Chapter XXIV: Onesta and His Sacred Bear Spear

Onesta was an older man than Little Creek. He was religious, fond of rituals, inactive and inclined to sit by the fire. But he had a good mind and liked to lead ceremonies. It gave him a prominent social position in the tribe. He was a good story-teller, but only talked when he felt in the mood, and that did not happen often. He was reserved and adroit in hiding under an air of candor what he did not want to discuss; then he had a sort of mask to cover his feelings. Although he lacked a sense of humor, he was fond of jokes when he felt in the mood; but he was inclined to be religious and serious rather than pleasure-loving.

He disliked being questioned, and in all my dealings with him he never asked me a question and never went directly to the point. He was moody, as sensitive as a child and easily offended. I never felt sure of him. To get on with him, it was necessary to gain his confidence. If I treated him familiarly, it put him on his guard and hurt his pride. He did not reason, but acted from impulse. Sometimes he got offended for no apparent reason. Then no explanation would satisfy. It was better to take no notice, to joke and be friendly and make him forget. Then his mood would suddenly change and he would feel light-hearted and happy. He had a certain kind of sentiment. He liked to talk over the good times we had together, and camps where he had been happy with his friends.

Onesta was the owner of a sacred bundle called the Bear Spear. On our travels he always kept it near him and attended to it first, whenever we came into camp. By day it hung from a tripod in the sunlight; but he always took it inside the tepee at night. He never exposed it to storm, nor let it lie on the ground. Once, when he went away from camp, he asked me to look after the Spear. He said his wife could not attend to it, because women were not allowed to handle the Bear Spear.

The day before we came into the country of the Blood Indians, Onesta and his wife Nitana gave a ceremony over the sacred Spear. They said it was necessary to do this, before approaching a strange camp, to protect our party from danger and to guard against any “bad medicine.” They put on their ceremonial clothes of yellow, the color sacred to the Spear. Nitana washed their small daughter, Yellow Mink, and dressed her in yellow. They sang chants together and burned sweet grass as incense and prayed for a safe and successful journey. I helped them with their songs, because Onesta said my voice added power to their prayers.

Then he brought forth a minkskin and had another ceremony. He prayed over it and burned dried seeds for incense, which he got from the tops of the narrow-leaved puccoon. They painted their faces, and Onesta said to me: “Brother, you had better let me paint your face too, that the Bloods may know you have become an Indian; the paint will also so protect your white skin from the hot sun.”

Nitana decorated my moccasins with paint, the way they did their own; it made them look better, she said.

She was a good-natured woman and easy-going, but liked to bully her husband. Naturally timid and shy and inclined to stoutness, she lacked energy. But she had great respect for my Indian sister Strikes-on-Both-Sides and always followed her lead.

That evening by our camp-fire, Onesta was in the mood for talking. He told us about the origin of his Bear Spear.

LEGEND OF THE BEAR SPEAR

“The things I now tell you happened long ago, in the days when our
people used dogs instead of horses to carry their baggage. One
evening, when a band of Indians came into camp, the chief announced
that one of his travois dogs was lost. No one remembered seeing the
dog, so Little Mink, youngest son of the chief, asked his father to
let him go back to look for the missing dog. He said:

“‘I am old enough to make the trip alone. I shall go straight to
our old camp-ground.’

“At first the father refused, he thought his son was too young to
make such a long trip alone. But the boy was so eager, he was
allowed to go.

“Little Mink followed the trail back to their last camp-ground,
which was close to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. First he went
to the place where his father’s lodge had stood; he thought the dog
might still be there. Then he walked around the deserted
camp-circle, watching the ground for tracks.

“At last he found a single dog track going towards the mountains.
It led him into a well-worn trail through a rocky ravine, to a cave
whose mouth was hidden by service-berry and chokecherry bushes. And
there he saw the missing travois, but the dog was gone.

“While Little Mink was looking at the travois and wondering what
had become of their dog, he heard a loud roar; and a big grizzly
bear rushed from the cave. Raising himself on his hind legs, he
seized the boy in his arms and carried him into the dark cave. When
Little Mink’s eyes became accustomed to the dark, and he saw the
enormous size of the bear that held him, he fainted. After a while
he wakened and found himself lying on the floor of the cave, so
close to the mouth of the big grizzly he could feel his hot breath.
When he tried to move, the bear thrust out his long sharp claws and
held him tight. After that the boy lay very still; he scarcely even
moved, but gazed straight ahead. At last the bear said:

“‘My son, be not afraid, for I shall do you no harm. I am the chief
of the bears and my power is very great. It was my power that
brought you to this cave. If you are willing to remain here with me
while the snows are deep, I will help you. Before you leave my den
in the spring, I will bestow my power upon you. You will become a
great chief and can help your people.’

“Then the grizzly stood upon his hind legs; he was so big his head
almost touched the roof. First he walked round and round; and
showed the boy a pile of green branches with different kinds of
berries. He said:

“‘You will have plenty of berries for food. The bear eats them
branches and all, but you can pick off the berries.’

“After that the bear took him to the other side of the cave and
showed him a pile of buffalo chips. He changed these into pemmican
through his supernatural power, dancing around the cave and holding
them in his paws.

“All that winter Little Mink stayed in the cave with the bear,
acting just as he did. His eyes became so accustomed to the dark,
he could see as well as the bear himself. While the snow was deep,
the bear lay on one side, he did not even move. But, when the warm
winds of spring began to blow, he began to get restless and move
about. One day the bear rolled over on his back and lay for a long
time with his legs in the air. He sat up and began to yawn. Then he
rose to his feet and walked round and round the cave, and finally
stopped to look outside.

“He said that spring had come and it was time to leave the cave. He
took the boy to the door and told him to look out. A warm wind was
blowing and the snow was melting from the hills. But, before they
left the den, the grizzly bestowed some of his supernatural power
upon Little Mink.

“He took a stick and raised himself on his hind legs, holding out
his arms and extending his long claws. He tossed up his huge head
and snorted and rolled back his lips; he showed his sharp teeth and
chanted:

“‘Behold my nose with its keen scent,
My claws and teeth, they are my weapons.
Everything that lives fears the grizzly bear.’

And then the bear said to Little Mink:

“‘When you get back to your tribe, make a Bear Spear. Take a sharp
stone and fasten it to a long shaft. Fasten bear’s teeth to the
handle, also the nose of a bear, because the nose and teeth should
go together. Cover the staff with bearskin and decorate it with red
paint. Tie grizzly claws to the handle; they will rattle and sound
like a grizzly does when he runs. Whenever you go to war, wear the
claw of a grizzly bear fastened in your hair; and my power will go
with you. Make a nose like a grizzly bear when you charge in
battle; and your enemies will run, because everything that lives
fears the power of a grizzly bear.’

“The bear taught Little Mink how to heal the sick. He showed him
the ceremony to use; how to paint his face and body and the marks
to use for the ‘bear face.’ He told him that the Spear was sacred
and should be used only on important occasions. If any one were
ill, a relative could make a vow to the Bear Spear. After that the
ceremony should be given, and the sick would be restored.

“Then Little Mink left the grizzly and returned to his father’s
camp. The chief was proud of his son. He gave a big feast and
invited the head men to meet him. After they had feasted and
smoked, Little Mink told them how he spent the winter in the den of
the chief of the grizzly bears and showed his Bear Spear.”