Ursa Major (Alkaid) hauls a pile of firewood to light a fire beneath the pot. The Wampanoag people (Algonquian) Native Americans referred to Ursa Major as "maske", meaning "bear" according to Thomas Morton in The New England Canaan. The Wasco-Wishram Native Americans interpreted the constellation as 5 wolves and 2 bears that were left in the sky by Coyote. In Hinduism, Ursa Major is known as Saptarshi, each of the stars representing one of the Saptarshis or Seven Sages viz. Bhrigu, Atri, Angirasa, Vasishta, Pulastya, Pulalaha and Kratu. The fact that the two front stars of the constellations point to the pole
Ursa Minor Oread nymph described as a nurse of Zeus, honoured by the god with a place in the sky. There are various proposed explanations for the name "Cynosura". One suggestion connects it to the myth of Callisto, with her son Arcas replaced by her dog being placed in the sky by Zeus. Others have suggested that an archaic interpretation of Ursa Major was that of a cow, forming a group with Bootes as herdsman, and Ursa Minor as a dog. George William Cox explained it as a variant of Λυκόσουρα, understood as "wolf's tail" but by him etymologized as "trail, or