Oral Legend of "to-ge-sho", or "Naked bear"

[pondhopper]

Copied from the Massawepie Lk. section of the 1896 editon of Wallace's Guide to the Adirondacks it recounts the legend of "to-ge-sho". Some people have opined that every culture has their own Beowulf-like-legend. But I've often, thought most legends have their basis in fact. And have wondered if, people being people, generations have unintentionally, slightly altered the story through time and maybe, "naked bear" was originally, "pale bear", or "white bear"....possibly, equating it to southern reaching Polar Bear from an earlier time...possibly- somewhere around the time of the last Ice Age.

Thoughts, or additional info about the legend?

[DRIFTER]

Love those old local stories, wish there were more!

[Hobbitling]

I wouldnt be surprised if it had some basis in fact. There were some biiig scary animals running around during the ice age.

The "short faced bear" is extinct now, but it was the largest bear that ever existed, and lived around here. it was Twice the size of a grizzley. the skull had an olfactory area twice as large as that of a Grizzly bear.

Ground sloths were mostly vegetarians, but they were even bigger, elephant sized, and had claws a foot long. some evidence suggests they were fast runners and may have done some hunting and scavenging to supplement their diet, like modern black bears. Some species of ground sloths had small boney plates under the skin, which would have made them almost invulnerable to weapons.

[pondhopper]

Good point, hobbitling. I forgot about the "short faced bear".

[redhawk]

Note the "sent to a tribe of savages: reference.

Why would they sent it to white people??

[Boreal Chickadee]

Nothing to add except thanks for posting it. Interesting thoughts on the origin of the "bear".

Was John Johnson's treasures the original geocache? (Geo in the truest sense of the prefix.)

[pondhopper]

Note the "sent to a tribe of savages: reference.

I noticed that, before I posted it. Funny how times change, isn't it? Could've been nothing more than the politically incorrect author (& yes, possibly a bigot) trying to add "mystique" to the story for his naive city buyers of the book, whom would've added the most dollars to his coffers. Orientals used to call Europeans barbarians.........

[pondhopper]

Was John Johnson's treasures the original geocache? (Geo in the truest sense of the prefix.)

LOL- I don't know, but I imagine there probably, were quite a few caches stashed in those days & earlier, before people fled to wherever.

[Growly Bear]

Note the "sent to a tribe of savages: reference.

Why would they sent it to white people??

Obviously not a true story. Common sense would tell you a naked bear (that is, one who lost his fur) would not survive an Adirondack winter.

As for sending the head to a tribe of savages, well, I guess some people will eat anything.

[Lute Hawkins]

[dmartenvt]

Obviously not a true story. Common sense would tell you a naked bear (that is, one who lost his fur) would not survive an Adirondack winter.

Back to bed with YOU!

[Eagle36Jake]

I dunno, guys.

Are we to assume that the story adapted nomenclature of people and geographic entities as it was passed along?

Was the Hudson called the Hudson when these "savages" inhabited its shore?
-if we are talking remnants of ice-age era animals, and my understanding of history is correct, something is amiss

Could these "savages" have actually been white people?
-this would mean that the last "beast" was slain after 1600, right?

Why are the fellas that killed "to-ge-sho" called "Aborigines" and "Indians" in the same story?
-I could be taking an inaccurate contextual reference here, having not seen the content of the previous page. Should I be banking on the author using the word "Aborigine" to describe indiginous people?

I suppose there is historical acuracy in the mention of tomahawks and wigwams, right? Those are devices of both the Algonquin and Abenaki, right? Providing, of course that the account of the story was given by a person of one of those tribes.

After some deeper looking, and Redhawk, maybe your expertise can confirm this for me, it seems as though there is a somewhat common legend among different cultures of native "North Americans" about a large possibly naked bear-type animal.


This is from Lenape Tradition:

The legend of the hairless bear is one of the oldest Delaware stories. It was narrated that in the past, at some remote period, the country was infested with a ferocious bear of immense size. Its skin was bare, with the exception of a single tuft of perfectly white hair on its back. The animal possessed a keen sense of smell, but its sight was defective. The heart of the bear was so small that only an expert hunter could hope to strike it. The people held council and finally decided that the best plan would be to break its back. Experienced hunters formed a party to rid the earth of the monster. They discovered its retreat, made a great noise to attract attention, and scaled a high rock. The bear could not climb the rock but tore at it in a fury. The men discharged arrows and threw stones at the creature until it was dead.

Here's a Haudenosaunee story of striking similarity:

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheHuntingoftheGreatBear-Iroquois.html

Here's a Cherokee story of striking similarity to the link directly above:

http://www.cherokee-nc.com/legends.php?Name=The%20Great%20Bear

Hey, from the originally attached excerpt at least we have nailed down definite proof of the Mountain Lion's reign in NY, right? Ha!

[RTSpoons]

First people

Thanks for the link to a very interesting site.

[JClimbs]

White Bear

There is also a "modern" account of a white bear in the Adirondacks, written in Bears, Bibles, and a Boy. This particular bear was a near- or complete albino with a notoriously tough personality.
I'm entirely ignorant of whether a white bear can be equated with a naked bear in the original language, but I would imagine that any albino bear that makes it to adulthood would be a mean critter.