More bears.

[Lance Foster]

>
>
> Sorry, no tigers in Omaha country... although niashiNga hiNshkube (hairy
> man/bigfoot) has been sited recently.

One thing I am really interested in is some of the cryptozoology of the tribes.

I differentiate legendary animals and spirits from cryptozoology, through the
following criteria:

1. Was the animal thought of as a real PHYSICAL animal? (can be killed, does it
bleed, is similar to other animals)
2. Did people see it recently (not in legendary times) and did it behave like
an animal? (eating, running, having young)

For example, the Ioway had the shunka warak'in (carries off dogs), which was
described as something between a hyena and a wolf. It came into camp at night
and would kill dogs and carry them off to eat. The people finally caught and
killed it, and when it died it screamed like a human being. They used its skin
as an amulet. It was considered to be a real animal. This was also seen in
Idaho, shot and stuffed, and supposedly it still exists in a tiny local museum
there.

I heard the Ponca saw the Pasnute (Hairy-Nose) which conformed to the
description of a mastodon or mammoth.

I don't know if tribes see Bigfoot more as a spirit or as some kind of animal..
I think it is the former.

We had something in our legends that shades between legend and physical
reality.. a story of long-bodied bears.

My Cheyenne Uncle told me that there are still animals "from a long time ago,
different kinds from today" that live in certain hills in Montana.

Does anyone have these kinds of "animals" (not "spirits" that seem to act with
human intelligence, diffuse form, or disappear in front of you)? What kind of
words do they use, descriptive of appearance (hairy nose) or behavior (carries
off dogs)?

--
Lance Michael Foster
Email: ioway at earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~ioway
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