Why did cole throw the wade of white hair that he had pulled from his pants pocket into the water when it could have proved his story about the spirit bear?

The white hair was a symbol that he would tell the truth...... when he found the hair in his pocket, he proved to himself that he hadn't been lying. Now it was time to prove it to everyone else.

There in the palm of his hand was a wad of hair. Cole stared. The hair was white. All white. “It’s true,” he whispered. “I wasn’t lying.” Deliberately he raised his hand and tossed the hair into the water. Beginning today, he would tell the truth. His words would become his only proof.

As loud voices approached the dock and a plane droned overhead circling to land, Cole watched the white patch of hair. It floated on the water, and the breeze tugged it out away from the dock. The little clump bobbed about, drifting with the tide, then finally blinked from sight.

Smiling, Cole rested his head on the stretcher. Edwin had said that anger was a memory never forgotten. That might be true. But the Spirit Bear was also a memory that would never disappear from his mind or heart.