Treasury of American Indian Tales

by Theodore Whitson Ressler

In the great forest one did not have to look too far for water because all through the great forest there ran many streams of clear cool water. So it was not long before Red Cloud found such a stream and, after splashing the icy cold water in his face to chase the sleep from his eyes, he drank deeply until his thirst was satisfied. Then turning from the stream he started back toward his camp.

When he arrived back at his blanket, he spread it on the ground and then lay down to gaze up into the sky through the openings in the trees. He passed an hour or more making wonderful pictures in his mind from the formation of clouds that floated overhead across the heavens. Billowy white puffs of smoke they seemed to be, and Red Cloud marveled at how soft and pure they looked. But soon his restless heart made him rise from the blanket and he decided to explore. He started for the top of the ridge many miles away and when he had reached there he knelt, turning his head toward the heavens and raising his arms. And so as if reaching for the sun he made his prayers to the great Wakanda.

When he had knelt in this position for an hour or more he rose to start down the ridge toward his campsite again, planning to go in another direction from the campsite and eventually explore the whole surrounding area. It was then that he noticed a slight stirring in the brush. Quickly Red Cloud dropped behind a shelter of rock and watched the spot in the brush. He did not know what to expect, for this part of the forest was strange to him and he did not know what might be hidden in the brush. Then as he watched the brush he realized that the slight breeze that was blowing would be carrying his scent right toward whatever was concealed in the patch of brush.

Then he saw it was a tremendous brown bear which was six feet tall on its hind feet. Evidently the bear had been eating blueberries from the bushes which covered the side of the ridge and had suddenly become aware of the presence of someone or something which was foreign to him. The bear was now raised up on his hind paws in order to look over the tops of the bushes and see if he could discover this thing which had invaded his feeding grounds.

Red Cloud crouched even lower behind the rock, for he knew that a brown bear could be very mean, especially when he was hungry. Then Red Cloud thought of his weapons. In seeking water he had left his weapons at the campsite and had nothing with him but his hunting knife, which he felt would do him little good against a mad full-grown brown bear. So the best thing he could do was to attempt to circle the bear and get downwind from him so that the bear could no longer smell him. But he must do it by keeping out of sight.

Slowly Red Cloud edged himself out from behind the rock, keeping his body pressed close to the ground. Before he started to move he noticed that the bear had settled down to feeding once again. The breeze had died down but there was always the danger of a quick gust again and Red Cloud realized he was still in a dangerous position. He hugged the ground as hard as he could and continued to squirm away from and around this dangerous bear.

Then Red Cloud was aware of another danger. Having gone without food for almost two whole days, he was not the strong lad that he would have been when eating two hearty meals a day. He wondered, if the bear did see him, whether he would be able to run fast enough to get away from the bear. But getting downwind was the most important thing at this time, so Red Cloud continued to crawl and the rough stones on the forest floor cut through his shirt and into his skin, scraping it raw; but the more it hurt the harder Red Cloud pressed his body against the friendly earth.

He slowly raised his head and realized that he was now almost completely downwind from the bear and that the big fellow had gone back to munching the berries. For what seemed like hours, Red Cloud lay quietly in hiding behind a great oak tree, not daring to look out for fear the bear would be looking around just at the time he peeked out from behind the tree.

And then it happened. Red Cloud had been lying so still, afraid to move, that suddenly he felt his leg go numb and he realized that his leg had gone to sleep. He moved it slightly to bring circulation and life back into it and in so doing he dislodged a fairly large stone which began its noisy fall down the side of the ridge and as it rolled it would click against other stones and they too would join the miniature landslide. Red Cloud huddled behind the tree and then he heard a low growl. He decided he had better take a chance and glance from behind the tree, and as he did his heart leapt, for the bear was looking almost right at him. The bear let out another terrible growl, and then from above where Red Cloud lay in hiding, the young brave heard another growl.

Slowly turning his head so that he could look up the ridge, he saw the reason for the bear’s sudden anger. His berry patch had been invaded by another large brown bear who was now growling out a challenge. If either bear had spotted Red Cloud, he was forgotten now, for they had eyes only for each other and possession of the berry patch was the prize which they both sought.