The Great Bear
Submitted By John Kahionhes Fadden
There was one time in the ancient past when the meat racks of a Mohawk village were empty. People became thin with hunger, and hunting parties found little game. Then, a hunter searching far from the usual hunting territory found the tracks of a giant bear. They were exceptionally large tracks of a size that the hunter had never seen before. He returned to the village, and described the tracks, plus he told the people where he had found them. It was assumed that this explained why there was little game. The large bear was probably responsible for the scarcity of game. A hunting party was organized and with enthusiasm they traveled to the place where the hunter had spotted the tracks. The men found the tracks and began to follow them. Ultimately, they found the bear and he was very large. He was as tall as a house. Their arrows pierced the surface of the bear's hide, but his skin was so thick that there were no harmful penetrations. He wasn't injured, but he felt pain, and it was clear as to who had caused the pain. The bear attacked the hunters, and with unbelievable strength and speed the bear killed all but two of them. The two escaped to return to the village to tell the people.
As time went by more hunters faced the great bear, but all were defeated and the tracks came closer and closer to the village. At night the people could hear the growls of the bear, but they were louder and more ferocious than a regular bear's sounds.
Then, three brothers, three nights in succession dreamed the same dream; in their dreams they killed the bear. The fourth day they told the village people of their collective dreams. With encouragement from the villagers, the brothers set out in search of this huge bear. The great bear retreated (perhaps he had the same dream) and he traveled west to the great river, Mississippi. The three brothers followed his tracks. Having great strength and mystic power the bear leaped across the mighty Mississippi River. The brothers, with the power of their dream, also leaped across the river.
They traveled to the end of the world with its high mountains, Rockies, and the bear again leaped, this time into the sky. The brothers followed with the power of their dream. To this day they circle the northern sky...the four stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper are the Great Bear, the three stars of the Dipper's handle are the three brothers. If your eyesight is very good you will note that one of the stars of the brothers has a small star next to it. That's a pot that they plan on cooking the bear in when they catch him.
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