Few tales about Mammoths exist in oral tradition anywhere. Looking for them amongst the legends of the First Nations of North America is a good place to start however and this one, from the Kaska of northern British Columbia, is one of those few exceptions. At the time of the tale’s collection it appears from his footnote that Teit knew nothing about the former existence of mammoths or of their relatively recent extinction.

The Kaska First Nations occupy territories around Lower Post, Mile 620 on the Alaska Highway in north central B.C., on the border with the Yukon Territory.

“Bladder-Head Boy or The Monster that Ate People:”

[from BCF 12.11]

A man with his wife and baby were travelling all the time, and netting beaver on the lakes and streams. They came to a big lake, which they crossed, and camped on the other side. One day the woman was dragging to camp a skin toboggan with beaver-meat, carrying her baby on her back. She noticed some large animal approaching, and, being afraid to turn around, looked back between her legs. She saw that the animal was an a.tix?,¹and became very much afraid. She scattered all the meat in the snow and ran to camp. Her husband would not believe that she had seen this animal,² and told her she was simply excusing herself for having given the meat to her sweetheart. She pulled up her clothes, and said, “You can see I have been with no man.” He laughed, and went off to set his beaver-nets. On his return, he went to bed, and was soon asleep and snoring. The woman cut a trail to escape through the willow-brush near camp. She then lay down on the opposite side of the fire from her husband, with her moccasins on and her baby in her arms, ready to run. During the night she heard the animal coming, and poked her husband with a stick to awaken him; but he slept on. She then ran away, and the animal came into camp and ate her husband. Afterwards the animal followed the woman’s tracks, making sounds like a person crying.

The woman reached a place on the lake where many people were camped, and warned them. The people made many holes close together in the ice of the lake, so that the animal, in approaching, would break through and drown. When it came to this place, the ice broke with its weight; but the animal walked along the bottom of the lake, broke the ice ahead of him, and came out to where the people were. The woman with the baby ran away. The other people were so scared that they could not run. They fell down quite helpless, and some of them were as if asleep.

In the camp was a boy who was ill treated by everybody. Even the old women stepped over him, and treated him as if he were a dog. He looked as though he had no hair, because he wore a moose-bladder over his head. Only his grandmother knew that he was like a shaman. He had magic trousers and magic arrows. Now, his grandmother nudged him, and said, “See what is coming!” He said to her, “Get my trousers and arrows.” He donned his trousers and seized his bow and arrows. He jumped, and shook his head. The bladder burst, and his hair fell down over him. He shot an arrow right through the animal. Then he jumped to the other side and shot an arrow back through it again. Thus he shot until he killed the animal. The people were very thankful, and gave him two girls to be his wives, but he accepted only one of them. They made him their chief. This is why since then people have had chiefs. The woman who ran away came back again.

Notes:
¹ (a’tix?) Teit’s original footnote reads: A very large kind of animal which roamed the country a long time ago. It corresponded somewhat to the white men’s picture of elephants. It was of huge size, in build like an elephant, had tusks, and was hairy. These animals were seen not so very long ago, it is said, generally singly; but none have been seen now for several generations. Indians come across their bones occasionally. The narrator said that he and some others, a few years ago, came across a shoulder-blade which they at first thought was a peculiarly shaped rock, sticking out of the ground. This was on the top of a mountain near the Hyland River [near Lower Post, about Mile 625 on the Alaska Highway]. The shoulder-blade was as wide as a table (about three feet), and was covered with about seven inches of moss.
² (Her husband would not believe that she had seen this animal), it being so rare and presumed to be extinct.

Motifs:

A1653.1.1.§	Origin of chiefs.
A1653.1.	Origin of Kings from Gods cf.
B16.2.6.1.§	Man-eating mammoth.
B16.2.6.1.1.§	Man-eating mammoth killed.
D1055.	Magic trousers.
D1092.	Magic arrows.
D1711.	Magician (shaman).
G510.4.	Hero overcomes devastating animal.
H1471.	Watch for devastating monster cf.
Q112.1.	Chieftain-ship as reward.

References:
TEIT, James A. Kaska Tales. Journal of American Folk-Lore, Vol. XXX. Lancaster, 1917.
THOMPSON Stith. Motif-Index of Folk Literature. A Classification of Narrative Elements in Folktales, Ballads, Myths, Fables, Mediaeval Romances, Exempla, Fabliaux, Jest-Books and Local Legends. 6 volumes. Indiana University Press. Bloomington, 1955-58.