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Hunting Deer, Elk and Antelope
In couples and in small companies the Indians hunted the
deer, elk, and antelope; and while danger was always present, tragedies
sometimes occurred in which neither wild beasts nor inimical tribes had
part, but which arose from feelings and impulses common to human nature.
The following well-authenticated adventure took place in the last century.
Two brothers loved the same woman. She favored the younger, but by some
means the elder took her to wife. They were married in the fall of the year,
and winter passed by, and one day in spring the brothers went forth to hunt
together. Walking near the breaks of the Clearwater, the elder stopped to
look over the edge of the canon, where, a thousand feet below„ the river
glistened in the morning sun. Halfway down the rocky wall, upon a ledge that
jutted out from the sheer face of the precipice, he saw a nest of young
eagles. He called to his brother, who returned, and looked down upon the
nest. "I know what I will do," he said; " I will make a rope." So the two
set to work. They stripped the bark from young willows, and plaited it into
a rope strong enough to hold a man. This done, they threw one end over the
precipice to see if it was long enough to reach the nest; but it fell far
short. Then they worked on, lengthening the rope until finally it rested
upon the ledge. They agreed that one was to let the other down to secure the
eagles. The elder tied the rope about his body, and the younger lowered him
carefully until his feet were well on the ledge. As he walked along toward
the nest he saw the rope suddenly tossed over the cliff; instinctively he
steadied himself, caught the rope, and pulled it in. He was alone, with a
precipice above and a precipice below, on a narrow ledge, with no living
thing but himself and the half-grown eagles. By and by the old eagles
returned, and, seeing the intruder, were inclined to be hostile; but the man
was careful not to anger them, and when they went away again he secured a
part of the game they had brought to their young. Days wore on, and the
man's life was sustained by the food the old eagles brought; but his
distress from thirst was great, so he cleared out the little hollows in the
rock to catch the rain, covering them carefully to prevent evaporation. The
young eagles became accustomed to his companionship and the touch of his
hand; but by and by the time came when they were ready to fly, and death
looked the lonely man in the face. He resolved to make an effort to reach
the ground. He had hidden his rope in a crevice in the rock to keep it from
drying; he now tied it firmly about his body, fastening each end strongly to
an eagle, leaving sufficient length between the birds and himself to give
full play for their wings. He reasoned that if the eagles were not able to
fly with his weight, they would break his fall by their endeavors to save
themselves. At all events, it was death to remain upon the ledge after they
had gone. When all was ready, with his bow and quiver fastened upon his
back, he pushed the wondering eagles off their nest over the cliff, and they
bore their strange burden down, down the canon, and finally, weary with
their enforced flight, alighted upon a tree at the bottom. The man took a
feather from each of his preservers, and released them; then he swung
himself clown through the branches to the ground, and, taking the shortest
trail to his home, came upon his brother and his wife sitting together
outside the tent. It took but a moment to send an arrow through the
unsuspecting man who had so cruelly betrayed him; then, confronting the
woman, in intensity of hope he asked, "Are you glad I have come?" She was
silent, but her face told him the truth, and a second arrow pierced her
heart. Her body fell over the prostrate form of the younger brother before
any one in camp realized that he who had long been given up as dead had
returned to avenge his grievous wrongs.
The wild animals of the country were to the Indian the
symbols of the permeating life of the universe, and as such were objects of
his reverent wonder; but they were also actually necessary to his existence,
and he slew them. Every bird or beast killed by him served only for food,
clothing, or ceremonial. Long centuries of his occupancy of the continent
had not lessened the vast herds of buffalo, or driven the bear and cougar to
the fastnesses of the mountains; but with the advent of our race came the
trader, who looked upon the game as a source of revenue, and the Indian was
induced to slay for new motives-motives which have been potent in crushing
out his ancient arts and customs.
In the early settlement of the country the men who
traded with Indian hunters not only influenced the relations between
different tribes, but affected the attitude of the tribes toward the
colonies, and toward the government itself. During the Revolution the
British trader rallied
1
The niece of a noted Nez Perce Indian hunter, now a very old woman, relates
that her uncle performed this feat, and her story is well corroborated in
the tribe. Attacked suddenly by the huge animal, the man seized it with one
hand by an ear, into which he
thrust his fingers, while with the other hand, at the expense of a
thumb, he tore apart the muscles of the jaws, and left the helpless beast to
die on the steep mountain-side.
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Omaha Hunting Customs
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