Do not
forget our messages, we love you much, and our children will never
forget you." When the bear has partaken of his last meal amid the
general emotion of the spectators, the old women weeping afresh and
the men uttering stifled cries, he is strapped, not without
difficulty and danger, and being let out of the cage is led on leash
or dragged, according to the state of his temper, thrice round his
cage, then round his master's house, and lastly round the house of
the orator. Thereupon he is tied up to a tree, which is decked with
sacred whittled sticks (_inao_) of the usual sort; and the orator
again addresses him in a long harangue, which sometimes lasts till
the day is beginning to break. "Remember," he cries, "remember! I
remind you of your whole life and of the services we have rendered
you. It is now for you to do your duty. Do not forget what I have
asked of you. You will tell the gods to give us riches, that our
hunters may return from the forest laden with rare furs and animals
good to eat; that our fishers may find troops of seals on the shore
and in the sea, and that their nets may crack under the weight of
the fish.
Pages:
1405
1406
1407
1408
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414
1415
1416
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429