Little Fox, a member of the Apache Tribe, was a shy Indian lad who was
rather small. When he was born he was a very tiny baby and his face was
thin and pointed like that of a fox. For this reason he was given the
name of Little Fox.
As Little Fox grew older, he dreamed of the day he would be able to wear
the feathers of the Great Golden Eagle, the most respected bird of the
American Indian. It was believed that there was great power in the
thirteen tail feathers and in the pinion feathers on the wings of the
Great Golden Eagle.
One day Little Fox was seated in his mother’s wickiup, when his father
entered. Without a word Little Fox’s father went to a case made of
deerskin and carefully removed the cover. Then with great care he
removed from the case a most beautiful feather bonnet, at which Little
Fox gazed with great longing. His father, Swift Deer, was an honored
brave in the tribe and had become privileged to wear the bonnet of eagle
feathers for his many brave deeds and the telling of these deeds before
the Council of Chiefs. Swift Deer had been granted the right to place
additional eagle feathers in his headdress. Suddenly, Swift Deer turned
to Little Fox, and said, “Why do you look so sad, my son?”
Little Fox turned slowly to his father and said, “It is because I,
Little Fox, have not been able to do anything that the Council would
recognize as a deed worthy of the wearing of the feathers of the Great
Golden Eagle.”
“Little Fox,” said his father, “you seek too hard for a deed to compete
for this honor. Tell me, do you have any eagle feathers that you could
wear, in case you should do a deed which would be considered worthy?”
“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.
Little Fox slowly raised himself until he could see just over the edge.
There, not two feet from the hole, lay a huge bear, quite still and
dead. Little Fox quickly pulled himself from the hole and started at a
run for the village.
He reached the village and, not stopping to answer any questions, ran
straight to his father’s wickiup. He began telling his story, still
panting and talking so fast that his father made him stop to get his
breath and then speak slowly. When Little Fox had finished, Swift Deer
gathered some of the other warriors and went to the place where this
adventure had taken place. With great pride, Swift Deer helped to skin
the bear and bring it back to the village. Not long after, Little Fox
stood in the Council meeting before the elders of the tribe and
recounted his tale of courage. And when all his words had been heard,
the Council voted that Little Fox should wear in his headband not one,
but two of the most treasured tail feathers of the Great Golden Eagle.