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Post by brobear on Mar 19, 2017 7:23:25 GMT -5
When the last grizzly bear has been dead a thousand years or more, perhaps the stories that will survive about these mighty animals will put them in a category of an incarnate demigod of the past. There is a great deal that recommends the grizzly to the fabric of a lasting legend, and the symptoms of such an investiture are already evident. By thousands of campfires and other places where outdoorsmen get together, since the first of our frontier adventurers encountered these pugnacious creatures on the plains and in the mountains of the Far West, men have told glowing stories about the grizzly - stories that have all the raw glamour of their subject and so easily rise to the height of an epic. The bravest, toughest, and most distinguished of these men have spoken with the greatest of pride about their conquests of the grizzly - Lewis and Clark, Zebulon Pike, Kit Carson, Stonewall Jackson, General Custer, Theodore Roosevelt, and many more. Not one has held him lightly; and most have honestly respected him in their hearts - just as the old-time Indian considered it an accomplishment of greater bravery and distinction to have killed a grizzly than to have taken the scalp of any human enemy. One can cast aside all the yarns of the neophytes and the fabrications of imaginative journalists who never really knew the grizzly; and one can fully discount all the honest doubts and theories; and still Old Ephraim stands realistically in all the impressive admiration which might be expected of the largest and most powerful of all carnivorous creatures on earth today. - The Beast that walks like Man by Harold McCracken.
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Post by brobear on Mar 19, 2017 7:23:48 GMT -5
The Great Bear Almanac by Gary Brown... American Indian legend relates that the grizzly bear is the ancestor of the race. "Him arms and him legs, jus like Indians." The Cree Indians according to Harold McCracken in 'The Beast That Walks Like Man', describes the grizzly bear as "him stomach...him heart...him everything all-same. Him walk like Indian too."
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Post by brobear on Mar 19, 2017 7:24:08 GMT -5
Continued from post #123... "During the days of muzzle-loading rifles, its ( the grizzly bear's ) name and fame inspired terror throughout the mountains and foothills of the wild western domain which constituted its home," writes zoologist William Hornaday in 'The American Natural History'. "For many years it held the old-fashion Kentucky rifle of the pioneer in profound contempt, and frequently when it was used to annoy him, the user met a tragic fate. I believe that Grizzlies have killed and maimed a larger number of hunters than all other bears of the world combined."
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Post by brobear on Mar 19, 2017 7:24:27 GMT -5
Continued from post #124... "The American Indians of the North Country respect the bear, looking upon it as a fellow citizen of the woods," explains Frederick Drimmer in 'The Animal Kingdom. "Many, when they kill a bear, are careful to apologize and to speed its spirit onward to the Happy Hunting Ground with prayers and sacrifices. In their belief, the animal's spirit is too powerful to be appeased by simple rituals - so they clean the skull and put it on top of a pole, where they hold it taboo."
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Post by brobear on Mar 19, 2017 7:30:12 GMT -5
On "The History Channel" on a program called "Forbidden History" is a 2016 episode called "In Search of the Real King Arthur" where the evidence is overwhelming that Arthur was an actual real person who lived in the sixth century. The name Arthur literally means, "The Bear."
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Post by brobear on Mar 19, 2017 7:32:33 GMT -5
Ancient Pueblo-Anasazi rock art of a warrior with a bear claw shield - New Mexico.
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Post by brobear on Mar 19, 2017 7:33:25 GMT -5
The Grizzly, Our Greatest Wild Animal by Enos Mills. In the grizzly bear we have the leading animal of North America, and one who might well be put at the head of the wild life of the earth. He has brain and brawn. He is self-contained and is prepared for anything. He makes an impressive appearance. He looks capable. He is bulk, agility, strength, endurance, repose, courage, enthusiasm, and curiosity. He is a master fighter if forced to defend himself. But, a century ago, fifty years ago, or today, one could ramble the grizzly's territory in safety - unless attempting to kill a grizzly. The grizzly objects to being killed. If he is surprised or crowded so that he sees no escape, if the cubs are in danger or the mother thinks they are, or if the bear is wounded, there will be a fight or a retreat; and the grizzly will not be the one retreating. Almost every animal - wild or domestic - will fight if cornered or if he thinks himself cornered. Before the days of the repeating rifle the grizzly boldly wandered over his domain as absolute master; there was nothing for him to fear; not an aggressive foe existed. But, being ever curious, he hastened to examine whatever interested him. But is the grizzly ferocious? All the firsthand evidence I can find says he is not. Speaking from years of experience with him my answer is emphatically, "No!" Nearly every one whom a grizzly has killed went out with the special intention of killing a grizzly. The majority of people who hold the opinion that he is not ferocious are those who studied him without attempting to kill him; while the majority who say that he is ferocious are those who have killed or attempted to kill him.
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Post by brobear on Mar 19, 2017 7:34:39 GMT -5
The Grizzly, Our Greatest Wild Animal by Enos Mills. In summing up the animals of the North and West in 1790, Edward Umfreville wrote of the "red and the grizzle bear" that "their nature is savage and ferocious, their power dangerous, and their haunts to be guarded against." In 1795 Sir Alexander MacKenzie recorded the following:- "The Indians entertain great apprehension of this kind of a bear, which is called the grisly bear, and they never venture to attack it except in a party of least three or four." Henry M. Brackenridge, author of "Views of Louisiana," wrote the following from hearsay:- "This animal is the monarch of the country which he inhabitates. The African lion or the Bengal tiger are not more terrible than he. He is the enemy of man and literally thirsts for human blood. So far from shunning, he seldom fails to attack and even to hunt him. The Indians make war upon these ferocious monsters with ceremonies as they do upon a tribe of their own species, and, in the recital of their victories, the death of one of them gives the warrior greater renown than the scalp of an enemy. He possesses an amazing strength, and attacks without hesitation and tears to pieces the largest buffalo."
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Post by brobear on Mar 19, 2017 12:15:28 GMT -5
Continued... Despite a scattering of encounters with grizzly bears as early as the seventeenth century, for two centuries after Europeans settled the continent, grizzly bears were little known to folk knowledge and only existed as rumors in the scientific grasp of North America. The first known description of grizzlies we have by a European was left by a Spanish explorer Sebastian Viscaino in the year 1602. Sailing along California's Central Coast, in the bay where Monterrey and Carmel ( and Pebble Beach ) would one day stand, two centuries before the Lewis and Clark expedition would bring "white bears" to the attention of Enlightenment science, Viscaino watched grizzlies clamoring with astonishing nimbleness over the carcass of a whale washed up on a Monterrey Bay beach. Almost a century later, in 1690 and far, far inland, a Hudson's Bay Indian trader named Henry Kelsey was traveling overland on the grassy yellow plains of Saskatatchewan when his party encountered a grizzly. This was not a view from the safety of a sailing vessel, but face-to-face on the ground, and Kelsey's first reaction was to shoot. He thus became the first European of record to kill a grizzly bear, an event pregnant with portents for the future of bears and of the Great Plains. Kelsey's act greatly alarmed his Indian companions, who warned him that he had struck down "a god."
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Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 8:26:39 GMT -5
California Grizzly - 1955. Wild animals in particular were invested with extraordinary significance, and for size and ferocity the most impressive species encountered in California was the grizzly. It was the only truly dangerous animal. Whether an Indian met the bear in its actual form, as known to the white man, or saw it with imagined and unusually evil attributes beyond our comprehension, it was an integral part of his environment and one of the factors that shaped his life. The grizzly was certainly the one formidable animal in the environment of the Indian almost throughout the area of California. Before the coming of the Europeans, the natives lacked adequate weapons and were afraid of grizzlies, whereas the bears had little to fear from any living creature. They were at the top of the food chain and could treat native man with contempt. That fact alone explains many attributes of the Indians toward the great carnivore. He was their hereditary enemy ( Goddard, 1903 : 5 ) and the most evil and odious being of which they could conceive ( Powers, 1877 : 240 ). His ferocious disposition, according to the Yokuts, was clearly evident even in death when the muscular fibers bristled erect as his flesh was cut with a knife ( Kroeber, 1925 : 526 ). By contrast, the black bear was considered sacred and lucky. It would run from the Indians, and they could hunt it for its flesh and pelt without fear.
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Post by brobear on Mar 20, 2017 8:27:27 GMT -5
California Grizzly - 1955. The terror that the grizzlies inspired among the Indians is not surprising in view of the superstitions associated with the beasts, as well as their natural ferocity. A Shasta expressed the firm conviction that "The biggest man is scared of a grizzly. He will cry and tremble. Anyone who had had trouble with a grizzly will just bawl and cry. If you just hear one, it scares you to death. You may not know you are shaking until you light your pipe and your hand will just be shaking. Nothing else has that power." ( Holt, 1946 : 311 ). When Dr. Pickering traveled in California with the United States Exploring Expedition during 1841 he noted that, because of the grizzly, Indians "kept on the hills and other high ground, very carefully avoiding the favorite resorts of this animal" ( Cassin, 1858 : 14 ).
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Post by brobear on Mar 24, 2017 12:18:11 GMT -5
Grizzly.
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Post by brobear on Mar 28, 2017 8:29:45 GMT -5
www.discovery.com/tv-shows/great-bear-stakeout/about-grizzlies/grandfather-grizzly/ Grandfather Grizzly The Ancestral Grizzly Read more The Ancestral Grizzly It was customary among many tribes of the Pacific Northwest to tell the grizzly origin story when erecting a totem pole... DCL Grandfather Grizzly According to stories once told by natives of the Pacific Northwest, the grizzly bear was forged by the Great Spirit, who begat the animals of the world from his walking stick. With the heavy end of his staff, the Great Spirit sired a mighty beast to rule the others. It was so powerful and contentious that it chased its maker to the top of the world. This direful creature was the primordial grizzly bear. Early grizzlies - according to the legend - walked on two legs, lived in families, spoke their own language and used heavy clubs as weapons. One day, the Great Spirit's daughter wandered into the forest and lost her way. She became frightened and called for help, only to be discovered by a family of grizzlies. Filled with pity, they invited the young girl to stay with them. She fell in love with their handsome son and the two were joined in marriage. Their children inherited traits from both parents and became the first Native Americans. When the Great Spirit discovered what had happened, He flew into a rage. How dare the grizzlies create a race of men on their own? As punishment, He forbade the grizzlies to speak, ordered them to walk on all fours and instructed them never to use their clubs again. This story, and others like it, helped the tribes of the Pacific Northwest to understand their own origins, as well as those of the grizzly bear. As a consequence of these legends, they felt that very little separated grizzlies from men and referred to the grizzly bear as "grandfather," "old man" or "elder brother." Some tribes would say, "Our arms, legs, fingers, toes, ribs, backbone, stomach, heart and genitals are nearly the same, and grizzlies walk like men, placing their full foot on the ground with each stride." As further proof of the two species' kinship, Native Americans cited the grizzly's ability to stand like a man on two hind legs. According to belief, grizzlies actually retained all of the abilities disallowed by the Great Spirit; they simply kept them hidden. One variation of the grizzly origin story, likely inspired by the commonplace occurrence of two-cub litters, depicts the ancestral woman and bear giving birth to twins. Among tribes that ascribed to this belief, twins were often sequestered in a special lodge, referred to as "grizzly bear children" and raised differently from others. It was even believed that they had special powers...
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Post by brobear on Mar 28, 2017 8:31:58 GMT -5
www.discovery.com/tv-shows/great-bear-stakeout/about-grizzlies/bear-dance/ The Bear Dance The Ute - Part Grizzly? Read more The Ute - Part Grizzly? An Ute family in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1867. The Ute were one of the many western tribes who believed that they were grizzlies... DCL The Bear Dance The special powers of the grizzly itself were celebrated each year by Native American tribes that practiced the "Bear Dance." Practiced by many tribes in western North America, at its core laid the belief that Native Americans are grizzlies in human form These "grizzlies shaped like men" would perform the ritual dance each spring to rouse their furry relatives from hibernation. In exchange for this service, Native Americans received friendship and protection from their more animal-like kin, the grizzlies. As preparations for the Bear Dance commenced, it was believed that spirit messengers traveled from bear den to bear den, gently coaxing the snoozing inhabitants from their slumber. With the ceremony underway, the loud chanting of the singers, the relentless pounding of the drummers and the violent stomping of the dancers fully awakened the groggy grizzlies. These Native Americans tribes believed they would change back into bears upon death. As such, the dance had a second purpose, which was to send messages to deceased loved ones. Furthermore, part of the hope was that, in return for the wakeup call, the grizzlies would use their supernatural powers to help the tribe. It was believed that in addition to great wisdom, grizzlies possessed immortal invulnerability, healing powers and that they knew the secrets of medicinal herbs. It is easy to see where such beliefs originated - grizzlies eat a broad array of plants, berries and roots and are incredibly difficult to kill with weapons such as spears or hand axes. In fact, to fell a grizzly was considered one of the most honored and revered feats among some Native American tribes...
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Post by brobear on Mar 28, 2017 8:34:50 GMT -5
A Test of Bravery No virtue was more valued among Native Americans than bravery, and no act required greater bravery than confronting a grizzly bear. Many Native American tribes avoided the towering beast altogether, especially those that worshipped the grizzly as a direct ancestor. Others, like the Sioux and the Fox, considered slaying a grizzly bear to be a deed of tremendous courage. A hunting party would spend more than a week in solemn preparation for the encounter. Ceremonial rites were performed with the same gravity as those undertaken before warfare. On the final day, a party of eight or more men adorned their bodies with war paint and entered the wilderness with bows, arrows, spears and hand axes in search of their quarry. With a grizzly bear in sight, the hunters quickly fanned out in anticipation of the inevitable attack. As the grizzly charged, the men encircled the beast and pelted it with arrows. Meanwhile, the bravest among them approached closely with spears and axes. Only a wound to the head or heart was enough to slaughter the giant animal. Even after receiving a seemingly fatal blow, the bear would often continue to fight. Frequently, one or more men would fall victim to the grizzly before the battle was over. Once slain, the bear was traditionally treated to a lit pipe of tobacco. A person would blow into the pipe to fill the grizzly's lungs with smoke, thus summoning its spirit, which was asked not to resent the hunt or its aftermath, and to allow further chases to be successful. The entire grizzly was then brought back to camp and eaten, while its claws were fashioned into a necklace - the most highly respected personal decoration a Native American could wear. The grizzly bear and its Native American "brothers" coexisted in relative peace and a state of mutual respect for thousands of years until seekers of the "New World" landed on America's shores... www.discovery.com/tv-shows/great-bear-stakeout/about-grizzlies/history/
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 7:50:24 GMT -5
I must say I love this series.
I think it helps one to look at the bear in a different light, something not always easy to do considering we don't get as many references of them, as we do from other animals.
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Post by brobear on Apr 22, 2017 1:41:55 GMT -5
GRIZZLIES WALKING UPRIGHT Re-told by Louisa Willcox Before there were people on earth, the Chief of the Sky Spirits grew tired of his home in the Above World, because the air was always brittle with an icy cold. So he carved a hole in the sky with a stone and pushed all the snow and ice down below until he made a great mound that reached from the earth almost to the sky. Today it is known as Mount Shasta. One summer day, she put her basket on her back, the tump line across her forehead, and left the village with the other women to pick gooseberries that they would dry, and mix with elk fat to make pemmican to last the long winter ahead. The afternoon grew hot and she decided to sit down by a nearby stream, and rest and wash her arms that were pricked with thorns. She fell asleep. When she woke up, the sun was down and the other women were gone. She jumped up and grabbed her basket – and the tump line broke. Her whole day’s work scattered on the ground. When she looked up, there before her was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He had long black braids tied with eagle feathers, and dark eyes that looked right through her. And his tunic was the fine deerskin, finer than anything her people made. And from his chest down to his moccasins, he was covered with beads – blue and red and yellow. He stepped forward and offered to pick up her berries. But before she could respond, he had crouched down and began gathering them up. And she could see the muscles of his shoulders and back under his tunic. Then the Sky Spirit took his walking stick, stepped from a cloud to the peak, and walked down to the mountain. When he was about halfway to the valley below, he began to put his finger to the ground here and there, here and there. Wherever his finger touched, a tree grew. The snow melted in his footsteps, and the water ran down in rivers. The Sky Spirit broke off the small end of his giant stick and threw the pieces into the rivers. The longer pieces turned into beaver and otter; the smaller pieces became fish. When the leaves dropped from the trees, he picked them up, blew upon them, and so made the birds. Then he took the big end of his giant stick and made all the animals that walked on the earth, the biggest of which were the grizzly bears. Now when they were first made, the bears were covered with hair and had sharp claws, just as they do today, but they walked on two feet and could talk like people. They looked so fierce that the Sky Spirit sent them away from him to live in the forest at the base of the mountain. Pleased with what he’d done, the Chief of the Sky Spirits decided to bring his family down and live on earth himself. The mountains of snow and ice became their lodge. He made a big fire in the center of the mountain and a hole in the top so that the smoke and sparks could fly out. When he put a big log on the fire, sparks would fly up and the earth would tremble. Late one spring while the Sky Spirit and his family were sitting round the fire, tile Wind Spirit sent a great storm that shook the top of the mountain. It blew and blew and roared and roared. Smoke blown back into the lodge hurt their eyes, and finally the Sky Spirit said to his youngest daughter, “Climb up to tile smoke hole and ask the Wind Spirit to blow more gently. Tell him I’m afraid he will blow the mountain over.” As his daughter started up, her father said, “But be careful not to stick your head out at the top. If you do, the wind may catch you by the hair and blow you away.” The girl hurried to the top of the mountain and stayed well inside the smoke hole as she spoke to the Wind Spirit. As she was about to climb back down, she remembered that her father had once said you could see the ocean from the top of their lodge. His daughter wondered what the ocean looked like, and her curiosity got the better of her. She poked her head out of the hole and turned toward the west, but before she could see anything, the Wind Spirit caught her long hair, pulled her out of the mountain, and blew her down over the snow and ice. She landed among the scrubby fir trees at the edge of the timber and snow line, her long red hair trailing over the snow. There a grizzly bear found the little girl when he was out hunting food for his family. He carried her home with him, and his wife brought her up with their family of cubs. The little red-haired girl and the cubs ate together, played together, and grew up together. When she became a young woman, she and the eldest son of the grizzly bears were married. In the years that followed they had many children, who were not as hairy as the grizzlies, yet did not look exactly like their spirit mother, either. All the grizzly bears throughout the forests were so proud of these new creatures that they made a lodge for the red-haired mother and her children. They placed the lodge near Mount Shasta—it is called Little Mount Shasta today. After many years had passed, the mother grizzly bear knew that she would soon die. Fearing that she should ask of the Chief of the Sky Spirits to forgive her for keeping his daughter, she gathered all the grizzlies at the lodge they had built. Then she sent her eldest grandson in a cloud to the top of Mount Shasta, to tell the Spirit Chief where he could find his long-lost daughter. When the father got this news he was so glad that he came down the mountainside in giant strides, melting the snow and tearing up the laud under his feet. Even today his tracks can be seen in the rocky path on the south side of Mount Shasta. As he neared the lodge, he called out, “Is this where my little daughter lives?” He expected his child to look exactly as she had when he saw her last. When he found a grown woman instead, and learned that the strange creatures she was taking care of were his grandchildren, he became very angry. A new race had been created that was not of his making! He frowned on the old grandmother so sternly that she promptly fell dead. Then he cursed all the grizzlies: “Get down on your hands and knees. You have wronged me, and from this moment all of you will walk on four feet and never talk again.” He drove his grandchildren out of the lodge, put his daughter over his shoulder, and climbed back up the mountain. Never again did he come to the forest. Some say that he put out the fire in the center of his lodge and took his daughter back up to the sky to live. Those strange creatures, his grandchildren, scattered and wandered over the earth. They were the first Indians, the ancestors of all the Indian tribes. That’s why the Indians living around Mount Shasta would never kill a grizzly bear. Whenever a grizzly killed an Indian, his body was burned on the spot. And for many years all who passed that way cast a stone there until a great pile of stones marked the place of his death.
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Post by brobear on Apr 22, 2017 1:45:04 GMT -5
The Woman Who Married A Bear Re-told by Louisa Willcox I learned this story years ago. It has been with me so long, this has become my version, although there are hundreds of versions of this ancient story, which is told throughout the Northern Hemisphere. This is a story about a young woman who lived with her family near snow-capped mountains, at the edge of the known world. She wore a plain tunic with no beads, because her family was very poor. And even though her father and brothers were good hunters, there were many winters just before green-up, when there was hardly anything to eat. One summer day, she put her basket on her back, the tump line across her forehead, and left the village with the other women to pick gooseberries that they would dry, and mix with elk fat to make pemmican to last the long winter ahead. The afternoon grew hot and she decided to sit down by a nearby stream, and rest and wash her arms that were pricked with thorns. She fell asleep. When she woke up, the sun was down and the other women were gone. She jumped up and grabbed her basket – and the tump line broke. Her whole day’s work scattered on the ground. When she looked up, there before her was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He had long black braids tied with eagle feathers, and dark eyes that looked right through her. And his tunic was the fine deerskin, finer than anything her people made. And from his chest down to his moccasins, he was covered with beads – blue and red and yellow. He stepped forward and offered to pick up her berries. But before she could respond, he had crouched down and began gathering them up. And she could see the muscles of his shoulders and back under his tunic. Then he rose and looked at her, and said, “Will you come with me to my village, which is far away, to the north.” That was beyond the edge of the known world! She hesitated – for about thirty seconds -- and then followed him through dark spruce- fir forests, up and over white glaciers at night, and down till they came to a rushing river, which he swam carrying her on his back. Days later they stood on a ridge at sunset, looking down at a village with many fine lodges, finer than anything her people built. She saw people coming in from all directions, carrying meat – moose and elk and buffalo. She watched as one man approached the door of the biggest lodge, and slipped his tunic off at the door. And he was covered with dark fur. Just then she felt a soft hand on her shoulder and heard a low voice in her ear, “Do not be afraid. These are my people and you are my wife now, and my family, who live in the largest lodge, will welcome you.” So she made her way to the largest lodge, and just at the door she turned around, and her husband too had taken off his tunic. He was a bear! When she went inside, she was filled with the smell of meat cooking, and she could see by the fire light the shapes of bears. And she heard them shuffling and whispering and settling down for the night, talking about where they had been that day, and what they had done, like her people did. That evening, she ate well, and as she lay down by her husband, she was so happy. The next dawn – and every dawn that summer -- her husband put on his human tunic, and she followed him out of the village. And he taught her the songs of the plants, and which were good to eat and which were good for medicine. White yampa, the crunchy bulbs of glacier lily, and arnica to heal the sores. But when the last yellow aspen leaves had fallen, and snow dusted the peaks, her husband came to her and said, “You cannot stay here for the winter. You must go back to your people. But when the first spring bluebird arrives, if you still love me, you may return again. I ask you only one thing, say nothing about where you have been or who you have been with.” So she went back, by herself, swam the river, and climbed the mountains, and crossed the glaciers, and dropped through the spruce-fir forest to her village. And her people were delighted to see her. “Why we had taken you for dead – maybe eaten by a wild animal, like maybe a bear! My, how well fed you are, and what fine clothes you are wearing! Where have you been and who have you been with?” She would not say. But every day that winter, she taught her people the songs of the plants and which were good to eat and which were good for medicine. And then in the spring when the first bluebird arrived, she left her village in the dead of night, and walked back through the forests and over the mountains and across the river, to her husband. And he was so happy to see her. And every day that summer, he taught her more of the songs of the plants – elk thistle and yellow biscuitroot, and willow bark to ease the cramps. But when the eagles and hawks flew overhead and the creeks froze at night, her husband came to her and said, “You cannot stay here for the winter, and you must go back to your people. But when the first red buds appear on the dogwood, if you still love me, you may return. Again I ask you, do not tell anyone where you have been or who you have been with.” So she made the long journey back to her people, and they were so excited to see her. But they were also very curious, and that winter they tried to tease and trick her into telling where she had been and who she had been with. But she would not say. Instead, all winter she taught her people more of the songs of the plants and which were good to eat and which were good for medicine. Then in spring when the first dogwood buds appeared, she left her village and returned to her husband. And he was so happy to see her. And every day that summer he taught her more of the plant’s songs, all of them but one. Sweet bluebells, and tart miners lettuce, and kinnikinnick to bring on the dreams. And then in the fall when the blueberry was all bright red, and the elk were squealing and crashing through the trees, her husband came to her and said, “This is the last time that I will ask you to return to you people for the winter, for next year I will teach you the last great song, and you can stay with me forever. But you must go back now, and come again, if you still love me, after the first ground squirrel pops its head above ground. And I ask you again, do not tell anyone where you have been or who you have been with.” So she made the long journey back to her people’s village. But this time it was hard because she was carrying more than one. Again, her family was delighted to see her, but they were also dying of curiosity. And all winter they would not give her a moment’s peace and badgered her to tell them where she had been and who she had been with. Tell me tell me tell me. But she would not. Then right after the shortest day of winter, she gave birth to two beautiful boys who were strong and grew so quickly. In the spring, when the first ground squirrel popped its head into view, she packed her boys on her back and left the village at night. But she did not know that her father and her brothers tracked her back. They were good trackers, but they got nervous when her footprints led them farther and farther away from edge of the known world. Several days later, they stood at sunset on a ridge above a great village, with lodges finer than anything they had seen. They watched as the woman slipped into the biggest lodge. And a young man followed her, and just at the door of the lodge, he pulled his tunic off. He was a bear, and he was going in after her! They rushed down the hill, and ripped open the door of the lodge, and killed every bear there with their spears. And then the woman grabbed a spear, and killed her father and her brothers. Then she rounded up her sons, and went off to the wilderness, armed only with the songs that she had learned. And those sons, they became famous for the magical powers they possessed, and the mischief they caused, changing shape from human to bears and back again. The woman never learned the last great song, but her sons did. The elders say that this is a story about how we humans learned to make a living in the world, and what was good to eat and what was good for medicine. And why we cannot sleep through the winter, because we never learned that last great song. But the elders understood that these stories have many layers, and that it is up to each one of us to decide what this story means to us. Well to me, this is a story about taking risks and making sacrifices and about the creative power of love. But it is more than that. To me, this is about the limitations of human understanding and the consequences, sometimes, terrible ones, of our confusion. But it is more than that. To me, the woman who married a bear is about new possibilities that are born of the union of the spirit of wild nature and the human spirit. And about discoveries that can only be made beyond the edge of the known world.
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Post by brobear on Apr 22, 2017 11:38:29 GMT -5
The Bear ( beginning with both the cave bear and the Grizzly ) was the 'King of Beasts' in Europe beginning back during the Pleistocene. Then, because of superstitious beliefs, the Church waged war against the bear - ( No other animal in Earth's history has had a war declared against it ). There were bear cults in those days, and the Church was determined to end it. Also, it was believed by the majority that bears would kidnap young women and girls - ( for mates ). Therefore ( to make an incredibly long story short ) the Lion was chosen by the early Church to become the new 'King of Beasts' - the Lion's new status became complete somewhere between 1000 AD and 1200 AD. But now - today - roughly 800 years later, we know that the Grizzly does not breed with young women and the bear cults have ended. Therefore, there is no reason why the Grizzly should not be reinstated as the 'King of Beasts'. It makes perfect sense. Unlike the Lion, the Grizzly had actually earned his status. Also, the Lion only eats meat. The Grizzly can be King of the Predators, King of the Scavengers, King of the Vegetarians, King of the Insectivores, King of the Piscavores, and so on.
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Post by brobear on Apr 23, 2017 6:12:48 GMT -5
Notorious Grizzly Bears by W.P. Hubbard - 1960 - The Grizzly Bears - Early History. Before the white man invaded the West, the grizzly, when occasionally attacked by Indians using arrows, knives, spears, and clubs, defended himself with a success that was astounding. Indians feared the grizzly above all animals and seldom hunted them. Among the Blackfeet Indians, to kill a grizzly was considered as brave a deed as killing an enemy.
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