Treasury of American Indian Tales

by Theodore Whitson Ressler

“No, my father,” said Little Fox, “but by the rising of the next new moon, I shall have many eagle feathers, for tomorrow I start in search of the Great Golden Eagle. It has been told by Great Moose that beyond the three hills many Golden Eagles have been seen.”

Swift Deer was proud. He knew that though his son was small he had in his breast a brave heart, for to go in search of the Great Golden Eagle took a great deal of courage. Once again Swift Deer took his son aside and told him the many dangers of eagle hunting, but praised him for his bravery in going to get the tail feathers of the Great Golden Eagle.

The following morning, Little Fox took some food. Then taking a long strong thong of deerskin, he looped it several times around his waist and tied the food pouch to it. Strapping a knife also to the thong, he started for the place where the Great Golden Eagles had been seen.

On the way he stopped just long enough to snare a plump young rabbit which he would use for bait. When he reached the place where the eagles were to be found, he started digging a deep hole, large enough for him to stand in. Then he placed branches over the hole to hide it, with a small space for him to reach through and grasp the tail feathers of the eagle. To the top of this cover he tied the plump young rabbit with a piece of thong. After all was in readiness, Little Fox lifted the edge of his cover and slid into the hole, resting his foot on a thick root which stuck out of the earth into the hole. Placing his back against the side of the hole, he waited patiently for the Golden Eagle.

An hour passed and then two and three, and Little Fox began to feel his muscles tighten up and his body start to grow stiff. He began to feel impatient. Suddenly, he heard the rabbit begin to move about uneasily, then tug in panic against the thong that held him. Surely the Golden Eagle must be close by. Little Fox felt relaxed; the stiffness in his body was gone. Now excitement rushed into his body as he waited for the Golden Eagle to come to rest on the top of his hiding place.

All at once, Little Fox felt the ground tremble and he heard what sounded like the low rumble of a waterfall. Then he knew that what he had heard was the low growl of a bear. He peered through a crack in the cover over the hole and saw the bear’s towering form. Fear gripped the heart of Little Fox. Many were the stories he had heard of Indians who had lost their lives while hunting for the prized feathers of the Golden Eagle.

The bear, with the swiftness of a fleeting arrow, made one sweep with his huge paw and the rabbit went sprawling. The bear paused as though he were thinking about the problem before him. Here was one of his enemies trapped beneath his feet. How would he reach his enemy? With an angry growl he ripped at the boughs which covered the hiding place of Little Fox until he had uncovered the top of the hole.

Holding his breath and his heart beating wildly, Little Fox crouched far down in the hole and waited for the final moment when he, instead of the Golden Eagle, would fall victim in his own trap. The bear lunged but missed his mark. Little Fox suddenly realized that the top of the hole was too small for the bear to get his paw and his head in at the same time. Again and again the bear lunged, but without success. The more he lunged and failed, the angrier he became. He thrust first his paw and then his head into the hole; but Little Fox, by pressing down against the bottom of the hole, was able to keep just out of reach of the flailing paws and gnashing teeth. All of a sudden, the bear pulled back away from the hole as if to consider his next move. In this instant, Little Fox thought of a way that might save his life. He quickly untied the long leather thong around his waist, made a loop of it, and as slowly and quietly as possible placed the loop just below the opening, holding it in place all around by pressing the thong into the earth. Little Fox tied the other end to the root on which he had been standing.

Now the bear was returning. Little Fox waited, holding tight to the leather thong. As the bear placed his head in the hole and so into the loop, Little Fox pulled hard on the thong, which immediately came loose from the earth and tightened around the throat of the bear.

In angry surprise, the bear pulled back from the hole only to be stopped short as the thong drew tight. Then he began a series of noises which Little Fox remembered for many moons. The bear’s growls gradually grew to roars, and then turned to cries of pain. The harder the bear pulled, the tighter the thong gripped his throat, until the cries became coughs and gasps. Then all was quiet. The bear’s thrashing around had ceased, but still Little Fox waited.