 of 87; E1, OT 7695.