Then she started away, running swiftly. She had become a bear of enormous size and power. Going to the place where the tracks of the fugitives showed the direction they had taken, and placing her paws on the path along which they had fled, she exclaimed: “It is impossible for you to escape even though you should have gone to the end of the earth.” With these words she started in pursuit of the fugitives. As she ran along she often placed her paws on the [[675]]track made by the young man, and this act caused him to reel and stagger, so potent with evil orenda was the body of the old woman. They were at this time two days’ journey apart, but the old woman, who had transformed herself into a huge bear, was rapidly overtaking the fugitives, every moment drawing nearer and nearer to them, for she was indeed running rapidly.
Finally the young man overheard the old woman, who had resumed her real character (that of a great bear), say: “Thou shalt surely die.” As he listened to the words he drew from his fawn-skin pouch the feather of a wild pigeon. Casting this back of him he made the invocation: “Right away let there be a roost of pigeons here and let their numbers be so great that their droppings shall form a rampart stretching across the world and equal in height to half that of the tallest tree.” As soon as he had finished speaking the air resounded with the sounds made by the alighting of many thousands of wild pigeons; among these sounds one heard, Gäk, gäk, gäk, gäk, and Dūm—m.[453]
There was no possibility for anyone else to possess more orenda than that possessed by the young man; so he passed on, and behind him the great bear came on a run. The monster arrived at the roosting place of the wild pigeons. There was a rampart of their droppings extending upward half the height of the tallest trees. The bear made an attempt to force its way through the great rampart of droppings, but was unable to do so, merely becoming thoroughly covered with the filth. It was not easy for the monster to extricate herself from the great rampart, hence she decided on another course of action.
She started on a run along the rampart’s edge, saying: “There has never been a time when a pigeon roost extended across the world.” After following the rampart for a long time she became tired and returned to the place where the tracks of the fugitive seemingly entered the rampart, where she lay down for the night. In the morning there was nothing to be seen, for the rampart had disappeared. Thereupon the bear exclaimed: “How exceedingly unfortunate this is; verily, he is a great wizard.” Starting in pursuit again, she placed her paws on the track of the young man, causing him to stagger and reel.
Not long after this he heard her speak again, saying: “Thou shalt surely die.” At these words the young man took from his pouch a piece of rock, which he cast behind him with the words: “Let a rock cliff rise here at once which shall reach across the world and which nothing shall have the power of clearing, nothing that has unusual orenda.” With this the young man passed on, but as soon as he had ceased speaking the rock cliff stood complete. In a short time the great bear arrived at this cliff. She failed in an attempt to go [[676]]through in several places, as it was impossible for her to pass this obstruction. Next she ran along the side of the cliff, saying: “We have never heard of a rock cliff that extends across the world.” But after going a long distance the bear, becoming weary, returned to the spot where the track of the young man disappeared under the cliff. There she stopped for the night. In the morning there was no rock cliff to be found, whereupon the great bear said: “How exceedingly distressing this is.” At once placing her paw on the track made by the young man, she added: “Indeed, he is a mighty wizard.” At this the fugitive reeled and staggered, and the old woman in the form of a great bear again pursued him.
He had not gone very far when suddenly he heard ahead the singing of a man: Agadăʼädjoñʹⁿiga soʹdjĭʼ ĕñʼʹ ăgwasʹ deiodiʼäʹdet. When the young man came up to him the singer said: “My dear nephew, have courage. I shall detain the monster with difficulties. It has not been long since your younger sister passed here, and now there is nothing intervening. So have courage. Your mother’s lodge stands not far from here.”
So the young man passed on. The man who had been singing set up many pikes, and when he had finished his work he was surprised to see coming toward him a great beast. Soon the bear came up to the place where he set his pikes and assaulted them with great force. These gave way to a small extent, whereupon the two, the great bear and the man, who had now assumed his true character, grappled. In their long struggle the pikes were broken, and the great bear, at once freeing herself, again ran onward.
Suddenly the young man saw running ahead of him his sister, who was nearly exhausted. Overtaking her, the young man said to her after seizing her arm: “Have courage, my younger sister. We are to die perhaps, I think.”
They lost no time but at once fled. They went a long distance before they stopped to camp for the night. In the morning he said: “We will take this direction.” Having cut a rod of red willow he struck the dog with it three blows. At once the animal became very small and he placed it in his bosom.
At the point toward which they were running they suddenly saw what seemed to be a rock cliff, in which was an open cavern. Out of this a female personage was looking and saying: “Have courage, my children. You two will live if you will come in here.” At that time the brother was dragging his sister along, so exhausted had she become. As they came to the entrance to the cavern the woman thrust out her hand, and seizing the arm of the young woman, helped draw her into the cavern, while the young man also entered. The woman exclaimed: “I am thankful that you two have returned alive. That animal which is coming on the run shall suffer for this.” [[677]]