Indian Scout Talks: A Guide for Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls

by Charles A. Eastman

There is in the human mind a deep-seated and not wholly reasonable suspicion of the “silent people,” as the Indian calls the wild animals, more especially of the hunting or carnivorous animals. They, on their part, are equally cautious, and take note of the scent as well as the looks and actions of the people they meet. Instinct is to them a sure guide, and when they do venture to disobey her voice, they almost always come to grief. Like children, the animals are very curious, and, even though terrified, they will sometimes stop to investigate the cause of their fright.

I have seen, in the old buffalo days upon the upper Missouri, a coyote or gray wolf go unnoticed by a herd of buffalo, elk, or even the timid antelope. The reason for this is that it was not the wolf’s hunting season, which is when there are calves or fawns with the herd. Should a wolf come in sight at this time, every mother runs with her young for safety, and the whole herd becomes excited.

The wolf on the open prairie and the silver-tip bear, a near cousin to the grizzly, will sometimes take a fancy to keep company with you for several miles, if he thinks you did not see him. In such a case, he will not follow you, but keeps abreast, just far enough away to avoid discovery. He will occasionally stop and watch you from behind cover; but do not be alarmed! He has no intention of attacking you. Probably he has a home and little ones not far off, and wishes to assure himself that the stranger has no designs upon his peace.

It is well known to Indian hunters that no animal offers battle to man except under very strong provocation. The grizzly bear is the notable exception to this rule. Others, even the so-called ferocious beasts, need not be feared except when pushed to the wall.

No doubt you have been more or less influenced by what you have read in books of adventure, which are mainly highly spiced fiction. If I were to relate to you all the fireside stories of the wild Indian, whose hunters were constantly in the field, you would find that hand-to-hand combats with beasts were few indeed. If the buffalo and other large animals were aggressive in temper, what chance had the poor Indian—on foot, and, before the coming of the European, armed only with bow and arrows or a bone spear?

There are several things, therefore, which you may put down as general truths. First, the animals are accustomed to mind strictly their own business and are not likely to interfere with you unless you molest them first. Second, there is a way to learn the peculiarity of each and make his acquaintance. Third, it is possible to influence them greatly, even in critical circumstances, by firmness and self-control.

If ever a grizzly bear happens to charge upon you, with wide-open lips showing his powerful teeth and eyes flashing with anger, have the nerve to stand your ground! Without moving a muscle, your eyes fixed on his, you may threaten him with a mere sharp stick, and he will change his mind. He growls, but you do not answer his challenge; he concludes to pass on. Here is a clear demonstration of our Indian axiom: “Silence is greater than speech.”

A few years ago, an instance of this kind came to my ears among the Assiniboine Sioux. Four Stars, a brave, followed one side of a deep gulch while his two companions were on the other side, hunting deer. As he approached the ravine, which was full of wild cherry and plum bushes, his friends saw from the opposite bank a female silver-tip with her two nearly full-grown cubs lurking within the thicket. They made every effort to attract his attention, but in vain. He walked right down the slope, apparently to his death.

When the three bears charged, Four Stars was taken completely by surprise, but he showed no fear. He stopped short in his tracks and assumed a rigid pose, his old single-loading musket extended from his shoulder. The bears came on until they could plainly see his eyes; then they paused and crouched, displaying their teeth and claws. A puff of smoke from Four Stars’ gun; the mother fell and rolled on the ground. The young bears leaped savagely forward, but the young man ripped off his shirt and threw it in their path, causing them to hesitate. Meanwhile, as his ejector was broken, he used a ramrod to push out the shell of his cartridge, calmly re-loaded and fired, killing the two.

Here was a hero. The odds were against him. He knew the peculiar weakness of the foe, but to take advantage of this knowledge required something equally important—the nerve of a master man!