The Eskimo of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay, Part I

I.—THE ESKIMO OF BAFFIN LAND AND HUDSON

BAY.

From Notes collected by Capt. George Comer, Capt. James S. Mutch, and Rev. E. J. Peck.

By Franz Boas. ^

Plates I-IV, and 172 Text Figures.

CONTENTS.

Page.

Introductory . 4

I. Tribal Divisions and Numbers. 6

II. Material Culture . .. 9

Cumberland Sound. 9

Southampton Island.56

West Coast of Hudson Bay.76

III. Social Organization ..115

IV. Customs and Religious Ideas.119

Cumberland Sound.119

West Coast of Hudson Bay.145

V. Traditions.163

VI. Texts from Cumberland Sound. 333

VII. List of Angakok Words collected by Rev. E. J. Peck . 350

Conclusion.355

to

List op Tales prom Cumberland Sound.

Page.

1. The Sedna Myth.163

2. The Woman who married the

Dog.165

3. Origin of the Walrus and of the

Caribou.167

4. Origin of the Narwhal . . . 168

5. Origin of the Agdlaq .... 171

6. The Echo.172

7. Origin of Death.173

8. Origin of Sim and Moon . . . 173

9. The Orphan Boy and the Old

Man.174

10. The Hunters transformed into a

Constellation.174

11. Origin of Thunder and Lightning .175

12. Origin of Fog.176

13. How Children were formerly obtained.178

14. Ititaujang.179

15. Kiviuq. .182

16. Qaudjaqdjuq.186

17. Mangegjatuakdju.189

18. The Emigration to the Land beyond the Sea.191

19. The Spider.193

20. Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq. ... 194

9 1. The Monster Gull.195

22. Koodlowetto, the Giant ... . 195

23. The Giantess.196

24. The Cannibal Woman. . . . 197

25. The Man in the Moon . . . . 198

26. Stories about Dwarfs .... 200

27. Stories about Adlet .... 203

28. Stories about Tomit .... 209

29. Story about Adlet and Tomit. . 212

30. The Ijiqan.213

31. The Takeychwen.214

32. The Foxes.215

33. The Raven and the Gull . . . 216

34. The Girls who married Animals. 217

35. Origin of the Red Phalarope and of the Web-footed Loon . . 218

36. The Owl and the Lemming . . 219

37. The Bear and the Caribou . . 220

38. The Ptarmigan and the Snow

Bunting.220

39. The Owl and the Raven . . . 220

40. The Foxes.221

41. A She-Bear and her Cub . . . 22a

42. The Man who married the Fox . 222

43. The Insects.226

44. The Boy who lived on Ravens . 227

Page.

45. The Visitor.228

46. The Huts of the Skeleton People 230

47. How Boats formerly passed over

Land.232

48. Transmigrations of the Soul of a

Woman.232

49. The Soul which had entered a

Fox.234

5 6. The Man who caught the Ground-

Seal .235

51. Tales of Spirits (Tomait) . . 236

52. A Skull as a Good Omen . . . 239

53. Tales of Angakut.240

54. The Old Woman who transformed herself into a Man . . 248

55. The Man who transformed himself into a Woman .... 249

56. The Woman who transformed herself into a Bear .... 251

57. The Woman who became a Bear and killed her Enemy . . . 252

58. The Artificial Skull that frightened People to Death . . . 254

59. The Boy who harpooned the

Whale.255

60. The Bear that was transformed into Geese.256

61. The Hermit . 257

62. Kamapik, the Cannibal . . . 258

63. The Man who drank too much

Water.259

64. The Woman who could not be satiated.260

65. The Women who lived by Themselves .261

66. Tale of an Agdlaq.262

67. Tales of Bear-Hunters . . . 263

68. Tales of Caribou-Hunters . . 267

69. Tales of Whalers and Sealers . 271

70. Tale of a Fisherman .... 275

71. Tales of Accident and Starvation 275

72. Tales of Quarrels. Murder, and .

War. 280

73. Dialogue between Two Ravens. 301

74. The Ptarmigan.302

75. The Song of the Raven . . . 303

76. The Fox.303

77. The Woman who became a

Raven.303

78. Kalluapik..304

79. The Giant.304

80. The Orphan Boy ... 305

81. Podluksak. . . .... 305

List of Tales from the West Coast of Hudson Bay.

Page.

1. Origin of the Caribou. . . . 306

2. Origin of Day and Night . . 306

3. Sun and Moon.306

4. Musk-Ox and Walrus .... 307

5. Origin of the Black Bear . . . 307

6. The Black Bear.308

7. How Children were formerly obtained.309

8. Qaudjaqdjuq.309

9. Kukiyarayatoapkin . . . . 310

10. Igimagajug, the Cannibal . . 312

11. Inupajukjuk.314

12. The Tomit. 315

13. The Inuarugdligait .... 316

14. The Ijiqan People.317

15. Story of Three Girls .... 317

16. The Owl and the Lemming . . 319

17. The Bear and the Caribou . . 319

Page.

18. The Ptarmigan and the Small

Bird.320

19. The Loon and the Crow . . . 320

20. The Owl and the Two Rabbits . 320

21. The Fox and the Rabbit. . . 321

22. Storm caused by a Loon . . . 321

23. The Soul.321

24. The Old Woman and her Grandchild .323

25. The Angagok who became a

Woman.325

26. The Transformed Hunters . . 326

27. The Woman who married the

Dog.327

28. Armuckjuark.328

29. The Spirit of the Dancing-

House .331

30. The Owl and the Bear . . 332

INTRODUCTORY.

During a journey to Baffin Land which I undertook in 1883- 84 for the purpose of geographical and ethnological investigations, I spent considerable time at the Scottish Whaling Station, Kikkerten, the property of Mr. Crawford Noble, of Aberdeen. During that year the station was in charge of Capt. James S. Mutch of Peterhead, Scotland, whose kindly interest and assistance facilitated my work very considerably. Ever since that time Captain Mutch has manifested a keen interest in Eskimo ethnology, and has utilized his almost uninterrupted stay in Cumberland Sound to carry on inquiries on this subject. From time to time he has sent me valuable replies to inquiries regarding obscure points; and in 1897, when returning to Cumberland Sound, he kindly consented to make a collection for the American Museum of Natural History, and to write down all he could learn regarding the ethnology of the people, following, so far as feasible, a number of questions formulated by me. In the fall of 1899 Captain Mutch sent to the Museum his collection and the notes which are embodied in the present paper. All the statements given here, so far as they pertain to Cumberland Sound, are based on his observations.

When, in 1896, Rev. E. J. Peck began his missionary labors in Cumberland Sound, he kindly promised to try to obtain translations of a number of difficult texts which I had collected on my journey. The texts collected by him are also here presented.

During my stay in Cumberland Sound I also received many courtesies from the gentlemen in charge of the American Whaling Station, Kikkerten; and on my return I made the acquaintance of Capt. John O. Spicer of Groton, Conn., who gave me most interesting information on Hudson Strait. His successor in command of the schooner “Era,” Capt. George

Comer, brought home from time to time interesting material from Hudson Bay, and, when starting on a two-years’ journey in 1897, promised to bring back a collection and notes from the Eskimo of that region. On his observations and collections is based the following description of the Hudson Bay tribes.

The material here presented supplements and rectifies in very material points my earlier description. 1 The illustrations were drawn by Mr. Rudolf Weber.

In the spelling of Eskimo words, Kleinschmidt’s system has been adhered to, except that q is used for the velar k> and x for the velar spirans which occurs in the Central dialects. In all cases where the phonetic equivalent of the spelling of the collectors was doubtful, their own rendering of words has been retained. Such words are printed in Italics.

1 The Central Eskimo (Sixth Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 399-669). For earlier literature, see ibid., pp. 410-412.

I. TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND NUMBERS.

The tribal divisions of the Eskimo of Cumberland Sound have been discussed in my description of the Central Eskimo. 1

The principal tribes on the west coast of Hudson Bay are the Aivilirmiut, between Repulse Bay and Chesterfield Inlet, and the Kinipetu of Chesterfield Inlet. South of the latter are the Koungmiut, Sauniktumiut, and the Padlimiut of Port Churchill. The name Kinipetu is said to be derived from ki'nipoq (“it is wet”), while their proper name is Kiaknukmiut.

The Aivilik say that another tribe who lived at Nuvuk, at the mouth of Wager River, was exterminated by them in a war-expedition headed by their chief, Oudlinuk. The Inuissuitmiut were another tribe, who, up to about the year 1800, occupied the region of Pikiulaq (Depot Island). They set out to avenge the death of the people of Nuvuk, but, when they saw the destruction wrought by the people of Aivilik, they returned to their homes. At the present time only a single individual survives who claims descent from this tribe. He lives with the Kinipetu, to which tribe his father belongs, while his mother was an Inuitssuitmio.

On p. 7 is given a census of the families of the Kinipetu and of the Aivilik, comprising 248 individuals, — 61 men, 80 women, 65 boys, 42 girls.

It appears, on the whole, that the number of children is very small. Captain Comer mentions, however, two Kinipetu women who had had nine and eight children respectively.

The statures and weights of nine men and twelve women are given on p. 8.

1 The Central Eskimo, pp. 419 ft.

Number or Kinipetu, Number op Aivilik, March 12, 1898. March 3, 1898.

• Four of these men do not belong to the tribe, but live in it with Aivilik wives. There are also four women brought in by marriage.

Men.

Women.

Stature.

Weight.

Stature.

Weight.

1575 mm.

151 lbs.

1422 mm.

102 lbs.

1594 “

156 “

1442 “

118 “

J5S

1497 ‘‘

119 !!

1613 “

163 “

1620 “

164 “

1518 “

*34 ‘‘

1626 “

172 ;;

I 5 2 4 “

1632 “

x8 S

1524 “

141 “

1654 “

187 “

1524 “

143 “

1660 * *

I 9 I “

1 537 ;;

144 ‘

J 5 62

*57 “

i6 5

1594 ‘

Average 1620

I I 5 l8

Cases 9

Captain Comer remarks that the Kinipetu are, on the whole, taller and thicker-set than the Aivilik, and that their voices are more voluminous. They are cleanlier than the Aivilik, because they live to a great extent on caribou, while the Aivilik live principally on seal and walrus, whose blubber soils all their belongings.

II. MATERIAL CULTURE.

CUMBERLAND SOUND.

The collection made by Captain Mutch supplements in many respects the types described in my previous publication. A kayak 1 was obtained from Cumberland Sound by Lieut. R. E. Peary in 1896 (Fig. 1). It.is 6 m. long. It has a flat bottom, the framework of which consists of one central strip of wood and two curved lateral strips. The former is 2.5 by 2 cm.; the latter two are 4 by 2 cm. They are held together by a considerable number of ribs, to which these strips are sewed with sinew and thong.

The ribs are placed over the long strips. They are about 26 cm. apart. The length of the bottom is about 4.40 m.; its greatest width, near the centre, is 38 cm. At the sides of the bottom the ribs are sharply bent upward. Their outer ends are mortised into two strips 11 cm. high, which form the gunwale of the boat. The gunwale extends much farther forward and abaft than the bottom, its projection forward being about 127 cm., abaft 33 cm. The height of the tip of the bow over the bottom is 32 cm., that of the stem 12 cm. The deck rises slightly from the ends of the flat bottom towards stem and stem. The central strip of the bottom turns up at the ends of the flat bottom, and continues as a keel towards bow and stem (Fig. 1 y d and /). The cross-section of the body of the kayak is therefore flat at the bottom (Fig. 1, b). The bow has a sharp keel (Fig. 1, a), while the stern is rounded.

The gunwale is kept on a stretch by a number of beams. The width of the deck at the bow end of the bottom is 22 cm.; at its widest part, just behind the hole, 56.5 cm.; and at the stem end of the bottom, 17 cm. The two central beams are particularly strong. Between them is situated the manhole. The beam in front of the manhole is 3 m. from the bow end.

1 L. C.y p. 486.

It is bent upward so that its top is 31 cm. above the bottom. The beam abaft the manhole is flat. The centre of the manhole is 200 cm. from the bow end of the flat bottom and 240 cm. from its stem end, or 333 cm. from the extreme bow and 267 cm. from the extreme stern. The ribs are strengthened by an additional strip, which is lashed to them on the outside, between the gunwale and the side strips of the bottom. This strip extends forward from the manhole to a point near the end of the flat bottom. The bottom under the manhole is strengthened by a number of broad and thin pieces of wood, which are fastened between the ribs by thongs attached to the boards and slung around the ribs (Fig. 1, e).

This framework is covered with seal-skins that are drawn tightly over it. The skins are held taut by means of thongs,

Fig- 2 (alUs)- Receptacle for Coiled Harpoon-line. Length, 63 cm.; diameter, 37.5 cm.

which are firmly sewed on. The position of some of these is indicated in Fig. i, f. The skins are sewed together with sunken stitches, the thread, which is made of sinew, being evidently applied with a curved needle. Only the terminal knot of each thread shows on the outer side. At the manhole these skins are fastened to a^hoop 7 cm. wide. It is flat abaft, and has a rather sharp curve in the fore part.

The deck is fitted with a number of lines, which serve to hold the hunting-gear. Two ivory pegs are inserted outside of the frame, one on each side, at the point where the stem projection begins. They have slender stems, that are put into holes drilled in each end of the deck beam. Their outer ends are thicker, and each has a perforation, in which a line is inserted that runs across the deck from one side to the other. The point of the harpoon is placed under this line, while its butt-end rests under a pair of lines just in front of the manhole. This pair of lines also holds the receptacle for the harpoon-line. The specimen here figured (Fig. 2) has a bottom consisting of three boards. The middle one extends beyond the rim of the receptacle in the form of a handle, which is shoved under the deck-lines of the boat. The rim is pegged and tied to the bottom. On the right-hand side of the receptacle is an ivory hook for holding the shaft of the harpoon. Attached to the end of a line about 5 cm. long, on the righthand side of the manhole, is a small ivory implement (Fig.3) which probably serves to hold the harpoonline, the coils of which are placed on the receptacle, while its hind end is attached to the seal-skin float which is carried on the kayak behind the manhole.

The paddle of the kayak above described is 305 cm. long; the handle part is 74 cm. long, square in the middle, and round at the outer ends, where it is held by the hand. The blades are rounded and narrow, about 6 cm. wide and Fig. 3 ( S ss,). At- 3 cm. thick, with bone tips 5 cm. long mortised hMcTside^f^MM- on to the shaft. The handle is separated from Length^8.5 cm! yak ' the blades by a ring With a notch in the middle, around which a narrow strip of fur is fastened.

A kayak from Savage Islands, Hudson Strait, collected by Lieut. R. E. Peary, is practically identical in structure with that from Cumberland Sound.

A comparison of this kayak with that of the Smith Sound Eskimo brings out clearly the similarity of their types. 1 The art of steaming wood does not seem to be known to the latter tribe. For this reason the ribs of their kayaks are made of three pieces,— one for the bottom, and one for each side. In all other respects the kayaks are of similar construction ; only the stern projection of the Smith Sound kayak is shorter, and therefore rises more steeply from the flat bottom. The following table of measurements illustrates the similarity of these kayaks.

1 A. L. Kroeber, The Eskimo of Smith Sound (Bulletin Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. XII, p. 272).

Cumberland

Sound.

Savage

Is.

Smith

Sound.

Total length.

600 cm.

640 cm.

560 cm.

Length of bottom.

44 o

45 6

Length of stem projection.

Length of stem projection.

Distance from bow to centre of manhole.

Distance from stem to centre of manhole.

Length of manhole.

40 .

Height of bow over bottom.

Height of deck at bow end of bottom.

Height of deck at centre of manhole. .

Height of stem over bottom.

Width of deck at bow end of bottom..

IO

Width of deck at widest part.

Width of deck at stern end of bottom.

Width of bottom at widest part.

Width of manhole.

Elevation of front beam of manhole

5 1

over deck.

T 3

Weight.

61 lbs.

95 lbs.

41 lbs.

The deck attachments are also much alike. 1

The kayak harpoon, 2 of which I have measured six specimens, varies from 155 to 166 cm. in length, including the movable tusk. The harpoon-head (to'kang) is rather large and wide, with two barbs, and blade parallel to the plane of the barbs (Fig. 4, a). No specimen has been found in which the blade is at right angles to the plane of the barbs, as is sometimes the case on Southampton Island 3 and on the west coast of Hudson Bay.

The bladder-dart (Fig. 5) is also used in the kayak. Its head resembles that of the large harpoon, but is much smaller (Fig. 4, c). One specimen in the collection has a single barb (Fig. 4, h). The line of the detachable point is fastened to the harpoon-shaft, which is kept afloat by the attached bladder, and serves to exhaust the animal and to prevent its sinking. The dart is hurled with the throwing-board (Fig. 6). For this

1 The specimen figured in Vol. XII, p. 281, Fig. 17, as a hand-support of a harpoonshaft, probably served the same purpose as the one shown in Fig. 4 of this paper, and was an attachment at the right-hana side of the manhole. a Boas, The Central Eskimo, etc., p. 489.

8 See pp. 68, 78.

reason its butt-end is flattened to fit the groove of the throwing-board, and it has a small depression in its end, into which the peg at the rear end of the groove of the throwing-board fits.

a (sSsja), Modern point for kayak harpoon ; b (33$*), Ancient point for kayak harpoon ; c (slisb), Point for dart; d (3§|t7 a )» Small ivory point for winter harpoon; e (sSi^e), / (aSSsX Point for dart.

The lance with detachable point (Fig. 7) is much used in hunting caribou in ponds. Its point is very short, and has b

). Bladder-dart. ;th, 160 cm. view ; b , Details no barbs. Its blade resembles that of the lance used for despatching walrus. 1

A number of peculiar bone points, the uses of which are unknown to me, are represented in Fig. 4, e , /, g.

The modem winter harpoon is made of wood with iron point, 2 while the ancient harpoon had a bone point firmly attached to the wooden shaft (Fig. 8). Its butt-end was provided with a stout bone point, which served to break ice, hard snow, etc.

The head of the winter harpoon (nau'lang) 3 is much smaller than that of the kayak harpoon. Fig. 4, 6, shows a specimen similar to the one figured on p. 473 of my paper on the “ Central Eskimo,” but in better preservation. It had two points like the large harpoon-head. The perforation at the tip shows that the inserted blade was either of slate 4 or metal. These heads are much thinner than the ones before described. Partly for this reason, and partly on account of the difficulty of drilling a deep socket for the point of the shaft, the socket has been drilled from the side, and only a slight hole is drilled parallel to the axis of the harpoon-head at the end of the groove thus produced. In order to hold the point of the shaft in this groove, a string, probably made of sinew, was tied around it, passing through the holes on each side of the groove. A similar arrangement is found on the primitive harpoonpoints from Southampton Island. 6 The harpoon-head shown in Fig. 4, d, is evidently made in imitation of the modern iron nau'lang.

The harpoon-line of the nau'lang passes through a small loop which is provided near the butt-end of the shaft. Attached to the line is a small hook (akparaiktung). When the harpoon-head strikes an animal and becomes detached, the line slips through this loop until the hook catches in the loop, thus holding harpoon and shaft together. The three specimens here shown (Fig. 9) illustrate a tendency to give the hook the form of a long-necked bird (compare Fig. 81, /). The small ivory attachments shown in Fig. 10 probably serve

1 L. c., p. 494. 9 L. c. t p. 471. 3 L. c ., pp. 471, 473. 4 L. c., p. 506. 5 See p. 69.

Fig. 6 ( 3 fg s ).

Throwing-board. Length, 40 cm.

Fig. 7 (sris). . Lance for Kayak, used in hunting Caribou. Length, 195 cm.

a , General view; by Detail of point.

Fig. 8( 3 f§ 5 ). Details of Ancient Winter Harpoon. Length of harpoon, 160 cm.; of foreshaft, 48.5 cm.

a, Point; b y Joint; c , Butt.

another purpose. They are slightly grooved on their lower sides, which suggests that they are also attachments to lines, but their form is not serviceable for catches like those here

Fig. 10, a (gUfob), b (aS^a), c U§g 5 ). Attachments for- Lines. £ nat. size.

i J

Fig. 11. Hand-supports jof Harpoon-shafts. Designs representing Hind Part of Seal. £ nat. size.

(inHfea), b (gf§ya), c (g|§yb), d (gfjga), e (3!( 35 §g), g h (gf§gb), Z (giJg), r).

described. The hand-support of the shaft of the winter harpoon is generally long and slender, and has a notched head 1

1 L. c., pp. 488, 489. b,c, d , Fig. 418, ibid ., seetn to be supports for the winter spear, not for kayak spears.

[June, /qoi.] 2

(Fig. n). The series shows that the implement suggested to the makers the hind part of a seal, and that to a greater or less extent some of its forms may be considered as conventionalized representations of the hind part of the seal. The notch

Fig. 12. Clasps for Coils of Harpoon-line. Nat. size, a (gg§gC), b (g§§gf), c (gfggg), d (gf§<ja).

Fig. 13 (sfgr)* Set of Seal-drags and Plugs. •Length, 57 cm.

the form of birds (Fig. 12, a, b, c), whose back is a concave surface, into which the coils of the line fit. In a few cases they have the forms of simple hooks (Fig. 12, d). A

1 L. c., p. 474.

number of implements used by the seal-hunter are strapped to the coil. These implements are strung on a ring (Fig. 13) made of thong, which has a buckle attached to it (a, ft), by means of which it is fastened to the coil. The attachments are many short straps with toggles at their ends, which are pulled through the lower jaw of the seal when it is dragged from its hole to the sledge. 1 A case with ivory pegs for closing the wounds of the animal 2 is also attached to this ring. The buckles consist of eye and toggle. 3 The former is of oval or triangular form (Fig. 14, e , g), or is square with a short stem

1 L. c.y p. 480, Figs. 403-406. 2 L. c.y p. 479, Fig. 401. 3 L. c., p. 560, Fig. 514.

•r for the attachment of the string (Fig. 14, /, h). The decoration of more elaborate forms consists in notches around the rim (i, /, k ). The etched rim of Fig. 14, /, may be considered as a further development of this ornamentation. The toggles, are generally notched at their ends (Fig.

14, a, c). They may be conventionalized double Fig ' 15 ' Buckk in f°™ an Animal.

. (From Boas, Central Eskimo, etc., Fig. 514,/!)

animal forms, but no good series of this ornament is available. Fig. 15 shows a buckle representing an animal form, probably an ermine, which suggests one way in which the notched forms may be considered. A series of forms of toggles passed through the seal’s jaws is shown in Fig. 16. All these are perforated, the perforation being wide at one end for the reception of the knot at the end of the strap (see Fig. 13). Stout toggles with pointed ends are most serviceable for this purpose. They are often given

Fig. 16. Toggles for Insertion in Jaw of Seal. £ nat. size. a ^ (sIttX c (sfihsa)* & (sifsX./’CssfrKir (s§§ 3 c )i h (g§g 7 ), i (sf?*),./ (sSstX

the forms of seals (Fig. 16, j ). 1 The ivory carvings shown in Fig. 16, d , h y Z, probably serve other purposes.

Most of the cases holding the pegs for closing the wounds

1 See also l. c., p. 481, Fig. 404.

of the seal are made of wood (Fig. 17). The pegs are inserted in grooves cut along the outside of the case. These grooves are closed by means of windings of string, in the same manner in which the socket groove of the harpoon-head was closed in olden times (see p. 15). In one specimen the pegs are inserted in a leather case which is filled with moss, like pins in a pin-cushion. Sometimes thick wooden plugs with grooves (Fig. 18) are used in place of the pegs. These grooves are sometimes cut spirally. 1

a Fig. 17. b Fig. 18.

Fig. 17, a b ( 3 §^). Cases for Pegs for closing Wounds of Seal. £ nat. size.

Fig. 18 (3353a). Wooden Plug for closing Wounds of Seal. Length, n cm.

A curious implement (shown in Fig. 19) is said to be an eartrumpet, used by hunters at the seal-hole to hear more readily the noise made by the emerging seal. It consists of two parts, — a walrus tusk which is split in two, hollowed out, and the parts tied together again; and an ear-piece drilled out in the form of a double funnel.

The hunter who watches the seal-hole in winter sits down on a seat made of a snow block. He rests his feet on a piece of bear-skin, and places his harpoon on two supports which

1 L. c., p. 480, Fig. 402; also in specimens collected by Captain Comer on the west coast of Hudson Bay.

are put into the snow 1 (Fig. 20). The pegs which serve as supports for the harpoon are also carried on the strap to which the seal-straps and pegs for closing the wounds are attached (see before, Fig. 13).

Fig. 19 Ear-trumpet of

Sealer. Length, 40 cm.

The large kayak harpoon was described before in connection with the harpoon-head of the spear used in winter. To the line of the kayak harpoon is attached the large seal-float and the drag, which hinder the movements of the seal and prevent its sinking after it is dead.

The float 2 consists of a whole sealskin. The fore-flippers are sewed up; the hind - flippers and the tail are cut out, and closed airtight by tying the edges of the hole around a piece of wood. Small holes made accidentally in skinning the animal, eyes, and ears, are closed by means of buttons (Fig. 21, Fig 20 a), into the groove of which the skin 27 cm ' ; b ' 15 cm -

b ealis tightly drawn. The blow-piece is always placed at the mouth part of the seal. It is either of the form of a button with marginal groove into which the skin is tied (Fig. 21, 6),

1 L.c., p. 477.

2 L.c., p. 492.

or it is somewhat higher, with one conical or cylindrical end (Fig. 21, c , d ), which is placed on the inner side of the skin. The blow-piece is closed with a wooden stopper.

Captain Mutch also succeeded in obtaining two specimens of the old whaling-harpoon used by the Eskimo. It agrees well with the model on which I based my former description. 1 The shaft is a heavy piece of wood 260 cm. long, with a foreshaft 37 cm. long, made of bone of the whale, and spliced to the wooden shaft. The harpoon-point (Fig. 22) consists of two parts,—a large one with four notches at its barb end ( b ); and a narrow one (a), which bears the blade. The large head is attached to the shaft by means of a double heavy thong ( d ) made of ground-seal hide. The blade (a) is attached to this a b c d

Fig. ax. Button and Blow-pieces for Seal-floats. \ nat. size.

a (aiuxli b (s88s)i c (3383)1 d (338s)-

thong by means of a light line ( e ), which is wound around the foreshaft •(/), and holds the heavy line ( d ) to the latter. The heavy double line ( d ) is 218 cm. long, and ends in a strong bone handle, which is fastened to a number of seal-floats and to a large drag.

The collection also contains an old foreshaft quite similar to the one represented in Fig. 23, but provided with a small depression in the middle, which seems to have served some purpose. It may have been used for the attachment of the line indicated in Fig. 22, f.

The bird-spear consists of a shaft with a single point. The shaft is about 170 cm. long. The spear is thrown with the throwing-board, and therefore its butt-end is of the same form as that of the bladder dart (Fig. 5). Near the centre of the shaft three barbed points are attached in a circle around it.

1 L.c., p. 499.

Fig. 22 (g| 2 y). Foreshaft and End of Line of Whaling-harpoon. Length of point and foreshaft, 62 cm.

Fig. 23 (gf?7)* Ancient Foreshaft of Whaling-harpoon. Length, 50 cm.

Fig. 24, a (gl^e), b ( g j$ 5 ). Barbs of Bird-spears. \ nat. size.

They are firmly tied to it with two bands, which pass through two sets of holes at the base of the points. The points have each a sharp bend, so that their upper ends run parallel to the shaft. Their barbs are either single or double (Fig. 24). An old barb is shown in Fig. 24 ,b.

Fig. 25 shows the handle of a quiver. Handles of this kind

Fig. 25 (3^7). Handle of Quiver. Length, 16 cm.

were frequently given the form of animals. 1 Probably the specimen figured here may be considered as related to this motive. The bows and arrows contained in Captain Mutch's collection are very poor specimens, the bow having long since gone out of use. Fig. 26 represents an old arrow-head made of bone.

An implement used to kill wolves has frequently been described. 2 A long strip of whalebone is rolled up, wrapped in a piece of blubber or meat, and allowed to freeze. The wolf swallows it, and when the meat melts, oris digested, the whalebone opens and tears the walls of the stomach. Sometimes two pointed strips of whalebone crossing at right angles are used for this purpose (Fig. 27).

Wooden powder-measures have come into use since the introduction of muzzleloading guns (Fig. 28).

Arrow - head.

Length, 44 Fig. 27 (3^1). Implement for killing mm. Wolves. Diameter, 12 cm.

Fig. 28 (siJ*). Wooden Powder-measure. Length, 72 mm.

The collection does not yield much new information in regard to methods of fishing. An iron hook is attached to a

1 L.c. f p. 508, Fig. 451.

2 L. c., p. 510.

wooden buoy-(Pig. 29) which is provided with. natch.ca fox winding the fish-line. This arrangement recalls the fishingtackle of the tribes of the west coast of Hudson Bay. 1 In Fig.

30, 6, is shown 'an ivory carving representing a fish, over which are attached to a the line a number of small

Fig. 30, a b ( 3 §$ 4 ). Decoys for Fishing.

Fig. 29 (ga£g). Fish-hook. Length, 11.5 cm. & nat. size.

ably served the same end, although its dark color does not seem favorable for an effective decoy.

The method of fastening the side barbs of the fish-spear (Fig. 31) to the shaft by means of a band extending to the opposite half of the shaft is quite typical. 2 The fish, after being caught, is strung on needles attached to long thongs (Fig. 32). 3

1 See p. 84 ; also Fig. 119. 2 See also /. c., p. 512, Fig. 453, b. 3 See also /. c., p. 514.

Fig. 31 (sf§g). Fish-spear. Length, 63 cm.

During the nesting season, dovekies were caught in small bag-nets made of thong, which were attached to long handles (Fig. 33).

The oldest style of knife in use for dissecting game was evidently the same type of double-edged knife as was used among other tribes 1 (Fig. 34, d , f; and handles, Fig. 34, c , e ). The one-edged butcher-knife (Fig.

34, a) is evidently a later introduction. Small knives, fitting the hand more or less closely, are used for carving (Fig. 34, b, g). I have not seen any with crooked point, like the carving - knives of the North Pacific coast, while knives of this type are used on the west coast of Hudson Bay. Gravers’ tools are similar to these carving - knives. They have straight or bent handles fitting the hand (Fig. 35). Some of these

Fig. 32 a,b). Needles for 1 L ' c •> P- 517, Fig. 460.

stringing Fish. . \ nat. size. 2 See p. 88.

tools are made of thick pieces of iron filed to a triangular point (Fig. 35, a). Another important tool is the drill, which is put into motion with a bow, and is held in place by the mouth-piece (Fig. 36). The latter always has a hollow on its upper side, into which the tongue of the holder fits (Fig. 36, a), while its lower side has a hole for inserting the butt-end of the drill (Fig. 36, b). Its sides are rounded and hollowed, so as to give a firm grip to the teeth. The shaft of the drill is always thin in the middle, to prevent the strap of the bow from sliding off (Fig. 37).

Fig* 33 (sf 37)* Net for catching Birds. Diameter of hoop, 20 cm.

A bone or ivory implement with holes of various sizes is used for straightening bone or wooden shafts (Fig. 38). The shafts are passed through that hole of the implement into which they fit snugly, and are then bent into the proper shape.

The woman’s knife is used for cutting skins and lines, and also, to a certain extent, for cutting meat. In its modem form (Fig. 39, a) it has an ivory or bone handle with bone shaft, to which is riveted a crescent-shaped iron blade. An older form has a handle of the same type, but its shaft widens, and the blade — which, before the advent of iron, was made of slate 1 —is inserted in a slit of this shaft (Fig. 39, b).

Skins are cleaned of the adhering flesh and fat with the bone

1 L. c., p. 518, Figs. 462, 463.

Fig. 34. Knives. § nat. size. (See p. 27.) a (atSsX b (sfSsX c (sf?2 a )i d (uS?r)» «? (af i^)» ^(sff^^CsiTs).

wood, to furnish a hold for the first and second fingers, while the thumb and the other fingers grasp the handle. From this form has evidently developed the modern form (Fig. 41, i), the handle of which is made of a piece of wood with grooves for the tips of the first and second fingers, while the blade is made of tin. Another specimen (Fig. 41, h) is made in the same manner, but a piece of a long bone is used as a blade instead of tin.

The form of scraper shown in Fig. 40, a, made of the jaw of a narwhal, seems rather exceptional. The stone scrapers, some of which are shown in Fig. 41, probably served the purpose of softening rather than of cleaning the skins. The stone blades varied considerably in size and in form. Some were very long, and hafted in short wooden handles; while others were Fig. 39, a b (sf&j). Woman’s Knives, very short, and had longer

£ nat. size. (See p. 28.) J

handles. In most cases the handle is hollowed out so as to fit the stone, which is cemented in. Often the stone has a small groove (Fig. 41. b)

which serves as a hold for the thong by which it is tied to the handle (Fig. 41, c, /, g). In later times wire was used in place of thongs. While most of the stone scrapers are thick, and bevelled on both sides (Fig. 41, d , /), a few have a convex face on one side, while the other is flat (Fig. 41, a). A very few are made of thin stone (Fig. 41, g), which is fitted into a slit of the handle. The most characteristic form of handle is shown in Fig. 42. The two grooves on the lower side fit the third and fourth fingers, the hole on the side fits the thumb, while the two depressions on the upper side fit the tips of the first and second fingers.

Almost all the needle-cases of the Eskimo consist of tubes through which is drawn a piece of skin to which the needles are pinned. While visiting Cumberland Sound, I collected one old ivory needle-case which had a hole for keeping needles. 1 A similar one was collected by Captain Mutch (Fig. 43). While the former had a notch at the middle for a strap by which to suspend it, the present specimen has two perforations, evidently for the same purpose.

In my description of the Central Eskimo I omitted a discussion of the forms of knots and splices. I requested Captain Mutch to make a full collection of these. The types of knots obtained by him are given in Fig. 44. Prof. Otis T.

1 L.c., pp. 523, 524, Fig. 471.

Fig. 44. Knots.

a Uassb), b ( 3 jHI 3 b), Bow-lines ; c ( 3 §8 3 b), Cut splice; d ( 3 §s T c), Half hitch in slit; <?( 3 i£ B a), Loop, run through slits;/ (sS&yc), Loop, frapped and run; g ( 5 §g T ), Cut splice and overhand knot; k ( 3 $Sib), i ( 3 S§«a), Running bow-fines ; j ( 3 $b 7 c), Bow-line ; k ( 3 {H**a), Double true-lover’s knot; l (3$8 7 a), Square knot with two cut splices ; m ( 3 i8r a ), Single true-lover’s knot; n ( 3 §8®a), Splice.

Mason has had the kindness to name these knots for me. Their most remarkable feature is the little slit near the end of the line, through which the end is drawn, thus forming a toggle (Fig. 44, b, e , m). The knots in Fig. 44, a-g, serve to make a loop at the end of a line. The first two (a and b) are bowlines or overhand loops, which differ only in that the second has the peculiar toggle before referred to. In the following knots ( c-e , and g) the loop is formed by running the fore end through a slit in the standing part, g differs from c in that the end of the thong is pulled twice through the slit of the standing part. In Fig. 44, /, the end of the thong is joined to the standing part first by being trapped four times around with sinew, then run through both, and finished off with a knot. Fig. 44, h-j, shows running loops made by means of the overhand knot (Fig. 44, a and b). This knot is turned to the right in h , to the left in i. Fig. 44, k-n , represents various forms of splices.

Fig. 45. Swivels. £ nat. size.

a (3553)1 ^ (3S 15)1 c (sfiwd), d (glfsc), e (si^s 3 )* jT( 32 TB e )i ^ (silta 3 ),

Z (3331a).

In order to prevent lines from becoming kinked, swivels are used. The simplest type (Fig. 45, a, b ) consists of a bar with three perforations. The middle one is of conical form at one side, and serves to hold the head of an ivory nail. The two lateral ones are of conical form at the opposite side of the bar, where the knots at the ends of the line rest in them. Very often the crossbar is carved in the form of a seal. The nail is almost always perforated near its lower end, and a loop of sinew is drawn through this perforation (Fig. 45, d). This is strengthened by being wrapped with thongs (Fig. 45, a), and forms a loop which serves for attaching the second line. A second type of swivel is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 45, d f . Here the upper line passes through the two upper holes of the swivel, while the lower line is attached to the ivory nail which turns in the lower hole. In a few specimens the upper part is perforated only on one side (Fig. 45, h , i).

The methods employed in mending and joining are also of some interest. Splices between two sticks or bones are generally made by a slanting cut along each part. When one of the parts is short, a straight joint becomes necessary. This is often used in piecing together the movable foreshafts of harpoons. This is done by drilling two holes either parallel or at right angles to each other through both parts (Fig.

46, see also Fig. 2). The corresponding holes in both parts are connected by grooves, and both are firmly lashed together, the thongs lying in the connecting grooves. Split boards are joined by pegs and by sewing with whalebone, sinew, or thong, the stitches being sunk in grooves.

The same method is used in mending broken pots.

The modern sledge of the Cumberland Sound “and&tve! Eskimo is made of wood. 1 It has two runners, s° z r e Splicing ' * nat ' from five to fifteen feet long and from twenty inches to two feet and a half apart. They are connected by crossbars of wood, and the back is formed by caribou-

Fig. 46, a (gf§y), o (si 15). Harpoon

1 L. c p. 529.

antlers with the skull attached. In former times the crossbars were made of bone or of antler (Fig. 47).

Under the foremost crossbar a hole is drilled through each runner. A very stout thong (pitu), consisting of two separate parts, passes through the holes, and serves to fasten the dog’s traces to the sledge. A button at each end of this thong prevents it from slipping through the hole of the runner (Fig. 48). The thong consists of two parts, the one ending in a loop, the other in a peculiar kind of clasp (partirang). Fig. 50, a, represents the form commonly used. The end of one part of the thong is fastened to the hole of the clasp, which, when closed, is stuck through the loop of the opposite

Fig. 47 (sfsff)* Part of Old Crossbar of Sledge. Length, 21 cm.

Fig. 48, a (gfSy), b (gfggb). Button for holding Pitu.

end (see Fig. 49). The dog’s traces are strung upon this line by means of the uqsim, an ivory implement with a large and a small eyelet (Fig. 49). The line is tied to the former, while the latter is strung upon the pitu.

The dogs have harnesses (ano) made of seal-skin or sometimes of caribou-skin, consisting of two bights passing under the forelegs. They are joined by two straps, one passing over the breast, the other over the neck. The ends are tied together on the back, whence the line runs to the sledge.

In sealing, a dog is sometimes taken out of the sledge to lead the hunter to the breathing-hole. For this purpose the traces of some harnesses are made of two pieces, which are united by the sadniriaq, a clasp similar to that of the pitu (Figs. 49, 50). If the dog is to be taken from the sledge, the fore part of the line is unbuttoned.

Fig. 49. Harnessed Dog.

(From Boas, Central Eskimo, p. 532.)

The whip (Fig. 51) is made of heavy thong, and has a wooden handle. The thong passes through a perforation in the handle, and its end is sewed to the standing part of the thong at a distance of 65 cm. from the upper end of the handle. The two parts of the thong are firmly connected by a braided wrapping, which extends to the end of the handle. The two parts of the thong are wrapped with an additional thong for 4 cm. above the end of the handle. A number of strips of skin are placed along the upper part of the handle, and firmly wrapped with a stout thong, thus holding the whip thong in place.

When travelling in soft snow, round snowshoes, with wooden mum

»; v 1 SI

Fig. 51 (aiTs)- Whip. Length of handle, 48 cm. ; of thong, 810 cm.

Fig. 50. Buttons for Dog’s Traces.

$ nat. size.

a (asSod), b (af^sc), c (aiasd), d (a§§sC).

| ' frames and a rude network made of thongs (Fig. 52), are

1,1 used.

i '' | Snow blocks, which are used for building houses, were cut with snow-knives made of bone (Fig. 53). Only a few small knives are contained in Captain Mutch’s collection ; but it is probable that in olden times much Ij in longer ones, made of ivory and whalebone, were emyj fe ployed. 1 The base of the house, after its completion, is often covered with loose snow. For this purpose snow-shovels were used. No complete specimen was obtained from Cumberland Sound, but the bone edge of a shovel collected by Captain Mutch (Fig. 54) suggests that it must have resembled the type of shovel used on the west coast of Hudson Bay. 2 The bone implement illustrated in

1 See p. 94; also /. c., p. 539.

Fig. ss probably served as a maul for breaking bones, frozen meat, etc.

Lamp and kettle were made of soapstone. The large lamp which serves for cooking (Fig. 56, b , c) is crescent-shaped,

Fig. 52 (stStt). Snowshoe. Diameter, 64 cm.

with straight wick edge. Some lamps have a separate receptacle for blubber near the rear end (Fig. 56, c). A very small lamp often bums in the rear of the snow house 1 or on the

1 L. c., p. 545.

c

Fig. 56. Soapstone Lamps. (See pp. 41, 47.)

a (3110), Length of front edge, 13 cm. ; b (3x87), Length, 26 cm. ; c (sfS*), From Pond’s Bay, length, 59 cm.

Fig- 57 (3x81)* Soapstone Kettle. Length of bottom, 23 cm. ; width, 12 cm. (See p. 47.)

Fig. 58, a (3593), b Wooden Dishes. Diameter, a, 18 cm. ; b , 34 cm. ; c, 66 cm.

Fig. 62, a £ (ails)* Wooden Boxes. Length,

, 14 cm. (See p. 48.)

floor near the entrance (Fig. 56, a). The kettle of this region has a narrow rim and wide bottom (Fig. 57). 1 At each corner are one or two perforations for passing through the thongs by means of which the kettle is suspended. Dishes are made of wood (Fig. 58). Most of these consist of a flat, thick bottom, on which a wooden rim is laid, which is pegged to the bottom. The bottom is hollowed out in the middle, which is much thinner than the rim. The side of the dish consists of a long strip of wood, which is bent around the bottom. The ends of the sides are bevelled and overlap. The joint is made by pegs, and strengthened by a strip of bone or ivory which is placed on the outer side of the rim. Most of the large dishes are oval, while the small ones are round. A few fragments collected by Captain Mutch show that trays hollowed out of solid blocks

1 See also l. c., Fig. 494, p. 545.

Fi g- 63 ( 3 f?s). Ladle or Shovel. 29 cm. (See p. 48.)

Length,

Fig. 64 ( 3 §§j). Implement for squeezing Water out of Skins. Length, 34 cm. (See p. 48.)

of wood were also used. The fragment shown in Fig. 59, a, still shows an ivory strip with which its edge was overlaid.

This tray seems to have been of rectangular shape, with thick ends and thin sides. Another fragment (Fig. 59, b) suggests that an ornamental strip may have been attached to it.

Near the entrance of the house stands the large leather bucket, a simple vessel with flat round bottom and straight sides. In it lies the leather cup (Fig. 60) with hollow rim, into which a wooden handle is inserted. The spoons shown in Fig. 61 are so small that it seems doubtful if they were used for eating. Small trinkets are kept in wooden boxes with sliding covers or with close-fitting lids (Fig. 62).

The use of the implement shown in Fig. 63 is not certain. It may have been used as a ladle or shovel.

For squeezing the water out of wet skins, a bone implement is used with a rather sharp edge and somewhat hollow blade, through which the water runs off (Fig. 64). To remove snow from clothing, a wooden beater is used (Fig. 65). The handles of both these implements are sometimes carved so as to fit the hand closely. The backscratcher, which is so widely used by all Eskimo tribes and by the peoples of Siberia and eastern Asia, is found here also (Fig. 66). The specimen in Captain Mutch’s collection consists of a piece ^

^ I!

Fig. 65 ugg*). of whalebone the end of now-beater. . .

Length, 43 cm. which is sharply turned.

Fig. 66 ( 3 §g 7 ). Backscratcher. Length, 30 cm.

The style of clothing of the Cumberland Sound Eskimo 1 differs in some respects materially from that worn by the tribes of other regions. Particularly is this true of the

Fig. 67. Man in Summer Suit.

woman’s breeches and leggings, which, it would seem, are confined to the region from Cumberland Sound southward to Hudson Strait and westward to Southampton Island.

[June, jgoi .]

1 L. c pp. 455 ff.

The man’s jacket is characterized by a straight cut and a short slit in front, while the woman’s jacket has a short tail in front. The man’s summer and winter jackets (Figs. 67, 68)

have a short tail behind or are cut off straight. The style of decoration is very uniform. The inner side of the upper part of the sleeve is made of light skin, which is set off

Fig. 68. Man in Winter Suit.

Fig. 69. Woman’s Summer Jacket.

sharply against the lower part of the sleeve, and extends upward over the shoulders. The lower rim of the whole jacket is ornamented with a narrow dark strip which borders on a wider light strip. These are also carried along the slit in front. The trousers reach up to the waist, and are held by a string

Land and Hudson Bay .

that passes through the waist seam. They have no slits. They are ornamented with dark and light horizontal bands. The hair of the breech part, as far as the highest horizontal

Fig. 71. Woman in Winter Costume. (See p. 54.)

band, runs up and down, while below it runs transversely. The stockings, slippers, and shoes, and the inner garments, were described in detail in my previous report. The winter garments are made of caribou-skin. The contrast of light and dark skin on the man’s jacket (Fig. 68) is not so strong as on the summer jacket.

The decoration of the woman’s summer jacket is shown in Fig. 69. There is a certain variation as to the number of dark stripes on the wrist part of the sleeves, but on the whole the style is very uniform. The styles from Labrador and Savage Island (Fig. 70) are almost the same as those from Cumberland Sound. They differ in the details of the borders. The woman’s winter jacket (Fig. 71) has about the same style

Fig. 81. Ivory Carvings. § nat. size. (See p. 56.)

« Man ; b GSi*)i Woman ; c, d y e G«?ff h, a, i), Dice in form of women; f Gf$x)>

Dice in form of bird ; g, h Gfgg, Polar bears; i G§tt>), Head of fox \j G§?<j), Walrus ; k Giss), Polar bear ; l GS8t). Head of fox.

of decoration as the summer jacket. Women wear short breeches (Fig. 72) reaching to the middle of the thigh, where they are met by a pair of short leggings which are suspended by means of strings and buckles from the waist string of the breeches. Girls, until they are about twelve years of age, wear the same style of garment as men. At that age their jacket is cut with a short wide tail (Fig. 73). Infants’ garments are made of skins of caribou fawns. They consist of a shirt which has a short slit in front and a hood (Fig. 74). Women’s jackets are sometimes ornamented with bone or ivory beads (Fig. 75), which form a fringe around the lower edge. Fig. 76 represents a curious double button, made of wood, which represents a kayak and paddle. A similar button is figured in my paper on the Central Eskimo, p. 560, Fig. 514* It is used

Fig. 82. Carvings in Wood. \ nat. size. (See p. 56.)

a (3283)1 Seal; b (383)1 Polar bear; c (3887), Head of polar bear ; d (383)1 Seal; e (3*83)1 Woman.

for suspending a needle-case or a small pouch from the clothing. Fig. 7 7 represents a small ivory carving, said to be used in connection with the clothing, the use of which, however, is not known to me.

A number of new games are contained in this collection,—' a wooden top, which is probably spun on the ice (Fig. 78); a sling for throwing stones, made of leather, and provided with thongs (Fig. 79); and a buzz (Fig. 80), which is cut out of a piece of skin. A number of dice carved in the form of birds, men, and women, are shown in Fig. 81, c-f. In the same figure a number of realistic carvings are reproduced, some of which serve as attachments to lines, while others are not made for any practical use. They are of the same type as the Eskimo carvings from other eastern tribes. A few woodcarvings, somewhat large in size, are also remarkably good pieces of workmanship (Fig. 82).

SOUTHAMPTON ISLAND.

A most interesting part of Captain Comer’s collection consists of material collected on Southampton Island. This tribe, on account of the inaccessibility of the shores of Southampton Island, has had hardly any contact with other tribes or with Europeans. They were visited for a few hours by Capt. G. F. Lyon in August, 1824. On account of the peculiar condition of the tribe, I will quote here Lyon’s description of his visit. 1

“Sailing along the shore, we had heard loud shouting, and when the day broke, saw seven natives following us by the water’s edge. They were now abreast the ship, and as it was desirable to obtain observations, I landed with some of the officers and two boats, but the sky was too cloudy to favour our getting sights for the chronometers.

“While yet a mile from the beach, a native was seen coming off to us, and as he approached, we observed, that instead of a canoe he was seated on three inflated seal-skins, connected most ingeniously by blown intestines, so that his vessel was extremely buoyant. He was astride upon one skin, while another of a larger size was secured on either side of it, so that he was placed in a kind of hollow. His legs, well furnished with seal-skin boots, were immersed nearly to the knee in water, and he rowed with a very slender soot-stained paddle of whale’s bone, which was secured to his float by a thong.

“On approaching, he exhibited some little signs of fear ; his teeth chattered, and himself and seal-skins trembled in unison. It was evident from the manner of this poor fellow, that he had come off as a kind of herald from his tribe, and as I felt for his alarm, I threw him a string of beads, which he received in great trepidation, and placed, with trembling

1 A Brief Narrative of an Unsuccessful Attempt to reach Repulse Bay (London, 1825), pp. 54 ff.

fingers, across a large bunch of hair which protruded from his forehead. A few friendly signs which accompanied my gift gave him a little more confidence, and he soon came alongside, after having, as a peaceoffering, thrown me a couple of dried salmon and a very rude arrow, headed with a roughly-chipped flint: at my request he jumped into our boat, and taking his skins in tow, we rowed for the beach; but our new acquaintance was not a very quiet passenger, for he stood up repeatedly to wave and shout to those on shore, assuring them of his safety, and that I had *given him three needles. He was about twenty years of age, very small and brown, with a most agreeable cast of countenance. He called himself Nee-a-kood-loo, and as we made for the beach I found, that although he understood me a little, and used a few words with which I was acquainted, yet he spoke a language differing very materially from that of any other Esquimaux whom we had seen. He chattered and chuckled rapidly and delightedly to himself, and always with downcast eyes. At a long shoal point we jumped on shore to his six countrymen, who appeared to have neither word nor gesture of salutation, and each, as I approached him, presented me with two half-dried salmon, evidently intended as a peace-offering; for the donors drew back on my accepting the fish, as if they expected no equivalent. Observing a dirtylooking bone in each man’s hand, I asked what they were, and the poor creatures told me they were their ‘ Pannas’ or knives; which on examination I found to be formed of a rough piece of chipped flint something like a poplar-leaf in form, and clumsily lashed to small bone handles of about six inches in length. Such were the only cutting instruments of these wretched people. I purchased each man’s panna for either the officers or myself, giving a strong butcher’s knife in exchange, which the poor fellows received with silent and trembling delight, first eyeing me, then the knife, and at last uttering a long sighing ‘kooyenna’ (thank you) in a tone expressive of the deepest gratitude; and this display of their feelings was not confined to the impulse of the moment, for it was constantly repeated, with every appearance of sincerity, during the whole of our stay on shore. No one licked, as is the general Esquimaux custom, any of the articles we gave them.

“While landing our instruments, and waiting in hopes of obtaining sights, the natives stood quietly gazing on us as if quite overpowered by their surprise, and there was not a word uttered, unless to invite us to their tents, which I afterwards found were about two miles distant. As we walked to them along high shingly beaches intersecting small swampy lakes, several birds were shot by the officers; but although the natives saw them fall, they expressed neither surprise, fear, nor curiosity about the guns. We passed several small store-houses, of about six feet in height by ten in diameter, built of rough slabs of lime-stone, rudely but regularly piled up, and Neeakoodloo opened one to shew me that it contained a quantity of split salmon, suspended by the tails in such a manner that no small a-nimak could reach them. As we walked forward, my companion, who went at a rapid impatient pace, talked incessantly to himself with his eyes fixed on the ground, occasionally elevating his voice, which had a very agreeable tone, to a most merry chant, having a jerk not unlike a hiccup at the end of each sentence. He would then for a moment appear to recover from his fit of musing, and turn to urge me forward, but soon relapsed again into his merry soliloquy. If I spoke, he answered with a lively ‘Hai!’ but never waited or endeavoured to comprehend me, and again began chuckling to himself. He seemed quite ignorant of the word Kayak, although he knew what an Oomiak was, and pointed to the ship; and I observed that he called dogs ‘ Tchienmiuk,’ which differs very much from the Igloolik name ‘Rain-meg.’ Several other words were equally different, and his language, which was pronounced shortly, appeared in consequence to abound in monosyllables.

“We found two tents, very small, and full of holes, by which both wind and rain might enter in all directions. They were of badly-dressed seal-skins. Five women and their six children were the inmates, and when we entered, the former shewed no signs either of fear or surprise, but received us as if they had been accustomed to the sight of Europeans all their lives. The children, on the contrary, all hid their heads, and neither spoke to, nor even looked at us, during the whole visit. One of the women, by her appearance, could have been scarcely fifteen years of age, yet carried her own child, a stout boy of at least a twelvemonth old, at her back. Her face was as perfect an oval as that of an European girl, with regular and even pretty features. Her mother was with her, and had the same cast of countenance, save that she squinted abominably — a defect I have witnessed but in one other instance amongst these people. The other women had the broad flat faces and high cheek bones usually met with. I had no sooner entered Neeakoodloo’s tent, than remembering, I suppose, my present to him, he took up a large new deerskin, rolled it neatly up, and threw it towards me, repeating at the same moment ‘ Kooyenna.’ The tent floors, with the exception of the small space allotted for sleeping on, were entirely strewed with salmon and their offal; and, as I saw no lamp, and but one miserably-constructed cooking-pot, I suspect that the fish are generally eaten raw. About two dozen dogs were lying near the tents, but, with their usual fear of strangers, all ran off on our approach. I saw no sledges.

“There were none of those little domestic toys in these tents which we had always found with our Winter friends, and it was not until our visit was nearly over that I discovered the women used very ingeniouslyformed bone needles, which of course were purchased by an abundant supply of steel ones. They had also a couple of little iron needles of their own manufacture; these were apparently made from two small nails, not much reduced in thickness, and having such diminutive eyes that they could never have been of any service. The bone needles were formed from the pinions of birds, which are far harder, and at the same time more plastic, than any other bones.

“ On the ground in one of the tents, I saw a Httle bit of deal, about three inches in length, planed and painted black on one side. This was amongst the valuables of the family, although from its size it could not have been made useful, but was probably treasured in consequence of its having drifted to their shore from one of the Hudson’s Bay ships. This, with three bows, each consisting of many pieces, was all the wood in their possession, for their spears were made of the whale’s rib bone, and in a rougher style than any we had hitherto seen. Yet this scarcity of wood did not prevent their gladly selling the bows; and I afterwards learnt that one with five arrows was purchased for a livery button. I distributed knives, boarding-pikes, and beads, to the whole of this little tribe, and observed that each individual, on receiving a present, immediately offered to the donor the choice of their property, the most valuable of which, in their own estimation, were small rolls of dried salmonskins, and little pieces of flint for the purpose of making knives and arrows. Poor Neeakoodloo, on receiving two knives for himself and wife, appeared quite distressed at my refusing the dirty pieces of stone and fish-skins which he offered me; and fancying that I rejected them as not being good enough, he took a sharp flint, and began cutting up a large seal-skin, the only one in his possession, for my acceptance; on my refusing this also, he again warmly repeated his thanks for the knives.

“The women were slightly tattooed on the face in small dots, probably from their having no needles of sufficient fineness to draw a sooted thread under the skin in lines, as is the usual Esquimaux custom.

“The hands were not marked, and their hair was twisted into a short club, which hung over each temple. I purchased two little bone ornaments, which had been used as pendants to these locks, and on one of them were about a. dozen small irregularly-shaped pieces of lead, strung alternately with square-cut pieces of the claw of some bird. The women wore no breeches, but had little thigh wrappers, and very high boots, which, with their very ragged jackets, resembled those of the natives of the Savage Islands.

“The costume of the men was also somewhat of the same kind as of the above people, but all had much shorter breeches, and their knees were more exposed. As they wore gloves, the reversed skin of the dovekie, merely dried, without farther preparation, and the long stiffened neck part pointed forward in such a manner as to be always in the way. The only other peculiarity consisted in each man having an immense mass of hair as large as the head of a child, rolled into the form of a ball, and projecting from the rise of the forehead. One of these bundles, which I caused a man to open, consisted of six long strings of his own locks, originally plaited, but now so matted with dirt, deer’s fur, &c., as to resemble a rough hair tether. These extraordinary tresses were bound tightly together at their base, and measured above four feet.

“ I found that the place whence the salmon were procured, was a rapid little streamlet, running over a gravelly bed, at about a hundred paces from the tents. Its breadth might be about forty yards, and a dam was erected across it, behind which the fishermen stood and speared the salmon as they advanced up to the little wall. At half a mile from the tents, was a large winter hut standing near the sea-beach, but I had no time to visit it. On our return to the boats, I desired the natives to open their salmon stores, and bring a quantity of fish after us, which they gladly acquiesced in, and we carried off a large and most welcome supply to the ship. Not one of the strangers begged, or became in any way troublesome, but even to the moment of our departure, conducted themselves so as to shew us how grateful they were for our presents to them.

“ From their total want of iron, and from their extreme poverty, I am led to imagine that these people had never before seen Europeans; although it is not improbable they may have observed the Hudson’s Bay ships pass at a distance in the offing, on some occasions, when they may have been driven by bad weather a little out of their annual course. The good behaviour of these poor savages was therefore quite natural to them, and the fearless confidence which led Neeakoodloo to put himself into our power, is the strongest proof of their ignorance of guile or treachery.

“At four a m., on the 29th, the wind being light and contrary, with continued rain, I landed with two boats to procure water abreast of the ship, on a flat lime-stone beach, lying in long irregular ridges to seaward; and the tide having ebbed a little, the small rippling sea marked the position of the shoals by breaking on them. Near our landing-place were the remains of a large Esquimaux establishment, and had it not been for the state in which we found some stored provisions, I should have imagined that no person had been there for some years. These hoards were carefully deposited in small buildings, such as I have before described, and consisted of the bodies of skinned birds, suspended by the legs, pieces of walrus, carcasses of seals, bags of blubber, and one leathern sack full of king-ducks, uncased, and with all their feathers yet on, smelling most offensively. On a high pile of stones, near the beach, were placed a broken bow, a flint arrow, and knife, with a coarsely-constructed spear, and some fragments of skin and walrus flesh. These articles may probably have been the property of some man who lay buried near the pile, but I could discover no grave. Not far from this, and near a very small hut, built of peat, was a large inverted cooking-pot, composed of thin slabs of lime-stone, very clumsily cemented together; and beneath it was a flint knife, a piece of ivory, and a short splinter of decayed drift wood. Some sledge runners, of the whale’s jaw, lay buried beneath a few large stones; and as they were quite black with soot, it is probable they had answered the purpose of roof-rafters to some winter-hut. Several other long spars of bone were lying round in the same smoky state; and as no wood is procured in this desolate region, they may be considered as the store timber of the poor Esquimaux. Eight or ten double piles of stones, for the purpose of supporting canoes, were erected along the beach; and farther inland stood six large bone, or winter, huts, in a very dirty dilapidated state; and as mosses and grasses were growing on their seats and sleeping places, they must have been long forsaken. Of the immense quantity of bones which lay scattered around, those of the deer were most numerous. At a short distance from the shore, on one of the shingle ridges which intersected the swamps, I found a flint knife lying near a small pile of stones, under which was another knife, an arrow, a dark flint for making cutting-instruments, and two little bits of decayed wood, one of which was modelled like a canoe. Close to this was a larger mound, which contained a dead person, sewed up in a skin, and apparently long buried. The body was so coiled up, a custom with some of the tribes of Esquimaux, that it might be taken for a pigmy, being only two feet four in length. This may account for the otherwise extraordinary account given by Luke Fox, of his having found bodies in the islands in the ‘ Welcome * which were only four feet long.

“ Near the large grave was a third pile of stones, covering the body of a child, which was coiled up in the same manner. A snow buntin had found its way through the loose stones which composed this little tomb, and its now forsaken, neatl)#built nest, was found placed on the neck of the child. As the snow buntin has all the domestic virtues of our English red-breast, it has always been considered by us as the robin of these dreary wilds, and its lively chirp and fearless confidence have rendered it respected by the most hungry sportsmen. I could not on this occasion view its little nest, placed on the breast of infancy, without wishing that I possessed the power of poetically expressing the feelings it excited. Both graves lay north-east and south-west. Before going on board I placed boarding-pikes, men’s and women’s knives, and other articles, which might be useful to the poor Esquimaux, on the huts and various piles of stones.

“The beach, above high water-mark, is composed of large masses of shingle lime-stone, in which were several imperfect fossil remains, and a few pieces of madrepore were also picked up. The greatest attraction, however, was in the quantity of fine flints and pretty veined agates, which lay broken all along the beach. It would appear from the weapons found on this day, as well as others purchased before, that the natives only make use of the dark-coloured flints, which may be in consequence of their finding the veined stones more liable to split.”

In later times a number of short visits to Southampton Island must have been made by whalers wintering in Hudson Bay, although no printed records of such visits are extant. A number of specimens that can now be identified as coming from Southampton Island are figured in J. E. Nourse’s “Narrative of the Second Arctic Expedition made by Charles F. Hall. ,, 1 I found a harpoon-head from that island in the Sloane collection in the British Museum, and another one in the Sturgis collection in the American Museum of Natural History. It is not known what has become of Lyon’s collection.

Captain Comer collected a number of interesting objects among the tribe whom he met with on the southwest coast of Southampton Island. The natives still use bow and arrow. They have no guns, and they possess very little iron. The points of their arrows and harpoons are made of flint, which is chipped with a bone flaker (Fig. 83), the handle of which is made rough so as to give a firm grip. In one specimen the handle is wrapped with sennit in order to give a firm hold. A pad made of seal-skin folded in several layers belongs to this implement f and attached to one specimen by a string is a wide ring of leather, which is worn over the joint of the fourth finger of the right hand. The flint which is to be worked is placed on the skin pad in the hollow of the left hand. The flaker is firmly grasped by the right so that the fourth finger is near its tapering end. Then flakes are removed from the flint by pressure, the second joint of the fourth finger, which would strike the flint, being protected by the ring. Arrow-points, harpoon and lance points, and knives, are made of this material. It would seem that the Eskimo first make the diamond-shaped forms shown in Fig. 84, a-d. By flaking the base of these, arrowpoints with slender stems are made (Fig. 84, e-l). The elongated points (Fig. 84, r, s) may have been used as knives. A supply of these points wrapped simply in a long strip of sealintestine, and the flaker, are generally carried in the tool-pouch

1 U. S. Naval Observatory, 1879, p. 169.

Fig. 83 ( 2 |§ 3 a). Flaker for making Arrow-points. Length, 20 cm of the quiv is of the same type as that of Cumberland

Sound and Smith Sound. 1

The bow (Fig. 85) is much longer than the toy bows that are known from other parts of eastern America. Those in Captain Comer’s collection vary from 120 to 130 cm. in length. They are made of wood, and have a strong sinew backing. This is the type called by Murdoch the Arctic type." The specimens show that originally

The bow shown in Fig. 85, a, consists of a single piece of wood 4.5 cm. wide and about 2 cm. thick on the middle line, somewhat flatter on the back than on the inner side. The backing is made of twisted sinew, which is placed three and a half times up and down the back of the bow, around the knobs to which the bowstring is fastened, forming seven strands. These are held together near the ends of the bow by a cross-tie, the string being wrapped twice around the strands and tied around notches in the sides of the bow. At one end the tip of the bow is strengthened by a piece of sealskin placed under the backing. At the same end, 7 cm. from the tip, to a point 15 cm. from the same, both the inner and the outer sides of the bow are strengthened by a strip of whalebone, which is firmly lashed to the bow. This strengthening lies also under the sinew backing. The same end is still further strengthened by a strip of whalebone running from a point 10 cm. from the end to a point 50 cm. from the end of the bow, which is placed along the back of the bow over the strengthening previously described, but under the sinew backing. It is held in place only by the secondary backing, which will presently be described. The longitudinal backing described before is strengthened by a secondary series of strands, beginning about 20 cm. from the ends of the bow. The method of application of these is shown in Fig. 86. The inner side of the centre of the bow is strengthened by a piece of wood 22 cm. long, which is firmly secured by a wrapping of sinew string. Both the secondary and primary backings are twisted several times after application, evidently by means of a toggle, with which the strands are divided into two sets of equal number, and which is used for giving the required twist. After the twist has been applied, it is secured by means of a sinew string passed three times between the two halves of the backing before removal of the toggle, and finally tied once around the whole backing. The bowstring has a loop at each end, by means of which it is fastened over the knobs of the bow. It is made of twisted sinew. On each side of its centre it is wrapped with sinew. The distance be- \June y igoi.] 5

tween the wrapped places is about 9 cm., while the wrapping itself extends for a distance of about 5 cm.

The bow illustrated in Fig. 85, b> is quite similar to the one just described. It is 130 cm. long. The backing is of a similar description, but the only strengthening of the bow consists of a piece of whalebone extending from the end of the secondary backing, 12 cm. from the tip of the bow, to a point 28 cm. from the tip of the bow. At the other end a strip of whalebone extends from a point 13 cm. from the tip of the bow to 21.5 cm. from the tip of the bow* At this end the bow is further strengthened by a piece of wood or whalebone firmly lashed to its inner side before application of the backing. The sinew backing of the bow is twisted in the middle, as described before, and held in place by a sinew string passed five times through the twisted backing, and tied a few times around it. There is no strengthening in the middle of the bow.

A third bow (^f^) is 124 cm. long. It is also of the same make. It is strengthened on one side, a distance of 26 cm. to 39 cm. from the end, by a strip of wood attached on the inner side. At the corresponding point of the opposite end of the bow, it is strengthened by a close wrapping of sinew string. The back is strengthened by a single strip of whalebone, 13 cm. long, in the centre of the bow. The backing is twisted in the manner described above, but the fastening of the wrapping is much more elaborate than in the preceding cases, there being seven strands that pass between the two sections of the backing. The wrapping is then continued over the bow and the backing by nine more strands, and carried on eight times more around the backing alone, and is finally closed by winding the sinew twice around this whole central wrapping between the backing and the body of the bow. Evidently the maker found, after the backing was applied, that it was not quite tight enough, and for this reason applied a number of transversal wooden wedges between the backing and the body of the bow, over and just outside of the places where the body of the bow is strengthened as above described. On one side the backing was provided with a protective wrapping of sinew string before the wedges were driven in.

♦ The arrows range in length from 55 cm. to 95

cm., the bone foreshaft being about one-fourth of the total length. Among 20 arrows, 8 are about 92 cm. in length, and 8 others are about 82 cm. in length. The tip of the foreshaft is cut out on one I side to receive the base of the flint head, which

I is fastened with a wrapping of sinew. The splice between foreshaft and shaft of the arrow is generally slanting, but in one case at least (Fig. 85, c f )

9 the foreshaft is inserted in the shaft. While all the modern arrows of Cumberland Sound are feathered with two feathers, there are a number in the present | collection that have three spiral feathers, but attached to the characteristic flat rear end of the arh row. The nock

! is always

3 strengthened

•s by a wrapping,

\ of sinew.

\

yv The harpooni points are of ^ m o

I two distinct * P I

types, — one u I

i i! with a single ^ f barb (Fig. 87,

1 ‘ a), the other

'i with two barbs

3 (Fig- 87, b-d).

i T h e s t o n e

» points are either parallel 'or at right angles to the ax-

Fig. 88( 2 §^j. i s, around d

Flint Head, which the head Fig. 89. Flint Points for Harpoons and Lances. £ nat. Length, 193 _ size.

cm. turns when „ i^c), b (,«,»), c (rffce), d (,»,b), disengaged from its shaft. It would seem that the singlebarbed point shown in Fig. 87, e, serves the same purpose as the detachable lance-head used in Cumberland Sound, which was described onp.14. The kayak lance (Fig. 88) is quite similar to the one used in Cumberland Sound, 1 except that it has a flint head. In both lances and harpoons the attachment of the foreshaft to the main shaft is identical with the one used by other Central tribes. 3 A small piece of ivory is always inlaid in the shaft just above the place where the lines that hold the movable foreshaft pass through the wood. The flint points of lances and harpoons are quite large (Fig. 89).

No flint knives, such as are described by Captain Lyon, were collected by Captain Comer. He secured, however, the back of a knife (Fig. 90). This is a long piece of bone with a slit on one side, into which the stone or metal blade was inserted. The same method of attachment was used in the ancient woman’s knives of slate (see p. 28) and also in the knives of meteoric (?) iron from Smith Sound, one of which is said to be in the possession of Lieut. R. E. Peary. Their snowknives are also very primitive (Fig. 91). They are made of whalebone or of ivory. The whalebone blade (Fig. 91, b, c) is lashed to a wooden handle, while the ivory knife shows a much more intricate method of joining. Both the bone handle and the ivory blade are cut off square (Fig. 91, a). They are perforated a short distance from the joint, and these perforations are joined by means of grooves formed of closely adjoining drill-holes. We have here an example of the use of the drill in place of the saw in cutting off lengths of bone and ivory. It is remarkable that these Eskimo should not have made any saws from the flint which is so abundant in their country.

An axe (Fig. 92), probably made for breaking frozen meat, consists of a heavy bone blade lashed to a wooden handle, and held more firmly by wooden wedges driven in between the lashing and the handle. Captain Comer also secured a small slate whetstone (Fig. 93) which was used for sharpening metal tools. It looks as if at one time it might have served as a knife.

1 L. c ., p. 494; also Fig. 432, p. 496.

2 L. c., Fig. 420, p. 489.

c

Fig. 90 ( T ?§ 7 ) Back of Knife. Length, 22 cm.

Fig. pi. Snow-knives, i nat. size, a (if g*), Made of bone; b ( 5 §#s), c (sfSs), Made of whalebone.

Knives are carried in seal-skin pouches provided with a bear’s tooth, which may be used for whetting (Fig. 94).

A toboggan made of whalebone (Fig. 95), similar to those described by some early travellers, was also secured. The strips of whalebone are tied in a knot at their thin ends. At four points they are joined by means of narrow strips of whalebone, which pass through slits in the bottom of the toboggan. These slits are made by splitting off the upper layer of the whalebone, so that the cross-lashing does not appear on the lower side of the toboggan, which in this manner is kept perfectly smooth.

The eyes for stringing the traces of the dogs to the sledge (Fig. 96) resemble those used by other tribes.

Fig. 94 (sflhb). Knife-case. Length, 25 cm.

Fig. 95 (ttIf)* Toboggan. Length, 151 cm.

Fig. 96 Gii^sf^e). Eyes for Dog’s Traces. £ nat. size

Fig. ioo (2125)• Meat-Fork. Length, 25 cm.

a b

Fig. 102 (*f §ia,b). Hair-ornaments. £ nat. size.

Almost all the cups and dishes of this tribe are made of whalebone (Fig. 97). The bottom is generally made of bone, to which the whalebone is sewed. The sides are closed with whalebone sewing, and the handle is made of the same material. A wooden dish is shown in Fig. 98. It is interesting as showing a curious patch made of leather and cemented to the wood.

Owing to the absence of soapstone, the lamps and pots of this tribe are exceedingly crude. They are made of slabs of limestone cemented together with a mixture of oil, soot, and blood (Fig. 99). The shape of both lamp and pot is evidently derived from that of the soapstone lamps and pots of other tribes. The slabs composing the bottom and sides of the pots are sewed together with whalebone. One pot in the collection is 47 cm. long, 23 cm. wide, and 13 cm. high. The thickness of the limestone slabs of which it is made is less than 10 mm.

The implement shown in Fig. 100 is probably a fork for lifting meat out of the kettle.

Fie. 103 ( 5 f§ 7 ). Ivory Fig. 104 Gffo). Snow-goggles. Width, 14.5 cm.

Comb. Length, 9.5 cm.

No new information in regard to their clothing was obtained. A few buttons (Fig. ioi) probably served for attachments to needle-cases or for holding coils of lines (see p. 55). The curious hair-pendants described by Lyon are evidently still in use (Fig. 102). Of these, several were obtained. All are made of ivory, and ornamented with dots. A small ivory comb (Fig. 103) resembles those used by other tribes. The type of snow-goggles (Fig. 104) is identical with that commonly used in Cumberland Sound.

The whole tribe seems to number only 57 souls. Captain Comer describes some of their winter huts as built of the skull-caps of whales, converging at their tips. In the centre is a platform built up of limestone, on which the lamps are placed, while the beds are all around the walls of the hut.

WEST COAST OF HUDSON BAY.

The implements used by the Kinipetu and Aivilik are, on the whole, very much alike, and may be described together. The kayak used by the tribes of the west coast of Hudson Bay differs from the kayak of Davis Strait and Baffin Bay in being much lighter and in having a rounded bottom. Instead of the flat bottom described above, the kayak has rounded ribs, which are attached to eight longitudinal strips (Figs. 105, 106). The kayak is covered with the inner skin of the seal, and for this reason is much lighter than the kayaks of Greenland and Baffin Land. The kayak of the Aivilik is shorter than that of the Kinipetu, and its stem and stern projections a*e, comparatively speaking, lower. The kayak of the Kinipetu has a very long, flat stem projection and a long, rising stern projection. It is painted with a number of black and red bands. Following is a list of measurements of a Kinipetu canoe in the Museum (sff T ).

Total length.

Length of bow projection.

Length of stem projection.

Bow to centre of manhole.

Stern to centre of manhole.

Length of manhole.

Width of manhole.

Greatest width of deck.

Height of extreme end of bow over bottom. Height of extreme end of stem over bottom.

Height of deck at centre of manhole.

Elevation, of front beam of manhole'.

Space between ribs in manhole.

Space between ribs fore and aft of manhole. Weight.

860 cm.

i5-5

36 lbs.

a Gl§ga), Aivilik lake-kayak (length, 75 cm.); b Gssga), Aivilik sea-kayak (length, 80 cm.) ; c (5887), Kinipetu kayak (length, 104 cm.).

The Aivilik build their kayaks for hunting caribou in ponds with a rounder bottom than those which are used for seal-hunting in the sea. The paddle of the Kinipetu kayak has a longer blade than that of the Aivilik kayak (Fig. 107). The blades are painted red, their tips black.

The kayak harpoons differ in detail from those used by the Eastern tribes. Most of them have a wide barb provided with a number of notches (Fig. 108). The blade is generally parallel to the barb, but in some cases it stands at right angles to it. The harpoon-shaft resembles in every respect the one described before. 1 The bladder-dart is used in hunting seals from the kayak (Fig. 109). The bladder is attached to the shaft nearer to the butt-end than to the tip. It is tied to a wooden support attached to the shaft. The bladder has a special mouthpiece with a stopper, similar to the mouthpiece by means of which the seal-buoy is blown up. The point of the bladder-dart resembles the ordinary harpoon-point (Fig. 108, e). The harpoon-line is tied to the middle of the shaft, rolled up around it, and passed through a small loop near the tip of the harpoon-shaft. After the animal has been hit, the harpoon-point becomes disengaged, and gradually unrolls the line which is wound around the shaft. The bladder-dart is thrown with the throwing-board (Fig. no), which is still ruder in form than the throwing-board of Cumberland Sound. It is provided with a notch for the thumb, and a hole for the first finger, but it has no grooves for the other fingers.

No winter harpoons for hunting seals at their holes were obtained by Captain Comer, probably for the reason that this mode of hunting is not much practised on the west coast of Hudson Bay, since the Eskimo hunt principally near the edge of the land-floe. When locating the breathing-hole of a seal under the snow, the Aivilik use a curved probing-bone (Fig. hi), which is thrust into the snow in order to ascertain the centre of the breathing-hole of the seal, and to make sure that the seal still visits it. If the hole is deserted, it is covered with ice. After the breathing-hole has been located, a very delicate rod of ivory, attached to a fine string of sinew and a

leather ring, is inserted in the seal-hole (Fig. 112). When the seal reaches the breathing-hole, it strikes the light rod, and by this means the approach of the seal is indicated.

In hunting caribou in ponds, the Kinipetu use a very long harpoon with detachable point (Fig. 113). The harpoon has an iron foreshaft. The harpoon-head is connected with the harpoon-shaft by two strings made of sinew.

The bows are made of musk-ox horn riveted together in the middle. In many cases the tips are made of separate pieces. The bow represented in Fig. 114, a, consists of two pieces of musk-ox horn, joined in the centre of the bow by a V-shaped joint through which four iron rivets are driven. Each end has a tip of bone placed under the horn with a slanting joint and riveted to it. The back of each tip is covered with skin, which extends a little farther than the bone tips. Over these is applied a sinew backing of the same kind as that found on Southampton Island (see p. 65). A sinew string is wound nine times up and down the whole length of the bow. Then the two sets of strands are twisted in the centre, and the twist is secured by a cross-tie, the .strands of which pass several times between the two sets of twisted sinews, then around the body of the bow, and finally a number of times under the backing and over the cross-tie which secures the twist. The central twisted part of the backing is furthermore held together by a sinew string tied several times around it between the backing and the body of the bow. At each end the wrapping is secured by a number of secondary strands or rings of the same character as those described before (p. 65). These are here also held in place by a number of notches in the sides of the bow. On the inner side, at a distance of 9 cm. from the middle, are two very small horn pegs placed in an eccentric position, the one a little to the right, the other a little to the left, of the middle line of the bow. They protrude about 3 mm. above the surface. Possibly they may serve to hold the bowstring in position when the bow is strung.

The specimen illustrated in Fig. 114, b, differs somewhat from the one before described. It consists of two pieces of

[ October , igoi\ 6

horn with slanting joint and copper rivets. The primary backing is strung seven times up and down the bow, and is fastened in the middle as before described. There are only two windings at each end to hold the backing in place, although the side of the bow is provided with three notches to hold these fastenings.

A third bow from Boothia Felix (^f?^) resembled the one first described, except that the primary backing is not twisted. A finger-stall of seal-skin is attached to the bowstring. It was evidently used in spanning the bow.

For twisting sinew backing, a toggle with ends bent in opposite directions is usedj(Fig.ii5,a). The strands are spread apart by means of a marline - spike made of bone, for insertion of the toggle (Fig. 115, b). No arrows were collected a b

Fig. 116. Arrow-points. \ nat. size.

Fig. 115, a (372^;), b (3®?g). Twister and Marline-spike. $ nat. size.

a Bone point; b (27&O.

Slate arrow-head ; (csflfo), Bone point with iron head.

by Captain Comer, but a few foreshafts and points are contained in the collection. One of the foreshafts is barbed. The point is made of metal (Fig. 116, c). In olden times slate points were used in place of metal points (Fig. 116, b ). The bone point (Fig. 116, a) shows that in some cases at least the points were inserted in the shaft, not lashed to it, as is usual on Southampton Island and in Cumberland Sound. The bone foreshafts of arrows, and other wooden or bone shafts, are straightened by means of a bone implement (Fig. 117), which is provided with holes of various diameters, the shaft being inserted in the hole of proper size.

In fishing, the threepointed fish-spear 1 is employed extensively. Generally it is provided with a very long shaft, and in some cases the points are made of musk-ox horn (Fig. 118). A peculiar form of fishing-tackle is used by the tribes of the west coast of Hudson Bay. The fishline is made of braided sinew. It is attached to a peculiar bone reel? on which it is wound when not in use. The hook consists of a piece of bone to Fig. ii 7 straightener w hi c h, at the present day, for Arrow-shafts. Length, 33 cm. 7 x J 1

a metal hook is attached (Fig. 119, a). The same form of fishing-tackle is used for attaching decoys, such as small carved ivory fishes, teeth, etc. (Fig. 119, b ). These are used in connection with the large three-pronged spear. An old form of bone fish-hook is shown in Fig. 120. The fish, after being caught, are strung up on thongs by means of a needle, which is passed through gills and mouth (Fig. 121).

Fig. zi8

Barb of Fishspear. Length, 13 cm.

Captain Comer collected a curious snare made of whalebone, which is said to be used by children in catching fish in brooks. The snare is attached to the end of a stick. Its free end is connected with a long fine thread made of sinew, and it is said that the fish are caught in passing through the noose of the snare (Fig. 122).

Fig. 119, a CsfSi), b Fishing-tackle. § nat. size.

Fish are often caught through holes cut in the ice. These are cleared of small pieces of floating ice by means of a scoop made of musk-ox horn (Fig. 123). The scoop is tied to a long handle, which fits into a groove on its lower side.

Among the series of knots collected by Captain Comer, no essentially new forms were found. The only difference between the knots of this region and those of Cumberland Sound consists in the fact that instead of using slits, the Eskimo seem to prefer to turn over the ends of the lines, and to make loops by sewing the end to the standing part (Fig. 124).

The old double-bladed knife is still extensively used by the people of this area (Fig. 125). Some of the large doublebladed knives collected by Captain Comer are of the same type as those found by Parry in Iglulik in 1821. We find here also the use of the long crooked knife, which is so characteristic of the natives of the North Pacific Ocean (Fig. 126). This knife has a very long handle, and the blade is generally protected by a leather shaft. The handle has no grooves for the fingers, such as are found on knives from British Columbia and Alaska. Teeth mounted on the ends of pieces of wooden shafts are used for whetting knives (Fig. 127).

The axe illustrated in Fig. 128 has a mounting similar to that of the primitive bone axe described Fig. 127 (2773)* Fig. 128 ( 5 f§ 7 ). Axe. on p. 69. The blade is

Knife-sharpener Length, 25 cm. .. r .11. ...

Length,9cm. made of metal; but, without any doubt, in former times bone axes were used in this region also. The end of the handle is perforated, probably for suspending the axe from the sledge or in the house.

In olden times, when wood was scarce, sledges were sometimes made of walrus-hide cut lengthwise, rolled up tightly, and then frozen. Cross-pieces of bone were tied to the runners. The shoeing was made of a mixture of powdered moss and water. This shoeing was covered with ice in the same manner as described in my paper on the Central Eskimo. 1 At the present time, sledges about 16 feet long are used, the runners being from 18 to 22 inches apart. The runners begin to turn upwards about 3 feet from the front end, the tip being 8 inches high. The cross-pieces extend 4 inches over each side, and have rounded ends. The shoeing is made of whales' jaws. The runner itself is two inches wide, and is covered with hoop-iron. • In order to prevent the runners from splitting, a number of bolts or long spikes are passed through them. When dragging home a piece of walrus, three ribs are sometimes stuck into the meat to serve as runners.

The whip used by the people of the west coast of Hudson Bay is similar to the one used in Cumberland Sound (Fig. 129). The length of the handle of the specimen here described is 28 cm., while the thong is 6 m. long. The method by which the handle part of the thong is increased in thickness is somewhat complicated. The extra thickness is obtained by braiding in additional strips of thong. The details of the method of insertion are illustrated in Fig. 130. After three additional thongs have been inserted (6, c, d), a fourth thong ( e) } which is not split, is pulled in at one side, and out at the other side between the braids.

The implements used for preparing skin differ somewhat in form from those used in Cumberland Sound. A bone comb with wide teeth is used for combing caribou-skins, and Fig. 131 (aft*). Fur- t 0 remove the loose hair (Fig. 131). The inner side of the skin is scraped with a bone scraper made of the split leg-bone of the caribou (Fig. 132).

1 p . 534.

Other scrapers, which serve to remove the flesh and soften the skin, are shown in Fig. 133. While the implement described before is used with its long edge, like a beaming-knife, the second form is used with its narrow edge, like the metal and stone scrapers described on pp. 32-34.

Fig. 132 ( 2 f§,,). Skin-scraper. Length, 27 cm.

a b c d e

Fig. 133. Skin-scrapers made of Bone. £ nat. size, a ( 2 §§ 5 ), b (sits), c ( 2 i§ 2 ), d ( 2 g§ 7 ), * (sfSo).

The handle end is sometimes covered with skin and moss (Fig. 133, c )- The Eskimo evidently prefer, on handles to such implements, a knob extending towards the left-hand side. In one specimen (Fig. 133, d) this is secured by lashing an additional piece of bone to the end of the handle. It is interesting to note that the handles of stone scrapers of the Kinipetu (Fig. 134) are fashioned in the same way. The stone blade is inserted in the handle. Probably the antler is steamed, and the stone pushed into it while hot. In a few specimens (Fig. 134, a, b) a metal blade is substituted for the stone blade. Quite a number of scrapers of the Kinipetu are made entirely of stone (Fig. 134, e ). These have the same general shape as

Fig. 134. Skin-scrapers made of Stone and Metal. \ nat. size, a (jflfob), b (3I81C), With iron blades ; c Gfsse), d GiSsb), With stone blades ; e (sfSob), Made of stone.

the bone scrapers, and the stone scrapers with bone handles, the end of the handle being turned to the left. I presume these peculiar stone scrapers are a later development from forms previously described. The water is squeezed out of wet skins with hollow bone scrapers, some of which have handles snugly fitting the fingers (Fig. 135).

The needle-cases used on the west coast of Hudson Bay have not the tubular form so common among Eskimo tribes, but consist of small cases of wood or ivory of peculiar form (Fig. 136). Most of them are somewhat rectangular in cross-section, and inlaid with black horn or wood. Some are made of ivory, and carved in the form of whales (Fig. 136, c). One needle-case consists ,of a small leather bag filled with moss, into which the needle is pushed (Fig. 136, d). The needle-cases from Cumberland Sound described before (p. 34) are of different design. Almost all the needle-cases from the west coast

^ Hudson Bay Fig. 135, a (sfSsc), b (s®§ B a), c (jfigb). Implements for squeezing have numerous ^ ater out Wet Skins. 3 nat. size.

carvings as attachments, and most of them are provided with a toggle in the form of a kayak, which serves to hold the thimbles (Fig. 136, b , d). The general style of these needle-cases recalls those of Smith Sound. 1

Fig. 136. Needle-cases \ nat. size, a ( 2 ?§ T a), b ( 5 ?g T b), c (*?8 3 ), d ( 2 Sg„).

The Eskimo of the west coast of Hudson Bay live for a considerable part of the Winter in snow houses. In selecting snow for building, they use a probe (Fig. 137) for determining the suitability of the snow. The one figured here is made of bone, and has an ivory point. Captain Comer had made a few models of the ancient form of snow-knife (Fig. 138), which was similar to that of Southampton Island. In one specimen

1 Kroeber, /. c., p. 286.

figured here, the joint between the ivory knife and the bone handle is slanting (Fig. 138, 6), while in another specimen (Fig. 138, a) the ivory extends some distance along the bone handle to which it is sewed. After the snow vault for the house is finished, the Eskimo cover a considerable portion of it with loose snow. For this purpose a snow-shovel (Fig. 139) is used, which is made of a number of strips of wood sewed together. The shovel has a bone handle and bone edge. In the middle a second handle is provided for the left hand. The snow house differs from that of Cumberland Sound in that the bed platform is not in the rear of the house, but at the side (Fig. 140). Captain Comer describes a snow house built Feb. 21, 1898, for three families consisting of twelve people, as follows: The main room had a diameter of 7 m., and was 4 m. high. The length of the floor was 4 m., and its width 2 m. The window, which was over the entrance passage, consisted of two pieces of ice, each 75 cm. by 45 cm. The entrance passage consisted of three elongated vaults, each 3.5 m. long and 2 m. wide at the widest part. A store-room was attached to each side of the main building. One was used for provisions, the other one for clothing. The storeroom used for provisions generally faces northward.

Formerly the Aivilik built houses of bones of whales and of turf. Some of these may still be seen at Nuvuk in Repulse Bay. The skull-bones of five whales were used for the foundation of one of these.

77 cm.

[October, ipoi.]

The household furniture consists of bedding made of caribouskins, lamp, pot, dishes, leather buckets, ladles, and spoons. The lamps are of the same shape as those previously described (P- 4 i).

Fig. 141 (si?*). Kettle from Boothia Felix. Length, 46 cm.; width, 24cm.

The collection contains a kettle of the Netchillik from Boothia Felix (Fig. 141), which is of the same form as the one from Iglulik illustrated by Parry. 1 Buckets are made of sealskin (Fig. 142). Generally a cup made of seal-skin stands alongside of the bucket. Dishes are made of wood (Fig. 143). Some of them are oval, shallow trays, while others are rectangular in outline, with thin sides and thick ends. They are sometimes edged with ivory either all round or only at the ends. Almost all the spoons and ladles of these tribes are made of the horn of the musk-ox. Most of them are of the characteristic type represented in Fig. 144, a, while some have longer handles bent at a sharp angle (Fig. 144, b). Spoons with long handles, made of the same material, seem to be quite rare (Fig. 145). Smaller spoons are more rounded (Fig. 146).

Before entering the snow house, the Eskimo carefully remove the snow and frost from their clothing by means of a wooden snow-beater (Fig. 147). The winter clothing is not taken into the hut, but deposited in a store-room outside.

The collection contains a great number of small bone implements, most of which are provided with a hole at one end for

1 Journal of a Second Voyage for the Discovery of a North-west Passage (London, 1824), p. 548.

Fig. 143, a (sfgA b (255*). Dishes. £ nat. size.

Fig. 145.

Fig. 144. Ladles of Musk-ox Horn, a (sfSub), Length, 19.5 cm.; b Length of bowl, 16 cm.; c ( 2 £§b). Length, 18 cm.

Fig. 145 Horn Spoon. Length, 38 cm.

suspension. These are said to be used to extract the marrow from bones (Fig. 148).

When blubber is scarce, the Aivilik and Kinipetu burn turf and moss. This is dug with

Fig. 149 ( 5 £$ s a). Bone Spade. Length,

37-5 cm.

i bone spade (Fig. 149).

The clothing of the Aivilik and of the Kinipetu differs very much from that of the Eskimo of Cumberland Sound. It seems that they do not wear any sealskin clothing, but caribou-skin is worn in both summer and winter. The inner garments are also made of caribou-skin, and are of the same cut as the outer garments. The cut of the Kinipetu clothing is the same as that of the Aivilik; but the Kinipetu seem to have obtained cloth of European manufacture for a considerable period, probably by trade with Fort Churchill. They use strips of colored cloth, particularly black and red, for ornamenting their fur jackets. The man’s jacket reaches to the middle of the thighs. It has a slit on each side, reaching about up to the waist. The hind flap is about four inches longer than the front flap (Plates I, II). The man’s jacket of the Kinipetu differs from that of the Aivilik in that it often has a very long tail which reaches to the ground

(Fig. i£o). It has no slits on the sides. The trousers are practically of the same cut as those of Cumberland Sound.

The men wear over their stockings outer shoes made entirely of the skin of caribou-legs (Fig. 154, a, c).

The dress of the women (Plates III, IV) consists of a jacket (Figs. 151,152), very short breeches, long stockings reaching

Fig. 151 Gl^s). Woman’s Jacket, Aivilik.

up to the hips, and shoes. The jacket has a rather short, pointed flap in front, and a very long flap behind. The hood is large, and has a small opening. On each side, in front, a skin loop is provided, which serves for attaching a thong that passes along the back. This thong serves to support the child when carried in the hood. The thong is fastened to the loops in front by means of two large wooden buttons. The needle-case is generally worn suspended from two pieces of skin, and attached to the same loops. The breeches reach to

Fig. 152 (sills). Woman’s Jacket, Aivilik.

the lower part of the thigh. By far the most remarkable of the women’s garments are their stockings (Fig. 153), which bulge out enormously just below the knee. When the foot part of the stocking is worn out, it is removed, and a new one sewed on. Over the stockings are worn seal-skin slippers,

WiM

which reach a little above the ankles (Fig. 154, b). The hair is either done up in two knots, one over each ear, or wound around two sticks, and wrapped with caribou-skin edged on one side with light and dark strips. Over the forehead an ornament made of brass is worn.

Fig. 156. Ivory Combs. $ nat. size.

^ (55x5)1 c (55?5)i & (55§t)i * (sf 17)1 / (5§57)*

In winter, when travelling over ice and dry snow, slippers with caribou-skin soles with the hair on are worn (Fig. 154, d). These are often sewed over with spirals and zigzags made of sinew, in order to give a firmer footing on the slippery ground.

Captain Comer obtained a pair of shoes which are said to come from Victoria Land, west of Back River (Fig. 155). These are made of seal-skin without hair, and are elaborately creased in front. Ivory combs are very much used by the tribes on the west coast of Hudson Bay (Fig. 156). Most of

108 Bulletin Anierican Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XV, the modern combs have etched designs or other forms of elaborate decoration. Among all these tribes, the women tattoo their faces and their arms. The designs show slight variations among the different tribes (Figs. 157, 158).

Fig. 157. Styles of Tattooing on Face.

<*, Kinipetu ; Aivilik ; c, Ponds Bay ; d, Boothia Felix.

Snow-goggles are used in spring. They show a very great variety of form, and differ quite considerably from those found in Cumberland Sound and Smith Sound. The pair of snow-goggles represented in Fig. 159, a, is almost identical in design with the one from Iglulik figured by Parry. 1

While almost the whole culture of these tribes is purely

1 Parry, l.c., p. 548.

Eskimo, their pipes show a very strong Indian influence (Fig. 160). They are made of soapstone, and resemble in their general type and make the pipes of the neighboring Indian tribes. So far as I am aware, no other eastern Eskimo tribes make pipes of their own.

Most of the games of these tribes are similar to those of the Eskimo of Cumberland Sound. In the game nugluktuq, 1 a piece of ivory with a hole in the centre is suspended from the top of the snow house. To its lower end a line with a heavy weight is attached, which serves to hold the piece of ivory steady. The men gather around this implement, each holding a small stick with a sharp point. A knife is laid down, which forms the stake of the game; and at the word “a'te,” all the men try to hit the hole in the tooth with their little sticks. Whoever succeeds in hitting the hole wins the knife. Then he places another stake near by, and the play is resumed, while he himself is barred from taking part in the game. Anyone has the right to take hold of the ivory with his naked hand at the risk of having it gashed with the darts of the spears. If two persons hit the hole at the same time, it does not count.

Women gamble with a musk-ox dipper, which is turned

Fig. 161 (5733b). Rings of Whalebone. Diameter, 8 cm.

swiftly around. The person away from whom the handle points wins the stake, and has to place a stake in her turn. 1

Another game is as follows: A large cake of ice is formed in the shape of a top (kipekutuk) with a flat surface and a dull point which fits into a shallow hole. One man sits down on the piece of ice, while two others spin it around by means of sticks. This game is often indulged in at the floe edge, when waiting for the pack-ice jto come in with the tide.

Generally a man who is the butt of all the others is in-

1 Boas, /. c., p. 568.

duced to sit on this top, and is spun around until he is made sick.

Small hoops of whalebone (terkutuk) are joined crosswise (Fig. 161). Then they are placed on the ice or hard snow when the wind is blowing. The young men run to catch them.

Boys play hunting seals. Each of them has a small harpoon and a number of pieces of seal-skin with many holes. Each piece of skin represents a seal. Each of the boys also has a hip-bone of the seal. Then one boy moves the piece of skin which represents a seal under the hole in the hip-bone, which latter represents the blowing-hole in the ice. While moving the piece of skin about under the bone, the boys blow like seals. Whoever catches with the little harpoon the piece of skin in one of the holes retains it, and the boy who catches the last of the pieces of skin goes on in turn with his seals. The little harpoons are made by the fathers of the boys, the pieces of skin are prepared by their mothers (Fig. 162).

A game of blind-man’s-buff is described as follows: One of the women closes her eyes, and gropes around, trying to find another one, who endeavors to keep out of her way. As soon as she takes hold of one, she opens her eyes and strikes her a blow on the head with the side of her fist. Then the one who is caught tries to catch another woman.

The bones from the seal-flippers are also used for a game. Each bone represents a certain animal or an old or a young person. They are divided into two equal parts. One bone is picked up from each pile, held up a few inches, and then let drop. Should one land right side up, it is looked upon as though it had thrown the other down in a fight. The one which fell wrong side up is then set aside, and another from the same pile is tried with the successful one in this way. This is carried on until one side wins. Then the last bone to win is called the bear, being the strongest of all. The player who has lost the game so far takes the bone, holds it to his forehead, and lets it drop. If it should land right side up, it is looked upon as though the bear had thrown him. Otherwise he is stronger than the bear. Children also use these bones for playing house.

The game of cup-and-ball is played with an implement with four holes drilled into its short edge. It is caught on a wooden or bone pin. This game is also played with the shoulder-bone of the seal (Fig. 164).

Buzzes are made of bone (Fig. 165), and are spun by means of a string made of sinew. Girls play with small dolls made out of bones, and dressed in strips of caribou-skin or wool (Fig. 166).

The Aivilik and Kinipetu make a great many carvings in ivory and in soapstone. A few of the best-executed carvings are shown in Fig. 167.

One rather curious specimen (Fig. 168) is a flat ivory pendant used as an ornament on a woman’s jacket. It is said to

[October , igoi .] 8

b

Fig. 168 (sISt). Ivory Pendant, Front and Back Views. Length, 5 cm.

come from Victoria Land, and to show the cut and decoration of a woman’s jacket from that district. The design on the front of the pendant represents the short front tail and the white spots on the breast part of the jacket, while that on the reverse side represents the long flap and the shoulder ornamentation.

III. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION.

WEST COAST OF HUDSON BAY.

It would seem that among the Aivilik a man may attain considerable influence, more so than is the case nowadays in Cumberland Sound. Captain Comer mentions one man, by the name of Coo-nic Char-ley (Kunuk ?, Kunuksialuk ?), who was a leader of this tribe. He had two wives. By one of them he had six children, by the other four. Three of his sons and one of his daughters lived to grow up. One of his sons, called Albert by the whalers, was also considered a leader of the tribe. He had three wives, by one of whom he had two children, by the second three, and by the last five. When he died, his nephew, on account of his ability, became his successor as a leader of the tribe. His name is Tesiaq, and he is called Harry by the whalers. Captain Comer continues: “Harry, when born, was blessed by his grandfather with much ceremony, that he might become a great hunter and whaleman. All skins taken by him should be prepared only by the very best workers. His guardian spirit would become angry at the woman who had done work on his skins carelessly, and cause her death.’’

Polygamy is customary. Among the tribes of Iglulik, Ponds Bay, and of Boothia Felix, polyandry is practised. Among the tribes of the west coast of Hudson Bay the woman goes to live in the house and with the family of her husband. The man never joins his wife’s family.

Married couples who remain childless frequently adopt children, in order to have some one to care for them when old or sick. Sometimes a child to be adopted is purchased from its parents. In the summer of 1898 a party of natives from the Middle Savage Islands, who went to Chesterfield Inlet on a Scotch steamer, gave one of their children to an Aivilik family in exchange for a gun.

The hunter who first strikes a walrus receives the tusks and one of the fore-quarters. The person who first comes to his assistance receives the other fore-quarter; the next man, the neck and head; the following, the belly; and each of the next two, one of the hind-quarters. The dogs are given all they can eat while the walrus is being cut up, to encourage them to assist in hunting walrus.

A person who has unwittingly damaged the property of another regrets that he has been the cause of loss, particularly if the owner should comfort him by minimizing the importance of the accident. If, on the other hand, the owner should express his annoyance, the offender will take comfort, “because it is sufficient for one person to feel annoyed.”

The meetings of strangers are accompanied by ceremonies which generally take the form of contests. 1 The strangers meet the whole tribe in the snow house, and one man of each party is selected for a trial of strength. They take off their shirts, and first one presents his shoulder or the side of his head to the other, who strikes it with full force with his fist. Then the other one presents his shoulder or head to be struck in his turn. In this way they continue until one of them gives in. The test is not accompanied by any ill feeling. The boys and the old men of the Aivilik often engage in these contests among themselves.

In former times, up to about 1880, the contests between the Netchillik and Aivilik were of a different nature. Each of the contestants would place the point of his knife against the other’s cheek-bone, and then push with both hands until one gave in. Then each placed the point of his knife on the other’s shoulder, and the same proceeding was repeated. A few years ago a Netchillik who could not endure the pressure of the knife of his opponent suddenly stabbed arid killed him. He fled during the night.

The Netchillik are reputed to be quarrelsome and treacherous. Captain Comer mentions the case of a man who in a fit of rage tore his wife’s clothes off. When she crouched on

1 L. c., p. 609.

the ground for shame, his father tried to interfere, when he turned on him, struck him, and tore his clothes. It is also said that boys often fight with their fathers. It seems worth while to mention these trifling facts, because they agree so closely with customs and ideas that play an important part in the traditions collected in Greenland.

When two persons meet who happen to have the same name, one of them will relinquish his name, and be given a present in return.

Orphans and aged people who become a burden to the tribe may be killed. Some instances of these practices are described by Captain Comer. A woman now living near Repulse Bay had an idiotic child. Though the child was cared for till it was about fourteen years old, it never grew, and was always carried on its mother’s back. The child’s father died about ten years ago, and the mother could hardly get a living, and no man wanted to take her with the child. Though she loved it, she realized that it would always remain a burden. The child’s name was Nuliayoq, named after the ruler of all sea or land animals. When she decided that she must dispose of the child, she placed it on the ground and killed it by putting her foot on its chest. She afterwards became lame in that leg and foot. It is believed that the spirit Nuliayoq was offended by her. It might seem that the last statement implies that she did wrong in killing the child, but her action coincides with customs practised by other Eskimo tribes.

Among the Netchillik, people who become sick and infirm without prospect of recovery commit suicide or are hung.

When a travelling party run short of provisions, they sometimes leave a woman or an old person who may hinder their progress in a small snow hut, in which such person is walled up. In case the party succeed in reaching their destination and replenishing their stock of provisions, they return for the deserted one.

People who have made themselves obnoxious are disposed of by common consent. An angakok discovered that another angakok had wished a great many of the Eskimo to die. This matter was talked over, and it was decided that the hostile angakok should be disposed of. One day, when he had made a hole in the ice of a pond, and was reaching down to clean out the broken pieces of ice, he was stabbed in the back by an old man, who received the thanks of the others for his feat. The wife of the murdered man went to live with a young man.

IV. CUSTOMS AND RELIGIOUS IDEAS.

CUMBERLAND SOUND.

In my description of the religious beliefs of the Central Eskimo 1 I explained that the mythological basis of many practices and beliefs of these tribes is founded on the Sedna legend. Captain Mutch has obtained a very full version of this legend, which will be found on p. 163. It is sufficient to recall at this place that Sedna was a girl who would not have a husband, and who finally married a petrel, that took her to his village. When her father carried her back in his boat, the petrel caused a heavy gale. In order to save himself, Sedna’s father threw her overboard; and when she clung to the boat, he cut off the joints of her fingers one by one. As they fell into the water they were transformed into whales, groundseals, and common seals. Finally he knocked out one of her eyes. Then she went to the lower world, of which she became the mistress. Her father, on reaching his village, lay down on the beach and covered himself with his tent. The rising tide swept over him, and he also went-down, and now lives in Sedna’s house.

This woman, the mother of the sea-mammals, may be considered as the principal deity of the Central Eskimo. She has supreme sway over the destinies of mankind, and almost all the observances of these tribes are for the purpose of retaining her good will or of propitiating her if she has been offended. She is believed to live in a lower world, in a house built of stone and whale-ribs. In accordance with the myth, she is said to have but one eye. She cannot walk, but slides along, one leg bent under, the other stretched forward. Her father lives with her in this house, and lies covered up with his tent. Her dog, which, according to one version of the

1 L. c ., pp. 583^.

120 Bulletin Ametkan Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XV, myth, was her husband, guards the entrance, being stationed on the floor of the house.

The souls of seals, ground-seals, and whales are believed to proceed from her house. After one of these animals has been killed, its soul stays with the body for three days. Then it goes back to Sedna’s abode, to be sent forth again by her. If, during the three days that the soul stays with the body, any taboo or proscribed custom is violated, the violation (pitsse'te) becomes attached to the animal’s soul, and causes it pain. The soul strives in vain to free itself of these attachments, but is compelled to take them down to Sedna. The attachments, in some manner not explained, make her hands sore, and she punishes the people who are the cause of her pains by sending to them sickness, bad weather, and starvation. If, on the other hand, all taboos have been observed, the seaanimals will allow themselves to be caught: they will even come to meet the hunter. The object of the innumerable taboos that are in force after the killing of these sea-animals, therefore, is to keep their souls free from attachments that would hurt their souls as well as Sedna.

The souls of the sea-animals are endowed with greater powers than those of ordinary human beings. They can see the effect of contact with a corpse, which causes objects touched by it to appear dark in color; and they can see the effect of flowing human blood, from which a vapor rises that surrounds the bleeding person and is communicated to every one and every thing that comes in contact with such a person. This vapor and the dark color of death are exceedingly unpleasant to the souls of the sea-animals, that will not come near a hunter thus affected. The hunter must therefore avoid contact with people who have touched a body, or with those who are bleeding, more particularly with menstruating women or with those who have recently given birth. The hands of menstruating women appear red to the sea-animals. If any one who has touched a body or who is bleeding should allow others to come in contact with him, he would cause them to become distasteful to the seals, and therefore to Sedna as well. For this reason custom demands that every person must at once announce if he has touched a body, and that women must make known when they are menstruating or when they have had a miscarriage. If they do not do so, they will bring ill luck to all the hunters.

These ideas have given rise to the belief that it is necessary to announce the transgression of‘any taboo. The transgressor of a custom is distasteful to Sedna and to the animals, and those who abide with him will become equally distasteful through contact with him. For this reason it has come to be an act required by custom and morals to confess any and every transgression of a taboo, in order to protect the community from the evil influences of contact with the evil-doer. The descriptions of Eskimo life given by many observers contain records of starvation, which, according to the belief of the natives, was brought about by some one transgressing a law and not announcing what he had done.

I presume the importance of the confession of a transgression, with a view to warning others to keep at a distance from the transgressor, has gradually led to the idea that a transgression, or, we might say, a sin, can be atoned for by confession. This is one of the most remarkable traits among the religious beliefs of the Central Eskimo. There are innumerable tales of starvation brought about by the transgression of a taboo. In vain the hunters try to supply their families with food; gales and drifting snow make their endeavors fruitless. Finally the help of the angakok is invoked, and he discovers that the cause of the misfortune of the people is due to the transgression of a taboo. Then the guilty one is searched for. If he confesses, all is well: the weather moderates, and the seals allow themselves to be caught; but if he obstinately maintains his innocence, his death alone will soothe the wrath of the offended deity.

While thus the reason why the taboos are rigorously enforced by public opinion appears clear, the origin of the taboos themselves is quite obscure. It is forbidden, after the death of one of the sea-mammals that originated from Sedna’s fingers, or after the death of a person, to scrape the frost from the window, to shake the beds or to disturb the shrubs under the bed, to remove oil-drippings from under the lamp, to scrape hair from skins, to cut snow for the purpose of melting it, to work on iron, wood, stone, or ivory. Furthermore, women are forbidden to comb their hair, to wash their faces, and to dry their boots and stockings. All these regulations must be kept with the greatest care after a ground-seal has been killed, because the transgression of taboos referring to this animal makes Sedna’s hands particularly sore.

It is very remarkable that the walrus is not included in this series of regulations. It is explicitly stated that the walrus, the white whale, the narwhal, the saddle-back seal, and the fresh-water seal are not subject to these laws, which affect only the sea-animals that originated from Sedna’s fingers. The souls of the walrus and bear, however, are offended by the transgression of certain other taboos. There is a series of laws that forbid contact between walrus, seal, and caribou. It is not quite clear in what mythical concept these customs originate. There is a tradition regarding the origin of walrus and caribou which is made to account for a dislike between these two animals. A woman created both these animals from parts of her clothing. She gave the walrus antlers, and the caribou tusks. When man began to hunt them, the walrus upset the boats with his antlers, and the caribou killed the hunter with his tusks. Therefore the woman called both animals back, and took the tusks from the caribou and gave them to the walrus. She kicked the caribou’s forehead flat, and put the antlers on it. Ever since that time, it is said that walrus and caribou avoid each other, and that people must not bring the meat of these animals into contact. They are not allowed to eat caribou and walrus meat on the same day, except after undressing entirely or putting on caribou-skin clothing that has never been used while hunting walrus. The winter clothing, which is made of caribou-skin, must be completed before the men will go off to bunt walrus. As soon as the first walrus has been killed, a messenger goes from village to village and announces the news. All work on caribou-skins must cease immediately. When the caribou-hunting season begins, all the winter clothing, and the tent that has been in use during the walrus-hunting season, are buried, and not used again until the following walrus-hunting season. No walrus-hide, or thongs made of such hide, must be taken inland, where is the abode of the caribou. No caribou-skin must be cleaned while the people are living on the ice. Caribou-bones must not be broken until after the caribou-hunting season. Seal-bones must not be given to the dogs. At times they are put into the sea, so that they may be out of reach of the dogs.

Similar laws, although not quite so stringent, hold good in regard to contact between seal and walrus. The natives always change their clothing or strip naked before eating seal during the walrus season.

The soul of the salmon is considered to be very powerful. Salmon must not be cooked in a pot that has been used for boiling other kinds of meat. It is always cooked at some distance from the hut. Boots that were used while hunting walrus must not be worn when fishing salmon, and no work on boot-legs is allowed until the first salmon has been caught and placed on a boot-leg.

Walrus, caribou, and salmon may be taken into the hut through the same doorway, but they must not be eaten on the same day.

Among the Nugumiut of Frobisher Bay, seal may be eaten during the walrus-hunting season on the same day with walrus-meat only after one has changed one’s clothing. Salmon may not be eaten on the same day as walrus is eaten. Seal, caribou, and salmon may be eaten on the same day. Walrus and caribou may be eaten on the same day. A person who eats walrus and caribou on the same day is called ‘ ‘ nokoeyewyourlow . ’ ’

If a person has been eating or hunting walrus, he must change his clothing before eating seal and before going caribou-hunting, else these transgressions will become fastened to the walrus’s soul. When the caribou-hunting season begins, the winter clothing $nd winter tents are buried under stones, and new clothing is put on, and new tents are made. The old ones have become “ shongeyew ,” that is, tabooed. Caribou-meat and salmoif'and walrus-meat must not be put into the same boat. When there is any caribou-meat or caribouantlers in a boat which goes walrus-hunting, the boat is liable to be broken by the walrus.

The fact that these taboos are not restricted to caribou and walrus suggests that the mythical explanation given above does not account for the origin of these customs, but must be considered as a later effort to explain their existence.

There are also taboos regarding the polar bear. The beings who guard the souls of the bears are called “ Angeakatille” and “ Ochowjewtil” They live in an enormous iceberg, which is said to be very beautiful. A bear’s soul remains for three days near the place where it left the body. Among the Nugumiut it is customary, when a male bear has been killed, to take its bladder, milt, sweetbreads, and gall, and some man’s tools, such as drill, knife, spear-point, and file, and hang all on a pole. There they remain for three nights. When a female bear has been killed, the same parts of the body are hung up, together with some woman’s tools, such as knife, needle, thimble, cup, skin-stretcher, scraper, and a brass fillet for the head,— an ornament which was used very frequently in former times. They are very careful not to transgress any taboos during the three days after a bear’s death, because it is believed that such transgressions will be punished very speedily, much more so than in the case of animals going to Sedna’s abode.

The transgressions of taboos do not affect the souls of game alone. It has already been stated that the sea-mammals see their effect upon man also, who appears to them of a dark color, or surrounded by a vapor which is invisible to ordinary man. This means, of course, that the transgression also affects the soul of the evil-doer. It becomes attached to it, and makes him sick. The angakok is able to see these attachments with the help of his guardian spirit, and is able to free the soul from them. If this is not done, the person must die. In many cases the transgressions become fastened also to persons who come in contact with the evil-doer. This is especially true of children, to whose souls the sins of their parents, and particularly of their mothers, become readily attached. Therefore, when a child is sick, the angakok, first of all, asks its mother if she has transgressed any taboos. The attachment seems to have a different appearance, according to the taboo tha,t has been violated. A black attachment is due to removing oil-drippings from under the lamp, a piece of caribou-skin represents the scrapings removed from a caribou-skin at a time when such work was forbidden. As soon as the mother acknowledges the transgression of a taboo, the attachment leaves the child’s soul, and the child recovers.

A number of customs may be explained by the endeavors of the natives to keep the sea-mammals free from contaminating influences. All the clothing of a dead person, the tent in which he died, and the skins obtained by him, must be discarded; for if a hunter should wear clothing made of skins that had been in contact with the deceased, these would appear dark, and the seal would avoid him. Neither would a seal allow itself to be taken into a hut darkened by a dead body; and all those who entered such a hut would appear dark to it, and would be avoided.

While it is customary for a successful hunter to invite all the men of the village to eat of the seal that he has caught, they must not take any of the seal-meat out of the hut, because it might come in contact with persons who are under taboo, and thus the hunter might incur the displeasure of the seal and of Sedna. This is particularly strictly forbidden in the case of the first seal of the season.

A woman who has a new-born child, and who has not quite recovered, must eat only of seals caught by her husband, by a boy, or by an aged man; else the vapor arising from her body would become attached to the souls of other seals, which would take the transgression down to Sedna, thus making her hands sore.

Cases of premature birth require particularly careful treatment. The event must be announced publicly, else dire results will follow. If a woman should conceal from the other people that she has had a premature birth, they might come near her, or even eat in her hut of the seals procured by her husband. The vapor arising from her would thus affect them, and they would be avoided by the seals. The transgression would also become attached to the soul of the seal, which would take it down to Sedna.

The following stories are told to illustrate the effect of the concealment of a premature birth:—

Naxojassi had caught a seal. Kunu, his daughter-in-law, ate of it, although she had had a premature birth, of which, however, she had not spoken to any one. This transgression was fastened to the soul of the seal, and Naxojassi’s soul was lost in consequence. Aniksili performed an incantation, and discovered that Kunu had had a premature birth, which she had not announced, that she had eaten of his seals, and that this transgression was now fastened to Naxojassi’s soul. Kunu protested her innocence, and maintained that she had never had a premature birth. Her father, Kudlu, was very angry with her, and asked her to confess, since that was best, and since everybody would be pleased; but she did not yield. When Mikiju, Kunu’s sister, and she herself were alone, the former talked with her earnestly, and finally obtained a confession from her. At this moment Kunu’s mother came into the tent. Kunu went out, and her sister told all she had learned. Naxojassi, however, had died in the mean time. Some time afterwards Kunu’s husband divorced himself from her, for fear that she might repeat her offence.

Tadlo, his wife, his sister Panelo, and his four children, lived at Kingawa. The names of the children were Kiutang, Tausawaping, Shakko , and Awlakatwa. Their mother’s name was Kunariak. In winter they were starving, and all the children died. Tadlo had become lame. His wife and sister had to drag him to the seal-hole on the sledge, and take him back again. They did so day after day, but they were unsuccessful. Tadlo thought that there must be some cause for their misfortunes. One day he said to his wife and sister, “ Did either of you ever give birth to a stillborn child, and did you not tell about it, or was there a time when you were menstruating and did not tell about it? ” Then his sister began to cry. His wife said, “I never gave birth to a stillborn child, and I always informed you when I was menstruating.” Tadlo spoke again, and said to his sister, who was quite angry, “Confess, and do not be ashamed.” Then she said, “ Some time ago I gave birth to a stillborn child, and I did not inform you. When it was born, I threw' it into the sea.” Then Tadlo spoke, and said, “Oh, thank you!” although he was very angry at her, remembering the death of his children. On the following day they put the kayak and Tadlo on the sledge, and took them to the water-hole which keeps open through the winter. There Tadlo went into the kayak, and soon caught a seal. He towed it to the ice, put it on the sledge, and they all took just a little piece of it, for fear of over-eating. After his sister had confessed, his bad luck left him. In the evening they went home. Tadlo said, “ It was not thus when I went to the seal-holes, and when I had to come home day after day without a seal. If you had spoken, it would have been better. But it is well that you informed us now, for Sedna does not like people not to confess.” Tadlo did not go sealing again until he was strong enough to walk by himself. Then he went out in his kayak and caught more seals. In the evening he went home and told his wife and his sister that he had caught many seals. On the following day he rested, although he felt much stronger. Every day after that he went out on the water and caught seals. Now they had quite a number of spare seals, and he was able to walk and to work. Then he said to his sister, “It was not thus when we had our children. Why did you not inform us? If you had only spoken, our children would have been alive. Sedna saw it, and she would not give us seals.” Now the ice had all gone, and Tadlo, while he was off on his kayak, saw a whale on the beach. He killed it, and fastened it to the shore. Then he went home and told his wife and sister that he had caught a whale. They were much surprised, and asked him where the whale was. He replied, “Over yonder on the beach.” Then they both exclaimed, “We shall not he hungry any more!” On the following day they went to the place where the whale was fastened, and they filled many skins with meat and blubber, until they thought they had enough. Another day he found a number of white whales on the beach, which he killed. Then he went home and told his wife and sister.

When bad weather and starvation continue for a long time, and the reason for Sedna’s wrath must be discovered, the angakok may visit her in order to receive her instructions and wishes.

One-time in the early autumn, while the ice was forming, gales of wind kept breaking it up, piling the floes over each other. Snow fell to a great depth, so that the people could not go out sealing. Finally a man by the name of Tadlo was the only one who was able to hunt. He gave of his seals to all the people. At last one of the men became strong enough to join him, and to obtain some seals also. The people thought there must be some cause for the famine, and they asked Tadlo to visit Sedna, and to ask her what caused the bad weather and the starvation. He agreed, and his soul went down to Sedna, while his body staid in the hut. After a while his soul returned to his body. He awoke as from a stupor, and told them that when he asked her why she made such dreadful weather, she said, '‘There are two women among you who are not good.” Then Tadlo ordered these women to be called into the hut. He continued his incantations all the time until some one told him that they had come. Then he asked one of them, “What did you do? Sedna told me that you did not inform the people when you were menstruating.” She replied, “I did not inform the people. I did not know enough to do so.” Then the angakok said, “ Now it will be well, since you have told me.” Then he said to the other woman, “Sedna told me you were bad. What have you done?” She replied, “ I had a premature birth, but the child was so small that I did not tell any one.” The angakok replied, “It is well now, since you have confessed. We are all hungry now, and have very little food. I thank you for telling me. In a short time we shall have better weather, and shall have enough to eat.”

During that night the wind was very strong, and on the following morning all the rough ice was driven out of the fiord. But during the day the wind fell, and towards night it was calm, and new ice covered the water. That day did not bring them any food. When the following day dawned, the ice was not yet strong enough to walk on. Night followed, and day came again. Now they tried the ice, and found it strong enough; and all those who were able to walk went sealing. In a very short time a seal was caught. Tadlo told the men to take it to the huts, and he called every one to partake of it. He asked them not to divide it, but to eat it entirely. He told them to keep the skin, bones, intestines, and blubber. These he ordered to be put into the skin, and to be cast into the sea. Sedna had told him to do so. On the following day the men went sealing again and caught a number of seals, which they took to their huts. They did not throw away the skins, intestines, and bones. On the next day they caught still more seals. The weather was fair every day. They thanked Tadlo for his help. They caught so many seals that they could not take them ashore. They just put them up, head down, on the ice, so that they could easily see them when they wished to fetch them.

Other infractions of taboos are punished in similar ways, as illustrated by the following tale: —

The people had their snow houses on the ice near Aqba'qtung. A woman had cleaned a one-year-old caribou-skin while living there. In consequence of this, one night the floe broke up right under their houses. The people were unable to escape on their sledges. They took their cups, knives, harpoon-lines, and spears in their hands; and their dogs followed them. Then they started for the shore. They travelled day and night for many days. They were suffering from hunger and thirst, and were finally compelled to drink their own urine, which they passed into the cups. After some time, many of them lost their strength, and died on the ice. Finally only Okoko , and his two wives Punyepung and Atatootjavung , and also Kouttoolaw , and his wife Escemingeyeu ,

[November, iqoi .] 9

survived, and reached the shore. It was springtime when they reached the land. They came to a lake, and drank a little of the water; but they were afraid that the urine which they had drunk before might make them sick; therefore they made themselves vomit by putting their fingers down their throats. They took a little more of the fresh water, and made themselves vomit again, until they thought they had vomited all the urine. Then they took a drink of the fresh water. They went off, and after some time reached the house of a man named Aniriaksa'pik. They told him of what had happened. Some of the friends of Aniriaksa'pik were among those who had died, and he was thankful that they told him of their fate. He gave Okoko a sledge and a dog to enable him to reach his home.

The Eskimo believe that man has two souls. One of these stays with the body, and may enter temporarily the body of a child which is given the name of the departed. The other soul goes to one of the lands of the souls. Of these there are several. There are three heavens, one above another, of which the highest is the brightest and best. Those who die by violence go to the lowest heaven. Those who die by disease go to Sedna’s house first, where they stay for a year. Sedna restores their souls to full health, and then she sends them up to the second heaven. They become omiktu'miut , or inhabitants of Omiktu , in which place there are many whales. It is not quite certain that the second heaven and Omiktu are the same, as it is also stated that only the lighter souls that leave Sedna’s house ascend to the second heaven. Those who die by drowning go to the third heaven. Their souls are very strong and healthy. People who commit suicide go to a place in which it is always dark, called “ Kumetoon,” and where they go about with their tongues lolling. Women who have had premature births go to Sedna’s abode, and stay in Alipa'q, the lowest world, which is under the sea, and not far from Sedna’s house. It is said that some souls go to Tukeychwen, a place of which no full description is given.

In the spring, Alipa'q is much nearer to the earth than at other times of the year. When it is summer here, it is winter there. When it is winter here, it is summer there. Every fall and every spring the earth turns over. The winter is on the lower side. For this reason the seasons in Alipa'q are the reverse of what they are here.

The souls of the deceased stay with the body for three days. If a taboo is violated during this time, the transgression becomes attached to the soul of the deceased. The weight of the transgression causes the soul pain, and it roams about the village, endeavoring to free itself of its burden. It seeks to harm the people who, by their disobedience to custom, caused its sufferings. It brings heavy snowfalls, sickness, and death. Such a soul is called a “tupilak.’ ’ Toward the middle of autumn it hovers around the doors of the huts. Those who can see the tupilak are called “eoyew .” When an angakok discovers the tupilak, he calls the people, who assemble, and prepare to free it of its burden. All the angakut (plural of angakok), go in search of it, each a knife in hand. As soon as they find it, they stab it with their knives, and thus cut off the transgressions. Then the tupilak becomes a soul again. The knives with which it was stabbed are seen by the people to be covered with blood.

The soul may also be offended by singing and dancing during the first days after death. It is told that one autumn the people were at Kimasu, hunting whales. They had plenty of food. They had built a large dancing-house, where they went at night to amuse themselves. During the winter an old woman named Pisekse died, leaving a son to mourn for her. He staid in their stone house for four days after her death. Then she was buried. Meanwhile the people continued to sing and dance in the dancing-house. One day a woman came to see the young man. He asked her to tell the people not to make so much noise in the singing-house; but they did not mind his request. He asked them once more to wait until the third night after the death of his mother was over. He was afraid her soul might become angry. The people did not mind what he said. Then the old woman’s soul arose from her grave. After the third night, one of the people who had been in the singing-house died. When the young man heard of it, he said, “ I expected it. I told them not to make so much noise.” On the next morning another person died. The following day three people died, and the day after four more died. A great many people died, until only a few were left. Finally a young man became sick, and when he knew that he was near his death, he said, “ Don’t make any more people die.” The following year many people were sick on the north shore of Cumberland Sound. All this was owing to the soul of the old woman being disturbed and having become a tupilak.

After the three days are over, one soul goes to its place of destination, either to heaven or to Sedna’s abode. The other soul stays with the body. When, later on, a child is named after the deceased, this soul enters its body and remains there for about four months. It is said that the soul enters the body because it is in want of a drink. It is believed that its presence strengthens the child’s soul, which is very light, and apt to escape from the body. After leaving the body of the infant, the soul of the departed stays near by, that it may re-enter the infant in case of need. When a year has elapsed after the death of the person, his second soul leaves the grave temporarily and goes hunting, but returns frequently. When the body has entirely decayed, the soul may remain away for a long time.

When the soul of a person lies down, when it becomes so light that it leaves the body, or when sins become attached to it, the person must die.

If the souls of children are not strengthened by those of a deceased friend, they are apt to fly away or to lie down. When a child has been made ill by a sin committed by its mother, the angakok may, after confession of the sin, see the soul rise from its recumbent position, although the child is still sick in bed. If people should eat of a seal from which the mother of a new-born child has partaken, the child’s soul might become so light that it would fly out of its body.

Evidently the Eskimo believe in the possibility of transmigration of souls. There is one tradition in which it is told how the soul of a woman passed through the bodies of a great many animals, until finally it was born again as an infant. 1 In another story it is told how a hunter caught a fox in a trap, and recognized in it the soul of his departed mother. 5 * In still another tale, the soul of a woman, after her death, entered the body of a huge polar bear in order to avenge wrongs done to her during her lifetime. 8

The persons who can see the souls of men and of animals, and who are able to visit Sedna, are called angakut.

When a person becomes an angakok, a light covers his body. He can see supernatural things. The stronger the light is within him, the deeper and farther away he can see, and the greater is his supernatural power. The light makes his whole body feel well. When the intensity of this light increases, he feels a strong pressure, and it seems to him as though a film were being removed from his eyes which prevented him from seeing clearly. The light is always present with him. It guides him, and enables him to see into the future and back into the past. When an angakok dies, the light leaves his body. The light which left him goes into another person, making him an angakok. To the eyes of the angakok the earth is but a thin shell. He can see everything that is under it. He can also see inside of persons; but he cannot see through drifting snow, through fog or rain. While there is a very great pressure of light on the angakok, he visits Sedna. This visit is called “ nikkatto”

It is also said that long ago there were no angakut. When a man was sick, his friends would send for a man who knew how to blow off disease. He would blow at the invalid and poke him. The person who blew at the sick one did not speak. He simply blew, touched the patient, and went out. Those who were left with the patient would say, “ Come out' of him,” meaning that the sickness should come out of his body, while they blew at the same time to remove the smell of the person who had blown first.

At one time a number of people died in a village. There

1 See p. 232. a See p. 234. 3 See p. 252.

was a man at that place who felt something in his body that wished to come out. He said to the other people who were around him, “I see another sky, and in it I see the souls of those who have left here, —birds, seals, ground-seals, whales, caribou, walrus, and every animal that is known to have lived.” ' That person was the first angakok. He was able to see the souls going and coming when other persons could not see them. He tied his own legs together at the ankles and thighs, and then passed a thong under his thighs and over his neck; and other persons fastened his hands behind his back. After he was thus secured, he said, “ If I am unable to untie these knots, you will know that I know very little. You will hear a noise coming from my soul, as though a stiff piece of skin were creaking.” Then he asked the people to shut their eyes. He shouted, “Haik, haik!” and rose right up on his feet. The people heard a creaking noise, and his soul went up. It remained no great distance above where his body was. The people heard continually a noise like the creaking of skin. Then his soul returned to his body, and his body rose again. Then he told them, “My soul went through the roof; there is a hole in it you cannot see.” Thus he had proved himself to be an angakok.

Captain Mutch makes no mention of the relation between the angakok and his guardian spirit, the tornaq.'

Many tales are told of the feats of angakut, some of which belong to the stock of folk-lore common to most Eskimo tribes. 2 The power to kill through the mere wish, 3 to know people’s thoughts, 4 to kill by a glance of the eye 6 or by the terror of their appearance, 0 to know the whereabouts of game, 7 to prevent the fire-drill from producing fire, 8 to find lost objects, 9 to accomplish work by the mere wish, 10 are believed to belong to them.

They can see the sins of men, the dark color of objects that have been in contact with dead bodies, and the vapor arising from menstruating women.

It is one of their chief duties to cure the sick and to pro-

1 See p. 154. 2 See pp. 240,^*. 3 See p. 241. 4 See p. 246. 5 See p. 242.

6 See p. 249. 7 See p. 242. 8 See p. 243. 9 See p. 244. 10 See p. 246.

pitiate Sedna and the souls of offended animals. This subject has been described in connection with the Sedna beliefs.

A number of additional points, however, remain to be mentioned. When an angakok finds that the soul of a child does not like the name that has been given to it, he gives the child the name that belonged to its soul in a previous existence.

One of the most curious methods of divination applied by the angakut is that of “head-lifting.” A thong is placed around the head of a.person who lies down next to the patient. He is called the “keleyak” The thong is attached to the end of a stick which is held in hand by the angakok, called in this case the “ keleyew.” Then the latter summons the soul of a dead person. As soon as it appears, the head of the keleyak becomes so heavy that it cannot be lifted. Now he asks, “ Is the soul of so and so present ?” If he mentions the correct name, the head cannot be lifted. Then he continues to ask questions as to the nature and outcome of the disease, which are supposed to be answered by the soul of the dead person, which makes it impossible for the head to be lifted if the answer is affirmative, while the head is raised easily if the answer is negative. As soon as the soul of the departed leaves, the head can be moved without difficulty.

The people also believe in witchcraft (ilisineq). When a man has divorced himself from his wife, she may make him sick. They believe that an angakok can bewitch his enemies if he wishes to do so. If a person who used to bring home a seal or two every night in the winter is all of a sudden unsuccessful, the people know that he has been bewitched. The person who bewitched him has the power to make the seals avoid the hole at which the person is waiting, and go instead to the hole at which he himself is waiting. It is said that it is as though he put a small hook down at the edge of his own seal-hole, and by this means drew the seal to himself.

It is believed that people whose minds are deranged have supernatural powers. The following tales set forth the ideas held in regard to this subject:—

Among a boat’s crew who one summer went to Lake

Netchillik to hunt caribou, was a man by the name of Ek - koma , whose mind was deranged. He had no desire for food, and had not eaten for a long time. The boat had reached the lake, and the crew were discussing which direction to take. Some one suggested that they should go towards Lake Amaqdjuaq; but Ekkoma said, “You may go there if you like, but there are plenty of caribou right here.” Indeed, soon they saw many caribou.

After a time, when there were no more caribou to be seen, they prepared to move once more; but Ekkoma exclaimed, “ No, there are caribou here. Stop here.” They went ashore and found many caribou. So it happened that whenever they spoke of places where caribou might be, Ekkoma always made the same remark, and his words always proved true.

The time drew near for them to return to their winter quarters near the sea. A few of the crew had been successful, but one in particular, whose name was Koobelwakjew , was not very well pleased. When the others spoke of returning to winter quarters, he grew angry. Ekkoma observed him, and then went up to him, and said, “Come, now, be merry! Tomorrow you will cut a sufficient number of caribou on a small island” (meaning one of the islets towards the head of Lake Netchillik). -They camped one night, and the next day they started in the direction of the island mentioned by Ekkoma. They went quite close to it. As the island was flat, and not very high above the level of the water, they did not think there would be any caribou there; so Koobelwakjew said to Ekkoma , “Where are the caribou that you told me yesterday were on this islet?” The boat was just passing around the end of the islet. Then Koobelwakjew saw the antlers of many caribou. As soon as they noticed the boat, they raised their heads, jumped up, and took to the water. The boat followed, and the crew killed them all. They stopped some time at that place, and did not start for winter quarters until the skins were all dried.

One day, on their way home, they were short of fresh water. Among their number were an old woman and her adopted son, who had not yet grown to manhood. The boy was almost ready to cry, because he was very thirsty. In the evening, after it had grown dark, the boat rounded the point of an . island, on which they intended to camp. They went into an opening, and looked for water. Ekkoma and the boy remained in the boat together. The people did not find any water, for it was all frozen. Then Ekkoma said, “ I will go up and look for water. If I go, I shall find it.” He went ashore, and soon he came back and told them to fetch water. They went to the same place where they had been before, and now they saw water. Ekkoma said, ‘‘Give the water to the men and to the boy. If you give it to the women, it will all disappear. Let them melt some snow.”

The people pitched their tents on shore, the old woman and the boy occupying one by themselves. They looked for a good place to fasten their boat, but could find none except on another point. Then Ekkoma said, “Shall I go? Shall I go? If I look, I shall soon find a place.” He soon found a place, and told them to go and fasten the boat there. Then they found a place like a pole to fasten the rope to.

There is another tale regarding the same subject:—

Analukasa lived at Akbakto. She had a son named Kinguya who was mad. He left his mother’s house and was lost. His mother cried for him very much, wishing him to come back, until she herself lost her senses. She went looking for him in distant places. While she did not take any spare clothing along with her, in course of time pieces of clothing came back to her home singly, while she herself did not return.

Amulets are much used. Bear’s teeth, 1 pieces of skin with which the person had been first cleaned when an infant, 2 are used for this purpose. The skins of the golden plover and of Phalaropus rufus are pulled over the bow end of the frame of the kayak to secure good luck.

Before the hunter sets out, his wife or mother puts a piece of meat or blubber on the kayak. This symbolizes that he will bring back much meat and blubber.

The same end is sought in the following manner: the hunter’s wife or mother throws into the water a piece of meat which she spears with the hunter’s harpoon.

When breaking steatite from a quarry, the people deposit a trifling present at the place, because otherwise the stone would become hard.

Pyrites are believed to drive away spirits, as is illustrated tn the following tale, told by an Eskimo: —

One winter a number of us arranged to go and bring walrusmeat down from the caches. We were coming back slowly; and, in order to urge on our teams, we began crying, “Ha, ha, ha! the moon begins to come to us! the moon begins to come to us! ” We were not thinking that it was really so, but just wished to urge on our teams. About this time the .moon began to rise, and it looked as though she were nearer than usual. She appeared to be coming nearer all the time. We went along, and the stillness became dreadful. Finally we could not bear it. We could not hear the sledges move on the ice at all, and we thought of striking the sledge-runners with our whip-handles. And that made us feel better for the time. But soon after we all came to a sudden stop. We were thoroughly frightened, the moon seemed so near, and it seemed as though she were coming right down. Some one shouted, “ Is there any angakok among us?” But there was not any. However, one of us said, “ When I was a little boy, my mother said to me, ‘When you are a man, and you are afraid of a spirit coming towards you, put a small piece of pyrites at the end of your whip. It will be the same as if you were harpooning the spirit.’ ” Then he took his whip in his left hand, and when he threw it forward, the pyrites at its point made a great noise. The moon then looked to us as if she had begun to move back again to her usual place. Our fear left us, and we continued our journey homeward, and soon reached here.

Religious Ceremonials. —The most important object of the religious ceremonies of the Eskimo is to appease the wrath of Sedna, of the souls of animals, or of the souls of the dead that have been offended by the transgressions of taboos. This is accomplished by the help of the guardian spirits of the angakut. The most important ceremony of the Eskimo is celebrated in the fall. 1 At that time Sedna visits her people. She gives them food in abundance if they do as they have been told. At that season the people try to divine the future through their angakut. They gather in one of the houses, among them three angakut who are to visit Sedna. They begin their incantations, and then their souls go down to Sedna’s house. They ask her if they are to have plenty of food and good health. Then Sedna reproaches them for all the transgressions that they may have made in previous times, but promises them that if they will keep her laws, she will send them plenty of food and good health. Finally the souls of the angakut return, and they report the instructions and promises of Sedna. They also tell them that soon she will come.

Now the people keep perfectly quiet. One of the angakut holds the harpoon and line, such as are used in kayaks. When Sedna is near enough, he throws his harpoon at her. Then she slides back to her abode. The people try to accelerate her return by exchanging wives. The soul, of one of the angakut follows Sedna, holding a large knife, and he stabs her. Then his soul returns to the body. Then the people cry for light; and when the lamps are ablaze they see that the harpoon, the knife, and the floor are covered with blood. Then they know that they will have plenty of food that year. Sedna feels kindly towards the people if they have succeeded in cutting her. If there is no blood on the knife, it is an ill omen. As to the reason why Sedna must be cut, the people say that it is an old custom, and that it makes her feel better, that it is the same as giving a thirsty person drink. Possibly the object is to cut off the transgressions that are attached to her, as is done in the case of the. tupilak. 2

On the following day Sedna sends her servant, who is

1 L.c., pp. 603 ff.

called Qailertetang, to visit the tribe. She is represented by a man dressed in a woman’s costume and wearing a mask made of seal-skin (Fig. 169). She is believed to be a large woman of very heavy limbs, who comes to make good weather and “to make the soul of men calm like the sea.” She carries harpoon-line, harpoon, and drag, because she is a seal-hunter, but she also carries a skin-scraper. She is dumb, but she sees everything the people do. She likes to see them enjoy themselves, and at her advent a festival is celebrated.

Captain Mutch gives the following description of this festival:—

On this day all the people have attached to their hoods a piece of skin (koukparmiu'- tang) of the animal which their mothers used when cleaning them when they were born. The skins of ptarmigan, golden plover, Stercorarius sp., goose, owl, and others, are used for this purpose. If they should not wear this piece of skin, they would be subject to sickness; and severe punishment would be inflicted upon them if they should wear the skin of any other kind of animal. Their souls would become light, and would leave the body. It is said, that if they wear this piece of skin, they are “made new.”

Then they run around all the tents, shouting, “Hoo, hoo, hoo!” until the owner comes out and gives them some trifling present, generally something to eat. It is said that their cries cause their souls to stay longer in their bodies.

Then the people take a long rope, the ends of which are tied

Fig. 169 (silo)- Mask of Qailertetang. Height, 32 cm.

together. They, arrange themselves so that those born during the summer stand close to the water, and those born in the winter stand inland; and then they pull at the rope to see whether summer or winter is the stronger. If winter should win, there will be plenty of food; if summer should win, there will be a bad winter. Then they place a tub near the Qailertetang, and every one brings some water and empties it into the tub. Now one after another comes and sips a little of the water, and says, “ I was born in such and such a place during the season of -,” whatever place or season it may be; and they wish for calm weather, and that the souls in their bodies may be calm, like the weather, for then they will be healthy and have long life.

Then the men are placed by the Qailertetang in a row, opposite to the women. The Qailertetang takes one of the men by the hand and leads him to one of the women. She joins their hands, and the two run away, while the Qailertetang pretends to try to catch them. Then they go to the man’s house. Thus they continue until all the men and women have been mated. This, however, is not an actual exchange of wives.

The autumnal festival is celebrated in a somewhat different manner by the Nugumiut of Frobisher Bay. Three masked persons, representing supernatural beings, make their appearance. Two of these are called Ekko and Ekkotow (Fig. 170, a, 6). They first walk around the huts, and then they are led into the dancing-house. In moving about, they jump violently. The Ekko carries a kayak-scraper in his hand, and pretends to strike the people with it. After they are led into the dancing-house, he goes to each man and woman, who go round the snow block in the centre of the dancing-house, crying, “Hoo, hoo, hoo!” Then the Ekko lowers his head, as though he were intending to butt them, and the couple run away. After the people have all been driven out of the dancing-house, the angakut undress the Ekko and Ekkotow . The third of these beings is called “ Noonagekshown” (Fig. 170, c ). He carries a spear in his hand and a drag on his back, and is bound all over with ground-seal lashings. A great many objects are hanging down from his dress. His face is covered with dog-skin. He appears in the spring and in the autumn, and, like Ekko , brings health to the sick, and fair weather, and consequently plenty of food to the people. He also distributes the women among the men.

The Ekko and the Noonagekshown do not speak, but they make signs to the people to indicate what they wish to say. At the end of the performance Noonagekshown points his sharp-pointed hood at the people, as though he were going to butt, and they run away from him.

Fig. 170. Models of Masked Figures. a (3125)1 Ekkotow ; b GHt), Ekko; c (3123)1 Noonagekshown.

Customs regarding Birth and Death. —The regulations regarding birth are closely connected with the belief that the vapor arising from the mother is offensive to the souls of seaanimals

According to tradition, in the early times of our world two beings, called Akkoolookjo and Omernetoo , gave advice to the people, saying that when they should become numerous they would have to obey certain customs. Omernetoo said, “When a woman is with child, she shall wear the teeth of the wolf as amulets. She shall attach them to the back of her inner shirt, and after the child is born she shall place them on the edge of the hood to prevent harm coming to the child’s soul. A woman who has a young child has a string which is fastened to the front part of her shirt, and passes under the lower part of her jacket. The other end has a clasp made of a bear’s tooth, which serves to fasten it, and at the same time to protect the child’s soul until it grows stronger. When the child is able to walk about alone, that string must be fastened to its jacket or shirt, and the tooth must be sewed to the back of the shirt. Care must be taken that the tooth shall not be lost, because it keeps the soul from danger.

“A woman who is with child may eat of any part of the seal except the kidneys, because they make it dark for the child in the womb. She fastens her front hair at the sides with rings of thread, else it might strangle the child.” Akkoolookjo said, “When a child is born, the mother shall not eat of the seal’s intestines, else she will die.”

She also said, “A woman who has a new-born child, afid who is not yet clean, shall not touch the meat of seal killed by any one except her husband, unless it be caught by a boy or by an old man. If she eats of a seal caught by a person not her husband, it may cause the death of one of her relatives. After the birth of a child, women shall not go visiting until they are clean. At that time, about two or three months after the birth of the child, they shall also change their dress. The mother puts away her own clothing and that of the infant, also her blanket. This is called ‘ keeneatoon.’ If the mother does this, she is respected by every one, and is allowed to visit the houses. If a woman who has a child less than one year old eats the intestines of seals, she will waste away without feeling sick. A year after the birth of a child, when the moon is in the same phase as at the time of birth, the mother will go to every door of the village in which she is living, and may visit a few huts. After that she is at liberty to partake of any part of the seal or of any other animal.”

After a death has occurred, the body is buried at once. The person who prepares a body for burial puts rabbit’s fur into his nostrils to prevent the exhalations from entering his own lungs. He wears some of the dead person’s clothing, and then drags the corpse away. After he has reached the place where it is to be deposited, he cuts the thongs by means of which it is fastened, and returns to the house from which the body was taken. There he has to stay for three days and three nights. The male relatives may leave the house for a short time, but the women must stay inside all the time. On the fourth day they take a cup, knife, and a small harpoonhead to the grave, that the soul of the dead one, if it should wish to go sealing, may have the implements ready. The relatives of the dead person continue to sleep in the house for another night, while the other people are under no taboo. The soul of the deceased is supposed to leave the house after the fourth night. On the fifth day the relatives take their clothing to a place some distance away. If there is a scarcity of skins, they may retain part of the clothing. The clothes of those people who happened to be in the tent when the person died are also deposited at the same time. The tent itself is destroyed, the cover being deposited at a distant spot.

Should a person who lived with the deceased keep and wear any clothing he had on while the breath was leaving the body, it will appear of dark color to seals or to other animals which he is going to hunt. If he should go out hunting seamammals wearing this clothing, the seal’s soul would see it, and would keep away, because his clothes are darkened by the breath of the dead person.

The following actions are forbidden for three days after a death has occurred: to work or move caribou, walrus, seal, ground-seal, bear, intestines; to work on iron, wood, bone, stone, ice, snow, heather; to empty the oil-drippings from lamps, to clean lamps. Women must not comb their hair, and must not wash their faces. Sexual intercourse is also forbidden.

After the burial the relatives visit the grave, and there talk among themselves as they would at home, and as if the dead one were still among them. They tell one another how good he was, and how much they think of him, and that one of the women, if she should have a child, would name the child after the deceased. They promise to come again, after having caught a seal, a caribou, or a salmon, and to bring something to their friend, because they have a great desire to please him. After catching game, they take part of it, eat it at the grave, and leave a portion for the dead one.

When the people move from one place to another, they look about among their property to see if there are any skins obtained by one who died during the year, and which they have omitted to put away. If they are able to do without these objects, they leave them behind.

WEST COAST OF HUDSON BAY.

Captain Comer’s notes show that among the natives of the west coast of Hudson Bay a deity called Nuliayoq takes the place of Sedna. Lyon 1 has given the tradition referring to her, which agrees in all essentials with the Sedna legend. He also mentions that she is sometimes called Ai-willi-ay-00 (Avilayoq), the name given to Sedna in the tradition recorded on p. 163. She is the mistress of both sea-animals and landanimals, and withholds them if offended by the people. Captain Comer thinks, however, that there may be two deities of the same name, one of which has control of the land-animals, while the other has control of the sea-animals. This would agree with Captain Lyon’s description of the beliefs of the Iglulik tribe, who call the protectress of land-animals Pukimna. The Aivilik say that Nuliayoq is particularly sensitive to transgressions of taboos made near Wager River. She will then wait at the entrance to the inlet, and upset the

1 Boas, The Central Eskimo, etc., p. 585.

[. November , /90/.]

boats and kayaks. All accidents and misfortunes are ascribed to her wrath. If these people try to assist a starving family, and are prevented from doing so by bad weather, this is thought to be proof that Nuliayoq wants the sufferers to perish. Sometimes Nuliayoq will ask the deity of lightning to strike those who have offended her.

Thunder-storms are believed to be produced by three sisters,— Kadlu, who makes the thunder; Ignirtoq, who makes the lightning; and a third one, whose name could not be ascertained, who makes the rain. During thunder-storms the women make to each of them an offering of a small piece of white-tanned seal-skin, into which a needle is pushed, and of pieces of ivory. These are deposited at some distance from the village, and are believed to be taken away by the sisters, who use them for making thunder.

Earthquakes, or subterranean noises, are also believed to be sent by angry deities.

The Moon, who is thought to be a man, is supposed to watch the actions of man, and is said to like the industrious. 1

The souls of the dead go either to the lower world or to heaven. The former is the abode of Nuliayoq, and of her father, Anautalik. It is very warm there. The souls of those who have transgressed taboos go to this country, where they are made unhappy by Anautalik. The souls of the good and of those who commit suicide go to heaven, where they play football with a walrus-skull, which has life, and manifests its enjoyment of the game by chattering with its jaws. The Northern Lights are the spirits above at play.

It is believed that the souls of the dead, if they so choose, may return and be born again. An old man who died in 1896 said at his death that he would be born again by a certain woman. Some time after this the woman gave birth to a girl, who was believed to be the old man returned. Another man, who died in 1885, said that he would be born again as a child of his own daughter. The latter had one son; and soon another son was born, who was looked upon as the dead one returned. There was one woman who had no children,

and who wished to take this boy. The mother did not want to give away her son; but the other people, thinking that she might have another one, advised her to let him go, and she did so. Shortly after this there was a famine in which many people died, among them this child. Instead of burying it wrapped in caribou-skins, she dropped it, almost naked, into the snow. This act is supposed to have enraged the dead man, who prevented his daughter from having more children.

The taboos of this region are quite similar to those found in Cumberland Sound, and many of them also have reference to the Nuliayoq legend.

The remarkable notion that confession of the transgression of a taboo will atone for the sin committed, is common to the Eskimo of the northwest coast of Hudson Bay and of Cumberland Sound. Captain Comer tells a story which makes this quite clear. A famine which prevailed in 1883 was believed to have been brought about by a woman who had failed to announce a miscarriage, and who had continued to eat sealmeat. The angakok discovered her transgression, but, since she refused to confess, Nuliayoq punished the whole tribe by withholding the food-supply and sending bad weather. Many people starved; and it was not until the woman herself died that Nuliayoq was pacified. Immediately after her death the weather moderated, and seals and salmon were caught in abundance.

Following is a list of taboos and regulations recorded by Captain Comer: —

No work must be done for three days after a bear or groundseal has been killed. The women must not comb their hair. The bedding must not be disturbed until late on the day when a ground-seal has been caught.

Frost must not be removed from the window until after the head of a newly-captured seal has been cooked. The family must not move camp until after the whole seal has been cooked.

When a seal is brought into the snow house, a piece of snow is dipped into the kettle and held over its mouth, allowing the melting snow to drip into it. This signifies giving a drink to the seal, and is intended to please Nuliayoq. After the seal has been cut up and put away, a handful of snow is put down in the place where the seal was carved. The snow is then stamped down in this place.

Women who have lost a relative must not work on fresh skins, while work on dry skins is permitted. They must not cut the hair off from seal-skins, except from seals caught before the ice formed in the fall. They must not mention the names of any animals.

No work on caribou-skins must be done during the walrushunting season, or while the people are living on the ice. If the camp should be moved to the ice late in the fall, before the work on caribou-skins is quite completed, the women must take the skins to the shore every day, and complete their work there. If clothing made of caribou-skins must be patched up with new skins before the snow houses are occupied in the fall, the tent cover must be turned inside out while the work is being performed. The meat and skins of caribou killed in the fall of the year, and cached for winter use, must not be eaten on the same day with walrus-meat. They must not be taken into a snow house standing on the ice of the sea through the doorway, but through a hole cut in the rear. All bedding made of caribou-skins must be taken in the same way when the snow house is built. Caribou killed in mid-winter during the walrus-hunting season may be eaten together with walrusmeat, and may be taken into the snow house through the doorway. After the full moon of March, caribou meat and skins may be taken into the hut through the doorway.

No work on skins of seals caught in winter during the walrus-hunting season must be done until the seals have pups (in March).

Before going out sealing for the first time in the season, the natives gather some dried seaweed or kelp, set fire to it in the snow house, and hold their clothes and their harpoons over the smoke, saying, “ Mammakpoq!” This is believed to drive away the odor of caribou-skin, which seals dislike. Then the key-block of the snow house is cut with a knife in all directions. This is believed to bring good luck and to drive away sickness.

Soon after the sealing begins, a piece of white caribou-skin and a bit of thread are carried out and deposited on the ice.

No work on seal-skins must be done during the caribouhunting season. Seal-meat and caribou-meat must not be eaten on the same day.

Hair of caribou-skins must not be cut during the muskox-hunting season.

There are a number of other taboos that do not seem to have any immediate relation to the Sedna myth.

The tusks of walrus caught during the winter must not be taken out of the skulls until the latter part of April, when the ground-seals have their pups. Work on old tusks may be done.

Work on iron is forbidden during the season for hunting musk-oxen (March). It was said that the ill luck of a huntingparty was due to the fact that one of the men had sharpened his lance with a file, while in another case a man caused ill luck to his hunting-companion by making a hole in his knife when attaching it to a new handle. Captain Comer also states that no work on iron must be done until the seals have their,pups. If work of this kind is unavoidable, it must be done by a woman.

A person who, during a famine, has eaten human flesh, should never afterwards eat bear-meat, because it is believed that bear-meat resembles that of men, and that to eat it will keep alive the desire for human flesh.

A person who has recently lost a relative by death must not pluck ducks, else the birds will keep away from the hunters.

Steatite must not be worked while the people are living on the ice.

A man who hunts caribou in ponds in his kayak deposits small pieces of seal-skin under a stone as an offering to Nuliayoq.

When the natives of the Aivilik and Iglulik are off hunting on the ice, the bedding must not be raised up, as it is believed that that would cause the ice to crack and drift off, and in that way the men would be liable to be lost. After the return of the men, the bedding may be taken up and brushed.

I mention here the belief that in cutting a line in two, the knife should not be drawn straight across, but a little slanting. This will prevent the line from snapping.

The fear of the effect of contact with menstruating women or with women who have had a miscarriage is found here also. Women in such condition must be isolated.

It is said that a woman did not inform the people of a miscarriage. In consequence a famine set in. The people moved camp in order to try another hunting-ground. On their journey the woman was killed by Nuliayoq, who took her down to her abode.

Another case is told of a woman who was accidentally shot in the leg. The mishap was interpreted as her punishment for not having told of a miscarriage.

If a woman should become tired while travelling, it is believed that she is being punished by Nuliayoq for the transgression of some taboo.

To kill an albino caribou would bring sickness and death to the hunter. It is said that an Eskimo a few years ago shot a white caribou, and, although he was warned not to do so, he pursued it in his kayak, and killed it. A few months later he was covered with boils, and died. The Eskimo say that if he had eaten out of a dish by himself, and had refrained from eating certain parts of the caribou-meat, he might have escaped death; but since he did nothing by way of repentance, Nuliayoq caused his death.

A number of proscriptions have reference to certain localities.

No woman is allowed to look at a large pond near Iglulik while it is open. Should she do so, she would become blind. The men like to hunt caribou in this pond. While they are staying there, their huts are put up behind a hill, out of sight of the pond. When a caribou is killed, they take it ashore and break off one antler, which is pushed into the ground with the foot. When a man who is hunting alone has killed a caribou in this pond, he must not eat of it until he finds some company.

When travellers approach a hill in Tununirn, they must turn a somersault. Only old people are exempt from this custom.

In olden times Marble Island was a low black rock on which the ice used to be piled up. One day a widow was looking out to sea. When she gazed at the piles of ice, the ice became displeased, and was turned into stone. A hole which the water had melted through the ice may be seen in the rock at the present day. When the people go to this island in winter, they step from their sledges a short distance from the shore, and crawl up on their elbows and knees. When they visit the island in the summer, they do the same, after landing.

Captain Comer records some interesting customs practised in Iglulik. When the sun first returns after the winter night, the children who have watched for his re-appearance run into the houses and blow out the lamps. Then they receive from their mothers presents of pieces of wick.

While the sun is going south in the fall, the game of cat’s-cradle is played, to catch the sun in the meshes of the string, and to prevent his disappearance. When the sun is returning, the game of cup-and-ball is played to hasten his return.

These two customs, in connection with C. F. Hall’s remark that the Nugumiut of Frobisher Bay kindle new fires at the time of the winter solstice,' are the only evidence that I have found of what might be called sun or fire worship.

Various kinds of amulets are in use. Pieces of skin or cloth are sewed on the under-garments by the wife of the angakok to drive away sickness. This service is paid for like all other services of the angakok. The tip of a caribou’s tail sewed to the coat will secure good luck in caribou-hunting. Many boys have tips of caribou-tails sewed to their coats to make them good hunters. 3

A gull’s feather, dipped in the oil-drippings under the stone lamp, is placed between the harpoon and the harpoon-line. When the hunters come to a place where the walrus has broken the ice, they suck the feather and spit in the hole in the ice, to prevent the walrus from knowing that the hunter is near.

When hunting walrus, a seal-skin float is often attached to

1 See Boas, The Central Eskimo, p. 607. 2 For other amulets of children, see p. 143.

the line. The walrus will sometimes attack it and destroy it. If a dried, newly-born lemming is put inside the float, the walrus will not touch it. 1 The natives say that if whalingboats would carry a dried lemming, the whale would not hurt the boat.

It is believed that some seals, when coming up to their hole to breathe, break away the young ice that may have formed over the hole with a stone held in one of their flippers. If a hunter strikes such a seal, and seizes the stone with his hand before the seal can drop it, he must not look at it, but must throw it over his shoulder. Then, after having killed the seal and landed it on the ice, he may pick up the stone. This insures good luck in sealing. The stone turns into pyrites when thrown over the shoulder.

It would seem that the hair of a successful hunter is considered as a charm. This is suggested by the following incident told by Captain Comer: “We had taken a number of whales, much more than have been taken for many years from here, which has given some of the natives the impression that I have some particular power. One woman came to-day with a pair of new boots to give me, wishing I would in some way do something for her boy, so that he would not be lazy, but get game in plenty, when older. Not knowing what was best to give, I asked some of the older natives. They told me to give her a lock of gray hair from each temple, also a small piece from each wristband of my shirt, which I did, and she was more than pleased.”

A number of charms and current beliefs may be added here:— .

If a white stone is put into the mouth of a musk-ox or a caribou after it has been killed, its fat will increase.

When a hunter meets two caribou bucks whose antlers have become locked in a fight, he should take off his boot-strings and his belt. This is supposed to keep the bucks until they can be despatched.

1 A seal-skin float (Cat. No. ° r ) from arctic Alaska, in the collections of the Museum has a dried skin of a small mammal attached to the inside. This may be considered as evidence that the same belief exists among the Alaskan Eskimo.

If a person born during a storm should fall into the sea, or even get wet with salt water, a storm would ensue.

When a sick person sneezes, it is considered a sign of approaching recovery.

The Aivilik believe in a monster called tupilak (Fig. 171), which is said to look somewhat like a bear.

The Netchillik of Boothia Felix are believed to be able to make out of snow an artificial monster in the shape of a bear. They put bear’s teeth into its mouth, and the figure is believed to come to life, and to kill the enemy of the maker. At another place Captain Comer says that the Netchillik are believed to be able to transform a bear’s skull into a tupilak,

Fig. 171 (3785). Model representing the Tupilak. Length, 15 cm.

but that some people have the power to make the tupilak turn back and destroy its maker. This idea agrees closely with that of the tupilak of the Greenlanders, 1 and suggests that the tupilak of the Aivilik may also correspond to it.

It is believed that success in hunting may be obtained by means of magic formulas. One man who is very successful in catching salmon stated that his grandmother had taught him what to sing when fishing. This song for salmon is also effective for seal; but for ground-seal he must sing another one, and still others for musk-oxen and for caribou. He had not taught these songs to his children, but intended to do so before he died.

A person who wants to become an angakok must receive the

1 Rink, Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, p. 53.

power from an old angakok, who puts his hands upon his head and thus transmits the power to him. Others, it is said, placed worms on their fore-arms, and allowed them to eat the flesh of the arms. When the wound healed over, the person would have become a great angakok.

The angakut, by the help of their guardian spirits, are able to discover the causes of disease, famine, and other misfortunes, and to bring relief to the sufferers. The guardian spirits mentioned by Captain Comer as belonging to certain angakut are a large bear with a man’s head, a bear living under ground, and a being with the head of a walrus.

When the angakok prepares to summon his guardian spirit, the lights are extinguished. During his trance he is able to see through the back of his head, and thus discovers all that is hidden from the eyes of ordinary people. When he sees malignant spirits, he summons his guardian spirit, who assists him in overcoming them and driving them away.

When an angakok is asked to drive away sickness, he must be paid in advance, because this pleases his guardian spirit, who will then be induced to respond readily to the summons of the angakok.

During his incantations the angakok wears a string tied around one of his feet, which is believed to protect him against sickness. In the snow hut, in which the incantations are held, a number of small skin jackets about three inches long are suspended. Pieces of colored ribbons are attached to them. After the ice opens, they are deposited in lonely places, whence the guardian spirits are believed to take them away. In these incantations a drum is used which is made of a large wooden hoop covered with deer-hide (Fig. 172).

One angakok who was trying to cure a child fasted all day in order to please his guardian spirit.

The methods of discovering causes of bad luck and of disease are similar to those practised in Cumberland Sound. In cases of famine the last resort is a visit to Nuliayoq. According to Captain Comer’s description, the angakok summons his guardian spirit, who, in the case described, had the shape of a huge bear, and together they started for Nuliayoq’s abode. On the way they fell in with a tupilak, 1 which tried to prevent them from reaching Nuliayoq; but finally it was vanquished, and they induced Nuliayoq to send good weather and plenty of seals.

The angakok is also believed to have the power to visit the moon. It is said that the great-grandfather of the present leader of the Aivilik 3 was. watching at a seal- //' hole. He was sitting // / with his legs tied to- l />/ _

gether. It was night- lj O, ' ||| time, and the moon was !|j|

full. All of a sudden he j fr/y \m saw a sledge coming | /yy/ |H|l toward him. It stopped I l'//// iBfl a short distance from : H

the seal-hole, and the J ^'/{/y/'' i||J

man on the sledge mo- j ' /ywy/ i ll tioned him to come. I 'syyy/f, \ iff

Then he cast the strap I 'V///yy/\ '{K|

off his legs, went to the rf/yy/ ' /m sledge, sat down on it, | JjjjSj and off they went. Soon \ 'wyy// ////jjffw he felt that his sledge I was moving up through ^ yy/J'KI the air. After some time V/ '' y/jlijj they came to a high \V- / JJfir wall of ice. They landed ^ tm on top of it, and saw W

another wall of ice v|

ahead. In this there was ®

an entrance, through * b wbicb ViP WPltnlrl tn cn a a X Drum; b (2333 b). Drumstick.

WHICH ne was 101a to go. Diameter of drum, 87 cm. ; length of drumstick, 27 cm.

He did so, although he was afraid. Inside he saw a house. A woman and a little boy were sitting there. The latter asked his mother for some meat. She gave the boy a piece, and offered some to the

2 See p. 1T5.

visitor; but the latter turned his back to her, and hid the meat, thinking that if he should eat it he might not be able to return. He was so much frightened that he ran out through the air till he reached the seal-hole which he had left. He looked at his harpoon, and sat down again. Soon a hunter who was watching a seal-hole near by caught a seal. The man who had returned from the moon helped him to haul it out. They ate the liver and returned home. Soon afterward the man who had visited the moon became sick, and one of the angakut discovered that he had visited the moon, who was offended because upon his return he had eaten sealliver. The man nodded assent to this, and soon recovered.

I will insert here a few descriptions of incantations given by Captain Comer, because it is not quite clear what part of the performance is a general feature of these ceremonies, and what may be individual peculiarities of certain angakut or of particular incantations.

On the evening of the 7 th of April some of my natives told me that if I wanted to know where our hunters were, I could find out through a Kinipetu who is considered quite a great angakok. I was directed to give him about a pound of meat from the rear part of a caribou’s ham. This, it was said, he would give to his guardian spirit. I gave him the meat, and told him that I wanted to know where my natives were, who had been musk-ox hunting for some time, and were expected back.

I was told when he was ready, and went out. He had come to the snow hut of one of my Aivilik natives. The men sat along the edges of the beds, the children farther back next to the wall. The young and middle-aged women had their heads covered, while those of the girls and old women were uncovered. The angakok had a strap around his waist, to which were attached a number of strips of caribou-skin belonging to his guardian spirit, which will be placed later in the season under some stone, whence the spirit is supposed to take them. He went outside; and while he was gone, two hatchets which lay on the floor were put away out of sight.

In a few minutes he came in. It seemed that his guardian spirit could not be interested. The angakok said something to one of the women. She made some reply, and pretended to throw something away, with the remark, “Begone, begone!” probably addressed to some evil spirit. Then all the natives said the same. Then the angakok went out again, and then all commenced shouting, “Go on, go on!”

The guardian spirit of this angakok has a head like a walrus. When the angakok came in, it was found that his guardian spirit, instead of having gone to see my natives, had visited my home; and the angakok described how my house was near a large stream, and that there was an island in sight; and he said that I was not to go on that island for a long time after I got home; if I went, I should be taken sick, and might even die. I told him that there was a large stream near where I lived (the Connecticut River), and that there was an island in sight (Long Island). This seemed to please him and also the other natives, for they felt as though he had given proof of being a great angakok.

He then went out again; and then the people cried again, “ Go on, go onl ” He was heard outside groaning and making strange noises, and soon came in muttering to himself. He kept his face covered with his hands, came up to me and shook hands; then he went to where a woman was with a child, shook hands with the latter, then went out. Then more cries of “Go on!” Soon he came again, holding two small sticks to his face, to represent walrus tusks. He appeared wild now, and seemingly tried to injure the bystanders. I pretended to be afraid of him, and drew back farther, when one of the natives told me he would not hurt any one. After going round and bumping up against every thing and every body, he went out again: Again more cries of “Go on!” Soon he reentered and described where his guardian spirit had seen the hunters. They were one day’s travel south of Wager River, and there were a number of other people with them. They were also all well.

Then one of the Aivilik natives performed an incantation. When he came in, he hopped around on the floor, and went out again. Then more cries of “Go on!” When he came in, he told that the natives were much nearer, and would be there in three days.

Then I was told that the meeting was closed. Then the two angakut stood still and shook hands with the other natives as they went out, or I might say the others shook hands with them. I did as the others did.

In February, 1898, a Kinipetu angakok performed an incantation. He went out of the house, and I helped the people to hide some object. When he came in, he told where it was. This was repeated several times. Then the lights were put out, and he would leave the house without their noticing it. In one of his trances he saw that some sickness was approaching. He said that it might be warded off by shooting guns the next morning in a northeasterly and northwesterly direction, and the people were to pray at the same time ( cashen ). The mate of the schooner had lost a gold stud; and the angakok said that if he should find it, it would forebode death. The angakok also said that the whalers would see a number of walruses in the spring, and that, if they should not attempt to catch the first one, they would have good luck.

It seems that the incantations of the angakut are always performed in the evening. After each of these ceremonies the people must exchange wives. The women must spend the night in the huts of the men to whom they are assigned. If any woman should refuse to go to the man to whom she is assigned, she would be sure to be taken sick. The man and the woman assigned to him, however, must not be near relatives. The following day is spent in games. This celebration seems to be somewhat similar to the fall festival of the tribes of Davis Strait. 1 The men and women first rub noses, and then spend the day playing nugluktuq and roulette.' 2 On this day the bedding must not be disturbed until late in the day.

The method of discovering the cause of sickness by head-

1 See pp. 139, 140. 2 See p. no.

lifting 1 is also practised in this region. Parts of the body affected by pain are also pricked with a sharp instrument for a considerable time. It is believed that then the disease will leave quickly.

When strangers arrive who have lost by death some of their friends, a piece of cloth or skin is torn in strips, which are sewed to the shirts of each person. At another place Captain Comer mentions this as a custom practised whenever strangers arrive, and states that the strips of cloth or skin are fastened to the girdles of the men among the newly arrived party.

It is not clear whether witchcraft is considered as distinct from the art of the angakok. Captain Comer mentions one case in which sickness was ascribed to witchcraft. A few years ago an old man had his toes frozen so that they had to be cut off. When a boy happened to see his feet, he remarked, “ Oh, you have no toes, have you? ” This made the old man, who was an angakok, angry, and he wrought a spell to make the boy and others sick. The boy is weak-minded up to this time, and this is supposed to be due to the spell of the angakok.

It is perhaps due to their belief in witchcraft that some people avoid touching the clothing or bodies of others.

Customs regarding Birth, Childhood, and Death. — A woman who is with child must always be careful to do just as she would have the child act. If she wants the child to be clever and careful, she must be so herself. She is not allowed to eat of a caribou shot through the heart, or of a seal that died under water without having come up once to breathe, or of a walrus the intestines of which have been cut. This law must also be observed by the mother of an infant. Therefore the natives make it a point not to kill seals outright, but to let them blow once before despatching them. Families who are expecting a child to be born live in a hut by themselves, although their porch may lead off from that of a larger hut.

For three months after the child is born, the mother must stay in her house. During this time she is not allowed sexual intercourse. A woman who has an infant boy keeps a kettle full of snow, which she melts over the lamp. She holds him in her lap while eating. She puts a small piece of meat to the child’s mouth, and then places it in a bag. When the bag is full, the contents are thrown away, and it is filled again in the same way. This is believed to please the child’s guardian spirit (tornaq). At night a piece of meat is placed in a dish near the child. If the child’s guardian spirit should visit it at night, he would look for food, and, if he should not find any, would eat first the mother’s vital organs, then the father’s, and finally those of the other natives. To have anything left after eating would bring hunger to the child when it became a man. No fat must be on the meat which the mother eats, else the angakok’s power to remove sickness from the child will be impaired. After she has finished eating, she pulls gently, first on the right leg and left arm, and then on the left leg and right arm, of the child. Then the child is placed in a sitting position, and it is put through the motions of paddling a kayak. Then the mother darts her fork into the dish out of which she has been eating. This represents harpooning a seal. Next the child’s hands are put through the motions of pulling a bow and shooting an arrow. This ceremony is repeated after each meal. All this is believed to make the child a successful hunter.

If part of the intestines of a fox is placed on the feet of a baby boy, he will become active and skilful in walking safely over thin ice.

By putting strips of caribou-skin round the wrists of a baby girl, she will become skilful in cutting and sewing the skins.

A child’s head must not be washed.

In winter, at the appearance of the new moon, boys must run out of the snow house, take a handful of snow, and put it into the kettle. It is believed that this helps the hunter to capture the seal and to bring it home. The boys are told by their parents that this act pleases the man in the moon, who is watching them; that when they grow older and go sealing.

the seals will come to them to be caught, for it is understood that seals do not like to be caught by lazy people. This practice is kept up throughout the winter.

Boys begin to go sealing at an early age. When a boy kills his first seal, he has to perform certain ceremonies. As soon as the other men see that he has harpooned a seal, his jacket and shirt are taken off, and the seal, even before it is dead, is dragged across the boy’s back. Then it is cut up, and each man takes a piece. The boy’s father takes the head. When they come home, the meat is cooked and eaten. Then the boy’s mother gathers all the bones and throws them into a seal-hole. It is believed that these bones will become seals which the boy is to catch in later life.

In one particular case a boy’s grandfather gave the instructions for this ceremony before the boy went out on his first seal-hunt, and also directed that some caribou-meat should be cooked with the seal-meat, because that would make the boy successful in caribou-hunting.

After a boy had killed his first caribou, his mother gave a piece of the meat to each person, and along with it a few beads cut off from her clothing. He must give the skin to an old man for his clothing. By so doing, the favor of Nuliayoq is obtained, who will help the boy in future when hunting.. After this, the mother is allowed to trim her clothing with white and black edging.

Boys must not play cat’s-cradle, because in later life their fingers might become entangled in the harpoon-line. They are allowed to play this game when they become adults. Two cases were told of hunters who lost their fingers, in which the cause was believed to be their having played cat’s-cradle when young. Such youths are thought to be particularly liable to lose their fingers in hunting ground-seal.

Adolescent girls must not eat eggs.

Graves are generally made of stone, but sometimes the body is only wrapped in caribou-skin. An angakok, named by the whalers Tom Palmer, had been buried in this manner. When Captain Comer visited his grave, he found no bones, and was told that Nuliayoq had taken them. A number of objects,

[. November , / go /] H

such as matches, lead, and a horn spoon, were deposited at the head end of the grave. Before leaving the body, the visitors walked around, muttering prayers.

Animals do not like to be looked at by widows: 1 therefore widows must not look around. If a widow sees a musk-ox, the latter turns itself to stone, a bear to a wolf, a fox to a rabbit. A wolf which a native saw in 1898 is said to have been a bear until a widow had seen it. A rabbit was found in a trap set for a wolf. It was believed that this was the wolf transformed into a rabbit. In this case, however, it is not expressly stated that the transformation was due to a widow seeing the wolf.

There is an island some distance up Wager River which resembles a whale. According to tradition, a woman who had lost her husband saw a whale at that place, upon which the whale was turned to stone.

A woman who has lost a child must not work on fresh skins, else she will die.

1 See also p. 151.

V. TRADITIONS.

TALES FROM CUMBERLAND SOUND.

i. The Sedna Myth.

In Padli lived a girl named Avilayoq. Since she did not want to have a husband, she was also called Uinigumissuitung. There was a stone in the village, speckled white and red, which transformed itself into a dog and married this girl. She had many children, some of whom were Eskimo, others white men, others Inuarudligat, Ijiqat, and Adlet. The children made a great deal of noise, which annoyed Avilayoq’s father, so that he finally took them across to the island Amituaqdjuausiq. Every day Avilayoq sent her husband across to her father’s hut to get meat for herself and her children. She hung around his neck a pair of boots that were fastened to a string. The old man filled the boots with meat, and the dog took them back to the island.

One day, while the dog was gone for meat, a man came to the island in his kayak, and called Uinigumissuitung. “ Take your bag and come with me!” he shouted. He had the appearance of a tall, good-looking man, and the woman was well pleased with him. She took her bag, went down to the kayak, and the man paddled away with her. After they had gone some distance, they came to a cake of floating ice. The man stepped out of the kayak on to the ice. Then she noticed that he was quite a small man, and that he appeared large only because he had been sitting on a high seat. Then she began to cry, while he laughed and said, “Oh, you have seen my seat, have you?” (According to another version, he wore snow-goggles made of walrus-ivory, and he said, “ Do you see my snow-goggles ? ’ ’ and then laughed at her because she began to cry.) Then he went back into his kayak, and they proceeded on their journey.

Finally they came to a place where there were many people and many huts. He pointed out to her a certain hut made of the skins of yearling seals, and told her that it was his, and that she was to go there. They landed. The woman went up to the hut, while he attended to his kayak. Soon he joined her in the hut, and staid with her for three or four days before going out again sealing. Her new husband was a petrel.

Meanwhile her father had left the dog, her former husband, at his house, and had gone to look for her on the island. When he did not find her, he returned home, and told the dog to wait for him, as he was going in search of his daughter. He set out in a large boat, travelled about for a long time, and visited many a place before he succeeded in finding her. Finally he came to the place where she lived. He saw many huts, and, without leaving his boat, he shouted and called to his daughter to return home with him. She came down from her hut, and went aboard her father’s boat, where he hid her among some skins.

They had not been gone long, when they saw a man in a kayak following them. It was her new husband. Soon he overtook them; and when he came alongside, he asked the young woman to show her hand, as he was very anxious to see at least part of her body; but she did not move. Then he asked her to show her mitten, but she did not respond to his request. In vain he tried in many ways to induce her to show herself; she kept in hiding. Then he began to cry, resting his head on his arms, that were crossed in front of the manhole of the kayak. Avilayoq’s father paddled on as fast as he could, and the man fell far behind.

It was calm at that time, and they continued on their way home. After some time they saw something coming from behind toward their boat. They could not clearly discern it. Sometimes it looked like a man in a kayak. Sometimes it looked like a petrel. It flew up and down, then skimmed over the water, and finally came up to their boat and went round and round it several times, and then disappeared again. Suddenly ripples appeared, the waters began to rise, and after a short time a gale was raging. The boat was quite a distance from shore. The old man became afraid lest they might be drowned; and, fearing the revenge of his daughter’s husband, he threw her into the water. She held on to the gunwale; then the father took his hatchet and chopped off the first joints of her fingers. When they fell into the water, they were transformed into whales, the nails becoming the whalebone. Still she clung to the boat; again he took his hatchet and chopped off the second joints of her fingers. They became transformed into ground-seals. Still she clung to the boat; then he chopped off the last joints of her fingers, which became transformed into seals. Now she clung to the boat with the stumps of her hands, and her father took his steering-oar and knocked out her left eye. She fell backward into the water, and he paddied ashore.

Then he filled with stones the boots in which the dog was accustomed to carry meat to his family, and only covered the top with meat. The dog started to swim across, but when he was halfway the heavy stones dragged him down. He began to sink, and was drowned. A great noise was heard while he was drowning. The father took down his tent and went down to the beach at the time of low water. There he lay down, and covered himself with the tent. The flood tide rose over him, and when the waters receded he had disappeared.

The woman became Sedna, who lives in the lower world, in her house built of stone and whale-ribs. She has but one eye, and she cannot walk, but slides along, one leg bent under, the other stretched out. Her father lives with her in her house, and lies there covered up with his tent. The dog lives at the door of her house.

2. The Woman who married the Dog.

At Padli there lived a man whose name was Apasinasee. He had a daughter who did not want to take a husband. Finally her father grew angry, and said to her one evening, “ You who do not want to take a husband, why not marry my dog?” His daughter did not reply. Early in the morning he spoke to her in the same way, but his daughter remained silent.

The following night a man came into the hut who wore trousers of red dog-skin. He sat down next to the girl, and then lay down with her. He cohabited with her, and when on the following morning he left the hut, he dragged her along, as dogs do. It was her father’s dog that had assumed the shape of a man. That day the father said to his daughter, “Now you have a husband.” During the day the dog did not enter the house, but in the evening the same man with the dog-skin trousers appeared, and sat down with the girl.

Thus they continued to live for some time. Soon the woman found herself with child; and when her time came, she gave birth to a litter of young dogs. When they began to grow up, they made a great deal of noise, and the woman’s parents became tired of them. Therefore her father took the young woman, the pups, and the dog to a small island. He told the dog to come across every day to fetch meat for his family. The young woman hung a pair of boots around his neck, and, after her father had filled them with meat, the dog swam back to the island.

They continued to live in this manner for some time; but finally the old man became tired of supplying the young dogs with meat; and one day, when the dog came across, he filled the boots with stones, and just covered the top with meat. The dog began to swim back, as he was wont to do; but when he was halfway to the island, he sank, and while sinking was heard to cry, because he was so anxious to reach his wife and his little ones. When the dog reached the bottom of the sea, Sedna took him into her house.

Now the woman was all alone with her dogs on the island, and the old man went across regularly to supply her with sealmeat. Finally he complained to his daughter, saying that he was tired of supplying the pups with meat. Then she became angry, and resolved to avenge the death of her husband. She said to her pups, “When my father comes back, go down to the beach and lap the blood off the cover of his kayak. Then attack him, and devour him.” When the father arrived, bringing meat for the pups, they ran down to the beach and lapped the blood off the cover of the kayak. The old man scolded them, and tried to drive them away. Then they attacked him, and devoured him.

The woman felt sorry for her pups, because she had no food for them. She took the sole of one of her boots, made masts of whalebone, and transformed it into a ship. She gathered material of different kinds, which was to serve for their provisions. Then she told some of her children to go aboard, and said, “Whatever country you may reach, you will make things beautiful for yourselves. You are crying for food all the time, and I have nothing to give you.” When a fair wind from the north began to blow, she pushed the ship offshore, and the pups sailed away over the ocean. It is not known to what place they went. Then she sent off another part of her brood, and said, “ Go inland, and live on caribou.” They became the Ijiqat. They are much larger than men, and live on caribou only. She sent forth still another part of her brood, and told them to go away. “You may eat anything you find,” she said to them. They became the Inuarudligat. They are about as high as the knee of a man, but very strong, so that they can drag a walrus up to their tent. They use the ears of fox-skins for the children’s dress. The last of the brood staid with the woman, and became the ancestors of the Eskimo.

(Mr. Peck’s version is identical with the foregoing. It closes as follows: The mother liked to look upon the icebergs when they rose out of the sea, and her life seemed to her but short, because her children were away such a long time.;

3. Origin of the Walrus and of the Caribou.

A long time ago a woman transformed her old seal-skin jacket into a walrus. She put antlers on its head, and then put it into the water. It looked very well. Then she transformed her trousers into a caribou. The black part became the back of the animal, while the white part became its belly. The waistband was used to make its legs, and the connecting parts of the trousers were used to make its loins. Then she put tusks in its head. It looked very well, and she set it free. When the caribou saw a man, it went up to him and killed him with its tusks. Then she called both the walrus and the caribou to come to her. She took the tusks out of the caribou’s head and put them into the walrus’s head, and she took the antlers from the walrus and put them on the caribou’s head. She also took out some of the caribou’s teeth, and she kicked its forehead so that it became flat, and so that the eyes protruded. In this way she punished it for having killed the man. Then she said to the caribou, “You shall never come near the walrus. Stay far away inland.’’ Ever since that time, whenever a caribou smells a man, it is afraid.

4. Origin of the Narwhal.

Once upon a time there lived north of Padli a woman who had two step-children,—a blind boy and a girl. One day a bear came to their house and looked in at the window. The mother gave a bow and arrow to the blind boy, and aimed the arrow for him. Then she told him to shoot, and he killed the bear. He said, “ Indeed, I have killed it.” The step-mother replied, “No, no, your arrow only struck the side of the window.” The blind boy heard the growling of the bear grow weaker and weaker, until the animal fell over, and tumbled down from the roof of the house into the snow. .The woman went out and skinned the bear, but she told the girl not to mention it to her brother. Although the woman had now plenty of meat, she kept the blind boy starving. The girl, when eating, would sometimes hide a piece of meat under her sleeve, and give it to her brother when her mother was absent.

One day the blind boy said to his sister, “ Don’t you see a pond not far away from here?”—“ Yes,” she replied, “I see a Small lake.”-—“Are there any birds on it?”—“Yes, there are some.” —“Then take me by the hand and lead me to the lake.” When they reached there, they saw two birds, and the boy asked his sister to go home, and leave him alone. Soon the birds came ashore, and one of them said to him, “ Sit down on top of my kayak!” He did so, and the bird paddled away with him to the middle of the lake. Then suddenly the bird dived with him, and staid below water for quite a while. When they came up again, the boy found himself on top of a kayak, and the bird asked him, “Can you see now?” He replied, “No, I cannot see;” but he could discern a shimmer of light. Then the bird dived with him again, and staid under water much longer. When they came to the surface, the bird asked him again, “Can you see now?” The blind boy replied, “ I can see better now, but not very well.” They dived again, and staid under water still longer. When they came up again, the bird asked him, “ Can you see now? Can you see that lake and the things that look like pins in the water?” The blind boy replied, “ No, I cannot see them.” They dived once more, and staid under water a very long time; and whenthev came up the bird asked once more, “Can you see those things like pins standing in the water? ” The blind boy replied, “Yes, I see them.” Then the bird took him ashore. The boy had a very keen eyesight now.

He went to his mother’s tent, and saw a bear-skin drying outside the house. He said to his mother, “Where did you get that bear-skin?” She replied, “I got it from people who were passing in a boat.”

He got his harpoon-line and his other hunting-implements ready, and went to hunt white whales. He said to his mother, “Won’t you go with me? I am going to hunt white whales.” She agreed. When they reached the floe-edge, he said to his mother, “ Make fast the end of the line around your waist, and hold on to it when I harpoon a white whale. You shall help me hold it.” Now a white whale emerged. It was of a dark color. Then the woman shouted to her stepson, “Harpoon that one!” But he replied, “No, it is too strong.” Quite a number of white whales emerged, but he waited until a very large one came near, then he speared it with his harpoon. Then he pretended to help his mother hold the line, but gradually he pushed her on to the edge of the floe, and the whale pulled her under water. When the whale came up again, the woman also rose to the surface; and she cried and shouted to her stepson, “Don’t you remember the time when I cleaned you when you were a child? ” The white whale dived again, and took the woman along. Then they heard her crying, “Luk!” and her head went under water.

When the whale came up again, she lay on her back. She took her hair in her hands, and twisted it into the form of a horn. Again she cried, “0 stepson! why do you throw me into the water? Don’t you remember that I cleaned you when you were a child?” She was transformed into a narwhal. Then the white whale and the narwhal swam away.

The boy returned to the shore. He left that place with his sister, and they went travelling for a long time. Finally they came to a place where they saw a snow house. When they came close to it, the boy built a house for his sister and himself. Then he requested his sister to go into the other snow house and ask for a drink of water. The people in the snow house, who had very long finger-nails, were afraid of the strangers. They thought they were not real people; and when the girl asked for a drink of water for her brother, one of them said to her, “ Take off your jacket, and take the water out of the bucket.” She took off her jacket and her shirt; and while she was reaching out to take some water, they scratched her until her skin was tom. She began to cry. When her brother heard her cries, he ran into the house, and killed the people with his knife. He kept his sister wrapped up in rabbit-skins until her wounds were healed. He took her on his back, inside of his jacket, and travelled on with her. After they had journeyed for a long time, he met some people, the Ikingan, who were very kind to them. About this time the girl was able to walk.

The people were standing outside of their huts, and the girl saw a great deal of caribou-fat lying about. She took up a piece and began to eat it, when they cried out, “ Don’t eat that! It is dirt. Come into the hut; we have plenty of food there.” She went in, and saw plenty of meat, of which she and her brother ate. She found that the people did not eat any meat, but just took a piece of fat, which they chewed and spit out again. They had no anuses.

The girl married one of these men. Soon she was with child. One day her mother-in-law made some thread of caribou-sinew, which she plaited. The young man asked, “Why are you making that thread?” The woman replied, “It is for your sister, — to sew her up after they have taken out her child.” The young man said, “That is not necessary. She does not need to be sewed up; she can give birth by herself.” And the people were surprised to find that her child was born without her being cut open. It was a boy, and they were well pleased with it. It had an anus. They shouted to the mother, “What are you going to call the child?” And when one of, the women replied, “ Poriolee ” (“mittens”), another one thought that she was asked to put on mittens. She did not understand that this was to be the child’s name. When the people saw that the child had an anus, they wanted to have one also. They put some pegs into the ground, and sat down on them vigorously, thus forcing them into their bodies, and made anuses for themselves. Only a few of them died by the operation: most were successful.

5. Origin of the Agdlaq.

Once upon a time a man, his wife, and his two daughters, lived in a snow house. For some reason the father disliked his elder daughter, and made up his mind to dispose of her. He built a snow house for her, and closed the door with a snow block, intending to let her starve to death; but her younger sister, who loved her, made a small hole through the wall of the snow house, and passed pieces of seal-meat to her. After some time the elder sister said, when the younger one was giving seal-meat to her, “I am not like other people. Hair is growing all over my body and on my limbs.”

After a while the elder sister also said to her, ‘ ‘ Do not bring me any more meat.” She replied, “ I shall continue to bring you meat, for I want you to live.”

Soon the father and mother discovered the girl giving sealmeat to her elder sister. The father said, “ It is not well that you give her food. She is not nice. It is best to let her die. Do not give her any food.” But the girl insisted on giving some of her own seal-meat to her elder sister.

One day when she took seal-meat to her elder sister, she looked into the house through the hole, and saw that her sister’s body was covered with hair. The elder sister knew at once that the girl had seen her, and she said, “Leave this place! I shall soon go out of this snow house.” She made a number of wooden pegs, and gave them to her younger sister, saying, “ When you move from this place, you will hear something pursuing you while you are travelling. Then lie down on your face, and put these pegs around you. I am going to turn into an agdlaq. I shall pursue you; but by the pegs I shall recognize you.”

About this time the father decided to desert his elder daughter. The people loaded their sledges and left. When they had been on their way for some time, the girl heard something following their steps. She ran ahead, lay down on the snow, put the wooden pegs around her, as she had been told to do by her sister, and hid her face in her hands. She staid there for some time. Soon the agdlaq came up to her; but when it saw the pegs it turned back. After some time she ventured to look up, and, going back to the sledges, she found that her father and mother had been killed by the monster. Her elder sister, who had been transformed into an agdlaq, had killed them.

6. The Echo .

A young girl refused to take a husband. Finally the people grew angry, broke up their tents, and deserted her. The day after they had left she saw the men sealing in their kayaks. She had climbed a steep cliff, where they saw her standing. Then she shouted to one of the men, “Come and fetch me! I will marry you.” But they did not believe her. Then they heard her saying, “I wish my feet would be turned into stone!” and they were turned into stone; “I wish my hips would be turned into stone!” and they also were turned into stone; “I wish my arms would be turned into stone!” and they too were turned to stone; “I wish my chest would be turned into stone! ” and then it became stone; “ I wish my head were turned into stone!” and it too became stone. Now she was entirely transformed into stone. And

1901.] BoaSy Eskimo of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay . 173

there she is still. The people hear her when they pass by in their boats.

7. Origin of Death .

There were a great many Eskimo on Midliqjuaq. There were also a great many people in all the other places. At that time there had never been a death. There were but few islands, which, were floating about. They did not touch the bottom of the sea. The people on Midliqjuaq came to be so numerous that the island became top-heavy, and turned over. Thus a great many of the people were killed. Along time after this event had happened the waters began to recede, and the islands went aground. These were the first deaths; and ever since that time, man has continued to die. At the time when the waters receded, a whale was left ashore, and walruses were left at Lake Netchillik.

8. Origin of Sun and Moon.

In a village a woman lived in a hut all by herself. One evening, while the people were assembled in their dancinghouse, a man went to the woman, put out her lamps, and compelled her to cohabit with him. After this he came every night at the time when the people were in the dancing-house. The woman wished to know who he was. She asked him often, but he did not tell his name or utter a sound. Since she was unable to induce him to tell, she resorted to a ruse. One day, after he had come, she rubbed her fingers across the bottom of one of her pots, and then across the left side of his face. After a while he left her. Soon she followed him, and when she came out of the house, she heard much laughter in the dancing-house. She went in, and there saw that the people were laughing at her own brother, who bore the marks of her fingers on the left side of his face. Then she took a knife, cut off her left breast, and offered it to him, saying, “ Eat this.” She took up a piece of wood, such as is used for trimming lamps, and lighted it. He also took a trimmingstick in his left hand, lighted it, and followed her. She went out of the house and ran around it, pursued by her brother.

Finally the latter fell. The flame on his stick went out, while hers continued to burn brightly. They were wafted up to the sky. She became the sun, and he became the moon.

9. The Orphan Boy and the Old Man .

Outakalawaping was an old man. An orphan boy named Elaakjewwakjew used to visit him; and as soon as the old man saw him, he would shout, “ Why did you eat your mother’s tail?” Then the orphan boy would run away. Once upon a time he went into another house; and one of the boys, who knew what the old man was in the habit of saying, advised him, when the old man should again say, “ Why did you eat your mother’s tail?” to reply, “Why did you put your first wife in the crack in the ground-ice? Why did you put her in the crack in the floe-ice? ” The boy went back into the old man’s house, and when Outakalawaping said again, “ Why did you eat your mother’s tail?” he retorted, “Why did you put your first wife in the crack in the ground-ice ? Why did you put her in the crack in the floe-ice?” Then the old man jumped up and tried to catch the boy, who ran away. The two continued to run for a long time until they began to rise in the air, and became two stars; but the orphan boy is still being pursued by the old man.

10. The Hunters transformed into a Constellation.

Once upon a time a bear was being hunted by seven (ten ?) sledges. The traces of a number of dogs had been cut, and the dogs were in hot pursuit. When they had come up close to the bear, some of the men jumped off their sledges, and ran, urging the dogs along. One shouted to another, “Your mitten has fallen off from the sledge! Go and get it! You can see it by the moon’s light!” 1 While the sledges were thus hurrying along, one of the men said, “I do not feel my feet touching the ground;” and another one rejoined, “The runners of my sledge are rising.” They were transferred to the sky, and became constellations.

1 It seems that the man thus snoken to jumped off, and was left behind.

11. Origin of Thunder and Lightning.

Two girls, Kweetoo and Kadlu, were out playing one night while their father and mother were in bed. They made so much noise that the father ordered them to go farther away from the hut. After they had gone some distance, one said, '‘Let us play making ground-seals.”—“No,” replied the other, “the people would catch them: let us make lightning, that they cannot catch.”

They continued to ask each other what to do. Every time the first girl proposed to make various animals, such as caribou, whales, agdlaq, polar bears, and white whales; but the other always answered, “No, the people can catch them: let us make lightning, that they cannot catch.” Finally they both agreed that they would make lightning.

Now they jumped on some ice the water under which had evaporated, so that it was hollow underneath. One girl stamped on the ice, and the noise of her feet sounded like thunder. The other one urinated, and thus made the rain.

The people heard the noise of the thunder, and saw the lightning flash and the rain fall, but they did not see the girls who made it. Wherever they went, they heard the thunder, and saw the lightning and rain, but they did not know whence they came.

Kadlu and Kamaluninga make thunder-storms. The women give them a piece of whitened skin and flint. Sometimes angakut go to visit them. Once upon a time an angakok visited Kamaluninga at her house. After he had been there for a short time, she arose and went to look for something inside the tent. The angakok became afraid, and went away wondering what she was looking for. Other visitors were treated in the same way. In their country the air is exceedingly cold in winter, but it becomes warm in spring, and they go sealing. They do not leave their hut much till spring. At that time the sides of their huts crack like gunshot. They crack still louder when summer is approaching.

The visitors see the lightning, which is of the size of kayaks, flashing about in every direction. The two women do not allow the thunder to touch the earth, but send it along not far from the ground. If the thunder should touch the ground as one touches it with the toes of one's boots, lightning would flash out of it. When they wish to hunt caribou, they throw their thunderbolt, which touches the ground where the ‘caribou are. It is said that when the two sisters were young, they stole a boy, whom they still keep.

12. Origin of Fog.

Nareya was a huge man, who lived in the interior of the country. When running down caribou, he wound his body with thongs to prevent him from running too fast, and to steady his belly, which was of enormous size. He overtook the caribou easily, and knocked them down with stones. He would eat the meat of three caribou at one meal, then he would go to the river, where he had a place scooped out large enough for his belly, lie down, and drink of the water until he had enough. He used to lie there until he felt hungry again.

One day a man who was out caribou-hunting came to the place at the side of the river where Nareya was lying. The man watched him for a long time, until finally Nareya looked up and saw him. He arose at once, and ran after the man, who tried to escape; but Nareya overtook him and killed him. When the hunter did not return to the village, his friends became very anxious, and one of them went in search of him. He did not find him; but on his return, he discovered that the bodies of the dead had been taken away from the graves. Finally he came to the place where Nareya was lying, at the side of the water.

Then he went home and told what he had seen. The people did not know what to do. One of them offered to pretend to be dead and to have himself buried under stones. He expected that he would be taken away like the bodies of the dead, and that he would thus discover the robber. The people carried him out of the house, and covered him up with stones. When it was nearly morning, Nareya discovered the new grave. He took the stones off, fastened a thong around the body in two places, put it on his back, and carried it away. When he came to his home, he took off the rope and put the body down.

The man, who was an angakok, pretended to be dead; but when he thought nobody was looking, he blinked with his eyes, and saw Nareya , his wife, and his child, in the tent. Now the man knew that this was the monster that had been taking away the bodies of his friends, and he thought that he must also have killed the caribou-hunter. He heard Nareya tell how he had eaten three caribou, and even more, in a single day. Nareya told his wife to make a fire and to cook the body which he had brought, meaning the man who had pretended to be dead. While the woman was starting the fire, the child thought he noticed the eyes of the man moving. He said so; but Nareya replied, “Never mind. Yesterday, when I brought the body here, it seemed to be very heavy.’' Now he turned to his wife and asked, “Is the water hot?” When she answered in the affirmative, the man jumped up and knocked Nareya down. Then he ran away as fast as he could.

Soon Nareya recovered, and pursued him. The man, by means of sorcery, made various things to allure his pursuer and to distract his attention. Nareya stopped for a time, but soon continued his pursuit. When he had nearly reached the fugitive, the latter, by means of sorcery, made a great many berries. When Nareya saw them, he stopped, and picked and ate a great many. Meanwhile the man had run over a hill. When he reached the foot of the hill, and saw the monster gaining upon him, he made a river. Nareya reached the river, and, on seeing the man on the other side, he asked him, “How did you cross?” The man replied, “I drank all the water until I was able to wade through the river.” Then Nareya lay down and began to drink. He almost emptied the river, went across, and when he came to the other side, shook the water out of his sleeves. His stomach was so full of water that it made him burst, and he died. A mist arose

[November, igoi\ 12

from him, and from it all the mist and fog originated. The man lost his way in the fog, but after some time it cleared away, and he reached home safely.

13. How Children were formerly obtained.

Akkalookjo and his wife Owmirneto were living at Kinerto. They had no children. One day Owmirneto went out early. She found a baby girl, which she took home and brought up as her own. When the child was almost grown up, Owmirneto found another baby girl, which she took and brought up as her own. When this child was almost grown up, she found a third one; and after a number of years, when the third also was almost grown up, she found a fourth one. All these she brought up. When the first girl was grown up, and able to look after a child herself, she went out early one morning, before her mother. She found a baby boy, whom she took home and brought up as her own child. When this boy was almost grown up, Owmirneto and the first and second girl whom she had found went about looking for children; and Owmirneto found another baby child. When this one was almost grown up, Owmirneto and the two girls whom she had found first were again looking for children. Her first daughter found anotb er girl. About this time her third daughter began to look for children too, while Owmirneto had grown so old that she did not look for any more to bring up. About this time the third girl found a child; and when this one had grown up, the first girl found another one.

So far, the second girl had been unsuccessful, although she was very anxious to find a child. When the last one had grown up, the third daughter found a child, and so they lived on for many years. Finally they decided that the second girl should marry the boy which the first girl had found. Although she now had a husband, she still continued to look for children. Finally she found a chrysalis. She allowed it to suck the blood from her own body. Therefore she needed a vast amount of food, and she had to go to the houses of her neighbors to ask for it. Her husband was so young that he did not go sealing yet. When she had eaten enough, she went home, and let the chrysalis suck her blood. While she was outside, she left the chrysalis in her stocking and in one of the legs of her trousers; and when she came back, it would suck the blood from various parts of her body.

The chrysalis was growing all the time, and now entirely filled the stockings and the trousers. The larger it grew, the Oftener she had to go and ask for food. Her husband staid in the house all the time. He sat on the bed and trimmed the lamps. It was very warm inside, and he sat without a shirt on. One day the chrysalis became hungry while the woman was away. It left its bed, and began to suck blood out of the man’s side. It hurt him, and he threw it into the porch, where the dogs were. He heard them howling when they were bitten by the chrysalis. Very soon they stopped. They had killed it and devoured it. Its blood was spattered all over the porch and over their pelts. When the woman came back, she saw the blood, and asked her husband, "Is that the blood of the chrysalis?” She looked at her trousers, and found that the chrysalis had disappeared. Then her husband told her what had happened. He said, “That was not a human being. Why did you want to raise it?” She cried, went to bed, and soon she died.

14. Ititaujang.

One day a man, while out caribou-hunting in the interior of the country, heard the cries of women. Although he searched everywhere, he could not see any one. Finally he came in sight of a small lake, in which he saw four women bathing. They had taken off their boots and their jackets. The man kept in hiding behind some high ground for a time, and then crept up to the lake cautiously. On the shore he found the women’s clothes, of which he took possession. Now the women observed him. They cried and asked him for their clothes. He gave them to three of them, but those of the last one he kept. The other women put on their boots and jackets, and at once they were transformed into geese, and flew away. The remaining woman asked again and again for her jacket; but instead of giving it to her, he merely asked, “Will you be my wife?” She did not reply, but only asked for her jacket. He said again, “Will you be my wife?” She retorted, “They have all left me. Give me my jacket.” Again he asked her, “Will you be my wife?” and finally she consented, but still continued to ask for her jacket. He said, “Do you really want to be my wife?”— “Indeed, I will,” she answered. Then he asked her to go home with him, and they lived together as husband and wife.

After some time she gave birth to a boy. When the boy was large enough to walk about, the people caught a whale. They were all carrying the meat ashore, the goose woman among them. Suddenly she noticed some of the blood of the whale on her dress. Then she began to cry. She left the people, took her child, and went along the beach. Soon she found some feathers, which she placed between her fingers and between those of the boy. At once both were transformed into geese, and flew away. The people who had seen the transformation called to the man, whose name was Ititaujang, saying that his wife and child were flying away. Then he left the whale and followed them to the land of the birds, away beyond the horizon.

After he had travelled for some time, he saw two large rocks which shut and opened. He tried to go around them, for fear of being caught between them; but he was unable to do so, and had to pass between them. After he had succeeded in passing them, he went on, and came to two wolves, one on each side of his path, which were eating something. He tried to go around them, but was unable to do so. He had to rush through between them. He went on, and came to a large pot full of boiling meat. He could not go around it, but had to pass over it, and was nearly scalded in trying to do so. He went on again, and came to a large lamp. He could not go around it, and had to step across it. After going on for a long time, he saw a man’s pelvis lying on the ground. He tried to go around it, but he had to cohabit with it and then step right over it.

After he had passed this last obstacle, he went on for a long time. Finally he saw a man. When he looked at him, he noticed that he could look through his body. He had no intestines (?). He became frightened, and went around and approached the man from behind. The man’s name was Ixalu'qdjung. He was standing at the bank of a brook, chopping chips from a piece of red wood with his hatchet. There was also a piece of white wood lying by his side. When Ititaujang approached him, Ixalu'qdjung asked, “Where do you come from?’’ The traveller replied, “I come from that direction,’’ pointing towards Ixalu'qdjung’s back. The latter rejoined, “If you had come the other way, I should have killed you with my hatchet.’’ He did not want any one to see that he had no intestines. Then Ititaujang asked, “Do you know where my wife is?” Ixalu'qdjung replied, “Listen!” Then they heard distant voices, and that of the lost wife among them. The people were on the other side of the river. The traveller asked Ixalu'qdjung to help him to cross the river, which was very deep. Then Ixalu'qdjung cut off a piece of wood and gave it to him. He said, “This is your kayak; shut your eyes, and do not open them until you reach the other shore.” The traveller went aboard; but when he was some distance from shore, he opened his eyes a little. At once the kayak disappeared under him; but when he shut his eyes again, he found himself again in his kayak.

Finally he reached the other shore, and went on until he saw some huts. Then he saw a boy coming towards him, and recognized his son. The boy ran back to the hut, and said to his mother, “Father is coming!” But his mother merely said, “ He will never find us here.” The boy ran back to his father, who said to him, “Tell my wife to come here.” The boy ran back again, and said to his mother, “ Father has arrived. He wants you to come and see him.” The mother said to the boy, “Go and tell him not to come here. The ground here is boiling.” By that time the man had arrived at the door of the hut, and he entered. Inside he saw his wife and an old man. The latter said, “ Bring me the chest with the feathers.” The woman gave him the chest; and as soon as he took it, the woman, the child, and the old man were transformed into birds. Then the man became very angry. He took his knife and cut open his wife’s belly while she was flying away, and eggs fell out of it. 1

15. Kiviuq .

Once upon a time there was a boy who lived with his grandmother. They were very poor. Since they had no seal-skins, the old woman made a shirt of skins of sea-gulls for him. One day he was playing with the other children of the village, who made fun of him on account of his poverty, and tore his shirt. He ran home crying, but his grandmother quieted him and mended his shirt. Day after day the boys tore his clothes, until finally the old woman had used up all her thread, and was unable to mend them. She was very sorry for the boy. She was a great angakok, and determined to take revenge on the people who maltreated them. She told the boy what to do. Then she wrought a spell. The floor of their hut disappeared, and in its place was an underground channel leading down to the sea. The boy was transformed into a young seal, which swam through the channel and re-appeared in front of the village, in the sea. Soon the people saw it, and went in pursuit in their kayaks. The young seal went on and on, luring the people farther and farther away from the land. Suddenly a gale of wind arose, and all the pursuers were lost, except one, whose name was Kiviuq. He had a bird-skin amulet in his kayak, which prevented its capsizing.

After a while the gale subsided. Kiviuq was very tired, and did not care what became of him. He was sitting idly in his kayak, when suddenly the amulet made a noise. Kiviuq looked up, and thought he beheld land not far away. He paddled toward it, but soon he saw that what he believed to be land was only the crest of a high wave. Several times he thought he saw land quite near ahead. Finally a low coast appeared, and when he came nearer, he saw that he had reached a small island. It looked quite reddish. He went

1 See another version on p. 328.

ashore, and fell asleep. After he had taken a good rest, he went in search of people.

After travelling for a long time, he came to a place where he saw one hut. Kiviuq went up to it, and found an old woman inside. She asked him to enter; and when she saw that his boots were wet, she offered to dry them for him. She invited him to lie down and sleep. Kiviuq looked about in the house, and saw a great many heads. One of these spoke to him, saying, “The old woman eats all the strangers who enter her house.” Meanwhile the old woman had gone out, and had made a fire outside. She acted as though she were going to prepare a meal, although Kiviuq did not see any meat in her hut. Then the head continued to speak, saying, “Take a slab of stone, and put it under your jacket, then lie down on your back and sleep.” He obeyed, lay down on his back, and pretended to be asleep. The old woman looked into the house, and when she believed her visitor to be asleep, she took out from under her jacket her tail, which looked like a dog’s tail, sharpened her woman’s knife, and stepped up to the sleeper. She intended to stab him in the heart and in the stomach. She climbed up to the bed, straddled over him, and sat down with full force, bringing her knife down upon his heart, and her tail down upon his stomach. But she was not able to do him any harm. She broke her tail on the slab with which he had covered himself. Then she cried, “Oh, my tail, nin, nin, ne!” Now Kiviuq jumped up, and the old woman ran out of the house.

Kiviuq tried to take his boots and stockings down from the drying-frame, in order to put them on and run away; but as soon as he stretched out his hands they rose in the air, and when he withdrew his hands they fell down again. He tried several times, but every time they rose, and remained out of reach. Then he shouted to the old woman, and asked her to give him his boots and stockings; but she retorted, “Take them yourself; you see where they are.” Kiviuq replied, “I have been trying to take them, but every time I stretch out my hand, they fly up into the air, and fall back as soon as I withdraw it.”—“Yes,” retorted the old woman, “I put them on the drying-frame.” When the old woman refused to give them to him, Kiviuq called to his guardian spirit, a bear, to come. As soon as he had called the bear, it was heard growling at a distance. Meanwhile Kiviuq tried again to take down his boots, but every time he tried they rose up into the air. Then he tried to use the fork to take them down, but the fork turned around and pricked him. Then he called again for the bear to come and kill the old woman. The bear was heard much nearer now, and the woman grew frightened. She ran into the hut, took down the boots, stockings, and slippers, and gave them to Kiviuq. He put them on, and tried to run out of the hut, but in vain. When he reached the door, it suddenly shut, and he was closed in. No door was to be seen. When he went back into the-interior of the hut, the door appeared again. Again he tried to rush out. He succeeded in escaping, although the door shut so suddenly that it tore off part of the tail of his jacket. He ran down to his kayak, but the old woman took hold of its bow and almost upset it. Kiviuq shouted, “I shall kill you with my harpoon!” The old woman retorted, “I shall kill.you with my knife!” Then Kiviuq threw his spear at her, but it only grazed her hair, as she dodged quickly. She let go of the kayak, and Kiviuq paddled away as fast as he could.

He travelled on for a long time without seeing anything. Finally he came to a place where he heard a noise on shore, but he did not see any huts. He heard some one crying, “Help me ashore!” He landed and looked about. After a long search he found a mouse in a pool which was surrounded by steep rocks. The mouse was not able to get out. He helped it, and then went back to his kayak and paddled away.

He travelled on for a long time without seeing any one. One day he heard some one crying on shore, “Come and take the dirt from my eye!” He went ashore, pulled up his kayak, and tried to find the person who was crying; but he only saw the arm-bone of a seal, and noticed that the small hole in the bone was full of dirt. He cleaned it out, and went off.

After a long time he saw a hut on shore. He landed and went up to it. In the hut he found an old woman and her daughter. Near the door of the hut he noticed a large piece of driftwood, which was the younger woman’s husband. When the wood wished to go sealing, the young woman put it into the water, and it went off by itself. After a while it came back, towing the seals. The young woman would go down, and carry the seals on her shoulders up to the hut. Kiviuq was invited to enter, and he married the young woman. The piece of driftwood shouted that it was jealous of him; nevertheless he staid there as the young woman’s husband.

One day Kiviuq told his wife that he had lost his mittens while sealing, and asked her to make a new pair for him. After a few days he said again that he had lost his mittens, and repeated this several times. As a matter of fact, he had not lost them, but only wanted his wife to make him several pairs of new mittens. He intended to return home, and wanted to use the new mittens on his return journey, to replace each pair after it had been worn out by paddling.

One day while Kiviuq was off sealing, the old woman said to her daughter, “ There are lice in your head. Let me louse you.” The young woman held her head down, and then her mother took a peg (such as is used in drying skins), and drove it into her head through her ear. When the young woman was dead, her mother skinned her, and put on her skin. Now she looked just like the young woman. Soon Kiviuq arrived, bringing a saddle-seal in tow. The old woman went down to the beach, intending to take the seal back on her shoulders, but her knees trembled under her. She was not as strong as the young woman. Kiviuq knew at once what had happened, and went away never to return.

He travelled a long time in search of his home, and finally discerned some huts. It was his own village. Those who had been children when he went away were now grown up. Kiviuq’s wife had taken another husband, but now she deserted him, and returned to Kiviuq. All his children had grown up. His oldest son was a good hunter, and was now in command of a whaling-boat.

16. Qaudjaqdjuq.

Once upon a time there was a boy named Qaudjaqdjuq. He had no father and no mother. His only friend was the Man in the Moon. The people treated him badly. He had to fetch salt water for them, not between the ground-ice, but he had to go to the floe-edge. He had to carry the water in a bladder. He had no mittens, although he had to bring the water such a long distance.

One time, when he had been sent out for water, the ice broke, and he went adrift. After drifting about a long time, the ice carried him back to the shore, and he reached a village. There he fared no better than he had before. The people made him sleep in the porch, among the dogs; and when the men and women went in and out, they stepped on his hands and feet. He had to take out the lamps, clear away the dirt, and clean the lamps and pots with his clothes. One day, when Qaudjaqdjuq was all alone, he said, “ Brother Moon, up there, come down to me in the morning/’ Very soon the Moon came down with his dog-team, bringing his wife.

There was a large dancing-house, built of stone, in the village. The people assembled there every night. They had one large chamber-pot in this dancing-house, and it was Qaudjaqdjuq’s duty to empty it whenever required. He was unable to carry it with his hands alone; he had to hold it with his teeth also. When he came back into the dancing-house, after having emptied the pot, the people used to hang him by his nostrils to a pair of bear’s tusks; therefore his nostrils were exceedingly large. The Man in the Moon and his wife went with the people into the dancing-house. Qaudjaqdjuq was hanging from the tusks. After some time the people told the boy to take out the pot. Then the Man in the Moon said to Qaudjaqdjuq, “ Let me try. I will take it outside for you.” But he upset it, and the urine ran all over the floor. Then the people grew angry. They left Qaudjaqdjuq and his brother alone in the house, and walled up the doorway with large bowlders.

The Man in the Moon asked his brother to bring in his seat from his sledge. The boy went to the door of the dancinghouse, and asked one of the people to hand him that seat. The people were still engaged in walling up the doorway, but one of them passed the seat to him. There was a dead ermine in it. The Man in the Moon restored it to life; then it ran out between the bowlders with which they were closing in the door. As soon as the people saw it, they ran after it, and in their eagerness of pursuit they stumbled over one another, and one of the men was killed. The ermine went back into the dancing-house. The bristles around its mouth were covered with blood. After a short time the Man in the Moon sent it out again. Again the people pursued it, and in their eagerness fell over each other, and another person was killed. The ermine escaped into the dancing-house again, and the Moon Man saw that its mouth was covered with still more blood. When entering the dancing-house, the ermine tore away the ground from under the bowlders that had been put up in the doorway. . Then the Man in the Moon and Qaudjaqdjuq were enabled to get out.

They went away some distance from the village. They were very, careful not to leave any tracks behind, to let the people know where they had gone. When they were all alone, the Man in the Moon said to Qaudjaqdjuq, “I am goingto whip you; and when I ask you, ‘ Do you feel sore?’ you must answer, ‘No, I am not sore.’” Now the Man in the Moon took up his whip, and whipped the boy until be fell down. Then he asked him, “Do you feel sore, brother?” Qaudjaqdjuq replied, “ No, I am not sore.” The boy arose again, and the Man in the Moon whipped him a second time until the boy fell down. Again he asked him, “ Do you feel sore?” Qaudjaqdjuq replied in the same way as before. Now he was very much larger. The Man in the Moon whipped him a third time, and asked him the same question; and Qaudjaqdjuq replied that he did not feel sore at all. This time he did not fall over after he had been whipped. He had grown much larger. Thus the Man in the Moon whipped him six times. Then he had become a very large and strong man.

The Man in the Moon then wished for three bears to visit the village. It did not take long for the bears to come. When the people saw them, they were afraid, and said, “Where is Qaudjaqdjuq? Let us give him to the bears to feed on.” They did not know that Qaudjaqdjuq had become a strong man. After they had called him several times, he replied, “ Here is the little boy.” He came down to the huts, and the people were much surprised when they saw him. They shouted, “Qaudjaqdjuq is a large man now!” Two women who had not yet seen him, but who heard the people shouting, did not believe it. Qaudjaqdjuq went down to the bears. He took one of them by its hind-legs, struck it against the ground, and killed it. The second and the third bear fared no better. Then the people were much afraid of him, and ran away in all directions. But he pursued them, and, as soon as he overtook a man, he took him up, struck him against the rocks, and thus killed him. When he took hold of them thus, he would say, “ Do you remember when you made me clean your dirty lamps, and when you made me enjpty your dirty pots, and when you hung me by the nostrils from the tusk? Have you forgotten how you threw a piece of walrus-head at me, as you would at a dog, and how you gave me no knife to cut with?”

There were two women in the village whom he liked. He used-to clean their lamps best. Now he asked both of them to become his wives. Then the women said to him, “You used to make all your clothes dirty wiping our lamps.” He retorted, “My clothes are very nice now,” although he still wore the same suit that he had used when he was a poor little boy. The two women replied to him very quickly, but one of them more quickly than the other. Qaudjaqdjuq just squeezed the slower one a little, but he hurt her very much. After a while Qaudjaqdjuq said to his wives, “Give me that stick when it is lighted.” One of the women was very quick, while the other one did not give it to him at once. Then he struck her on the shoulder. He always found this woman slow, and, on account of being struck so often on her left side, her left shoulder became lower than her right one- The other woman began to squint in her right eye, because she was always looking stealthily in that direction.

17. Mangegjatuakdju.

Mangegjatuakdju lives underground in a gravel-bank. Once upon a time the children in a village were disappearing, and nobody knew what became of them. One day two little girls who had lost their way were wandering in the direction of her house. One of these girls was carrying a child in her hood. They had been playing, and gathering various kinds of things, and in that way did not notice that they had come right into the entrance of the house. When Mangegjatuakdju saw them inside of her house, she shut the door. Now the two girls looked about inside, and saw a corpse. Quite a number of human heads were lying about, and decomposed matter was running down from the noses of the skulls. Mangegjatuakdju was sitting on a platform at the side of the doorway through which the children had entered. She was biting a stone, and had her eyes shut, and her hands over her ears. The children said, “ Go on biting as hard as you can, and shut your ears.” The old woman did not move. Then the children became afraid of her, and tried to run away; but the door of the house was shut. Then they determined to try to make a hole in the roof. They found a small seal-bone, with which one of the gills began to scrape away the sand on the roof of the hut. The other one stepped up close to Mangegjatuakdju to prevent her from seeing what they were doing. The child in the hood had taken a human jaw which was lying on one of the shelves, and was playing with it. During all this time the children shouted and made a noise, so that the woman might not hear them trying to make a hole in the roof. Once Mangegjatuakdju opened her eyes; then they covered the hole up with a leg of one of their trousers, that she should not see what they were doing. When the hole was large enough, one of the girls climbed up, with the help of her friend who was carrying the young child in her hood. During all this time they continued to shout, to prevent Mangegjatuakdju from hearing what was going on. Then the girl who had remained in the hut handed the child up through the hole, and finally climbed, out herself, assisted by her friend. When the last girl had just reached the outside of the hut, Mangegjatuakdju discovered that they were escaping. She took ^ hold of the tail of the girl’s jacket, but it tore off. After the children had once got outside, they ran away as fast as‘they could. Mangegjatuakdju put her head out of the hole in the roof, and shouted after them, “Oh, come back! I shall not hurt you. Indeed, you know how to escape from my house.” But while she was shouting, she held a hatchet in her hand. When the girls reached home, they told all they had seen, and then the people knew what had become of their children. They resolved to kill Mangegjatuakdju.

The men took a rope, and followed the girls, who went ahead, gathering up playthings which they found on the ground. Soon they found themselves in the door of Mangegjatuakdju’s house. Then one man went in, holding one end of the rope, while the others remained outside, holding the other end. The man who went in was a good whaler; and the people said as he was going in, “ Does not this man know how to catch whales? Let him cut off the nails of your toes.” Then Mangegjatuakdju held out her foot and asked him to cut her nails. She said, “ If you cut the nails on my toes, I will look for the lice in your head;” and while she was speaking, she hid her hatchet under her. The man pretended to cut her nails, but in reality put the rope around one of her feet. As soon as he had done so, he shouted, “It is done!” and raised his head. Then the men outside began to pull at the rope, and hauled her out of her hut. When they had succeeded in getting her as far as the doorway, she braced her feet against the sides of the door, but the men pulled so hard that they broke her legs. The men pulled away; but Mangegjatuakdju shouted, “Let me speak to you!” She said, “My kidneys are like flint.” The people pulled away again. Again she shouted, “Let me speak to you!” She said, “My intestines are like beads.” The men kept on pulling, but she shouted, “Let me speak once more!” She said, “My liver is like copper; my heart is a hammer.” Finally the men hauled her out of the house, and she died. Her back was worn through by being dragged over the ground. Then they cut her open to see if what she had said Was true. They found that her heart, her liver, her kidneys, and her intestines were like those of any human being.

18. The Emigration to the Land beyond the Sea .

There were a number of families living at Qenertung, and others at Ixa'luin, near Ixaluaqdjung, not far from Qenertung. In the spring of the year the people of Qenertung used to move to Operniving to hunt seals. At Qenertung lived a man and his wife who had a young son, and the woman’s mother lived with them. The man was the only hunter at this place. After some time the people from Ixa'luin moved to Qenertung, and put up their huts there. Then all the men went out sealing together. At noon they generally took a bite of the seals that had been caught. They lived in this way for some time, when one day the man who had been at Qenertung all winter caught a seal, a small portion of which he gave to the other men. In the evening he cut it up in his hut, and invited them to partake of it. Some of the men remained outside, while one of their number assisted in carving the seal. Suddenly the host saw that the trousers-legs of his companion were shaking, and this frightened him. When the seal was all cut up, he went outside to wash his hands with snow. Then one of the other men jumped up and tried to throw him, but was unable to do so. He called for assistance; and the person who had helped cut the seal came out of the hut, took the man whom they were attacking by the feet and threw him down. Then he killed him with his knife. They dragged the body away from the hut.

Then the murderer forced the man’s widow to cohabit with him. Early in the morning he went back to his own house, and every night he spent with the widow of the murdered man. One day she said to her mother, “My son would be able to kill that man if I were to hold him fast.’’ Her mother agreed. Then the woman told her son to kill their enemy when opportunity should offer. The boy was afraid to do so, but his mother urged him on until he consented. The boy’s grandmother said, “You do not need to be afraid. You can easily escape from them. We shall leave as soon as he is killed, while it is dark, and we shall be far away before they know anything about it; and if they should catch up with us, I can cut the ice and set it adrift.’’ Then his mother told him what to do.

In the evening the man came into the house again. The woman pretended to be in love with him, and embraced him. When he lay on her, she held him with her arms and her legs. Then the boy took his knife and stabbed him from behind. As soon as he was dead, they harnessed their dogs to their sledges and started. They were far out to sea before the people discovered the murder and started in pursuit. The dogs of the pursuers, however, went much faster than theirs, and they soon began to catch up with the fugitives. The old woman was lying on the sledge, and to all appearances did not notice the approach of their pursuers; but the boy was afraid, and began to cry, “ Where is the one who promised to break the ice when our pursuers were gaining on us?” Then the old woman raised her head, and said, “I am here, my boy.” Now the dogs of the pursuers were close up to them. Then she raised her bare hand, and extended only her little finger, which she moved as though she were drawing a line between the two sledges. As she moved it, the ice broke, and drifted away; fog rose from out of the water; and they were safe from their pursuers. The old woman told the boy to stop driving the dogs, as they were now out of danger. They drifted about for some time, but finally reached the opposite side of the sea. There they built a hut.

Every day the old woman went outside. Finally she met a man, who came to her and entered the house. He asked her to marry him, and she consented. After some time she gave birth to a girl. The old woman and the man had been talking of making a kayak. One day the man found a piece of driftwood, which he buried in the damp sand on the beach. After a while, when he went to take the wood out, he found that it had increased very much in bulk. It was enough for the framework of a boat. He began to build a kayak; and when it was finished, the old woman said,“ This is not like the kayaks which I used to see.” The man replied, “I do not know how to build any other kind.” Then the boy wished to have a kayak also, and he built one like those he used to see in his own country; but the other man was not pleased with it, and, fearing that some accident might happen to the boy, he cut a hole in it, put in a large stone, and pushed it into deep water, where it sank. Then he built another kayak of the same pattern as his own, and gave it to the boy. When the girl was old enough to marry, the boy took her for his wife. Both families continued to increase, and their descendants still live in the land beyond the sea.

19. The Spider .

Kungoyah was out caribou-hunting and came to Kdukte'- ling. There he discovered a small house. He went stealthily up to the 4 window and looked in. He saw a woman inside preparing caribou-skins. She cleaned them beautifully. Her name was Ai'sivang (“Spider”). As he stood in front of the window, his shadow darkened the hut. He heard her saying to herself, “Why is it so dark? A cloud must be near by.” She took up a knife and cut off one of her eyebrows, and ate it. She continued cleaning the skin while the blood was dripping down. Then she took up some object and drew it across her eyebrow. Suddenly the blood stopped, and the eyebrow looked as though it had never been cut. Kungoyah wished to enter the house. He left his quiver and his bow outside, but found the passage too small for his head to go through. Then Ai'sivang shouted, “Open your mouth!” He 1 opened his mouth, and now he was able to enter. As soon as he was inside, Ai'sivang came close up to him; but he,, out of fear, cut off her head. She fell down, and he saw her body gradually dwindle until she became a spider. He was very much afraid, and left the house as quickly as he could.. When he was outside, he looked in at the window again, and! saw her the same way as before, cleaning the caribou-skin.. He went away. Then Ai'sivang ran out of her house and shouted to him to come back; but he returned home and told of his adventures.

[November , 1901.]

1 More probably the passage. — F. B.

IS

20. Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq.

Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq and his wife lived in a large village. He was a cannibal. He used to ask his wife to go out and gather heather, and when she came back he would tell her to cook human flesh for him. The woman never ate human flesh. He killed a great many people, and finally only his wife and he himself survived.* Then he resolved to kill her.

One day he sent her out to gather heather. The woman, however, was afraid of her husband, and resolved to flee from him. She filled her jacket, her boots, and her trousers with heather, and set them up, telling them to cry out if he should stab them. Then she wished for snow to fall. She had hardly made the wish, when snow began to fall, and continued until it was so deep that it entirely covered her. In the evening Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq went out to look for his wife. He found her clothing, filled with heather, sitting on the ground, and he believed it to be his wife. He tried to kill her with his knife, and the figure cried out as though it felt the pain. Soon, however, he discovered his mistake. He thought that his wife must be near by, and probed the snow all around with his knife, but he did not find her. Then he returned to his hut. As soon as he had left, she came forth from under the snow, shook the heather out of her clothing, and put it on again. Then she ran away.

After a time she saw a piece of ice set up as a fox-trap. She went inside to rest, and to wait until the man to whom the trap belonged should come. Some time afterwards she heard steps; .a man arrived, and, behold! it was her brother. They went together to his home, where there were quite a number of huts, and she staid there. After some time, Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq went in pursuit of his wife. The people cried, “ Here Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq the cannibal is coming!” Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq replied, “ Who told you so? ” They shouted back, “ The woman who passed here in a boat told us so.” They did not tell him that his wife was staying with them.

In the evening the people went into the dancing-house, and invited him to join them. In the dancing-house they had two supports put up and a tight-rope stretched across. Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq’s brother-in-law said to his friends, “Bring in my harpoon. I want to go caribou-hunting to-morrow.” Meanwhile the other people were swinging on the tight-rope. They had their hands tied to a stick by which they hung across the rope, and the people were laughing to see them swinging. Finally Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq’s turn came; and while he was hanging from the tight-rope, his brother-in-law killed him with his harpoon.

21. The Monster Gull .

One day a Nugumiut was out caribou-hunting. While he was wandering about looking for caribou, he saw a monster sea-gull walking towards him. The gull picked him up, placed him on its back, and flew away towards the sea. Then the man became very much afraid, and thought of trying to kill the gull with his knife. He kept on stabbing it with his knife until he succeeded in piercing the skin and opening a vein. Then the gull’s blood began to flow. The bird died and fell into the sea. The man tried very hard to pull out one of the feathers from its wing. After he had taken one out, he pulled out a second one, and made a paddle by tying the quills together. Then he paddled the gull to the shore. After working for a long time, he saw that he was nearing shore. Finally he succeeded in reaching land. From that time on he was no longer afraid of anything. He hurried home to tell the people how the monster sea-gull had taken him out to sea, and how he had killed it.

22. Koodlowetto , the Giant.

At Anganichen , beyond Aggo, lived a man of monstrous size, whose name was Koodlowetto. His sister was as large as he. One day he went hunting, and came to a place where a number of walrus had made a hole through the ice. He got ready to harpoon them, and as soon as one appeared, he harpooned it. Then he took hold of his line, and got in position to hold the walrus when it should dive. While he was standing there, he stumbled on a small piece of ice which was probably thrown out by the walrus when they made the hole. He fell down, and, as the end of his line was fastened round his left wrist, he was dragged into the water. He was so large, however, that he was able to take hold of the ice at one side of the hole with one hand, while he held on to the opposite side with the other. Thus he held on until the line eased up. Then he was able to crawl out of the hole, haul in the walrus, and kill it. When he reached home, he told the people what had happened. Another day he went off with the other people to seal. In the evening a man by the name of Ikalakjew passed him on his way home. He invited him to sit down on his sledge; but as soon as he sat down, the sledge broke to pieces, and both had to walk home.

23. The Giantess.

In Saumia lived a female monster, Inupassaqdjung, as tall as the island Kikertaqdjuaq. She used to straddle one of the fiords to look for catfish, as she said; but she really meant to catch whales. Whenever she saw one, she lifted it up in the hollow of her hand, and conveyed it to her mouth. One day some Eskimo had caught a whale, and while they were trying to kill it, the giantess came along and lifted them all up, — boats, whale, and people. The whale was striking about with its tail, which amused her, and she cried, “Lil, lil, lil! ” When it was dead, she landed wdiale, boat, and men on the shore.

In the winter she asked a man to become her husband. She said to him, “ Place a stone beside me, and if you see a bear, take the stone in your hands, and strike my head with it until I wake up.’ 7 After she had been asleep a short time, the man saw a bear coming. He took a stone, struck her head with it until she awoke, and showed her the bear that was approaching on the ice. She cried, “That is not a bear, it is a little fox. 77 When it came nearer, she took it up. It was a bear, although she called it a fox. She said to her husband, “ Do you see those bunches of seaweed? When you see the spaces between them filled, that you may call a bear.” What she called seaweed were two islands with an enormous space between them. She went to sleep again. After a while he saw something coming which filled the space between the islands. He took a stone and struck the head of the giantess until she awoke. He shouted, “ There is a large bear yonder!” She jumped up, saw the bear, and said, '‘Indeed this is a bear!” Before she went in pursuit, however, she put her husband inside the loop at the side of her boot, which is used for tightening the shoestrings. She took a stone and killed the enormous bear with it. Then she took it ashore, flensed it, and put the meat away. They had no house, but they lived on the land, the sky being their roof.

Forte coniunx coire voluit. Ilia negabat, cum diceret eum in vaginam certe incasurum. Vehementius autem obsecrantem comas suas comprehendere iussit. Tamen in vaginam incidit. Mane viro frustra quaesito, lente meiebat, si forte eum inveniret. Ad extremum ossa eius humi decidebant, ex quo intellexit eum in vagina plane elixum esse. Postea terrae adfixa concrevit.

24. The Cannibal Woman .

One day a man was driving past a place where a woman was living. She went to meet him, and bit him to death. The man had a friend who went in search of him. After he had travelled about, searching in vain for his lost friend, he came to the place where the woman was living. When she saw him, she said, “I want you to come to me and to sleep with me.” The man thought at once that she intended to kill him. He took hold of her with one hand, and with the other he untied the lashing from his sledge, and then bound her to it. Then he started off for his village. There he told the people that he had found this woman, who had certainly killed his friend; and he stabbed her with his knife. Then he discovered that she was an amawallow [?].

25. The Man in the Moon.

Once upon a time there was a man who did not treat his wife well. One day he even struck her, although she was with child. Late in the day he went sealing. It was a bright night; the stars and the moon shone clearly. Then the woman addressed the Man in the Moon, asking him to come down. In the morning she heard some one talking to dogs, and saw a sledge drawn by two dogs. It was the Man in the Moon, and his dogs Terie'tiaq and Kanageak. The Man in the Moon shouted to her, “Come outside!” She obeyed, and he asked her to sit down on his sledge. Then he told her to shut her eyes, and not to open them until they arrived at their destination. She shut her eyes, and off they went upwards through the air. After a short time the Man in the Moon said, “Now open your eyes.” She replied, “I thought we had arrived.” She looked about, and saw a snow house. They entered. Inside she found everything very nice. The man invited her to stay with him. He said, “ You will sit on the left side (facing the door) of my house.” He himself sat down in front of the lamp, on the right-hand side of the house. After some time he asked her to come to him, and he showed her a hole close to his seat, through which she could look down to the earth. She could see her husband seated outside of the door of his house, his clothing covered with ice and snow. He had just returned from sealing, and had found that his wife was gone. She was very much surprised to see everything so clearly, although such a long distance off.

Then the Man in the Moon said to her, “A woman named Ululiernang will come in very soon. Do not laugh at anything she may do, else she will cut out your intestines. She is very fond of such food. If you feel that you cannot help laughing, put your left hand under your knees, and then raise it with all the fingers bent down from the second joint except the middle finger, which you must extend.” He had hardly finished speaking, when Ululiernang came in. She had a flat dish and a woman’s knife. She put them down, and began a number of antics. She took the front flap of her jacket, made it into a round shape, and put it to one side, as though she were going to say, “Don’t move off that way!” and she cut many capers, trying to induce her to laugh. When the visitor felt inclined to laugh, she took her hand from under her knee, with all the fingers shut except the middle one, and showed it to Ululiemang. Then the latter said, “I am much afraid of that bear.” She thought the woman’s hand looked just like a bear’s paw. Then the man and the woman had meat for their supper.

After some time the Man in the Moon told the woman it was time for her to go back to earth. He said to her, “After your child is born, you will hear a noise as of something falling. You must then go and see what it is.” Then he took her back to earth, to her husband’s hut.

Her husband told her how badly he had felt when he found she had gone. He had thought her dead. Then she told her husband all that had happened.

After a while her child was born. It was a boy. Her husband was off sealing, and she was alone. Then she heard something fall, and went out to see what it was. She found a caribou’s ham, which she took into the hut. In the evening her husband arrived, and when he saw the caribou-meat, he asked her where she had obtained it. She told him that it fell down from heaven. She said, “It is from the Man in the Moon. He told me that he would send me something.” After some time, when the meat had all been eaten, the man went off sealing again. The woman had no oil for her lamp. Suddenly she saw some oil dripping, first into one lamp, then into the other. When the lamps were full, she cried, “That’s enough! ” She knew that this also was a gift from the Man in the Moon. In the evening her husband arrived. He was surprised when he saw the oil, and asked his wife where it came from. She replied, “The lamps filled of themselves, and when I saw there was oil enough, I said, ‘ Stop! ’ ”

On the following day her husband went out sealing again. While he was away, she heard something fall down, and, on going outside, found another caribou’s ham. In the evening her husband returned. He had caught a seal. He asked,

“Have you more caribou-meat?”—“Yes,” she replied, “the Man in the Moon has given me some more.” In the evening her husband saw the lamps filling with oil.

On the following day, when out sealing again, he caught another seal and brought it home. While he was cutting it, he said to his wife, “There is plenty of seal-meat here. Why. don’t you eat some? I caught it.” The woman, who up to this time had eaten only of the caribou-meat given to her by the Man in the Moon, did take some of her husband’s seal. From that time on, no more caribou-meat fell down from heaven, and her lamps were no longer filled with oil. Soon she became sick. The caribou-meat was all gone, and she died. Her child died also. The change from caribou-meat to seal-meat diet while the child was still young was so injurious that it caused the child’s death.

26. Stories about Dwarfs.

A man was hunting young seals with his dogs when he met a stranger who was very small. It was evening when they met. They walked along for some time before either spoke. Finally the man asked the stranger, “Where is your harpoon, your spear, and your seal-hook?” The latter replied, “I use only a knife when I go hunting.” The dogs were anxious to get home, and he allowed them to run ahead. In a short time they were quite a distance away. Then the man asked the stranger to kill one of the dogs with his knife. The stranger replied, “I do not want to kill your dog;” but the Eskimo insisted, because he wanted to see him use his knife, which was shaped like a harpoon. Finally the stranger took his knife, which had a string attached to the end of the handle, whirled it round like a sling, and threw it at the dogs. They were so far away that they could hardly be seen distinctly. Then the man saw that one dog only was running on; and when they came up to the place, they found the other one dead. The knife had entered its flank, and had come out at its neck. The stranger said, “ I did not wish to kill your dog. See what I have done! ” He was an inuarudligang.

Pupekalle and his son were out caribcpu-hunting in Akudnirn in summer. One day, while they were oft in their kayaks, they saw a great many people, who came up to them. They were afraid, and paddled away in their kayaks as fast as they could. The huts of the strangers were far away from the sea. They had spears of about an arm’s length, the heads of which resembled the spear-heads of the Eskimo. They swung them around their heads, and threw them at Pupekalle and his son, who were trying to escape. Pupekalle paddled in a zigzag course, so as to make it difficult for his pursuers to aim at him, while his son kept on in a straight line. At times their missiles almost struck them, and finally Pupekalle’s son was killed. The father went home and told his people, crying, how his son had been killed. He staid for a long time, mourning the loss of his child. Some of the people did not believe Pupekalle's story, but thought that he himself had killed his son.

The people staid at the same place during both fall and winter. In winter Pupekalle made a great many arrows, and then told his friends that the next summer he should go to avenge the death of his son. When summer came, one of his friends wished to accompany him; but Pupekalle said, “ I was alone when I met these people, and I want to meet them alone;” but finally he accepted his friend’s offer to accompany him. They travelled for a long time, until they saw a few huts. There they stopped. Pupekalle told his companion to wait outside, and said, “Perhaps they will kill me. Then go back and tell the people what has happened to me. When night comes, I shall go down alone to meet them.” In the evening he went down to the huts. He entered the first one, and found a knife lying just above the entrance. He took it, and struck the people with it, as though he were striking dogs with a stick. He killed them all. They were all young people. Then he went into a second hut. There he found men and women. He killed them all with his knife. Some of the men would raise their arms to defend themselves, but he cut them all to pieces. After he had killed all the people, he went into a third hut, in which he found many women and a few men. He killed most of them also. He spared only two women, who said they were really people, not dwarfs like the others. One of these women was with child. Then Pupekalle called his companion, and told him what he had done.

His friend went to sleep; Pupekalle , however, staid awake all night. When it was almost morning, the woman who was with child arose, thinking the two strangers were asleep. She took up one of the lances, and swung it at Pupekalle , trying to* kill him; but it struck the roof. Then Pupekalle killed her with his knife, so that her child fell out of her womb. The other woman said, “I am not like her.” But Pupekalle was afraid that she might try to kill him, and he murdered her also. In the morning they took out of the huts whatever seemed desirable to them, and went home.

An old woman and her grandson were living all alone. Their people had deserted them. They were staying in a small sideroom of a large hut. In the evening a number of dwarfs arrived. They entered at the door, and when they did not see a light, they thought that the house was deserted. They brought in the walrus-meat that they had on their sledge, made their beds, and went to sleep.

The old woman heard the dwarfs talking, and finally noticed that they had become quiet. Then she said to her grandson, “ Go into the porch, where they have their meat. Touch your tongue, and draw your finger along the meat where it lies on the ground, touching both the meat and the ground, and be careful not to make any noise.” The boy did so, and then crawled back to his grandmother.

The dwarfs were up again with the dawn, and prepared to depart. While the man was getting the sledge ready, his wife was taking the meat out of the porch. She found that one of the pieces of meat was very heavy, so that she could not lift it. She shouted to her husband, “Yesterday it was not heavy, but now I cannot lift it. ” Her husband retorted, ‘ ‘ Then leave it here,” and they went off. The old woman and the boy were now supplied with food enough to keep them for a long time.

(According to the version recorded by Rev. E. J. Peck, this story runs as follows: An old woman and a boy were left in a house. A dwarf arrived, carrying some bags of meat, and said, “ Is any one here ? I wonder if there is a person here that is asleep.” While the dwarf was asleep, the old woman said to her grandson, “ Grandson, spit upon one of his bags.” The boy spat upon a bag. When the dwarf awoke, he tried to take the bag away, but it stuck to the ground. Then the dwarf said, “ One of my bags is fast. This is the case, for I thought there was a person here. But, never mind, take it!” Then he went out.)

27. Stories about Adlet.

A man and his wife lived among the Iglumiut. They had been travelling about for a long time hunting. Finally they came to a place where there were a great number of huts, but no signs of people. They looked in at the doors of several of the huts, but did not see any one. On the roof of one of the huts was a box which was full of beads, and a few beads were on top of the box. The man put out his hand to take some to look at, and as soon as he touched the box, it broke, and the beads scattered about. The couple went into all the huts, and finally found an old woman. She did not notice them, for she was blind. They saw that her nostrils kept twitching all the time. Suddenly the woman said, “ I smell a man.” The man said, “We are not going to do you any harm.” And the woman shouted, 11 Merkinook" (this was the name of her son), ‘ ‘ two people have come. They are not going to do us any harm.” Then she invited the man and his wife to sit down by her side and rest, and again she shouted to her son, “There are two people here, but they will not do us any harm.” The visitor told her to stop calling; but she paid no regard to him, and called her son again. Soon he arrived in his kayak, and a great many other people came with him. They were Adlet. They did not wear any shoes. Merkinook was their chief. He went into the hut, and fastened the door on the inside. His people wanted to kill the two strangers. They were howling outside like dogs, and took their whalinglances and tried to stab the visitors through the window, but Merkinook told them to stop. He broke off with a stone the points of their lances as soon as they pushed them into the house. Finally the people desisted, and went to their huts. Merkinook said to the two strangers, “My people need very much sleep; but when they have rested, we will accompany you on your way home.” On the following day all the people arose and went off together with the two visitors. They went on until night came; then they separated, and the Adlet returned home. When the two visitors looked back at the Adlet, they saw them moving very fast, as though a herd of caribou were running. The Adlet were in the habit of cutting out part of their insteps in order to increase their speed. 1 The old blind woman suggested to the strangers to submit to the operation, because otherwise they might be killed by the people.

The Adlet had a camp in Aggo. One day a man and his wife who had been caribou-hunting reached their village. They wished to see who was living there, and went to the door of one of the huts. They found an old blind man guarding the hut while the people were off hunting. When the strangers entered the hut and closed the door, the old man howled like a dog that is afraid of another dog, and said, “ I smell a man.” The hunter replied, “Yes, we are men.” Then the Adla asked, “Have you a knife?” The hunter replied, “I have a knife, but I do not intend to do any harm to you.” Then the Adla felt relieved, and he invited them to sit down by his side. The hunter and his wife saw that there were also two women in the house. They were the wives of the old Adla’s sons. The old Adla said, “I cannot see very well. I thank you very much for not harming me with your knife. My two sons are out sealing. They always come home before the others. They

1 See p. 2 o5.

live in this hut. They asked me to watch it while they are away. I shall ask them to protect you against the other Adlet. They are their chiefs.” When the sons arrived, their father told them that there were strangers in the house, — a man and a woman. He said, “They might have killed me and your wives, since we were not able to defend ourselves. They do not intend to harm any one.” When the Adlet came home, one son took his stand in the doorway, while the other stood on the floor of the house. The people knew at once by the smell that people had arrived at the village. They were howling like dogs when they know their meal is ready. They were told, however, that they must not enter the hut, so they returned to their own homes. On the following day the Adlet went off again sealing. In the evening they returned, and the two sons again protected the people against the other Adlet; but there was hardly any noise that night. Finally the Adlet became accustomed to them, and they even went hunting together.

One day the old man told the husband, “If you love your wife, and if you pity her, you must do as follows: ‘Quae simul atque menstruare coepit, cura ut in omnia deinceps tuguria earn de ducas. Turn viri egressi, cum renonem adportaverint, ubi recumbat, cum ea coibunt. Sic omnis sanguis impurus expelletur.’ ” Ille paruit, et filiis Adlae senis adiuvantibus per omnia tuguria earn circumducebat, dum sanies omnis emitteretur. Finally she was so weak that her husband had to carry her along; but, since all the bad blood was now out of her body, she became, after she had recovered, exceedingly strong and fleet of foot.

Then the old man told the woman to run a race with their dogs. He told her to run around a high hill and back again They started, and in a short time were out of sight. It was not long before they were seen again returning, and both the dogs and the woman arrived at the same time. She was able to run as fast as a caribou. One day, when the man and the Adlet returned from hunting, the two sons of the old Adla said that they were surprised that the man could not run as fast as they did. Then the old Adla told them to take him to a lake. He took off his boots, and let him sit with his legs in the water up to the knees, until his legs became numb. Then they took him out of the water, and the two sons of the old Adla cut a piece out of his instep about as long as the width of a hand; and they pressed out some blood and some white matter. Very soon the wounds healed up. Then the man was able to run as fast as the Adlet. Some time passed, when one day the old man said to the hunter and to his wife, “You are thinking about going to your home.”—“Yes,” replied the man. When the two sons of the Adla heard of this, they were sorry. They gave them the dogs with which the woman had raced around the hill, saying, “When you reach the sea, and catch your first ground-seal, cut it up into a rope and let the dogs bring it back.” Then the man and the woman started. After some time they came to a place where they saw some people who seemed to be very fierce. They were afraid, and ran away pursued by these people. When the man grew tired, he rode on the back of one of the dogs. His wife was able to run as fast as a caribou. In this manner they easily escaped. Soon they saw the people return to their huts. In time they reached their own country. Then the man went hunting, and as soon as he caught a ground-seal, he cut it up into a rope and wound it around the dogs’ necks. Some time after this, when out caribou-hunting, he met some of the Adlet. They told him that the dogs had brought the ground-seal to their home. The man and the woman thanked the Adlet for having made them strong, and fleet of foot.

At Abaqtung lived a man who had two wives. One day, while he was sealing, three Adlet — a man, his wife, and their son — arrived at his hut. They went in and sat down, and the woman took off her breeches. Then they began to eat seal, crunching the flesh and bones. After a little while the young man looked out of the window-opening, and then continued eating. After a short time the woman said, “ I did not bring in the wood I was carrying.”

Up to this time the two Eskimo women had been sitting silently by. Now one of them winked to the other one, and said, “I will go outside and clear the ventilator.” She went out and climbed to the top of the house, and while there she waved her arms as a signal for her husband to come. He saw her and hastened home.

The Adlet continued to eat for some time. Meanwhile the owner of the house returned. He was watching the visitors from the outside. Soon the young man again looked through the window-opening, and saw the Eskimo watching outside. He tried to run away; but as soon as he came out of the hut, the man shot an arrow into his side, and he fell down dead. After a little while the old Adla looked out of the window. He also saw the Eskimo watching, and tried to escape, but an arrow killed him when he left the hut. The woman still continued eating for some time after the men had gone away; but she also saw the man, and escaped at once without taking time to put on her breeches. The Eskimo did not succeed in killing her. The owner of the house put the bodies away, and covered them with snow. Then his wives told him what had happened. That night a gale of wind was blowing, and the Adla woman was without her breeches. They were large enough to make a pair for each of the Eskimo women.

Unoko and Makulu lived at Kumakdju. One time, in summer, they heard something breathing not far from their tents. Their dogs howled, and acted as though they were much afraid. They crawled up on top of the tent. Then the men heard another peculiar noise, as though somebody were carrying a young dog away. On the following morning they saw footprints of Adlet. It looked as though they had worn a piece of skin on the sole of each foot. It is said that the Adlet do not wear boots.

Eavarnan was an Adla girl who lived with the Eskimo. From time to time she went to visit her own people, and slandered the Eskimo. The latter used to go off hunting. One day they went out in their kayaks to hunt seal. When the weather was fine, the Adlet used to go hunting in the same manner; but that day they went up to the tents of the Eskimo and killed all the women. Eavarnan did not go back with her people, but waited for the Eskimo to return; and when they arrived, she went to the edge of the water, and shouted, “Who wants to marry me? ” Several shouted back, “ I will marry you! ’’ But when they came ashore, they found that all their wives had been murdered. Then two of the men took Eavarnan by her arms, which they cut off close to the shoulders. She ran away with blood streaming from the wounds. Then the men said, “She thought herself so pretty! And she thought that we cared for her, but all we can see is blood streaming from the stumps of her arms.”

After some time the men decided to avenge the death of the women, and two men started out for the village of the Adlet. One of the two men had beautiful clothing made from the skin of a fresh-water seal; the other one wore his usual clothing. They went secretly in a roundabout way to the village of the Adlet, and found the men all at home. There was one large tent and many small ones. They saw all the people going into the large tent. When they were all in, the man who had the fresh-water-seal clothing went in at the door, while the other one staid outside watching. The man succeeded in reaching the door unobserved, and found all the people eating from a large dish which was placed in the middle of the house. He was bold enough to step right among them, and to kill them all. Then he shouted, “ That is nice! ” They gathered all the property of the Adlet, carried it home, and reported what they had done.

It was in Akudnirn. One day a man, and his wife Mumatchea , went out young-sealing. She carried a child on her back. After they had travelled along for a while, their dogs took a scent, and soon they came to a village of the Adlet. The Adlet saw the strangers coming, and went down to the shore to meet them. The Eskimo were afraid, and while still at a distance from the shore, they stopped their dogs. The woman got off the sledge, her husband covered her with snow, and placed the sledge over her so that she was hidden between the runners. It was in vain. The Adlet found her, and, by order of their chief, took sledge, man, and woman to their village. The Eskimo were taken into the chief’s house.

On the following day all the Adlet went off sealing. While they were away, the Eskimo were left in charge of the chief’s wife. When it was time for the Adlet to return from sealing, their wives cut up some meat. They spread it on seal-skins that they had stretched and pinned to the snow hut, much the same as if it had been for dogs. The Eskimo remained all spring, and Mumatchea's husband went off sealing with the Adlet. After a while the chief’s wife was with child.

When they were away sealing, and Mumatchea's husband caught a basking seal by crawling up to it and harpooning it, the Adlet watched how he did it, for they had never before seen a seal caught in that manner. Then they went home. After they had arrived, the chief said to the Eskimo man, “All my men think a great deal of you. They have never seen a man catch a seal the way you did to-day. You are very skilful.” After this the chief and his wife were much in love with the Eskimo, and the chief and he went sealing together.

One day while the men were out sealing, the chief’s wife gave birth to a child. As soon as the child was born, the chief’s brother had intercourse with the mother, who did not tell her husband of his brother’s act; but the chief had known it at the time it was done, while he was off sealing. He was very angry. He said to the Eskimo, “Go home! that harm may not befall you.” He was breathing fire from his nostrils.

The Eskimo family started. When they were a short distance from the Adlet camp, they saw a great fire rising from it. The chief had probably burned his wife and his brother.

28. Stories about Tornit .

A long time ago the country was inhabited by the Tornit, who were a tall and strong race of people. They lived in large stone houses. They did not know how to dress skins. After

[.December , i<?oi.] 14

a caribou had been killed, they would wet its skin and wrap it around their bare bodies in order to dry it. Their beds were made of skins that had neither been cleaned nor stretched. They kept seal-meat next to their bare bodies, under their jackets, until it became strong and rancid. Then they would eat it. When one of their number had a severe headache, they would drill a hole through his skull, from which blood and matter oozed out. This operation cured the headache.

A number of Eskimo, a tuneq, and the sister of the latter, went to the island Kaxodlu, near Padli, to catch fulmars. The tuneq climbed the steep island. He caught a great many fulmars which were nesting on the cliffs. When he thought he had enough, he walked to the edge of the cliff and tried to descend. When he looked down, he thought he saw his sister’s lower parts bare, and whichever way he looked he saw the same thing. Therefore he staid on the cliff. He lived on young fulmars as long as he could catch them, but finally he died.

After he had been dead a long time, an Eskimo whose name was Tumoovat climbed the cliff, and there, not far from the edge of the precipice, found the bones of a human being.

After the brother’s death the tuneq woman said that she had not told her brother when he climbed the cliff that she was menstruating, and that she urinated while he was on top of the hill, and that this was the cause of his misfortune.

A number of Tornit were living in Saumia. Near by lived another race of people called Ketch-wey-ews or Ken-wey-ews (Hawks). The latter had long nails, and were a wicked, murderous band, who finally turned into birds of prey.

Among the Tornit was a great angakok. One day his friends told him that four Eskimo were approaching who were returning from the caribou-hunt. He was asked to go out to 7 meet them. The angakok rubbed his hands on the bottom of his cooking-pot to blacken them, and then joined his friends, who stood looking at the four strangers. One of these had on a new jacket made of the skin of young seals, the flesh side of which was white. The angakok went to meet him, and expressed his admiration of the new jacket, passing his blackened hands over it until both back and front were of nearly the same color as the bottom of the pot on which he had blackened his hands.

The visitbrs did not take offence at the blackening of the new jacket, and this was considered by the Tornit as proof that they intended no evil. They were invited to enter the huts, that they might be saved from the clutches of the Hawks, who would have devoured them if they had staid outside. After several days they went on caribou-hunting. They lived to hand down the tale to the present generation.

The Eskimo were sealing in Ugjuktung. Suddenly they saw a large bear coming towards them, of which they were very much afraid. But soon they saw that the bear was being pursued by two Tornit, father and son. The son came nearer and nearer to the animal until he caught up with it. He took it by its hind-legs, threw it over his back, and ran away. The father shouted to him to stop, saying that he was stealing the bear from the people; but the young man kept on running until he reached some rough ice. There he struck the bear against the ice, knocking its brains out. Then he began to laugh heartily, bending his body up and down. The father was staying with the Eskimo, and told them that he thought it very bad on the part of his boy to run away with the bear. But they were quite satisfied, saying that they did not kill it, 1 and had been afraid of it. Then the two Tornit went away. The Eskimo went home and told their children of what had happened.

1 The Eskimo say, that, according to the custom of the Tornit, the game belongs to the hunter who sees it first. According to the custom of the Eskimo, the game belongs to the hunter who hits it nearest to a vital part. The bear belongs to the hunter who is the first to wound it.

29. Story about A diet and Tornit.

A man and his wife were travelling about in winter in the country of the Iglumiut. One day they saw a number of dwellings. The man said to his wife, “ I will go and see what kind of people are living there.” He went to the huts, and looked through the window-opening. Then he saw a great many boys and girls playing in the house. They were Adlet. The man went to the door, snatched up a knife, and killed all the children except one boy, who escaped, ran to the parents of the children, and told them what had happened. The Adlet were all assembled in their dancing-house. Then they ran to the door of the hut in which all the children had been murdered, and tried to enter through the door and the window. When the man saw them coming, he made a rush, and succeeded in escaping. Although the Adlet are fleet of foot, the man was still fleeter. After he had run for some time, a gale arose, and the snow began to drift. Then the Adlet gave up the pursuit and returned home. Some of them were frozen to death in the gale. When the woman saw her husband being pursued, she ran away in the opposite direction, and kept on for some time. Then she turned to join her husband. On the third day they met again. The woman said to her husband, “I was afraid you might have been killed.” But he told her what had happened, and how he made his escape.

They travelled on for some time, and came to a place where there were several dwellings. The man said to his wife, “ Let us see who is living here;” but before he reached the snow houses, he saw the people coming out of them. They were real men. Then they both went down to meet them, and the man said, “ I was not sure whether you were men or Adlet.” Now he told them of his adventures. The people invited them into their houses; and when night came, they all went to sleep. But the man and his wife were unable to sleep because of large lice which tormented them. On the following day he told the people that it was too hot in the house for his wife’s health, and he built a house for himself. There they lived some time, and the man went hunting with the other people. Finally they decided to move on.

They travelled for many days. Then they came to a large stone house. A tuneq and his wife were living there. The tuneq was hunting walrus. He was so strong that he could haul a whole walrus up to the shore as a man hauls up a small seal. He kept his walrus in a large stone cache. When, after a while, the visitor expressed the wish to continue his travels, the tuneq advised him to stay until the end of the summer, since the heat and the mosquitoes would kill him if he should venture out. Then he told the man that he was storing all this walrus-meat for summer use, since it was impossible to leave the hut in the summer on account of the heat and the mosquitoes.

The visitor remained with the tuneq for some time; but finally he became tired of staying in the house, and insisted on going caribou-hunting, if only for a single day. The tuneq warned him, saying, “It is still too warm. The mosquitoes will kill you.” The man took his advice and staid at home. After some time, however, he became impatient again, and, notwithstanding the tuneq’s warning, he insisted on going out. The tuneq said, “I do not want you to die; the mosquitoes are dreadful, they will certainly kill you;” but the man replied, “I will only go for a single day. I will kill them with my stick.” About this time it was nearly autumn. The man went out, saying that he would just try, and if he found it too hot, he would return at once. Evening came, but he did not return. They waited day after day, but he did not come. When it began to be cold, the tuneq went out and searched all over the country for his friend. Finally he found him dead. He had his stick in his hand, and many mosquitoes were lying dead beside him, but they had sucked out all his blood. Then the tuneq went home and told the woman how her husband had died.

30. The Ijiqan.

Once upon a time two women had lost their way, and finally came to Aukinerbing, where there was a village of Ijiqan.

When the latter saw the two women, they asked them to come in and stay with them. In the fall of the year they sent them back, and conveyed them to the sea. When the two women came home, the mother of one of them said, “ I thought you were dead, you have been away so long a time. What did you have to eat when you were hungry? ” In the winter the people moved to Sauniqtung, and in the spring they moved on to Oupanlitoon . One day a number of them were playing ball, among them the two girls who had lived with the Ijiqan. They had no skill in the game. They could not catch the ball. All the other people were running and jumping about, and making a noise, because they delighted in the game; and they asked the two girls, “Why are you so slow in your movements, although you have lived with the Ijiqan?” Then the two girls caught the ball, and said, “We are very anxious to play well, but we cannot do so.” Then one said to the other, “ Let us try to see how quick we can run.” Their hair was not braided, but was hanging down their backs loose. They began to run around the island, and ran as fast as caribou. Their hair was streaming behind. They had gone around the island in a very short time. Then they came down to the ice again, jumping and running. The people were much amazed at their swiftness. The ball-players said one to another, “ The Ijiqan have made them capable of running so fast. The food which they gave them made them fleet of foot.”

31. The Takeychwen.

Kingatcheta and Kevung were two men who lived at Kingawa. Kolane was the wife of the former. One day a great many men were out sealing in their kayaks. When they rounded a point of land, they saw a boat fast to a whale. They saw the people lancing the whale, but within a short time whale and boat had disappeared behind a point of land. After some time they reached the dead whale, and saw that it was covered with seaweed. All the men were afraid. But Kingatcheta and Kevung wished to examine the whale. When they came near, they saw that what had looked like seaweed were harpoon-lines, and that the people in the boat, who had killed the whale, were Takeychwen . When the Takeychwen saw that the whale was dead, they paddled up to it. They had been very angry on seeing the numerous kayaks of the Eskimo approaching, fearing that they would have to divide the whale with them; but they welcomed the two men who had had the courage to come. They invited them to take home some of the whale-skin. The two men did so, and took the whale-skin to their wives, to whom they told what they had seen.

32. The Foxes.

At Agagidjen there once lived a mother and her daughter, a young girl. One day the mother said, ‘‘I wish some living being would come! ” Soon she heard a sound like the feet of some animal approaching quite close to the dwelling. The daughter ran out to see what it was. When she returned, her mother asked her what she had seen. She replied,“There are a number of caribou.’’ The mother said, “I do not want them.” The girl went out and said to the caribou, “My mother does not want you. Go away!”

After the caribou had left, the mother called out as before. Again they heard the noise of something coming. The girl ran out to see what it was, and returned to her mother, telling her that there were rabbits outside.. The mother said, “I do not want them. Go out and tell them to go away.” The girl went out and sent them away.

Once more the mother heard a noise, and the girl went out and came back. Her mother asked her what was making the noise, and said to her, “Go and tell them I do not want them. Let them go away.” The girl went out and sent them away.

She repeated her call, and again there was a noise. The mother told the girl to go out and see what had arrived this time. The girl went out and then ran in again. When her mother asked, “Who is making that noise?” she replied, “There are many bears.” The mother said, “Run and tell them that I do not want them.” She ran out and sent them away.

The mother called out once more. Again they heard a noise of feet, but this time the sound was much lighter. The girl ran out and saw an ermine. Her mother ordered her to send it away.

Then the old woman called again. They heard the sound of feet, and the girl was sent out to see who was there. She returned and said that there were many foxes. Now the mother said, “Tell them to come in.” The girl went out and invited the foxes in.

They entered. The girl staid outside till the house was quite full of foxes; in fact, so full that there was no room for more, and not air enough to breathe, so that they all died from suffocation. The girl had remained outside, and made a place on the porch for herself to sleep in. She skinned the foxes, and made clothes of the skins. She had no needles and no thread, but in place of them she used strings to fasten the skins together. The flesh of the foxes she used for food. When every part of her dress — jacket, shirt, trousers, and stockings — was made, she left the place where they had been living. She followed the shore until she reached the head of Cumberland Sound. There she met people with whom she staid.

33. The Raven and the Gull . 1

Once upon a time a hunter came to the house of the Raven. He entered, and saw an old man who said, “Haak! Surely you are hungry. We are generally hungry when we wander away from home.” NoW he asked a boy to bring in some human flesh. The boy brought it in. The old man cut off a piece, and gave it to the hunter. The latter said, “I do not like that kind of flesh; ” and the old man retorted, “ Give it to me, I can eat it.” After he had finished eating, he said to the boy, ‘ ‘ Bring in some whale-skin; ’ ’ but it was really fowl’s dung. He gave it to the Eskimo, who said he could not eat it. “Give it to me,” said the old man, “ I can eat it.” Then he told the

1 Compare p. 301, and Journal of American Folk-I*ore, Vol. II, p. 128.

boy to bring in scrapings of whalebone. He offered this to the Eskimo, who, however, said he could not eat it. The old man said again, “ I can eat it, give it to me ; ” but after he had finished eating, he said, “ My stomach aches,” and he vomited everything he had eaten. A short distance away there was the house of the Gull. The hunter was invited to enter. He went in, and the Gull gave him dried salmon, which he was glad to eat. Then he left and went home, and told how the birds had fed him.

34: The Girls who married Animals.

Once upon a time a young woman who lived at Qamauang was playing. She took up the shoulder-blade of an owl, and said to her playmates, “This is my husband.” Another girl pointed at a whale-skull, and said, “This is my husband.” The first girl had hardly spoken when the owl’s bone arose, and became alive. It flew away toward a precipice, taking the girl along, and sat down on top of the cliff. The Owl went out for food. The father and mother of the girl had their hut at the foot of this precipice. During the absence of the Owl the girl gathered some grass, and made a rope to lower herself down by. Every now and then she tried it to see if it would reach the foot of the cliff. One day, when she knew that it was long enough, she sent the Owl away to fetch food; and when he had left, she threw down her line. Her father fastened the end of it to a rock, and she slid down to the foot of the cliff, and went to her mother’s dwelling. When the Owl came back and found his wife gone, he was very angry. He went to the hut, and cried for his wife. The father of the Owl’s wife said, “ Come to the window, an d there we will have a chat.” The Owl did as he was bidden. The father said to the Owl, “ Sit down here. Spread out your wings.” Then he took his bow and shot an arrow through the Owl’s heart. As soon as the bird was dead, it was transformed again into a bone.

The whale’s bone, which the other girl had wished for a husband, also came to life again. She had to live in the Whale; and whenever she went outside, a line was fastened to her, because the Whale was afraid she might escape. One day, when she was walking about outside, she saw a boat. She fastened the line to which she was tied to the shore, and went aboard. The Whale did not know that his wife had escaped. The steersman of the boat was the girl’s father, who took her home at once. When the boat had gone quite a distance, the Whale became aware of her escape, and began to pursue the boat. Then the woman took her hair-string and threw it into the water. The Whale saw it, became furious, and tried to tear it to pieces. Meanwhile the boat succeeded in getting away some distance from the Whale ; but he continued his pursuit, and came quite close. Then the woman threw one of her mittens into the water. Again the Whale flew into a rage, and tore up the mitten, making the sea foam. When he continued to pursue the boat, the woman threw one of her boots into the water. He tore up the boot, and meanwhile the boat had almost succeeded in reaching the coast. He rushed after them, and when he came close up to the boat, the woman threw her leggings into the water, and while he was tearing up these, the people reached the shore. The Whale, after tearing the leggings, continued his pursuit, and ran right up to the shore. When he was stranded, nothing was to be seen but a whale’s skull.

A third girl had wished another bone to become her husband, but the bone did not respond.

35 - Origin of the Red Phalarope and of the Web-footed Loon , 1

Katsu , an old woman, had an adopted son. One day while the boy was out in his kayak there arose a strong landbreeze. The boy tried hard to reach the shore, but in vain. For three days he struggled against the wind. The old woman, who saw him, ran up and down the beach, crying, “Grandson, paddle, paddle harder!” His face became quite red from the effort, and blood began to stream over his cloth-

1 Compare p. 343, and Journal of American Folklore, Vol. VII, p. 49.

ing. Still the old woman continued to shout to him, “ Grandson, paddle, paddle, paddle harder! I have no other boy. Paddle harder!” And then she burst into tears, wailing, 4 ‘Ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah, kayalau!” She wore long boots; and as she had been walking up and down the beach a great deal, the soles began to turn up. The boy’s strength gave out, and he began to drift away. He became transformed into a phalarope. The woman kept on walking until the soles of her boots were all turned up, and her clothing was covered with blood. She was transformed into a loon.

36. The Owl and the Lemming .*

One day a Lemming woman was playing about not far from her burrow, when an Owl man saw her and placed himself right in front of the entrance to her hole. The Owl stood with one foot on each side of the doorway, and shouted to his people, “ Bring two sledges! I have some game that will require two sledges when I have killed it. It cannot go into its house, because I have shut the door.” Then the Owl sat down in front of the doorway. The Lemming was jumping about in front of her den, endeavoring to get in. Then she said to the Owl, “ Look up to the sky above you. Spread your legs a little. Spread them out a little more. Bend your head back.” The Owl did as he was told, thinking all the time of the great feast he was going to have after he had killed the Lemming. Very soon he stood with his feet one on each side of the doorway, his legs bowed out, and his head turned back, looking up to the sky. He did so in order to please the Lemming for the few moments she had left to live. The Lemming continued to jump about at a safe distance; but now, when she saw that the Owl’s legs were far apart, and his head bent back, she made a rush for her hole, and went in between the Owl’s spread legs. Then the Owl shouted to those who were coming along with their sledges to turn back home, as his game had escaped.

1 Compare p. 319, and Journal of American Folk-I^ore, Vol. X, p. in.

37. The Bear and the Caribou . 1

When I was hunting to-day, I saw a large Bear meet a Caribou. The Bear asked the Caribou to try whose arm was the stronger. The Caribou consented. They linked arms, and the Bear said, “Yours is so much smaller than mine, I am afraid I shall break it.” The Caribou retorted, “It is strong enough for me to run and jump with.” The Bear saw that his arm was ever so much thicker than the Caribou’s. Now they began to pull, until finally the Bear’s arm broke. The Caribou left the Bear in great agony.

38. The Ptarmigan and the Snow Bunting . 2

One evening a boy asked his grandmother to tell him a story; but she only replied, “Go to bed and sleep. I have no story to tell.” Then the boy began to cry, and insisted that she should tell him a story. Then the old woman began to rock herself from side to side, and to say, “ I will tell you a story. I will tell you a long story about the lemming without hair, that was in that place in the porch there. It wanted to stay under my arm to keep warm. It had no hair, and it cried, when it jumped up to go to its bed, ‘Too, too, too!’ ” The boy became frightened, and ran away. He was transformed into a snow bunting. The old woman searched for him everywhere, but could not find him, and finally she gave up looking, and sat down to cry. The tears ran down her face, and she kept rubbing her eyes until they became quite red and the skin came off. She had a small skin bag which she put on her chest, close to her neck. She became a ptarmigan.

39. The Owl and the Raven.*

Two old women, the Owl and the Raven, were chatting together. The Owl said, “I wish you could make my eyes very sharp; ” and the Raven said, “ I should like to trim your

1 Compare p. 319. t

2 Compare p. 302, and Journal of American Folk-Lore, Vol. X, p. 109.

3 Compare p. 320, and Journal of American Folk-Lore,'Vol. VII, p. 49.

dress.’’ The Owl agreed, and the Raven took some soot from her lamp, and made the spots which we now see on owlfeathers. The Owl was very patient until she was told that the decoration of her dress was finished. Then the Owl asked permission to decorate the Raven’s dress. First she made for her boots of whalebone. The Raven agreed, but soon began to hop about. The Owl told her frequently that she could not do her work well if she did not sit still, but to no purpose. The Raven would move from one foot to the other, and jump about. Finally the Owl said, “I am going to spill all the oil in my lamp over you, if you do not sit still.” Since the Raven continued to hop about, the Owl became impatient, and emptied the lamp-oil over her. Thus the Raven became black all over, and flew away, crying, “Qaq, qaq!”

40 . The Foxes.

At a certain place there was a family of Foxes. They were very hungry. The old Fox was off sealing. Late in the evening he returned and said to his wife, “ I tried to find a seal-hole, and I got on the scent of one. Whenever I ran with my nose down on the ice, I did not notice the scent, but as soon as I raised my head I noticed it. I ran a long way, but still I have not yet found the place.” He asked his wife to make foot-protectors for the young Foxes, and early the next day they all started. When running along the ice, they took the scent, and soon found that it came from a dead whale which lay in the ground-ice. They went right into the whale, and lived on its meat. Then they were well supplied. They lived in a house that was all meat.

One day they saw a number of Wolves coming. The Foxes were afraid of them. They thought the Wolves might want to stay there too, to enjoy the whale-meat. In order to drive them away, the old Fox thought he would resort to a ruse. He jumped on top of the whale, and shouted to the Wolves, “I smell a whale here, but I cannot see it! There are only rocks here.” The Wolves believed the Fox, and departed. When they had gone, the Fox ran back into the whale, and said, “ I thought it was a whale.” He had caused it to appear to the Wolves to be a rock.

41 . A She-Bear and her Cub.

In a certain village lived an old woman who had adopted a bear cub which during the winter used to go sealing with the people. While the latter were harpooning, the bear cub would catch the seals with its paws. It used to be very successful. When it returned from sealing, it would stop in the porch of the hut until its mother brought some blubber to feed it. In time the cub grew up, and the people decided to kill and eat it. The old woman knew that the people wanted to kill and eat the cub. She warned it, and asked it not to go sealing again. Nevertheless the cub went off. While sealing, the people tried to kill it, but it made its escape and ran home to its mother. It entered the house, and sat down on the bed, trembling with fear. Then the mother asked it to escape. At first the cub did not consent; but its foster-sister, a girl, sitting on her mother’s lap, cried, and begged it to run away and save itself. Before the cub ran away, the mother asked it to get some seals for its sister, that she might not starve. During the summer the mother went in search of the young bear. When she had been away some time, she hid behind some high rocks, and saw a bear coming, carrying a seal. The bear came up to her from the shore, and put down the seal, then it went away again. The woman carried the seal to her hut. Another time the mother saw the young bear bringing a ground-seal to the shore. She was hiding behind the rocks, and the young bear could not see her. The bear put down the seal, took a rest, and went away again. After this it did not return again.

42 . The Man who married the Fox.

(A Tale from Qamauang.)

Once upon a time there was a man who went out sealing, while his wife went to gather heather. She came home in the evening, having gathered only a very little. After some time the man became suspicious that there might be some reason why she did not gather more heather than she did; but he dismissed the matter from his mind again. When she continued to bring small quantities of heather, he became suspicious again.

One day, when he had plenty of seal-meat and blubber, so that he did not need to go hunting, he made up his mind to follow the woman. He saw her going to a small pond. When she reached the pond, she threw small stones into it, shouting at the same time, “Come and show your penis!” After she had continued to do so for some time, a man’s penis appeared above the water. She took off her boots and trousers, placed it between her legs, and used it. Finally the penis disappeared again in the pond.

The woman put on her clothes and went back, and when she had disappeared, her husband did as he had seen his wife doing. He threw stones into the water, and called upon the penis to show itself. After he had done so for some time, it appeared. Then he took off his boots and trousers, and took it between his legs. Then he cut it off with his knife. Then the whole pond was red with blood. He put on his clothes, went home, and found his wife outside the hut. She had lighted a fire, and was cooking seal-meat. The man did not speak to her about what he had seen and done; but when she went into the hut to fetch something, he threw the man’s penis into the boiling kettle, among the seal-meat. After a while, when the meat was done, the man took the penis out of the pot, and handed it to his wife. She did not recognize it, but, since it did not taste like seal-meat, she asked her husband, “What is this that I am eating here? It is not seal-meat.’’ — “Why,’’ he replied, “it is your lover’s penis.” She simply shouted, “Oof! It is much better than young seal.”

The man made up his mind to take revenge upon his faithless wife. One day he pretended to go out hunting, but, instead of searching for seals, he collected all kinds of insects, — spiders, beetles, and others. These he collected in his mitten; and when he came home, he placed the mitten under the blanket on the bed, unobserved by his wife. In the evening, when they went to bed, the insects came out of the mitten, and crawled into all the openings of the woman, and made holes through the thinner parts of her skin, through which they crawled into her body. They ate her up entirely, and crawled out of her ears, nose, and mouth. Thus she died. Her husband buried her, covering her body with whale-ribs and stones. He lived all alone for a long time. Then he went sealing, and hunting other animals.

One day, when he arrived home in the evening, he found that some one had cooked seal-meat for him, which was still warm. He was much surprised, not knowing who had done it. Another day, returning from the hunt, he again found seal-meat cooked. It was quite hot, but he did not see anybody. The third day, when he returned, the seal-meat was still boiling, but there was no sign of a woman. Another day, when, he had gone out hunting again, he saw, on his return, a pretty young woman coming from his wife’s grave. She did not see him. She went to his hut, and began to stretch a fox-skin outside of the hut. Then she went back to the grave. As soon as she was out of sight, the man took the fox-skin from the drying-frame. She felt at once when he touched it. She came forth and asked for the skin; but he replied, “You are my wife now.” But she remained silent, and asked again for her fox-skin, saying, “Give me my foxskin; it has a bad smell.” The man kept the skin, and said, “You shall be my wife.” She did not give any answer, but merely asked again for her fox-skin, saying that it had a bad smell. The man replied, “You shall be my wife; and if I should notice a strong smell, I will not mention it.” The woman persisted in asking for her fox-skin. The man asked her again, “Will you be my wife?” Now she consented, speaking in a low voice, but again asked him for her fox-skin. Then the man repeated his request for her to become his wife. This time she freely consented. Then he invited her to go into the hut, and when she again asked for her fox-skin, he gave it to her. They lived for some time in the hut, and they loved each other.

Once upon a time a man, the Raven, and his wife came and erected their hut near by. In time the two families became very friendly. One day the Raven said to the man, “ Let us exchange wives.” The other one objected for a long time, but finally yielded to the Raven’s importunities. But he asked the Raven to promise not to mention anything about a smell, if he noticed that his wife smelled strongly. Then they exchanged their wives for the night. They went to bed, but the Fox woman did not allow the Raven to touch her. Finally he grew angry, turned his back on her, and said, “What a bad smell there is!” Then the woman began to cry. She arose and took from a small bag which she had with her a small fox-skin. She began to rub and to chew it in order to soften it, intending to put on the skin; but, since she was in a hurry to put it on, she did not stop to finish the leg parts. Then she put it on, and the Raven saw only a fox running out of the house. Then the Raven regretted that he had broken his promise, and was afraid that he might lose his own wife.

Meanwhile the Raven’s wife had been with the Fox’s husband. He found that her body was covered with dirt, and that she smelled very bad; and he shouted, “ Oh, how bad you smell!” Then he went out of his hut, and he saw the footprints of his wife in the snow. She had not had time to put her hands and her feet into the fox’s skin, and had for this reason retained her hands and her human feet and her boots. He followed her tracks, and found that they ended at a small hole in the stones of an old hut. He stamped with his foot over the hole and called her. Although she knew it was her husband calling, she spoke as though addressing her children: “Go out and see who is there.” Then an insect came out of the hole. When it appeared, the man said to it, “Smoke is coming out of your head.” In this way quite a number of insects and worms were sent out of the hole, and to each of them he said the same. Finally his wife asked him to come in. She told him to shut his eyes, to turn both sides of his jacket inward, and to come in backward. He complied with her instructions, and backed into [November. igoi.] 15

the fox’s hole. When he got inside, he saw a large dog in one comer of the room. It was his wife’s son. His wife appeared to him again in human shape as he had known her. The fox’s hole seemed to him like a hut. What he believed to be a dog was really a spider.

43. The Insects.

One winter all the people of Shomucktoun (an Eskimo camping-place) moved to another camping-place, leaving behind two women, a mother and her daughter. The mother’s name was Gwedlaping , and the daughter’s Pet-all-ow-a. Oweekshaw , the son of Gwedlaping , had left with the rest of the people, who were all hunters.

The people had left nothing for the women to eat, who gathered insects ( Ea-kan ) for food. One day while they were out looking for insects, the old woman was attacked by an ermine, which bit her on several parts of her body. Her skin fell off, disclosing a fresh, new skin underneath, such as a much younger person might have. The insects had taken compassion on the poor old woman, and had asked the ermine to bite off the old skin, that she might be rejuvenated. The daughter was grateful to the insects for doing so much for her mother.

After a time the people sent for the two women to come to their new camping-place, but, as they had never sent them any food since they had been away, the women did not go. They went instead to live with the insects, and both took husbands from among them.

One day while the women were living with the insects, a man on a sledge came up to the old hut in Shomucktoun. No one was to be seen there, and he wondered what had become of the two women. As he was unable to do more than conjecture, he went back and told Oweekshaw that he had seen nothing of his mother or sister, but that their boots and other things were inside their hut.

The next year the women went to the camping-place where the people had gone. They told them how kind the insects had been to them, — how they had given them food, and had asked them to come and live with them; how the old woman had remarked to them that she should look much better if she could only be made ypunger-looking, and how they had told an ermine to bite all her old skin, and cause it to fall off. And the old woman added, “ You can see for yourself how I am.”

44. The Boy who lived on Ravens .

Many people were living at Niutang. One time, when they were quarrelling, they murdered a man who had not intended to kill any one.

When he was buried, his widow lived all by herself, and subsisted upon what little the people would give her. After some time they moved to Katsag, leaving the woman behind. The night before they left, one of the men went into her hut, and she thanked him for having called.

The widow was with child, and soon it was born. They had very little food. One day, while she was walking close to the house which she had built for herself, she saw a great many ravens go into it. Then she closed the door, took up a stick, went in, and killed them all except one, which tried to escape from her by jumping to and fro. She tried to catch it, but the raven became smaller and smaller, until she could hardly see it; after many efforts, however, she succeeded in killing it also. Then she put the ravens outside to freeze. Now they had enough to live on for some time.

When the supply was nearly exhausted, she went out again, and soon saw a great many ravens going into her hut. She did as before,—fastened the door, and killed them. They lived entirely on raven-meat. The boy grew up very quickly, and soon was able to go sealing. One day, when he returned from a sealing trip, his mother discovered that his face looked quite black. He had been living on raven-meat, and had become himself like a raven.

Now the mother thought of avenging the death of her husband. She said to her boy, “ I think you are now able to look out for yourself. You must avenge the death of your father.” Then the boy replied, “I want to go and see those people who killed him.” Before he set out, his mother took the body of a dog, and set it up as though it were alive. She opened its mouth, so that the animal looked like a very fierce dog that wanted to bite people. Then the mother wished to divine whether it would be well to attack their enemies. She said, “I will set up the body of the dog. If it stands up, we will go; if it falls down, we will stay here.” They put the dog down, and it stood as though it were alive. Then they went on, and built a house not far from the shore.

The boy had made a great many arrows, and early in the morning he said to his mother, “Go on shore and tell those men to come here. Tell them that I am ready to be awakened. But do not go into the houses, only call them through the windows.” The woman went, and stepped up to the windows while the people were still in bed, and said, “ My son sends me to tell you to come down to him. He is ready to be awakened.” Then she went back. The men jumped up, and went down to the ice. They were intending to kill the boy, who had set up the dog near his hut. The men began to shoot their arrows at him, but he dodged them, jumping about like a raven. When they had spent all their arrows, he ran so as to be between the men and the village, and began to kill them with his arrows. On the following day, when the bodies of his enemies were all frozen, he set them up, and then went to his mother and told her to look at them. They looked just like people sealing on the ice. Then he took one of the women that he liked best for his wife, and went to live in Niutang.

45. The Visitor.

In Kingnait lived a man by the name of Attongey , who wanted to travel through the country with a large team of dogs. He made some harnesses, and went to a place where there were a number of good-sized stones, some red, some white, others brown, and some speckled. These he was going to harness up.

When he was ready to start, he cried out, “Haa, haa, haa,

Attongey! Haa, haa, haa, Attongey , Attongey!" At once the stones were transformed into dogs, which came at his call. He fastened them to his sledge and started off. After he had gone a long distance from home, he arrived at a village. Here he stopped and fed his dogs. Two old women came down from the houses to see him. They wanted a little of the meat that the dogs were being fed with, and picked some up from the ground. Then Attongey spoke to them, and said, “You are like ravens.” At once the women jumped like ravens, and cried “Qaq!” and again picked at the meat. Attongey hit them with a stick, saying, “Go away from here if you are ravens.” They went home at once. One of the old women was quite angry on account of the treatment she had received, but she did not say so to Attongey.

After Attongey had fed his dogs and put his harnesses in order, he went up to the huts and entered one of them. Meanwhile the old woman whom he had whipped took the brains of a man and of a wolf and mixed them together. Then she sent her grand-daughter to the hut where Attongey was staying, to ask for some blood to mix with the brains. She told the girl not to say what she wanted it for; but the girl, who was very young, said, “Please give me some blood. Grandmother told me not to tell you that she is going to mix it with the brains of a man and of a wolf.” She obtained the blood, and carried it to her grandmother. When the old woman had mixed the blood and the brains together, she told the girl to invite the stranger to the house. Attongey accepted the invitation. When he arrived, the old woman handed him the mixture she had prepared for him, telling him to eat it all. He sat down and ate it all. Then he put the dish in which the food had been given to him between his legs, and when he took it away it was full. He passed it to the old woman and ordered her to eat it. She was sure that she saw him eat all the brains, and she thought that what he had just handed her was from his stomach. She ate it, and then put the plate between her legs. When she took it away it was still empty. When she saw that it was empty, she put it back between her legs; and when she took

230 Bulletin American Museum of Naturat History. [Vol. XV, it away again, it was still empty. The old woman tried again and again, but always found the plate empty. 1 She died soon after.

The people at this place had plenty of sledges, but no dogs. Attongey resolved to escape from them. Therefore one night he cut the lashings with which the bars of the sledges were tied to the runners. He cut them on the lower side of the bars on the inside of the runners, so that the people should not notice what he had done. Then he got his dogsledge ready, and, when all was done, he re-entered the snow house, and played cup-and-ball with the people. The carving that they were using was very pretty. First he sat down while playing with it; but after a while he arose, went out with it, and started off. Soon he was quite a distance away from the place. The people jumped on their sledges and followed after him. They drove their sledges along with sticks. Soon they very nearly caught up with Attongey , and they cried out, “Give us our cup-and-ball!” When they came quite close to Attongey , their sledges broke down, owing to the lashings being cut. Attongey made considerable headway before his pursuers had repaired their runners. Once more they nearly caught up with Attongey , when their sledges broke down again. In their eagerness of pursuit, they had only placed the crossbars on the runners, without properly lashing them. Again they set up the sledges and followed. By this time Attongey was far ahead. Soon they were close beside him, when the sledges broke down again. At last they gave up the pursuit and returned home. Attongey finally reached his own village.

46. The Huts of the Skeleton People.

At Padli there lived many people, and during the winter they were very hungry. One day one of them was walking about on the land, when he came to a house where a man named Kooloome, and his wife, were living. Kooloome was out sealing. The visitor entered the house, and, behold!

1 This passage is not quite clear. It seems to imply that the man pretended to eat the mixture, but in reality let it drop into the plate, and that the woman tried to imitate him.

he saw plenty of seal-meat in different places. He was given some cooked seal. When it was time for the woman’s husband to come home, she told the man to lie down under the inner skin lining of the house, where she would cover him over, and she warned him not to make any noise.

Soon her husband came home. He said, “Where is the rest of the cooked meat? Who has eaten it?” The woman never ate anything, for she had no stomach. Only Kooloome ate of the game that he obtained. Therefore he was surprised and angry to see all the meat gone. When she saw his bad humor, she said, “A man came here and said that near by there are a great many people who have resolved to kill you.” She continued, pointing to the place where she had hidden the visitor, “The man who came to-day is there.” Kooloome , who had calmed down, said to the man, “Come here! I am not going to use my knife on you.” The man went to Kooloome’s side, and Kooloome asked him whether it was true that the people wished to kill him. The visitor replied, “They want to kill you, but I do not;” and then he told Kooloome that the people were very hungry. Kooloome said to him, “Many thanks for coming and telling me of the evil designs of your friends. I have no desire to harm you. You may come and take all the seal-meat that is here, for I intend to leave this place; but when you come back for it, and take it home, do not tell where you got it.”

The visitor returned home. He did not take the meat with him. When he was outside, and about to bid them farewell, behold! those that he thought were real people were only bones. No wonder that the woman had no stomach! They had looked like real people.

The wanderer returned to his hungry friends. At night he went back to the hut of the bones to fetch the meat, but he never mentioned to the other people where he went. For a long, long time he continued to go at night for seals. One time during the winter the people were again very hungry. There were hardly any seals to be had. When he went again to the hut of the bones to fetch meat, some one saw him, and soon every one knew that he went out nights and returned with a load of seal-meat. The people asked him, “Where do you get your seal-meat? Go, and we will follow you to the place.” He went, and they followed. When they found the hut of the bones, they took all that was there, and the man to whom the meat was given by the bone people had but a small share of it. The people looked at the house, and asked the man who lived there and caught seals. He replied, “His name was Kooloome. Both he and his wife left soon after I first saw them. The woman told me that she had no stomach and never ate anything.”

47. How Boats formerly passed over Land.

A long time ago, before there was any rise and fall of the tide, and when many places were covered with water where there is now dry land, a boat’s crew were steering along the coasts of Cumberland Sound. When they came to a narrow strip of land that obstructed their passage, they spoke to the land, and asked it to open a channel for their boat to pass through. Then the steersman told the crew to shut their eyes and go on pulling. They kept their eyes shut long enough to allow the boat to pass through the strip of land. They knew, that, if they should open their eyes too soon, the land would shut in on them. When they all felt sure that they were clear of the land, they opened their eyes, and the channel through which they had passed had closed again.

They arrived at their destination, and commenced work on their seal-skins. The women chewed them, and the men rubbed them and wrung them until they were soft. Nowadays the men do hardly any work of this kind.

48. Transmigrations of the Soul of a Woman.

In one of the villages of Cumberland Sound a woman lay dying. It was winter. When the people knew that she would not recover, they left her alone. A wolf passed by while she was still alive, and swallowed her. After some time she passed out of the wolf. A fox came running by while she was lying on the snow, and she went into it. She lived in the fox for some time, until she was digested by it, and passed out. While she was lying on the snow a bear came by, and she jumped into the bear. She passed through the bear, and lay on the ice. It was spring, and the sun’s rays warmed her body, so that she melted into the ice, and fell down into the water. Then a seal came, and she entered it. After some time she passed through the seal, and floated on the water. Then a ground-seal came. She entered it. After she had passed through it, and was floating about in the water, a walrus came. She entered it, and became a walrus. She joined the other walruses which were blowing in the water. After a little while they all descended to the feedingground. She tried to go with them, but was unable to dive. When the other walruses came up again, she asked them, '‘Why am I unable to go to the bottom of the sea?” They replied, “When you go down, you must strike your flippers straight upward. Don’t try to go down slantingly.” When the walruses descended, she followed, and now she was able to reach the bottom of the sea. Soon they came up again, and went ashore to sleep and to rest. Soon the other walruses went again to the water, while she staid on the rocks. Then a caribou went by, and she entered it. She joined the other caribou, and went inland to feed. She was not able to jump and run, however, as the other caribou did. Then she asked them, “Why am I not able to run and jump as you do?” They told her to look straight at the horizon, and to force herself forward with her hind-feet. Thus she learned how to act, and thenceforth was able to run and to jump in the same way as the others did.

While the caribou were resting, a number of Eskimo hunters came along. The caribou knew their enemies at once. They went to the lake, and jumped into the water, thinking their pursuers would not follow them there. But the men had their kayaks, and killed all of them. They towed the caribou ashore, cut them, and buried them under stones, that they might be brought to the village in the winter. The woman felt very badly when the stones were heaped over her. She thought, “ How long shall I have to lie here? How long will it be before they come back in the winter?” After she had lain there some time, one of her hips began to feel very tired. She was unable to turn over, or even to move the least bit. After she had waited for a long time, she heard some people coming. She knew it, although she had passed through so many animal forms. Her meat had remained soft, while all the other caribou were frozen hard. But when the Eskimo came, she hardened herself; and when the stones were taken off, she looked just like frozen cariboumeat.

All the meat was put upon the sledges and taken to the huts. Then the people ate it. She was eaten by a woman. Then the woman was with child, and after a little while gave birth to a girl. When the child was bom, it tried to speak, but it could only cry. When it was old enough to speak, the child said, “Now I am able to tell you what I tried tosay when I was born; but I could not speak then, for when I tried to speak, I only cried.” Then she told them of all that had happened to her.

49. The Soul which had entered a Fox . 1

It was in Akudnirn. Okingwa's mother had died less than two months before. One night, when he was seated at the breathing-hole of a seal, he heard a peculiar noise, and gradually he made out that some person was calling him by name. He heard a voice saying, “Come and let me out of the fox's trap! The door has fallen, and I cannot get out. Why did you take the grease from my oil-lamp and bring it here? When I touched it, the door fell down.” The voice kept on crying, “My son Okingwa, come and let me out of the trap! The door fell down when I touched the grease which you took from my oil-lamp. Te-ye-ye-ye-ye-ya! ” Then Okingwa went to his trap and let out the fox. He knew that it was not a fox, but his mother’s soul. When he came home, he told the people that he did not wish to kill the fox, because he knew it was his mother.

1 Compare p. 303.

50. The Man who caught the Ground-Seal.

One day in the early summer two young men from Shamaneto or Shoumane went sealing in their kayaks. The name of one of them was Koocharoun. One day Koocharoun's friend caught a ground-seal. At Koocharoun's request they towed it to a piece of ice, and were about to cut it up when Koocharoun killed his companion. Then with his sealingline he fastened the ground-seal to the body of the man and' threw it into the water, and both sank.

After he had thus disposed of the body, he went home and told that his friend had been lost. The father of the latter, who was highly respected by the people, went in search of his son, while his mother remained at home crying.

In winter the people built a dancing-house; but the lost boy’s father and mother did not join the others, because they were still mourning for their son. They built a house some distance away from the dancing-house.

The people assembled in the dancing-house nearly every night, Koocharoun among them. One night when Koocharoun was standing in the centre of the dancing-house, the one whom he had killed entered, went up to him, and said, calling him by name several times, “You know, when I caught a ground-seal, that you made me fast to it, and sank me in the water;” then he disappeared in the ground. Koocharoun turned ghastly pale, and nearly fainted. Again the drowned man appeared beside the murderer, repeated the same words as before, and disappeared. Koocharoun followed him, the soles of his boots being the last that was seen of him.

Now the murdered man returned, and remained in the dancing-house, where he told how Koocharoun had murdered him. He had returned to life.

The parents of the murdered man had not yet heard of the return of their son, nor that he had been murdered by Koocharoun. The people did not dare to tell them of what had happened. They were afraid that the father might accuse them of not telling the truth, and might kill them. Finally some one suggested that a certain old woman should go and inform them. Although she was much afraid, the people prevailed upon her to go. She entered the parents’ house, and said, “Your son has come, and is in the dancing-house. Come and see him.” The father, taking her words as an insult, quickly asked his wife to pass him a knife, saying that he wanted to kill the woman for thus insulting them. The wife gave it to him, but begged of him to wait, saying, '“Let us go and see him of whom she speaks.” The man handed the knife to the old woman, and told her to use it to sharpen her knife on. Then they all went to the dancinghouse. There the parents saw their son. Then they returned home, and left their son in the dancing-house. The father took his large sledge and put on it walrus-tusks, a kayak, and many other things, for he owned considerable property. The place where his hut stood was on the brow of a hill. The father sent the sledge, with all the goods on it,.off down the hill, and asked the people to come out and to gather up the load which was scattered when the sledge upset. The son went home with his father and mother well pleased. Here the story ends.

51. Tales of Spirits ( Tornait ).

A man had two wives and an adopted daughter. In the spring they went up to Lake Netchillik with their dog-teams, and reached there in time for hunting caribou, salmon, and geese,' of which they got a great many. They were now on their way back to Tininiqdjuaq. One evening the man had finished making a snow house, and the women had taken all their utensils inside through a hole cut for the purpose. They had spread the beds, and were trimming the lamps, and beginning to boil the meat. The dogs were still fastened to the sledge, and the man was engaged in finishing the entrance to the snow house. Suddenly he heard several bursts of laughter. He shouted to the women, “Why are you laughing?” He received no reply. He asked again, and still there was no reply; the women only continued to laugh. Then he went into the house to find out the cause of their merriment. He cut a hole at the place where he was intending to make the doorway. When the hole was large enough, he saw the women on the bed. They were on their knees, with their heads bent down, and their arms covering their heads. On the floor he saw a terrible something, with a head running from the shoulders up to a point. It had risen from under the ground. The man was so much frightened that he started his dogs and his sledge at once, and hastened to Tininiqdjuaq. The dogs had been running for some time when they saw the spirit pursuing them, and they ran on ever so much faster; but nevertheless the pursuer gained on them. Now he was not very far distant. Then the man threw one of his mittens at him. The spirit stopped, while the sledge kept on until Tininiqdjuaq was reached. Then the man told the people what had happened.

On the following morning he started, accompanied by a number of men, to see what had become of the spirit. They took their bows and arrows and their spears along with them. They were not far from the place where the man had thrown his mitten at the spirit, when they saw something on the ice. They stopped their sledges and walked up to it, their bows and arrows ready for use. There they saw the spirit. He was perfectly black. The mitten which the man had thrown at him had struck him under his chin. They tried to take it away, but were unable to move it. The spirit was quite dead. His legs were very short, and his body was long. Then they continued their journey, and finally reached the house which the man had left the night before. They found the women still in the same position as he had left them, but quite dead. Then they took all the skins and belongings to Tininiqdjuaq. They were very sorry for the women.

An old woman and her adopted child were living alone at Anarnitung. One night the old woman saw the wall of her stone house opening from side to side, and they could see the stars through the opening. The lamps nearly went out. The child was in bed. It felt cold, crawled down under the blanket, and pretended to be asleep. The old woman asked the child, ‘‘Are you asleep?” but the child did not reply. It was afraid to answer. The old woman herself became very much frightened. The lights were almost extinguished. Now she made up her mind to go outside and find out the cause of what was happening. When she arrived outside of the door, she saw something standing beside her skin boat. Its head ran into a point from the shoulders. Its body was very large and black. When it saw the old woman, it moved away. Then she returned into the house. The child came forth from the blanket, and asked her, “What did you see?” The lamps were now much brighter without having been touched. She did not want to frighten the child, and said, “I did not see anything,” and sat down on her seat. The rent in the side of the house closed again. They staid on for a long time. One day towards the close of winter a sledge arrived, and on the following day they were taken by their visitors to the nearest tent. Then the woman told of all that had happened during the winter.

The people of Anarnitung had started for some other place to go hunting. One old woman and her grandson had been left behind. The people told them that before many nights they would send a sledge to bring her and the boy; but nobody came. One dark night the old woman heard a noise on the snow, as though a large block of snow were being moved towards her hut. It came to the window, and when it was close by, the old woman saw something very red. The window fell down, and the lamp went out. The old woman tried to rekindle her lamp. Meanwhile her grandson had crawled under the blanket, and pretended to be asleep. She was very much afraid, and in order to revive her spirits, she put some of the oil-drippings from the lamp into her mouth. Then she went out into the porch, and heard the same noise as she had heard before; but it was moving away, and she saw something red like a star. She went back into the hut, and, there she found the boy sitting up. The lamp was burning again, and the child asked his grandmother if she had seen anything. But she said, in order not to frighten the child, that there was nothing outside. After some time a sledge came, and she told the people of what had happened.

Many people were wintering at Qamaqdjuin, in Saumia. There was one man, whose name was Akoto , whose daughter was very sick. Since they had no provisions, he could not stay with his sick child, but had to go sealing. The ice was rough, and the snow deep. He had been seated at the breathing-hole of a seal for a whole day, and in the evening he succeeded in catching the animal. He covered it over with snow, and went back home; but as the night was very dark, he missed the track. After he had gone for a long time, he saw light coming from three windows. He wondered what it might be. While he was still on the groundice, a man came from the huts and spoke to him about the sick girl. He said, “I have never visited your place, but a short time ago I learned that your daughter was sick. My name is Anasato (‘breath’). Give her my name, and she will become strong again. Her lungs are sick. It is a good name to give her.” After he had finished speaking, another man came from one of the huts, and said, “My name is still better. Your daughter’s lungs are very sick. My name is Showloya (‘wind’). Give her my name, it is a good one. I have always been healthy. I have never been sick. If anything bad comes near a man, my name blows it away from him.” The two men went back to their houses, and Akoto went on his way, and finally found his hut. It was morning when he reached there. Then he told the people of his adventure. They gave the sick girl both of these names, and she grew quite strong and healthy.

52. A Skull as a Good Omen.

One day in the early autumn a man named Kating went from his tent in Sauniqtung to a hilltop a short distance away from the village. While there he saw a boy running from one tent to another, gathering arrows. Finally he saw him enter one of the tents, in which he remained. The people of the place all wanted to have Rating killed. Therefore the boy was sent to gather the arrows, which Rating might have used to defend himself. Rating became frightened, and went down to his tent. There his wife, Atchina, told him that his people wanted to kill him, and advised him to escape in a boat.

He went to the place where the boats and kayaks lay, and his wife took his bow and arrows down to him; but he did not notice them, because he was intent on watching what the people were doing in their tents. When Atchina had taken all their belongings down to the boat, they started off. After they had gone some distance, they landed for the night, and put up their tent. Now for the first time Rating thought of his bow and quiver, and found that they had been forgotten. He asked his wife where she had put them, and she told him that she had laid them beside him.

At dark they started in their boat to fetch the bow and the quiver. The people were all asleep when they arrived; but the tide had risen, and the beach on which the weapons lay was covered with water. They looked down into it and saw the quiver floating end up, and whirling around in the water. They took it, and started to return to their tent, when Rating saw a skull of some being at the bottom of the water. Then he said to his wife, “ Atchina , I think I shall live for some time.”

They reached their own tent, and continued their journey without taking time to sleep. Their enemies pursued them.

53. Tales of Angakut.

One summer in Isortuqdjuaq, in Kingawa, the people were nearly starving to death. Ashewaahallow was a great shaman. The people wanted her to visit Sedna in order to tell her that they were starving. She consented, and after some incantations, her soul went down to Sedna. After some time her body revived, because her soul had come back to it. Then she told the people that Sedna had promised to send two young whales, and that one of them would be without a tail. She added that the whales would come as soon as the weather became calmer. On the following day, when the men were off in their kayaks, a young whale without a tail appeared, which they killed; and soon another one came, which they also killed.

In Akudnirn lived an old man named Ningiu. He had a wife and two sons, one of whom was called Kudlu. Ningiu was a very wise and powerful man.

One day he was at work not far from his tent, near a large bowlder. He was working on a piece of wood which he was going to use for his sledge. Two men, who had come from another camp not far away, intending to kill Ningiu, were stealthily approaching him from behind the bowlder. They believed themselves unobserved; but Kudlu and his brother were watching them through a hole in the tent.

All of a sudden Ningiu, who had not looked up from his work, shouted, “Come here!” The two men came forth and halted; but he invited them to come nearer. Then he asked them, “Where do you come from?” They replied, “ We come from over yonder,” pointing in the direction from which they had come. “What do you want here?” They replied, “We did not come for any particular purpose.” The strangers, seeing that they were discovered, departed without attacking Ningiu. One of them had hidden under his jacket a knife with which he intended to kill Ningiu. Then Ningiu thought, “I wish the man who wants to kill me were dead!” As soon as the strangers reached home, the man who had hidden the knife under his jacket became sick, and very soon died.

His friends wondered why he had died so suddenly. They thought that Ningiu must have bewitched him, and thus have caused his death. Therefore they resolved to kill him. They started, and when they reached Ningiu’s tent,

[November, igo/.] 16

they asked him, “What did you do to those men who came here a short time ago? When they came back, one of them became sick, and very soon died.” Ningiu replied, speaking very slowly, “I was not desirous that they should come to kill me. They came to kill me. When I asked them, ‘Where do you come from?’ and ‘What do you want here?* they only said, ‘We came from over yonder. We did not come for any particular purpose. ’ But they wanted to kill me. And when they had gone, I only wished that the one who had intended to kill me would die.” Then the strangers left without taking vengeance upon Ningiu.

Another year Ningiu went caribou-hunting all alone. There was a very large bowlder inland far away from the sea. Two men from the same camp to which Ningiu belonged were hunting in this region, and were sitting at the side of this large bowlder. Ningiu saw them without being discovered, and he went up to them in the shelter of the rock. When he reached it, he could see them through a fissure under the stone. While he was looking at them, one of the young men looked back and observed him.. As •soon as he saw him, he fell to the ground dead. The other one wondered what might have been the cause of his friend’s sudden death. He also looked back, and when he saw Ningiu, he reeled back and almost fell to the ground. Ningiu arose laughing, while the young man was stumbling about. Ningiu’s laughing prevented him from falling. Now, Ningiu simply wished the dead man to arise again, and his wish came true. Then he said to the young men, pointing in various •directions, “There is plenty of cariboumeat.” They went in the directions he pointed, and found great abundance of caribou. Ningiu returned home.

After he had rested a while, he went hunting with his son Kudlu. One night, while Kudlu was asleep, Ningiu was talkto himself. When Kudlu awoke, he asked his father who had come to the place where they had been sleeping. But Ningiu replied, “Stop! Don’t inquire. Let us go look for caribou to-morrow. If you were to see them to-morrow, your eyes would become sore.”

On the following morning they started, and soon saw two caribou, a dam and a fawn. Ningiu said to his son, “I will go up to them. Wait here.” He went up slowly toward the caribou, which perceived him. Then he stood still, and looked at the animals with his head bent to one side. The caribou were on the point of running away, but they stood quite still. Suddenly they made a start. Ningiu did not move, but simply looked at them, and suddenly they fell down dead. When they reached home, Kudlu told the people what he had seen, how his father stood still, and how the caribou gazed at him spellbound, and how they fell dead after they had just started to run away. He believed that his father had a double [?].

After some time Ningiu became sick and was near unto death. He did not know the cause of his sickness. At that time the people were almost starving. One day Ningiu said to the people, “I am going to die. Then Kudlu will catch his first ground-seal and his first whale, and you will no longer be in need.” Soon after that he became unconscious. He died and was buried. His family staid in the tent for three nights. After that Kudlu and his brother went sealing in their kayaks. While the brother caught a common seal, Kudlu succeeded in killing a ground-seal. On the following day they went hunting again, and Kudlu in his kayak caught a whale. They towed it home and had plenty to eat.

Owleyjen and Akuto lived near Padli. Once upon a time, while hunting caribou, they met some people who were also hunting, and they all made houses for the night. Owleyjen was the first to finish his house. He and his friend had no lamp with which to cook their food. Therefore he said, "‘Shall we not get a lamp and oil from the other hunters?” And Akuto replied, “Yes.” Then Owleyjen , who was an angakok, wished that the fire-drill of the hunters would not work. These people tried very hard to make fire with their fire-drill; but they used up the drill without having any success. Finally they said to one another, “These two hunters may have a piece of wood with which we may be able to make fire.” One of them went to see Owleyjen , and said to him, “We have been trying to make fire here. Our fire-drill is used up. Have you a piece of wood?” Owleyjen replied, “ If you will give me a lamp and oil, I will make fire for you.” The man returned, and took a lamp and oil to Owleyjen's hut; and as soon as he brought it, Owleyjen said, “ I want them to trim their lamps right.” The people tried again to make fire, and their fire-drills worked at once. The man who had brought Owleyjen the lamp and the oil now brought him also a light, saying that they had succeeded in obtaining fire. Owleyjen and Akuto laughed at their success in obtaining a lamp and oil. The following morning they returned the lamp and went home.

Some time in the spring these people met again. The women were sewing a cover on a kayak. While they were at work, one of them lost her needle, which fell down into the moss, and they were unable to find it. Then Owleyjen came up to them while they were looking for the needle. He asked, “What are you looking for?” And when he heard that one of the women had lost her needle, and was told that it had fallen down at some point, he asked to be allowed to look for it. He walked off some distance and lay down on the ground. He looked through his hands, but not towards the ground, and said, “ I see it over there!” The people were surprised because he was able to see it. Then he walked slowly towards them. As soon as he reached the spot where the needle was, he fell down and picked up a handful of moss. Then he went slowly back to the kayak, and shook the needle out of the moss on to the cover.

At Kingawa there lived a man named Utsunang, and his wife Ishamaloo, an angakok. Another man, named Kunek, and his wife Kumangan, lived at the same place. Utsunang needed a piece of wood to make a kayak. Kunek, who owned a piece of wood, refused to give him any, and left with his wife, erecting his tent on a small island.

During the next night Utsunang heard a noise. It sounded as though a piece of wood had drifted ashore. Early in the morning he arose and went outside. He found a piece of driftwood, and expressed his delight at finding it. He asked his wife to cause the seals to come to his place, since now he would be able to make a kayak, and to hunt them.

One day Kunek came to Utsunang’s hut, and told him that he would give him some of the wood for which he had asked before. Utsunang replied, “Before, when I asked you for some wood, you became very angry. Why do you want to give it to me now?” Kunek retorted, “Yes, I was angry.” As a matter of fact, Kunek had seen the large piece of wood which had drifted ashore, and wished to have some of it. Therefore he had come to offer Utsunang some of his wood. He continued, “I want very much to have part of that wood!” pointing to the piece of driftwood that had come ashore. Then he continued, “If you don’t give me part of it, I shall stab you.” Utsunang said, “I don’t desire to be killed,” and gave him a piece of the wood, and Kunek took it home. On the following morning, Utsunang saw an animal floating on the water, and drifting toward the shore near his hut. He went down, and saw that it was a ground-seal large enough to make a cover for his kayak. On the following day he again saw an animal floating on the water, which was thrown ashore near his hut. It was a seal. He found a seal every morning. Now he had enough skins to cover his kayak. On the following morning a white whale drifted ashore, which furnished them with sinew to sew the cover with. When it was finished, they had plenty of food. One day a number of visitors came, and he told them this story, — how he had quarrelled with Kunek, and how he had been furnished with wood, with skins to cover his kayak, and with sinew to sew the cover with.

At Isortuqdjuaq, in Kingawa, lived a female angakok, named Eterseoot , who had two husbands. Not far from her place lived a man. Kowertse, who had lost his wife. Ko -

wertse believed that Eterseoot had caused his wife’s death, and he made up his mind to kill her; but people warned him, saying that she was a powerful angakok. She never sewed any of her clothing, but simply cleaned the skins, cut them, and put them under her bed. Then, when she needed them, she found them finished.

Kowertse believed that Eterseoot had been the cause of his wife’s death; but, as a matter of fact, she had never even wished her dead. Kowertse travelled to Isortuqdjuaq, and Eterseoot went to meet him. When they met, she said, “I know why you have come here, and what you intend to do.” —“Yes,” retorted Kowertse , “I intend to kill you.” He took his knife and stabbed her several times. Then Eterseoot cried for some one to come, but Kowertse continued to cut her until he was sure that she would die.

Kowertse left her and went to one of the huts. Several people went to Eterseoot. She said to them, “I cannot recover, but put me on a skin, and carry me into my hut.” She asked them to put her down in the rear of the hut, and repeated, “I cannot recover.” But she did not remain there long. She raised herself, and walked to the place where she used to sit, and she was hale and well again, as though she had never been cut with a knife. No scar or wound was to be seen on her body.

On the following day, when her husbands went out of the house, they heard that Kowertse was sick. Soon they sent some one to ask Eterseoot to cure him. She went at once, and, when seated at his side, she whispered into his ear, “ Kowertse , what ails you?” and he did not respond. Then she repeated, “What ails you?” Still he did not respond. Then she said, “Yesterday you were dreadful. You cut me, and tried to kill me. My name means ‘backside.’ I am sure you have cut your own backside.” Then she went home and told the people that she thought Kowertse would soon die. She said, “ He cut me with his knife, and still I am alive and whole; but he is sick, although he has not been cut or scratched.” Very soon he died.

A great angakok and three other men with their wives left the sea one spring to go hunting caribou. When they left, every one was in good health; but they had not been away more than a few days, when one of the men became sick and died. In the fall, when the hunters returned, they found a grave. They knew at once that it was a new one, and that some one must have died. The angakok said to his companions, “Shall I restore him to life?” At once he began his incantations. He blew on the face of the dead man, who very soon began to breathe, and arose, although he had been dead for some time. He went along with the others, who were very much surprised to see the dead man return. They all praised the angakok, who was able to blow life into the dead. They said, “He is the only great angakok.” The man who was restored to life lived to be very old.

One time in the winter a man wished to be made an angakok. He asked the great angakok to initiate him, to which the latter consented. He said, “You must die first. That is the best way of becoming an angakok.” He died, and the people took him away and covered him with stones. They left him on the ground for three nights. The people spoke only in whispers. They were much afraid. After the third night the angakok told them to bring back the dead man. They found the body frozen hard; and when they tried to bring him in at the door, they could not do so, because one of his arms was bent. They had to cut off a part of the door to bring him in. Then the angakok made them lay the body down on the floor. Now he began to move around the body, speaking to it. He kept the body at his right hand side. After he had gone once around it, he blew into the collar of the jacket. He went around it once more, lifted the sleeve of the jacket, and blew into it. He went around again, and blew under the legs of the trousers. He walked around once more, and blew on one foot. Then he went around again, and blew on the sole of the other foot, next under the other leg of the trousers and under the other sleeve, and finally on the face. Then the body was alive again, and the man arose. Now he had become an angakok.

This same great angakok was able to cure people by taking out the diseased parts of their body, and substituting the same parts from a rabbit.

54. The Old Woman who transformed herself into a Man.

At one of the camping-places of the people lived a very old woman and her adopted daughter, in a stone house. During the winter the people moved off to a more suitable hunting-ground, and left the two alone. They lived there for some time, and there was nobody to hunt for them. Then the old woman transformed herself into a man, and married the girl. Then she cut off her toes, and transformed them into dogs; and she made a spear, a harpoon-head, and lines from other parts of her body. Then she cut off the lowest part of her belly, 1 and made a sledge out of it. Now she went sealing. She caught her first seal at the side of the lamp. It tasted so badly of urine that they could not eat it, and gave it to the dogs. In the evening they went to sleep together. On the following day she caught a seal in the doorway, but it tasted nearly as bad as the first one, and they gave it, too, to the dogs. In the evening they slept again. The next day the old woman went sealing again, and caught a seal at the entrance of the porch. It was a little better than the preceding, although they could not eat it. They slept again, and on the following day she caught a seal in the ground-ice. She took it home, and cut it. It was much better, but still they could not eat it. They slept again, and the following day she went off with her sledge and her dogs. Now she caught a seal on the floeice. When they cut it, they found that it was very good, and they ate of it. They went to bed, and on the next day the old woman went out again on the floe-ice sealing, and she caught another seal, which was very good. They lived in this way for some time. Sometimes she went hunting

with her dogs, and sometimes she went afoot. After some time the young woman was with child.

One day a stranger arrived while the old woman was off sealing. She had left the sledge and the dogs at home. The visitor asked the young woman, “Whose dogs are these?” She replied, “My foster mother’s.” He asked, “Whose sledge is this?”—“My foster mother’s.”—“Who caught those seals?”—“My foster mother.” And she told him of all that had happened. Suddenly they heard some one speaking to the dogs with a man’s voice. It was the old woman who had returned from sealing. She was at the house-door; and when she was about to enter the hut, she saw the legs of the visitor. As soon as she saw them, she knew that a man was inside of the house. She felt ashamed, and suddenly she was transformed into an old woman. She was so weak that she had to ask her daughter to help her into the house. Then the man went home and told the people what he had seen.

55. The Man who transformed himself into a Woman.

Powmenakjwane was a harpooneer at Saunituqdjuaq. ■One day he caught a seal. The line fell foul of his penis, and he broke it. Owing to this accident, he was compelled to give up whaling and to stay ashore. He thought he was •of no further use as a man, and decided to transform himself into a woman. He made woman’s clothing for himself, put it on, and then wanted to have a husband. His mother said to him, “Next year you must make another suit of clothing for your own use.” [?] He did so; and one day, while his mother was out visiting, he put on his new suit. When she came back from visiting, he had on his new clothing, and arose and said to her, “Tell me if there are any bad parts to my clothing.” She looked at him and said, “They look very well; but when you were born, you were a male, not a female.” This made him very angry. He flew into a rage, and tore off the skin from his face, so that the bone was laid bare. When his mother saw this, she fell dead. Then he put the skin back on his face.

•Some years after the death of his mother, he adopted a. child. The people were afraid of his supernatural powers,, and wished to kill him. One day, when he was visiting in one of the houses, and eating seal-meat, his adopted child asked for a small piece of blubber to eat with the meat it was holding in its hand. Powmenakjwane replied to thechild, “I have no blubber for you. I am a woman.” But the child retorted, “I saw some time ago that you have a penis. You are no woman.” Powmenakjwane became angry, and tore off the skin from his face. As soon as the child saw the skull-bones, it fell dead.

After some time a woman loaned her husband to Powmenakjwane. On the following day Powmenakjwane went, out of the hut and exposed his privates to the sun in order to dry them. Then the woman who had loaned him her husband happened to come that way, and saw him. Powmenakjwane , however, had not noticed her; and she ran away as fast as she could, took off her garments, and covered herself with her blanket. She did not tell any one of what she had seen. Powmenakjwane followed her to her hut, and asked if she had seen him, which she denied. Then he asked her, “ Did you tell any one that you saw me sitting there?” She replied, “No, I did not tell any one.” Then Powmenakjwane was satisfied, and left her.

One day quite a number of people were eating whale skin and meat in Powmenakjwane's hut. The people noticed that there were human entrails under the lamp. They threw them out of the door, and the dogs ate them, and one of the dogs ate part of the heart. Powmenakjwane was eating of the whale-meat all the time, still he continued to feel hungry, so that finally he began to worry; and he said, “I must have lost my entrails. I have been eating for a long time now, and I do not feel satiated.” Then he used his supernatural powers, and found that he had lost his entrails, which had been thrown to the dogs. As soon as he discovered this, he put on his boots, went out of the house, and caught the dogs that had eaten his entrails. He took them away from them, and replaced them in his own body; but he was unable to. find part of his heart, which had been eaten by a dog that some time ago had fed on a human body. Then he cried, “Oh! I cannot recover part of my heart, and I must die.” Then he made a grave for himself of stones and whale-bones, and soon he was dead.

56. The Woman who transformed herself into a Bear .

Quite a number of Eskimo live at Nugumiut during the winter, but at other seasons they move camp to a place more suitable for hunting, or where they can be nearer their game.

There is a tradition concerning an old woman who had been left alone at this place with her grand-daughter, a young girl about six years old. The old woman’s son and his wife had moved to another place, where they lived all by themselves. The old woman and her grand-daughter searched the huts for something to eat. At last they found a piece of bear-skin from close to the lips of the bear. There was no flesh on it.

One day the grandmother said to the girl, “We will go away and try to find your father’s and mother’s hut.” They went on, but the girl soon grew tired. They rested awhile. Then the old woman said to the girl, “Go on ahead. Do not be afraid. If you should meet a bear, walk up to it and sit on its back.”

The girl went on. When she was out of sight, her grandmother transformed herself into a bear, which followed the girl. When the girl saw it, she stopped, and the bear walked up to her. She sat down on its back, and they travelled on in the direction of the place where the girl’s father and mother lived. At dark the bear reached the ground-ice. The girl slipped off from the bear’s back. Then the bear spoke, and said, “ When you are with your father and mother in their house, tell them that I should like to come inside during the night, as it is cold on the ice at night.” When the girl had gone, the bear resumed the form of the old woman.

The child went to her mother’s porch and said, “Grandmother has come. May she come in during the night, for it is very cold outside?” The girl’s father refused admittance to his mother. Then the child went back to the old woman, who asked her, ‘‘What did your father say?”— “ He said ‘ Don’t come here,’ ” replied the child. The grandmother told the girl to go up and tell him that her grandmother wanted to come in for a drink. The father said, “No, she shall not come in here.” The girl went back to her grandmother and told her what the father said. The old woman replied, “Tell him that grandmother is hungry and wants to come in.” The girl obeyed; but her father replied, “She shall not come in here.” The girl went and told her grandmother, who whipped her with a small piece of rope, and thus transformed her into a bear. She also transformed herself into a bear. Then they both went up to the hut and broke into it. The man tried to kill the bears, first with his lance, then with his spear, and finally with his knife; but all his weapons broke, and the bears killed both him and his wife.

57. The Woman who became a Bear and killed her Enemy.

In Saumia lived an old woman named Analookashaw , who had a foster son who was her only support. One day the young man went off sealing with a man named Pupewalow. While the two men were out together, Pupewalow proposed to him to try their strength, and while they were wrestling he stabbed and killed him. It was known that Pupewalow had a grudge against the young man. Pupewalow did not mention to any one that he had seen or killed the youth.

The old woman was waiting for her foster son, and when he did not come, she went to Pupewalow's hut, and asked him where he had left her boy. Pupewalow said he had not seen him. On the following day the other men said to Pupewalow , “What did you do with Analookashaw 1 s son? Where did you leave him?” But Pupewalow only said he had not seen him. When the young man did not return, the people thought that he had died, Analookashaw believed that Pupewalow had killed her son, although no one had told her. She went to his house and said, “Is my son dead? Did you stab him or kill him?” He denied his guilt, but she knew that he had killed him, because she was an angakok. She continued, “Tell me if you stabbed him with your knife.” But he replied, “ I did not stab him, nor did I wish to do any such thing.” Analookashaw went home.

Some time before his death, the young man had caught a bear, the meat of which was all consumed by this time, except a small part which was left on the skull. The old woman removed all the flesh from the head of the bear, put the skull into her hood, walked around all the huts, and finally entered Pupewalow's hut. Then she addressed him, saying, “Tell me, now. You did kill my son.” She was close to his legs, and rested her arms on his knees. Then she opened her mouth with her hands, and asked Pupewalow to look and see that her teeth had been almost worn down, and that she had lost many. She said, “I shall die soon, and my soul will enter a bear. It will come and devour you if you do not confess that you killed my son. If you confess, I shall not wish to die; and you also may live if you confess.” She moved about the hut, and Pupewalow saw the bear-skull in her hood, which she intended should come to life and devour Pupewalow for killing her son.

Now the other people became suspicious, and said, “Certainly, he did kill Analookashaw's son;” but he would not confess. During the same winter the old woman died and was buried. One day in spring, Pupewalow and another man were sealing close together, sitting at the breathingholes of seals not far away from the winter village. Ana -

lookashaw's soul had gone into a bear which was sitting near the ground-ice. The bear was trying to find Pupewalow, but, since it was not able to see him from the ground-ice, it went up the hill. There the bear discovered him sitting at the seal-hole. It moved down the hill slowly until it came to Pupewalow . Suddenly the friend of the latter discovered the bear, and shouted to Pupewalow to look out; but the latter did not understand him. The other shouted a second time, “The bear is close to you. Look out!” This time Pupewalow understood, and looked up; but at the same moment the bear jumped at him and knocked him down. As soon as he arose, it knocked him down again. His friend went to his assistance, but the bear meanwhile had killed him and torn him up. His friend did not venture near, but turned and ran home as fast as he could. He told the people what he had seen.

Those on shore had seen the bear killing Pupewalow , and they all ran away except Pupewalow's son and his adopted son. They took up their bows and arrows, intending to kill the bear. Pupewalow's son shot at the bear several times with his arrows, but missed it. Then he asked his foster brother to shoot at the bear. The latter hit it in the right leg, and then he himself shot it in the heart. Then the people returned. They saw that the bear’s skin was worn and old; and some one said, “Do not skin it. It is not good, because it has killed a man.” Then they went to the place where Pupewalow had been killed. They found his body all torn to pieces. Then they tried to track the bear, to discover where it came from. They traced it first to the hilltop, and from there to the ground-ice; but there were no further tracks, showing that it must have come from a crack in the ice. The first tracks were human, but gradually they changed into bear’s tracks. After three nights the body of the bear began to move, and the people were afraid that it might arise again. Pupewalow's son cut off its legs with a knife, and threw them in different directions. Then the bear did not move again.

58. The Artificial Skull that frightened People to Death.

There once lived at Kingawa, side by side, five families and also an old woman and her grandchild. All but one of these families were unkind to this old woman. Whenever any of them had seals, all they would give her was the backbone or hind-quarters, after all the good meat had been cut off. This the old woman would boil. In this way she lived for a long time. Once in a while her only friend would get a seal, and then they would have a nice time, and she would be cheered up for a while.

• Finally the old woman resolved to take revenge on her unmerciful neighbors. Out of bones she made a form like a human face, which she marked with soot. At dawn, shortly before the people left their houses, she placed it near the door of one of the huts. When the people came out, they nearly died of fright. After one family had all come out and seen it, she moved it to another door. First one and then another would come out, and, on seeing the face, would almost die of fright. From that time on, they treated her more kindly, and gave her meat with the bones.

The old woman finally took into her own house the skull or human face she had made, and made another, larger one. After some time the people moved away. Then she sent the large head after them. When they saw it, they all died. Her friends, however, did not desert her.

59. The Boy who harpooned the Whale.

At Niutang, in Kingnait, there was an orphan boy. One day the people were in the house eating whale-skin. The boy was eating a piece of skin, and when he was cutting off the outer tough part, he said to the owner of the house, not knowing that the latter had missed a whale that day, “ People say that it is difficult to drive a harpoon through the skin of the whale. It is not tough at all. It is very soft and tender.’’ The man, thinking that the boy was making fun of him, became angry, and said, “Next time we go whaling, you will have to be harpooneer.” The boy replied, “I do not know how to harpoon whales.” But the man insisted.

After some time, when the weather was fair, he said to the boy, “Come, we will go whaling to-day.” But the latter retorted, “My muscles are not strong enough yet.” He was compelled to go along, however. “Come,” said the man, “you know that the whale-skin is not tough. You said so the other day. You think it is soft and tender, and that it is easy to drive a harpoon through it.”

The boat was manned, and they went off. The boy was seated in the centre of the boat, next to the man who had compelled him to go along. After some time they saw a whale, but it did not come near enough. Then a very large whale arose. Now the boy was told to go ahead and throw his harpoon. He crawled under the thwarts to the bow *of the boat. He stood erect, and took up the harpoon. Now he looked like a strong man. He waved his hand to the steersman to turn the boat a little. Then he raised his harpoon; and when he looked back, the others saw that his face looked like a man’s face, and that he had a beard. He threw his harpoon deep into the whale’s body, and then crawled back to his place. Now he looked like a boy again.

The men in their kayaks were ready to lance the whale when it should rise again; but when it came up, they found that it was dead. All the men said, “We have never before seen a boy kill a whale.” They towed it ashore; and all talked about the boy who, although so small, had killed a whale with one thrust of his harpoon. It took days to cut up the carcass, because it was so large. Late in the fall the boy said, “I use only a whalebone knife when I eat whalemeat, whale-meat is so tender.” Some time after this, when he was larger, he said, “I am still like a woman: I can only go out and sit about. I am not a man yet, although I harpooned a whale when I was a little boy.”

60. The Bear that was transformed into Geese.

One day, at Saunituqdjuaq, a large bear came close to the shore. It did not leave the ice, but just stretched out its neck so that it rested on the shore. When the people saw it, they ran away and hid in a hole in the ground. Only an old woman remained in her hut, because she was unable to walk. She was afraid, and only cried, “ Kengu'qdjuit! ” (“Geese!”). The bear remained standing on the beach, rocking its head. It stretched out its head. When the woman cried out, “Geese!” for the first time, one of the ears of the bear fell off, and flew away as a goose. When she cried again, the other ear fell off; and as she went on crying, one part after another of its body came off, and was transformed into geese.

Atawi'kdjuaq and his wife lived in Saumia. Their son was lost while hunting in his kayak, and the parents set out to search for him. They followed the shore of the sea along Saumia to the head of Cumberland Sound, down the west side, and then up to Lake Netchillik. They crossed the lake, and camped on the bank of its outlet. One day a huge bear came up to their hut. It was as large as a good-sized island. When they saw it coming, they were much afraid. The woman said, “ O bear! this country is not fit for you to live in;” and, turning to her husband, she continued, “What kind of an animal fears man? We cannot get the better of that monster in its present shape. Let us transform it into geese!” Then she shouted, “Geese!” and immediately a cloud of geese arose from the bear’s body.

61. The Hermit.

One day a man who lived in Saumia asked two girls to accompany him while he went sealing. Soon he found a seal-hole, and sat down to wait for the seal to rise. Meanwhile the girls went ashore to look for ptarmigan. While they were running about, they saw a hut at a place where they did not know any people were living. They approached and looked in at the doorway. On one side of the hut, at the rear, there was an elderly woman, and a man and a woman were sitting in the front. The other side of the hut was vacant. The old woman said to the girls, “Where do you come from?” They told her how they had happened to find the hut. Then the younger woman, who was sitting in front, gave them some soup to drink, and all partook of it. After some time the man said, “My name is Udlil - Iowa . I have killed a man, and now I live with my family all alone. We do not wish to live with other people.” The

[. November , iqoi.\ ij younger woman looked as though she were suffering great pain. After a little while, the old woman said, “Will you be one of us? We ar e Naaquaran.” Then the man asked, “Where is your home?” and the girls told him that they lived near by. They returned home, and told the people of their adventure. On the following day the girls tried to find the hut of the Naaquaran again; but when they reached the place, they found no one there.

62. Karnapik , the Cannibal.

One winter the people at Anarnitung were starving. Karnapik’s daughter was dying, and he had given up all hopes of her recovery. Then he asked his wife to give him a piece of rope to tie her up in a blanket. He intended to take her out of the house through the porch. His wife, however, asked him to wait and keep her a little longer. After some time the daughter died. Her father was so hungry that he wished to eat of her, and, although he resisted the temptation for some time, both father and mother finally gave way and ate of her flesh. Thus they lived until they had eaten her entirely.

Then Karnapik took his daughter’s thigh-bone and used it as a speaking-trumpet to call the people. He stepped in front of the door of his house, and shouted through the bone, “Kill some one!” Then the people killed one of their number, and they all ate of his flesh. When they had eaten it all, he again stepped in front of his house and shouted through his trumpet, “Kill another one!” This time they killed more than one person, and they all ate of the flesh. When they had finished, and became hungry again, Karnapik again used his dreadful trumpet, and shouted, “Kill another one!”

Now they had killed quite a number, and only a few people were left. They boiled the human flesh in Karnapik’s house, and when it was done he invited the survivors to come and partake of it. When all the flesh was gone and the people became hungry, Karnapik again blew his trumpet, and shouted, “Kill another one!” Thus their number became less every day. Karnapik’s wife boiled the flesh, and invited the people to come and partake of it. After a few meals it was all gone. Finally only two persons were left. When Karnapik shouted through his trumpet, “Kill another one!” one of these killed the other one, and Karnapik’s wife boiled the flesh. When all of this flesh was gone, Karnapik stepped out of the house. This time he did not shout through his trumpet, but went and killed the last survivor, whom he and his wife ate.

About this time two strangers who were roaming about the country came to Karnapik’s house. One of them looked in at the window, and saw Karnapik eating human flesh. And Karnapik saw him, and said, “We are no longer human beings. We have become supernatural beings.” They told the strangers how they had killed all the people in the village, and how they had used the speaking-trumpet made of the thigh-bone of their dead girl. The visitors, after hearing what had happened, left at once. Karnapik and his wife staid behind, not daring to join human beings again, since they knew they had become supernatural beings. Both of them probably died through want.

63. The Man who drank too much Water .

At Kudlookto , in Kingawa, there were a number of persons who were sealing and caribou-hunting. One day some of them went off to hunt caribou in the lakes. They killed a great many. They towed them ashore, cut them, and covered the meat to protect it from wolves, foxes, and birds, intending to bring it home in the winter. When the earth was covered with snow, they set out to bring the meat home. One man, by the name of Orriotto , chopped the meat with his axe, and passed it round to the others. He himself did not want anything to eat. When they reached home, he was very thirsty, and drank so much that he could neither sit nor lie, but he had to hold on to a rope, which was fastened from the top of the hut, to ease his weight while he was resting on his knees. He was utterly unable to leave this position. He could not even pass his urine. It took him a whole day to recover. After this they went sealing. Orriotto wore a caribou-skin jacket with a hood different from those of this day. Every winter his face had been severely frost-bitten, but this year he was not frost-bitten at all on the face in the spring. At one time the people made a dish of a mixture of caribou-fat and seal-blubber, and everybody was invited to partake of it. Orriotto used a caribou’s shoulder-blade for a spoon, but soon he said, ‘‘My spoon is too small;” and he used his hands in helping himself from the dish.

64. The Woman who could not be satiated .

In Akbakto there lived a woman named Akpukatoo , who had two children by a former husband. There was also another woman at this village, whose name was Attoowo , who was with child. Akpukatoo was continually craving something to eat, and used to go to all the houses, begging for food. She would go to a house and ask for whatever she saw, or help herself, putting pieces of seal-meat into her long boot-legs. Then she would go to another house and do just the same. When she saw soup boiling over the fire, or a pot full of boiling blood for dog’s food, she would ask to be given some of it; and when the people said that it was not yet done, or that it was dog’s food and not fit for man to eat, she would insist, or even take some of it without the permission of the people. For this reason her husband, Ataaurala, became afraid of her, and deserted her.

All the people moved away, leaving her and Attoowo behind; but the two women succeeded in following them. As soon as they arrived, Akpukatoo did as she had done before. Then the people said, “Surely she will finally want to eat man. She is never satisfied, no matter how much she may have had. She is eating, eating, all the time.” Her children were not like their mother. They never asked for any food. The people were afraid of her; and one night they walled up the door and window of her house, so that she and her children could not get out.

On the following morning the people left that place for another, where they staid until spring. About this time they thought Akpukatoo must have died, because she had not re-appeared among them; and when the snow had almost melted from the land, a few of them went to look for her. They opened the house, and found her dead. They saw that she had eaten her children, and had chewed off the soft ends of their bones. Then they went back, and said, “It is just as we thought: she has eaten human flesh.”

65 . The Women who lived by Themselves .

Once a man named Kiniksalao wanted to marry Kingood - lee, his wife’s sister; but the latter did not want him. Neither did his wife, Nouletoo, wish him to marry her sister. So he pondered what he had best do. He thought he would either kill his sister-in-law, or kill his wife and then marry her sister. The two women consulted their mother, Nukatating . They wished to leave the place, but their mother advised them to stay. Nevertheless they resolved to escape and live alone. Their mother felt sorry because they insisted. They took along a little sinew and some needles made of caribou-antlers. When they were quite a distance away, they saw a great many caribou. Then the man’s wife put a stone into her mitten, and threw it at a caribou, but she did not kill it. Since they were unsuccessful in this, they made a long string out of their sinew. Then each of them took one end of the string, and hid, one on each side of the caribou-path. The caribou, coming along the path, would not see the string, and, as soon as they had stepped across it with their fore-feet, the women would lift it, and thus catch the animal between its legs. Then they would bring the ends of the string together, throw the caribou, and kill it. They succeeded in killing a great many in this manner.

Finally they moved on, and went down to the sea. There they built a stone house. After some time they found a dead whale. They carved its meat and blubber, and were well supplied. A short distance from their house, near the window, they built a fox-trap, and caught a number of foxes. During the winter the man and one of his friends went in search of the sisters, and finally one evening reached the place where they had built the house. The two men looked in at the window, but did not speak. When the women saw their faces, they jumped up; but the wife said, “I think it is only a fox’s tail.” Her husband entered the house, and sat down next to her sister, who said, “You have made a mistake: there is your wife over there.”

66. Tale of an Agdlaq.

Early one autumn three brothers went out caribou-hunting together beyond Aggo, not far from a large lake. They were all walking along together one day, when they saw an agdlaq pursuing them. The oldest said, “Let us go to the lake. It is frozen over, and the ice is slippery.” Soon they were there. Then the oldest brother said to the others, “Go on. I will stay here and await the animal.” He had a long pole, to the end of which he fastened his knife. The agdlaq was fast approaching. The man held his pole out toward the animal, which ran right against the knife. It came with such force that the man was pushed along over the ice in the position he had taken, in the direction of his brothers. As they passed along, the youngest brother shot an arrow at the animal, but it hardly pierced its skin. Then the other brother shot, but with no better result. The oldest brother, while being pushed along, drew his lance out of the animal and pushed it in again, which he hoped would kill it in time. Finally the animal fell down dead.

They divided the carcass, skin and all, cutting it into three pieces. Then they took off the skin, and dragged the flesh ashore. The parts were all covered up under the snow except one shoulder, which they dragged to their home. When they reached there, some of the other men had not yet returned from their day’s hunt. Their father, too, was off in his kayak, but he came back soon after their arrival. Those who were at home told the father that all his sons had nearly been killed by an agdlaq. The father said, “Neither bear nor agdlaq will kill my eldest son. He is so clever that no beast is able to catch him.”

67. Tales of Bear-Hunters .

One day the men of Padli were out seal-hunting, when they saw a bear coming toward them. Among the hunters was Acherelwa , a man whose dogs were very good bearhunters. He set them loose to attack the bear. They kept it at bay, and made it lie down without so much as attempting to defend itself. The dogs began to tear its ears, and soon tore the animal all to pieces.

A man named Kutshung lived near Qamaqdjuin. One day he was off caribou-hunting; and while he was looking about for tracks, a bear came up to him from behind. Kutshung discovered the bear while it was still some distance off, and succeeded in reaching shelter. The bear had not seen him, but was on the scent of his track. When it came near enough, Kutshung shot it with his arrows. He hit its back-bone and lamed its hind-legs. Finally he killed it.

One autumn Kulwa was hunting caribou near Qivitung, when he saw a bear quite close by. He hit it with an arrow. The bear turned to attack Kulwa , who ran away. While he was running, he slipped and fell. Then the bear suddenly turned around and ran towards the edge of the water, looking back every now and then. Kulwa was just raising himself when the bear looked back for the first time. He pursued it, and might have caught up with it had it not jumped into the water and swam a short distance to a cake of ice, on which it died. The ice drifted away, and Kulwa was unable to get the bear.

Another day, in winter, while the hunters were sealing, a bear was seen. It ran ashore, and climbed a very steep hill before the dogs came up to it. The bear succeeded in reaching a place where it was protected from behind by a cliff. The hillside was so steep, that the dogs, when driven by the bear, would fall, and roll down. Then Kulwa said, “I will try to kill that bear.” The other people warned him not to attempt it, because the bear was in a position very dangerous for the hunter. Kulwa , however, replied, “Bears do not bite me.” He followed the bear’s tracks, and, when he had almost reached the animal, he called his dog Akko to attack it. The dog succeeded in getting behind the bear, and compelled it to turn around. Kulwa watched his chance, and killed the bear with his arrows. Then all the other hunters came and had a share of the bear-meat. The people all praised Kulwa , saying that he knew how to kill bears. He was almost the oldest man among them. He told them how, when he was young, he used to go up to the bears with his knife in his right hand, and raise his left hand in front of his face, and how the bear would then try to bite the raised arm, but on account of its length could not do so. While the bear was trying to bite him, he watched his chance, and killed it with his knife.

Oonoko, Weba, Mukkoolow , and Etchen were living at Qamaqdjuin. One day a bear came into the entrance of Oonoko's hut, which was built of large stones. The people heard the dogs barking, and trying to jump on top of the hut. They were much frightened. Oonoko had had great success in sealing, and had a good supply of meat and blubber in his hut. He opened the door wide enough to pass a piece of blubber out to the bear. The bear devoured it. Thus he continued to pass out meat and blubber to the bear, but still the animal tried to come into the hut. Oonoko had in his hut a large penis-bone of a walrus. With this he struck the bear on the nose. Meanwhile Weba had gone down to the porch of Oonoko's hut, and shot the bear with his arrows until he killed it. Then the men put a tope around its body, pulled it out of the porch, and skinned it.

Outerertalow , and his wife Keewapek , lived at Keemesoo . Outerertalow , although paralyzed on one side, would go bear-hunting all alone. He harpooned the bears with his sealing-harpoon, fastened his ivory knife to the end of his staff, and killed them with it. One day some men were out sealing, when a bear came up to them. They were much afraid; but Outerertalow went right up to the bear. When the animal tried to catch him, he jumped aside, and threw it with his harpoon. When it turned to catch him in his new position, he took up his lance and threw it again. After the bear was dead, the men came up to see it, and addressed Outerertalow , saying, “You are not afraid of bears!” He replied, “ No, I am not afraid of a bear when I have my harpoon fastened in its body. I can jump aside when it comes toward me.”

One time the people at Padli were packing up their sledges to move camp. An old woman started off on foot, expecting the sledges to overtake her. She had a staff in her hand. After she had travelled for some time, she saw a bear coming up to her, which tried to kill her. She took one of her rabbitskin mittens, put it on the end of her staff, pushed it into the bear’s mouth, and thus killed it.

Some people were living on a small island. One day the men went out in a boat to hunt walrus, which were seen not very far away. They left a woman named Neneala , and her two sons Punyeyloo and Kuminik , on the island. Suddenly the woman saw something moving. She thought it was a rabbit, and said to the boys, “Look at that rabbit!” But, lo! it was a bear. The boys were frightened, and ran down to the shore where the boat was expected to land, while Neneala ran up the hillside.

The bear first pursued the boys, but then changed its course and pursued the woman. She fell down and kicked the bear’s head with her foot. Then the bear tore her breasts, and began to devour her. The people in the boat heard the cries of the boys; and when they saw the bear devouring the woman, they tried to frighten it away, but did not succeed. The boys jumped into the boat. Koolek , the woman’s husband, wanted to go ashore to kill the bear, but the people dissuaded him, saying that he too would be killed. Finally they all left for another island near by. They could hear the bear growling day and night for three days. They left the place never to go back again.

One winter the floe-edge was distant one day’s drive from Qivitung. Some Eskimo, while driving along, saw three bears on the ice. As the snow was hard and smooth, the sledges went along very fast. On one of the sledges were a father and his son. The bears were still so far away that they could hardly be seen. Then the father said to his boy, “Run ahead of the sledges and try to catch the bears!” The father knew that his son was very fleet of foot and a very good bear-hunter. The son started, and ran ahead of the sledges; but soon his speed slackened, and the sledges overtook him. Then his father shouted to him, “Run faster, my boy!” Thus admonished, the boy made another effort, and ran past the sledges until he overtook the first sledge; but then he began to fall back again, and his father admonished him again, saying, “When you are older, you will not be able to learn how to run. Learn while you are young.” Again the boy made a start, but soon fell behind again. When he was near his father’s sledge, he asked his father to throw his harpoon to him. The father did so. The boy took it up, and then ran away sideways from the sledges; and when some distance away, he ran ahead. Now he passed the sledges like a flying duck, and in a very short time caught up with the bears. When they saw the single boy coming up, they all attacked him; but when they tried to bite and strike him, he jumped over them. Thus he kept the bears pursuing him for some time. Meanwhile the sledges were coming nearer. They saw the bears attacking the boy. But before the sledges had time to come up to him, he killed one bear with his spear, and then the second and the third one in the same way. The people said to him, “What did you do to your knees to learn to run so fast?” The boy replied, “ My knees are light.” Then they all went home, and the men told their wives how the boy had killed the bears.

68 . Tales of Caribou-Hunters.

Nipatchee had hunted caribou for many summers in the region beyond Padli. One day when he was out hunting, he discovered a great spar (from the description it was perhaps thirty-five feet long and twenty inches thick). The outside of it was stone, but the inside was good wood, which he used for making arrows. From that time on, he visited this place regularly to take wood from the spar for his arrows, which were so large that one could use them for a frame for stretching skins on to dry. He made points for his large arrows by roughly cutting out pieces of caribou-antlers. He kept the large arrows hidden from the people.

One time a few people from the same camping-place at which Nipatchee lived were out caribou-hunting, and found arrow-shafts that were much larger than those they were in the habit of using. When they came home, they told that they had found arrow-shafts so large that they could not be used by Eskimo. When Nipatchee heard them speak of the arrows, he said, “Perhaps they are mine. When I was up there ptarmigan-hunting, I lost one.”

One time Nipatchee and his wife were off caribou-hunting, when the other people met them. When they saw a caribou at a distance, Nipatchee took an arrow and his bow and pursued it. The caribou heard him, and ran away as fast as it could. Nipatchee , who was very swift of foot, ran until he came close enough to shoot an arrow into the caribou.

The others then went i*p to him. When the caribou was cut up, they moved on to better hunting-grounds, where caribou were more plentiful. When they saw one, they let Nipatchee go off alone with a number of arrows. He caught up with the caribou, and killed it with his arrows. The other people followed, and cut up the caribou which he had killed. Then they moved on.

At the next hunting-place they saw two caribou. Nipatchee pursued them, and when quite close shot his arrow, which passed through both of them, and then bounded along the ground till its force was spent. The others went up to where the caribou were lying dead, and cut, cleaned, and ate them. Then they rested for some time. After a while they saw a great number of caribou. Nipatchee filled his quiver with arrows and. started in pursuit. He had to run very fast, because the caribou had scented him. He killed one after another. When they were all dead, the other Eskimo came up to help in skinning and cutting them. It took quite a time to do so, because the bodies were scattered over a large stretch of ground. When they had finished, they started for home, and finally arrived at their village. The men who had. seen Nipatchee hunting related how he used to run after the caribou, and said that they had never seen any one so swift of foot, and that he never missed a shot.

At Niutang, in Kingnait, lived two married brothers who did not go caribou-hunting with the other men. The people wondered why the two brothers preferred hunting in kayaks to caribou-hunting, and how they would obtain skins for their winter clothing. After some time the hunters returned to the village. They had not obtained enough skins for their winter clothing. Then the brothers said to each other, “The young eider-ducks are now flying about Kekerten. Let us go and get some for our winter jackets.” They went off in their kayaks, but stopped at Kutsaw , which is not far from Niutang. They landed, and carried their kayaks across land to Isortuaqdjuin. There is a lake near the head of this place. Here they watched the caribou crossing the lake, and they caught enough to make a pile of skins as large as a winter house, and meat enough to fill another large house. The hair was just right to make good winter clothing. The brothers, who had left their wives in the village, staid here for a long time.

One day a woman arrived at this place. She had walked all the way from Qamaqdju, which is a long distance off. Her name was Kunengoo. She told them that she had found the remains of a caribou which a» wolf had caught, and that another time she had found a dead fox in a trap, and that she had eaten their meat. She staid with the men, and the elder brother asked her to be his wife. She consented, and after some time they prepared to go back to their home.

About this time the lake was frozen oyer. They asked Kunengoo to remain behind to watch their meat and their skins until they could come back for them during the winter. When they reached home, they told the people that they did not get any ducks, but that they got caribou near KuU saw. They went sealing with the other men in their kayaks. They did no t tell them about the great number of caribouskins, nor about the woman. After a while the sea froze over, and they went hunting at the breathing-holes of the seals. After a short time a seal was caught, and the women began to prepare winter garments. As soon as there was snow enough on the land to travel to Isortuaqdjuin, they set out to fetch their caribou-skins and their meat. They asked their friends for three dog-teams and sledges besides their own, because they had more than they could bring on their own sledges. Their friends asked, “Where are we to get the skins?” And they replied, “From the lake at the head of Isortuaqdjuin.” When the four dog-teams reached the lake, the other men asked the brothers, “Who is that woman?” Then the brothers told how they had met her during the summer. The people were surprised to see the great number of skins. They staid at the lake over night. The following morning the sledges were ready, and they all started back. Soon they reached Niutang; and the people, to seeing the strange woman, wondered where she came from.

Uktowyouakjew was a man of small stature, but of great strength. He lived inland, not far from Qivitung, near a large lake, where he watched for caribou crossing from one side to the other. Then he pursued them in his kayak and killed them. When he was short of blubber, he would go down the river to the coast, and bring up a supply from the seals he had caught in the spring, the blubber of which he bad put up in skin bags. One day, on his return from the sea, he had a bag of blubber tied to his kayak. The river was very rapid, but he was able to make his kayak go right up through the rush of waters. His paddle had holes for handles, not notches like the ordinary paddles.

One day three people arrived, —two young men and their mother, Kookalejwak. After a while the older brother tried to seduce Uktowyouakjew's wife. Uktowyouakjew knew it, but he did not remonstrate. He merely said to his wife, “Why should you be content to have me for a husband all the time?” But she warned the brothers, telling them that her husband was very strong, and that he was very angry. But they did not believe that he was a strong man, because he looked so small. Kookalejwak said to him, “You are too small: my sons are much larger than you are. Your muscles are very slight. All you can do is to sit down in front of the lamp and cook seal-meat.” Thus she taunted him every day.

One day these people were in their kayaks, hunting caribou on the lake. The two brothers were pursuing two caribou. Then Uktowyouakjew jumped into his kayak, and shouted to his wife to bring his paddle. He made his kayak fly as though it had wings, and very soon he overtook the two persons. He shot along right between their kayaks, and was moving so fast that the rush of the water upset them. Then he took the caribou by their antlers, and drowned them by holding their heads under water. He towed them back to the shore, and then helped the brothers out of the water. He cut up his caribou, and said to the old woman, “Your sons look like men when they are in their kayaks. You think no other man is their equal in strength. Here, take some of this tallow.’’ During the night, while Uktowyouakjew and his wife were asleep, the brothers left the place.

A man named Kudlang and his son were out caribou-hunting near Ugdjuktung, in Saumia. When they came to a lake, they saw a caribou standing in the water on the opposite side, throwing the water about with its antlers. On coming nearer, they were much surprised to hear the noise it was making, dashing its antlers against the rocks. They stopped, and after some consideration Kudlang told his boy that he would try to shoot the caribou. He crept up to it, and when near enough tried to shoot it; but the cap of his gun snapped. The caribou did not notice him, on account of .the noise it was making when striking the rocks. Then it went back to the pond and threw the water about. Meanwhile the man had put another cap on his gun; and when he was near enough, he fired. The caribou stopped, and, on seeing Kudlang , started to attack him. The man ran around the bowlders in order to escape it. Finally the caribou ran right up to a bowlder, struck it with its head, and fell down dead. Then Kudlang called the boy to come. He said to him, “This is not a caribou. It smells quite different. Its hind-quarters are bare, and its antlers are worn off from striking against the bowlders.” They took off the skin, cut it open, and in its stomach found great tufts of moss that had not been chewed. The flesh tasted bad, although the fat looked very nice. They covered the k flesh up and went home.

69. Tales of Whalers and Sealers.

One winter the people in Aggo started off sealing, when they saw a whale in a large hole that it had kept open to breathe in. There was no open water near by. One of the hunters put his hand into the whale’s blow-hole. The whale closed it, and the man, who could not free his hand, was taken down under water. The other men were waiting near the hole for the whale to come up again. Soon it reappeared, carrying on its back the man whom it had taken down. They took him off, and found that he was still alive. Then they all fastened the ends of their sealing-lines to the ice, and harpooned the whale. After they had thus made it fast, they stabbed it with their knives, which they had fastened to the ends of their spears. In its death-struggle the whale broke all the sealing-lines except one. Then the men returned home and told their wives that they had killed a whale. On the following day they cut it up, and began to take home the meat, blubber, and skin.

At Isortuqdjuaq, in Kingawa, the beach is full of bowlders. One morning when Ohkoko went out of his house, he saw a whale stranded. He took his lance and tried to kill it. The whale made the bowlders and the mud fly, striking them with its tail. Then Ohkoko put stones on the tail in order to hold it down, but the whale just threw them about. The hunter kept close to its body in order to keep away from the flying bowlders. He finally killed the whale, and then went to the huts and told the people what he had done. When the tide rose, they took the whale close up to their huts, and cut it up. They were well provided for that winter.

A number of people lived at Isortuaqdjuin, in Kingawa. One day in spring Kooban was out looking for young seals, and when near the water-hole at Echayaling , he saw a number of killer-whales which had kept a place open during the winter. Their back-fins were covered with ice, and they were very thin and weak. Kooban went home and told the other people what he had seen. On the following day they all went to see the killer-whales. They discussed how they could best kill them. They took their kayak spears and harpooned them; but they did not cut them up, because they thought they would not have enough blubber, and that their meat would be too rank.

At Kumakjen , in Padli, there had been a heavy swell and a strong gale of wind from the southeast, which broke up the ice, and piled the floes over each other. After the gale was over, two men tried to go to Mineto to fetch some meat. Their names were Pavvean and Assesa. The others were going sealing. Oolloole was very angry at these two men for going on that day, but he did not say a word. In the evening the sealers returned without any seals. Late in the evening the two men returned with their sledges heavily loaded with seals. They had not gone to Mineto , but they had caught all the seals on that day. Then they told that the heavy swell had killed many seals between the ice, and that others had scrambled up on the high pieces of ice and had fallen down, and that still others were trying in vain to reach the water. Some had been trying to scratch down through the ice. Early the next morning all the men went out, led by Pavvean and Assesa. They found a great many seals, and took them home. Thus they continued to live for many days.

Nutaakdju , and his wife Inukdjua, lived at Kimaksook. One day Nutaakdju caught a killer-whale, and the people saw him towing it to an island. They went off in their kayaks to assist him; but when they came near enough tosee him more distinctly, they saw him and his kayak diving up and down just as killer-whales do. They became frightened, and ran to the shore. When they looked back again from shore, they saw Nutaakdju towing the killer-whale as before, but he was going very fast. Nutaakdju landed, and began to cut his game. They continued to watch him, and saw that for some time he looked like a killer-whale. They even recognized the fin on his back. They heard Nutaakdju

[November, /go/.] . 18

calling out to them to come to assist him, but they were afraid to go. After some time, however, they made up their minds to go to Nutaakdju , and they saw that he had his normal form. He was not a killer-whale. They told him of what they had seen; but Nutaakdju simply laughed at them, and said, “I was no killer-whale: I was only playing with delight.''

In Sikosuilaq, while the men were off sealing in winter, the ice broke. For a number of days they wandered about, jumping from piece to piece; but the floes became smaller and smaller. For some days they had succeeded in staying together; but finally Ulireyak , a young man, was not able to keep up with his companions. Notwithstanding the entreaties and admonitions of his friends, he gave up and lay down. They made a house for him, and put him into it. Then they continued their march, and finally succeeded in reaching shore. When they were questioned about the young man, they said that he had refused to go on, and that they had made a snow house for him to stay in.

Spring came, and the seals were seen on the ice. The men had long given up all hope of seeing Ulireyak again. ‘One day Keenaroun, and his wife Queanato, were out sealing. They were trying to catch both young and old seals. Suddenly their dogs scented something. The man followed them through heavy snowdrifts, and kept sounding all the time in order not to pass the burrow of the young seals. Suddenly his wife heard a voice. He stopped his team and 'listened. Then he moved in the direction from which the sound came. He sounded all the time with the handle of bis seal-hook. Finally he found a hollow place; and when he broke the snow crust, he saw that it was Ulireyak's house. He was still alive. The heat of his body had melted a hole in the ice, and the inside of his hut was very filthy. They took him on their sledge, and offered him some seal-meat, which, however, he refused. He only asked for a small piece of the intestines. His voice was very weak. He took just two mouthfuls, and felt as if he had had enough. They took him home, and all the people were surprised that he should have lived so long without food. The young man recovered. Ulireyak’s mother lived at a village not far away, but he did not care to leave the people who had found him, and who had treated him so kindly.

70. Tale of a Fisherman.

In Tolariak , north of Padli, the people were hunting caribou, and catching salmon in a lake. A boy who was fishing with a sealing-harpoon had become fast to a salmon. He had wound a bight of the harpoon-line round his wrist. The salmon was so large that it dragged him into the water and drowned him. The whole fall and winter the people had a great many salmon and caribou, and they had to travel a great many times with their sledges to their summer huntingground to bring the provisions home.

71. Tales of Accident and Starvation.

There was a camp near Qivitung, on the floe-ice, some distance from the land. The people had been living there for some time, when all of a sudden a heavy swell came and broke up the ice under the houses, compelling the inmates to make their way to the land the best they could. In one of the houses was an old man. The ice broke right under the house, and split it in two, leaving the old man in one half. He refused to join the people, and staid where he was. His son, with whom he was living, had a wife and three children. The youngest child was still in its mother’s hood. Now, however, the mother took it out of her hood, and put in the next older child. She left her oldest and her youngest with their grandfather in the ruined hut.

While trying to reach the shore, some of the people fell between the cracks of the ice, and many of them were drowned. The son of the old man led the way. The women had not had time to take any of their belongings except their knives and needle-cases. The men had only their spears, knives, and harpoon-lines. After five days of dangerous travelling, they reached the shore. They had no food, and no water to drink. On reaching land, they searched for a pond. They discovered one; but after they had cut through the ice,the water was found to be salt, although it was quite a distance from the shore. After some time they found another pond, which had fresh water. Then they began to drink. Some of the people reached the shore at this time. When they saw the others drinking, they shouted,'“ Don’t drink all the water! Leave some for us!” But the pond was so large that there was plenty for all of them. Some of them had drunk too much water, and complained of feeling cold; while others, who had not taken so much, said that they felt warm and comfortable after drinking. Those who had taken too much water died before they reached the old camping-place on shore, and only a very few of the people who had left the village survived to sing their old songs.

At Isortuqdjuaq, in Kingawa, the people had been hunting caribou. In the fall, when they were preparing to move camp, the frost set in very suddenly, covering the sea with ice. Heavy snows fell, and they were unable to leave. Soon they were starving. Many people died; but in one house an old woman named Quawallozv, her three sons, and her daughter, survived. The name of her eldest son was Rating . He decided to go to Niutang to ask aid of the people who were living there. He left his dog with his mother, that they might eat it after he was gone.

A short time after Rating had left, his mother missed the dog. She went in search of it, and found that it? footprints led to a neighboring hut. She had thought that the people inside were dead; but when she went in, she found them still alive. She asked, “Is my dog in here?” The woman in the house denied that it was there, saying she had not seen it; but Quawallow insisted, saying that she had seen its tracks leading in, but not coming out again. She searched for her dog, and finally, when she lifted the heather, found its skinned body. She became very angry, and took it home. There she told her children that the woman had killed her dog with the intention of eating it. Soon the neighbors were all dead, and Quawallow and her children were living on the meat of her dog. She knew that her son would have to walk a long way before he would be able to return.

Rating , on reaching Niutang, found that the people had caught two whales in the fall of the preceding year. He told them how the people in Isortuqdjuaq were starving; that a few had tried to reach other places, but that they were supposed to have died in the attempt, since nothing had been heard from them. Rating's friends were very kind to him, and after a while he forgot his starving mother, his brothers, and his sisters. After a few days he was ready to return. The people gave him a whalebone toboggan and an old dog, and loaded the toboggan with whale-meat, whaleskin, and blubber. When he was ready to start, they said to him, “Stay here. Probably your mother is dead by this time;” but Rating replied, “No, I think she is alive;” and he started on his way to Kingawa. When he reached there, he went to the window of his mother’s hut, and asked, “Are you all dead?” His mother replied, “No: there is life in us yet.” Then he went in, and gave them the whale-meat and whale-skin, and his mother told him of what had happened while he was away.

They continued to stay in this place. Rating went out sealing. He found a seal-hole, and went back home. He was afraid the seal might have heard him, and would not return for a long time: therefore he staid at home for two days. On. the third day he went to the seal-hole and waited for the seal to come. On the following morning the seal came, and he harpooned it, cut it up, and took it home. When his brothers and sisters saw it, they thought it was delightful, and they started a fire and cooked the meat. Then they felt better, and Rating went to bring the rest of the meat home.

Rating's mother did not feel very well. She wished to have a ptarmigan. Rating succeeded in killing one. Then she felt better, but soon afterward she grew worse again. Then she wished for a piece of caribou-meat. Rating went hunting, and succeeded in killing a caribou. He took part of the meat home, and they were very much delighted at seeing it. They ate of it, and his mother felt quite well again. About this time spring had come, and the seals were basking on the ice. He was able to kill enough, and they were no longer in need.

Once upon a time two boats started from Netchillik down Koukdjuaq, and northward along the shore of Fox Channel. One of the boats returned the same summer. They had taken some walrus-hide along; and Piaraq, their leader, had said to them, “Why do you take walrus-hide along? You must not take walrus-hide when you go caribou-hunting. If you do, you will starve/’ But they did not follow his advice. They found only a few caribou at Netchillik, and had to return for want of food. After some time some other people went down Koukdjuaq, trying to find the other boat’s crew, who had gone along the coast of Fox Channel. They fell in with them in the fall, and found that they were starving. All the people, except Okowsecheak and his wife, were dead, and these two only survived by eating of the bodies of those who had died.

Not very long ago two boats were whaling near Niutang. One of them succeeded in getting fast to a whale. Suddenly the whale, which had dived, rose under one of the boats, and upset it. The crew were thrown into the water, and were nearly drowned, but the crew of the other boat succeeded in rescuing them. They placed the men over the thwarts of their own boat, on their stomachs, until they had vomited all the salt water, and they recovered. The whale, however, was lost. During the same fall, as the weather was very bad, they caught no whales, and were starving. They succeeded in getting a caribou or two, but not enough for their needs.

Autumn came, and ice was forming in the places outside of the fiord. They had some walrus-meat on the island Midliaqjuin, and they made up their minds to go overland to the point of land nearest to it, and to cross over on the ice. Etwallou was their leader. They succeeded in crossing the new ice, and reached their caches. Then Etwallou said, “ Take all the meat out of the caches, and divide it into equal parts.” He said so several times in order to make them understand. But as soon as the people reached the meat, they began to eat while they were still taking off the stones. They could not wait, because they were all so hungry. After they had had enough, they divided the remainder, slept, and on the following day they put the meat into a skin, put it on their backs, and carried it home.

At a place named Ichagatto , near Sikosuilaq, while the ice was forming on the ponds, a number of men were crossing a lake on their way to the caribou-hunting grounds. The ice was still thin; and three of the men — Noodlooapik , Angmatcheak , and Angoomishik — broke through, and were unable to get out again. Pudawallow and Mikiejew tried to throw ropes to them in order to pull them out, but the ropes were too short. The cold water soon benumbed them, and they were drowned.

Mikiejew ran to the shore and called his mother. She came to him as fast as she could, and, while they were walking to the hole through which the men had broken, Mikiejew told her of what had happened. Mikiejew’s mother, when seeing the bodies, thought they were rocks. She tried to pull them out of the water, but she broke through herself, and was only rescued with great difficulty by Pudawallow .

Keyooksaak, an old man, and his wife Ooagejalaw , heard of what had happened. They took a pole to sound the ice until they were near enough to the bodies to reach them with a long stick. Then they drew them back, and took

280 Bulletin American Museum of Naturat History. [Vol. XV, them to shore. The old man said, “Was it not too bad for them to try to walk on the ice when it was so thin?” Pudawallow replied, “We thought it was strong enough/’ Then they all went back to their homes. Then the old man said again, “Was it not too bad for them to try to walk on the ice when it was so thin?” And Pudawallow and Mikiejew replied again, “Yes, but we did not know any better. We thought it was strong enough.”

72. Tales of Quarrels , Murder , and War.

One day Noodelwa and Ekkomalo were going to move from Ssauniqtung to a camp on the ice. They asked Akygerjew> who was very fleet-footed, to accompany them. After they had gone some distance, their dogs took a scent and began to run. Soon they saw a stranger sitting at the breathinghole of a seal. When he saw the sledge coming, he jumped up, and started to run away. The dog-team was not very far from him, and the three men tried to kill the stranger. They shot arrows at him, but they missed him.

The stranger was very fleet of foot, and soon got out of reach of his pursuers. Then Noodelwa jumped off the sledge and began to run after the stranger. The latter, however, proved to be much the faster, and after a short while was far ahead of Noodelwa. Then the latter gave up the pursuit, and said to Akygerjew , “Jump off the sledge and run after him! If you kill him, we will give you his kayak.” But Akygerjew did not respond. After a short time they said again, “Try to catch him, and we will give you his kayak.” Then Akygerjew jumped off his sledge and began to run after the stranger. In a very short time he was far ahead of the sledge, and began to draw near to the fugitive. When the latter saw that his pursuer was gaining on him, he threw off his jacket in order to run more quickly; but nevertheless Akygerjew came nearer and nearer. Then the fugitive turned to one side in order to escape; but Akygerjew was now within shooting distance, and sent an arrow after him. It was a bird-arrow with blunt head, so that, even if it had hit him, it would not have killed him.

The fugitive, however, turned back, and shouted, “Stop shooting, or I will kill you!” With this he spanned his bow and aimed an arrow at Akygerjew. The latter, however, being very fleet of foot, easily kept out of range. While the two men were thus trying to catch up with each other, and to kill each other with arrows, the sledge was coming nearer; and when it was at shooting distance, Noodelwa jumped off and shot the stranger. The arrow struck his leg, but did not kill him. The stranger simply pulled it out, broke it in two, and threw it down. Then he turned upon Noodelwa , and tried to kill him; but while he was doing so, Ekkomalo shot an arrow which hit his leg. The stranger tried to take it out, but was not able to do so. He cried, “Stop!” and with this fell down dead.

Ekkomalo tried to take his arrow out of the stranger’s leg, but could only remove it by cutting it out. They found the house of the stranger whom they had killed, and Akygerjew took possession of his kayak.

Kammungan, who lived at Kingawa, was unable to walk on his feet; but he could run very fast on his hands and knees. When the sledge was going at a high rate of speed, he was able to jump off across the traces of the dogs, and back to the sledge again. His beard was very long. One summer the people who were staying at Issertuqdjuaq, caribou-hunting, were very unsuccessful because the caribou always took the scent of the hunters, and made their escape. Kammungan , however, ran so fast that he headed off the caribou, and killed them. In the fall he came back with his caribou-skins. One day he said, “Why is it that these men, whose legs are perfect, have so few caribou-skins, and I, who am lame, have so many more than they?” Then these men became angry, and wished to kill him. One day they stood ready with their bows and arrows to kill him; but when they were shooting at him, he jumped up, and dodged the arrows. They were unable to hit him. The men then went away, being afraid of his great powers.

Noonatoo , and his wife Punewishik , were living at A Ik jaw r near Kivetoo. Okoweecheak was living at another place near by. Okoiveecheak had been starving for some time. One day Noonatoo found that some of his dogs were missing. He was searching for them, and finally went to Okoweecheak's hut to inquire about them. He saw that their tracks led to the hut, but found no traces of their having returned. To his question whether he had seen his dogs, Okoweecheak replied, “ Some of them came, but they have run away again.’’ Noonatoo retorted, “They have not left this island. I see their tracks coming, but not going. I am sure you have eaten them.” Okoweecheak replied, “I have not eaten any dogs;” and his wife, who was Noonatoo's sister, confirmed what he had said.

No.onatoo became very angry, and went away. He told his wife that he had seen the tracks of his dogs leading to- Okoweecheak's hut, and that he was sure they had been eaten there. On the following morning he asked his wife to invite Okoweecheak to join him at Alkjaw. The woman went, and Okoweecheak broke up his tent, loaded his sledge, and started.

While they were loading, Punewishik saw a dog’s skin, the flesh side of which was still wet. They started, and soon they arrived at Noonatoo's hut, where they put up their tent. Then Punewishik told her husband that she had seen a fresh dog’s skin among Okoweecheak's goods. Now they knew that Okoweecheak had eaten their dogs ; and Noonatoo forbade his wife to give them any seal-meat. When Noonatoo's sister came to his house, they did not give her anything to eat. After some time, she came again, and staid with her brother. Then Noonatoo went to Okoweecheak's hut, walled in the door, and left him to starve to death.

In Sikosuilaq a man by the name of Keyoota, and a second party consisting of Kemebiiktuak , and his two brothers-inlaw Eeachak and Sikeaksheak f were out hunting walrus, when the ice broke- up, and they went adrift. Eeachak saved himself on a high piece of ice. While the others were jumping from one cake of ice to another, Keyoota stabbed Kemebiiktuak , and pushed his body into the water. Eeachak did not know this. As soon as he came near to Keyoota , the latter stabbed him also, and killed him. Sikeaksheak had seen the murder of the two men. He was very much afraid of Keyoota; but he promised, that, if they should return, he would not tell what had happened. But the friends of Keyoota were afraid that he might not keep his promise, and would tell of the murder: therefore one of them tried to kill him. He took his knife and stabbed him from behind; but since he was not very strong, his knife only cut through the skin, and glided off from his ribs. Then Keyoota himself took the knife and killed Sikeaksheak.

The hunters were drifting for several days, but finally they succeeded in reaching the land-floe, and returned to the shore. They landed at a village not far from their home. The people were surprised to see the hunters coming without any game. The travellers told them that Kemebiiktuak , Eeachak , and Sikeaksheak had separated from them, and that they did not know what had become of them. Keyoota asked the people for a pair of old worn-out trousers; but an old man told him that he hadn’t any. Then the hunters returned to their own people, who at once inquired for the other men. They maintained again that they lost them when the ice broke up. The following year Keyoota left his place; and when he had gone, the other men told what had happened.

In Akudnirn there was a woman who had two sons. The elder one was a very strong man; but the other people feared and hated him, because he was a bad man, and because he cohabited with his mother. His mother also was angry with him on account of his bad ways. Her younger son, Keyakjuak, said to her one day, “I think I am able to throw my brother;” but she told him that it would not be right for him to do any harm to his brother. Keyakjuak had a cousin who also wished to kill the bad man.

One day Keyakjuak and his cousin were out together. The one said to the other, “Let us see which is the stronger.” The cousin jumped at Keyakjuak , and tried to take him by one of his legs, but Keyakjuak jumped back. Now they stood face to face again; and this time Keyakjuak jumped at his cousin, grasped one of his legs, and threw him down. He did so a second time, and then they knew that Keyakjuak was the stronger of the two.

Another day Keyakjuak and his cousin were together, and they saw the bad man coming toward them. When he was near by, they took him by the legs and threw him down. Keyakjuak took his knife, stabbed his brother, and killed him. They carried his body away some distance, and covered it with stones.

After several days the people shouted to Keyakjuak , “Your brother is calling from his grave.” Keyakjuak said, “ I will go and see.” He went to the grave, removed several stones, and put in his arm to feel whether his brother was alive, but he found that he was stiff and cold. After some time, when Keyakjuak and his cousin were again together, Keyakjuak's mother asked, “Who killed my son?” Keyajuak replied, “My cousin and I killed him.”

Autumn came. The people were playing at ball. Keyak - juak's opponent, after he had played with him for some time, suddenly stared at him. Keyakjuak asked, “Why do you stare at me?” but he received no answer. Keyakjuak repeated his question. He noticed that the man was very angry. Then he took him by the knees, shouting, “I have caught a stranger!” and walked away with him towards a bowlder, intending to knock him against it; but his cousin ran after him, and said, “Although your brother was a bad man, you must, not kill other people too.” Then Keyakjuak let the man go.

The following summer the people were out caribou-hunting. One day a large buck came in their way, and all the people shot their arrows at it and killed it. Keyakjuak and his cousin were the first to speak. His cousin said, “I hit it first.” But Keyakjuak said, “No, I do not think so. It was my arrow that killed it.” They kept on quarrelling for some time, and finally another man said that he had killed it. Then Keyakjuak grew angry, and took the caribou by the hind-legs and dashed it to pieces on the rocks. Then nobody dared to claim it.

Once upon a time there was a man at Padli named Kanatchea. His mother’s name was Totlaving. He was always in bad humor, and would strike his wife almost every day. His mother was the only person who loved him. Kanatchea was a very good sealer, and he generally came home with a number of seals. Sometimes he would catch an old male seal, and would say to it, “Why do you come to me? I don’t want to see your face. It reminds me too much of my own angry face.” Then he would take the harpoonpoint out of it, and put it back into the water.

One winter Kanatchea said to his mother, “Mother, what would you like to eat?” She replied, “I wish something that you cannot obtain now. I should like some berries.” It was not the season in which berries are found. He harnessed up his team, and soon returned, bringing berries for his mother. Again he went hunting and caught a great many seals. One day he staid at home. Then he tied a pair of his wife’s trousers in a knot, suspended them with a string from the tent-poles, and made them twirl around, and when the part between the legs became visible he would begin to laugh. Again he went sealing, and, as usual, caught a great many seals. Another evening he suspended a dog from the tent-poles. Then he asked his mother again, “What would you like to eat?” She replied, “Some whaleskin,” which was also out of season at that time. He harnessed his dogs and went off, and soon returned, bringing some whale-skin. After some time he asked his mother again what she would like to eat, and she asked for salmon, although it also was out of season. He went off, and in the evening returned with quite a number of salmon.

• In summer they staid at Akpan. There his mother died. Then he moved slowly from Akpan to Padli. It took four days to reach the latter place. There he made a grave for his mother. After she was buried, he moved to Qivitung. He staid there, at a place named Ackerwallee. There he met his sister and her family. There were quite a number of people staying on both sides of the river. Sometimes his sister would come to visit his wife, and they would play to pass the time. One day they were trying to make fire with the fire-drill; and whenever the drill slipped and fell down, they would laugh. Kanatchea also tried his hand at making fire with the drill. When the drill slipped, he became very angry, took a knife, and cut one of his nephews. The children ran home, wading through the river, which was quite deep. Kanatchea pursued them. About this time the father of the children and his friends had assembled on the bank of the river, having heard of what had happened. They saw Kanatchea crossing; and when he had nearly reached the bank, they shot their arrows at him. He was not killed, but went back to his own hut. Then all the people went across to see if he was fatally wounded. When they came to the hut, they heard him groaning, and saw his dogs howling, and trying to rush in; but Kanatchea 1 s wife kept them away. Then the people ordered her to allow the dogs to go in. As soon as she did so, the dogs rushed into the hut and devoured Kanatchea.

Two brothers were living at Padli. The name of the younger was Icheytechak. He had no wife. One day, while he was off in his kayak, his brother’s wife, who had a child about two years old which she was carrying in her hood, went away some distance from the huts, where the people could not see her. There she took the boy from her hood, put him to sleep, and covered him with her outer jacket. Then she left, and went away to meet her brotherin-law. They took his kayak, carried it overland, and eloped.

When the child awoke and found that his mother had left him, he began to cry. The people heard him, and soon found him all alone. They led him back to the huts; but, since he was clad in his mother’s jacket, he stumbled while walking, and reached the hut only with difficulty. Then the father asked his child, '‘Where is your mother?” The child replied, “I looked for her, but could not find her.” Then the father went away and travelled all over the country, searching for his wife. The people told him, “Your brother Icheytechak and your wife disappeared at the same time.”

The man could not find a trace of either his wife or his brother. He continued the search until the fall of the year. One day he came to a lake, and there found a tent. Here Icheytechak was living. While the elder brother was watching, Icheytechak saw a ground-seal in the water. He went into his kayak in order to kill it; but very soon the seal rose right under the kayak, and upset it, so that the hunter was drowned. Then the woman began to cry. Now the man walked up to the tent; and when his wife looked up and beheld him, she ran towards the lake, but her husband took hold of her by her jacket. He did not punish her, but merely asked her to go home with him. After they had walked a long distance, the woman’s boots began to be worn down, and she could hardly walk on because her feet were so sore. Then her husband reproached her for having run away. He said, “You have brought this on yourself. You will have to walk all the way home. You alone are the cause of your boots being worn out now.” After some time they came to a large river. He went into his kayak and took his wife in tow. Then they continued to walk until the woman was tired out. She asked him to go on alone, since her feet were sore, but he compelled her to go on. When they reached the village, he told his wife that she would have to live henceforth in a small hut by herself. They continued to live this way for many years.

Meanwhile the boy had grown old enough to go hunting caribou and seals. One summer he had procured a great many caribou-skins. Then his mother asked him for a skin to make a pair of trousers for herself; but the boy refused it, saying, “No. I have not forgotten what you did to me. You left me on the ground all alone, not caring what might become of me.”

One spring Kokoparoolee 1 s brother went out hunting youngseals, and became snow-blind by exposing his eyes too much to the sun’s rays. Four young men, his enemies, who were also out hunting, took this opportunity to attack him. He was unable to defend himself, and the oldest of the four men stabbed and mortally wounded him. He did not feel the wound, and said to them, “I do not want you to kill me,” and died. The four young men left the body and went home.

When Kokoparoolee heard that his brother had been killed, he resolved to avenge his death. He was a small man. His companions often said of him that he was more like a girl than a man. He waited a whole year. When spring came, and it was again time for hunting young-seals, the four young men moved to a place which is favorable for their pursuit. When they were settled, three of them went out sealing. The one who had stabbed Kokoparoolee 1 s brother was at home. He had to stay in bed because he was snowblind. His wife saw Kokoparoolee coming, and rolled her husband up in seal-skins, of which they were going to make a new tent. Soon Kokoparoolee arrived. He saw the outer jacket and the spear of one of the men in a small snow house near the tent-door. He went inside and asked the woman to whom the jacket in the small snow house belonged. “ It is my boy’s,” she replied. “And whose is the spear?”— “It is my boy’s.”—“Whose bow and arrow are these?”— “They are my boy’s.”

Then Kokoparoolee stepped up to the bed and thrust his knife through the bundle of seal-skins lying there. His knife passed through the body of the hidden man and killed him.

Then Kokoparoolee went away. The three brothers saw him approaching on his sledge. While the sledge was still some distance off, the eldest one asked, “Who are you?”— “ I am Kokoparoolee , the young girl of whom you have no fear.” As soon as he came close enough, he shot the two elder ones with his arrows. The youngest one ran to the shore. As soon as the others were disposed of, Kokoparoolee followed until he came within throwing distance. The young man attached his line to his spear and threw it at Kokoparoolee , but the latter dodged it. Then Kokoparoolee shot his arrows at the young man. Neither the first nor the second arrow killed him, and he still endeavored to hit Kokoparoolee with his spear. It was only after a number of Kokoparoolee's arrows had hit the young man that the latter died. So many arrows had struck him, that his body did not touch the ground when he fell down dead. Kokoparoolee took out all the arrows but one, the head of which broke off in the body. He had to cut the body in two crosswise, in order to find it.

Another summer came, and Kokoparoolee was making a kayak. One day a boat arrived, and one of the crew went up to Kokoparoolee's tent. When he came near, Kokoparoolee jumped over his kayak to the other side. The stranger went slowly round towards Kokoparoolee , but the latter jumped across again to the other side. In this way they continued, but the stranger did not succeed in reaching him. While he went round and round the kayak, trying to catch Kokoparoolee , one of the other men took a human skull from the shore to their boat. Finally the stranger gave up trying. He went back to the boat and told his companions that he was not able to catch their enemy. Before the boat left, they put the human skull into the water at the place where they started. They thought that it would frighten Kokoparoolee to death.

The boat left; and when it was some distance off, Kokoparoolee went down to the shore. There he saw the skull. % As he coijld not reach it with his hands, he took a kayakpaddle and lifted it out of the water. Then he jumped into the kayak and took it some distance from shore. The people in the other boat went to a place not very far away, and there they all died, but Kokoparoolee lived on.

[. December , igoi.]

There once lived at Kutsaw , in the region of Kingnait, a powerful man by the name of Kunikjwak. Nearer the head of Kingnait lived * another man by the name of Pudlookshine.' Once upon a time Kunikjwak's son abducted Pudlookshine's wife. Pudlookshine was afraid to take her back, for he feared that Kunikjwak , being so powerful, would assist his son. However, he went to visit his wife occasionally. Pudlookshine's sister lived at Aggagidjen.

One day Kunikjwak's son went home with a seal. He was just cutting it up, when Pudlookshine arrived at the door of his snow house. Kunikjwak saw Pudlookshine , and said to him, “They tell me you want to kill some one.” Kunikjwak's son remarked, “Indeed!” Kunikjwak repeated this falsehood. Then his son rushed out to attack Pudlookshine, who stood still until he saw the young man running towards him with a knife; then he fled, running round the hut, and round a boat that stood near by. After a while he grew tired and stopped. At the same time he thrust out his knife backward over his shoulder. Kunikjwak's son could not stop himself, and rushed into the sharp knife, which pierced his heart. Then Pudlookshine ran away as fast as he could, following one of the sealing-tracks.

Kunikjwak and one of his friends harnessed their dogteams and went in pursuit. After Pudlookshine had gone some distance, he jumped from one track to another, and then covered himself over with snow. As it was night, and the snow was falling heavily, he thought his pursuers might pass by without seeing him.

Kunikjwak had fallen somewhat behind the sledge of his friend. They had been on Pudlookshine's track for some time, and were expecting to see him soon. Kunikjwak began to fear that his friend might rush forward, and kill Pudlookshine before he himself had a chance to tell him what he wanted to do. Therefore he called out to him, saying that he did not want him to kill their enemy, but that he wished to cut off his limbs one by one.

1 Compare No. 81, p. 305.

1901.] BoaSy Eskimo of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay . 291

They travelled on and on. Suddenly one of the dogs scented Pudlookshine . It jumped sideways, but for some reason became frightened and ran along with the rest of the team. So they did not find Pudlookshine , and went home.

Then Pudlookshine arose and proceeded to Aggagidjen, where his sister was living. When he arrived there, he told his friends all his adventures. His brother-in-law promised to protect him, and he lived there for a long time.

One summer Kunikjwak had caught a whale at a place not far from Aggagidjen, and was flensing it. Pudlookshine and his brother-in-law were a short distance away. As the sky was clear, and they were in the direct rays of the sun, they were not seen at first by the whalers. But when Kunikjwak discovered them, he ordered his friends to stop. He said, “Wait until we kill those two; then we will come back and cut up the rest.” They stopped cutting, launched their boats, and went to Aggagidjen.

Now, Pudlookshine had built a line of stone forts along the shore. The landing-place was quite narrow and close to the forts. He was standing behind one of these forts when the boat approached the shore. When it had almost landed, he went down towards the shore, and then walked back to where his brother-in-law was lying behind the stone wall. Kunikjwak cried out to Pudlookshine , “You ran away the last time I saw you, and now you are off again.” Pudlookshine replied, “I am not going to run away,” but he disappeared behind the stone wall. The crew of the boats ran up quickly. They did not see Pudlookshine's brother-in-law, who shot the men with his bow and arrows as soon as they appeared on the stone wall. Then Pudlookshine and his brother-in-law went down to the boat. Kunikjwak met them on the beach, and tried to crush Pudlookshine with his bow; but the latter cut him across his belly with a knife, so that his bowels fell out. Kunikjwak went to his boat and lay down in it. His crew pushed off, and they went home, leaving their dead on shore.

Near Kimaksoo there once lived a very tall man whose name was Seacolearseawetto. He had a sister who was also very tall. He took her for his wife, as there was no other woman tall enough for him. His kayak was larger than any other. Common seal-skins were not large enough to cover it, so that ground-seals had to be used for this purpose. His float was a ground-seal skin.

He went sealing or whaling, no matter how strong the wind was blowing. When he killed a whale during a storm, he would*fasten his float or drag to the whale, and let the wind and waves drive it ashore.

He never went on the ice until he was certain that it was thick enough to carry his weight. When the other men began to go sealing, the ice was still far too thin for him. In the evening, when the men returned with their seals, he took from them what he thought he would need. It was his habit to ask them to show their hands, and in this way he could tell if they had caught seals; for when a man cuts a seal, he washes the blood off his hands with snow or with water; or he scrapes it off with a knife, and licks off what is left with his tongue. The people were used to his ways, and did not mind his choosing their best seals.

When the ice was strong enough to bear the tall, heavy man, he went sealing with the others. Whenever he was unsuccessful, he took some of the seals caught by his companions. Finally they resented this imposition, and decided to kill him by means of a ruse. They agreed to go sealing again, and to sleep all night on the ice. Seacolearseawetto said, “ I have never staid out over night. I cannot go into a small snow house on the ice.” They replied, “ Do as we do. The first time we sleep in a small snow house, we fasten our legs together at the ankles, the knees, and just above the knees, and we fasten our hands behind our backs with the sealing-line. Later on it is easy to adjust one’s self to the small space.” Finally they persuaded him to join them. At night he fastened his legs together, and his companions fastened his hands behind his back. Then he went to sleep. When they were quite certain that he was sound asleep, they all fell on him with their knives and tried to kill him. He awoke, and broke his fastenings, but their knives had gone too deep. He was too weak to harm them, and died.

Then the men returned to the shore. When the first man reached the camp, Seacolearseawetto’s wife asked, “Is my husband dead, that he has not come?”—“No, he is not dead,” they replied. “He is with the others, who have many seals, and he has taken some of the seals from them.” When the others arrived, she asked them, “Where is my husband? Is he dead?” They said, “No, he is not dead. He has many seals, and cannot travel quickly.” She said to them again and again, “My husband is surely dead, else he would have been here by this time.” They continued to answer, “ He is coming, and will be here soon.”

At Kemertsoo lived a quarrelsome man, Apartsoo by name, who was reputed always to wish for the death of his enemies. For this reason he was hated.' One winter many people built their snow houses at Kemertsoo. He was afraid of them, and moved to the extreme end of Black Lead Island with all his belongings. At one time he desired to procure some caribou-skins from the people, but he met with refusal. Therefore he resolved to kill the people who had not granted his request. He visited the house in which a man lived whom he had in vain asked for the skins. While he was inside, the men of the village hid themselves near the entrance. As soon as he came out of the doorway, they jumped up, took hold of him, threw him down, and stabbed him with their knives, but they did not quite kill him. He succeeded in reaching his own house. As soon as he entered his dwelling, his wife went out. She saw the men coming who had stabbed him, and was about to re-enter, a,s she wished to save her husband, who was alone in the house, groaning with pain. The pursuers warned her not to enter, telling her that her husband would certainly kill her; but she did not listen to their advice. As soon as she had entered, her husband stabbed her. She ran out screaming, and soon died. About the same tim eApartsoo died.

The men took the corpses of the man and his wife away to another island. Then they went home, and told that Apartsoo and his wife had died together. When the people heard this, they went to Apartsoo's hut’and cut up all their belongings, with the exception of a caribou-skin that an old woman took. Inside this skin was some thread. When the other people saw it, they exclaimed, ‘‘Oh, you have taken a nice lot!” Then they went home.

Inutalu was living in a village in Kingnait Fiord, in Cumberland Sound. He was a bad man, who had murdered many people. One day his mother heard him muttering, ‘‘Where shall I go to kill some one?” She said, “You are not alseep. You will soon find some one.” Inutalu launched his boat, and went aboard with his two wives and a goodly crew. Soon he arrived at Niutang, and went to visit a man named Koalwaping , on whom he had designs. He found both him and his wife in bed, but not asleep. While he was talking with them about this and that, his eye fell on a piece of whale-skin. He asked for a piece; and when Koalwaping turned around to take his knife, Inutalu raised his arm. As soon as he did so, Koalwaping's wife shouted, “Look out! he is going to stab you.” Inutalu excused himself, saying that his arm had been sore for some time, and that he was only trying to see if he could move it more easily than before. After Inutalu had eaten, they all lay down to sleep.

On the following morning, when they awoke, the weather was fine, and everybody went outside. Since Inutalu was known as a bad man, the people had decided that he should be killed as soon as opportunity offered. The people had their knives sharpened before dawn, and now they were all standing together outside. Suddenly one of them shouted, “Look over yonder! There is a whale blowing!” Then another cried out, “There, look at that whale blowing in line with Aupaluktu!” Another exclaimed, “Here’s another one blowing in line with Qa'tsaq!” Inutalu turned around to look in the direction indicated; then one of the men caught him by the leg and threw him down; two more jumped at him and took hold of his arms; and the others ran their knives into his body. When he was dead, they severed the head from the body, cut off his limbs, and threw them into the sea.

Inutalu’s crew and wives went back to their boat. When his mother did not see him in the boat, she asked if any one had killed her son. They cried, ‘‘Yes, he is dead.” Then his mother retorted, “He was always anxious to go to other places to kill people;” but it was she who instigated him to murder the people.

Ooryew , Kooleegowya , and Kunooshaw were much feared by the people because they were bad men. They were enemies of Koomungaping.

One day, while Koomungaping lay awake in bed, his wife noticed, through a hole in the tent, Ooryew and Kooleegowya outside, close by, watching the doorway. Ooryew had on a pair of wolf-skin trousers which he had also worn when he had murdered a man some time before. Koomungaping was frightened, and moved as far away from the door as he could. The two men outside looked through a small hole above the doorway, and saw that the people were not asleep. Therefore they left without attacking Koomungaping.

On the following day, Kooleegowya and Kunooshaw went off to hunt the seals which were basking on the ice. Koomungaping had a litter of young dogs not far from Ooryew 1 s tent. He was standing with a friend near the pups. They did not speak of the events of the previous night, but both were thinking much about them, and were pretending that they had not been frightened. Suddenly Koomungaping and his friend saw Ooryew coming out of his tent. Koomungaping asked him if he wished to have a young dog. Ooryew stepped up to them and expressed his wish to have one. Then Koomungaping took out one of the pups, and said, “This one is a female. Perhaps you prefer a male.” Ooryew answered, “ Yes.” Then Koomungaping 1 s friend took one out, looked at it, and said, “This one is the same as the one you have,” meaning that it also was a female. Now Koomungaping pointed to a pup of a certain color, and said to Ooryew , “Take that one and see what it is.” Then he went to the rear of the dogs’ shelter, leaving Ooryew standing on the front side. Ooryew had pulled his left arm out of his sleeve before he came to them, and he was still holding it inside his jacket when he stretched his right arm out to take from the shelter the pup designated by Koomungaping. While he was bending down, Koomungaping caught him by his jacket and threw him down, and both men fell. Ooryew tried hard to free himself; but while he was held down by Koomungaping , the latter’s friend stabbed him with a knife. During the struggle which ensued, Ooryew 1 s knife, which he had been holding in his left hand inside of his clothes, accidentally entered his own body, and he died. They dragged his body away to the ground-ice, and pushed it through a crack down under the ice. The blood oozing from his wound left a track from the place where he was killed to the ground-ice.

Koomungaping and his friend went home to keep watch for the return of their other enemies who were out sealing. In the evening, when Kooleegowya and Kunooshaw were seen coming back, Koomungaping , his friend, and another man who had joined them, concealed themselves between the hummocks of the ground-ice. Koomungaping and one of the men went one way, while his friend took a stand by himself. Kunooshaw 1 s attention was attracted by numerous sea-gulls which had gathered over the track along which Ooryew 1 s body had been dragged to the crack in the ice. He went along the ground-ice to see why the gulls had gathered. He did not observe his enemies who were hidden near by. When he came near, Koomungaping 1 s friend shot an arrow at Kunooshaw , but it missed him. Then he shot another, which entered his side and killed him. When Kooleegowya , who was following Kunooshaw at some distance, found Kunoo -

shaw lying dead, he turned and ran away; but Koomunga - ping and his friend pursued him, and the friend killed him with his arrows. They dragged the bodies to the groundice, and pushed them under the ice at the same place where they had put Ooryew’s body. Then they went home.

That night they slept very quietly, for they were no longer in fear of the three bad men. The next morning, when every one was up and outside, the people told how well pleased they were that the men were dead, for they had been so much afraid of them.

In Akudnirn lived a married couple who were bringing up a young girl named Kutchaping and an orphan boy named Emataloo. The children frequently gambled together. When they became older, Kutchaping went to visit the girl’s relatives at a distant place.

One day, when Emataloo was almost grown up, he said to his foster-father, “Let us try who is the stronger.” They wrestled, and the man threw the boy. After some time the youth said again to his foster-father, “ Let us try who is the stronger.” Although the youth was by this time quite strong, he was not yet able to throw his father. He was now old enough to go sealing with the other men. After some time he again asked his foster-father to try his strength with him. They were now nearly equal in strength, but in their contest Emataloo did not show his full strength. At times the man and youth went, sealing together, and occasionally the father would say jestingly, “You who have the making of a man, come, see who is the stronger.” One day they wrestled, and the boy threw his foster-father. Another time, when they reached home at night, the boy said, “You who are a man, come, and let us try who is the stronger.” They wrestled, and Emataloo threw his father into the place where blubber and meat are kept. Then he cohabited with his foster-mother, whose name was Atalee. The foster-father did not dare to show his anger, because he feared the youth. Another day, when they came home from sealing, Emataloo said again, as he was wont to do, “ You who are a man, come and let us try who is the stronger.’’ Again the boy threw the man, when Atalee jumped up, intending to help her husband, but the youth threw both of them into the place where blubber and meat were kept. The boy thought, “They had no mercy on me when I was weak: now that I am strong, I will have my revenge. The place for blubber and meat is good enough for them.” Very often, when the men came home from sealing, he wrestled with his foster-father, threw him, and then cohabited with Atalee .

One day the youth told his foster-parents, that he intended to visit Kutchaping , and that he would pull off her clothes and tear her to pieces with a hook in the presence of all the people.

Emataloo grew stronger and stronger every year. One time when the men were out sealing, the ice broke up, and a number of hunters went adrift. Emataloo and many of his companions were lost, while his foster-father and a few others succeeded in reaching the shore.

A woman was married in Aggo. Her husband did not treat her well, food was scarce, and she made up her mind to try to find her brother, who was living near Padli. She succeeded in leaving her husband’s house without being noticed. She did not know the exact place where her brother was living at that time. It is a long distance from Aggo to Padli. She had been walking for a long time, and was growing thin and faint. One day she saw a fox-trap. She went into it, and made up her mind to stay until some one came to look after it. She had not been there long, when two boys went to look after this fox-trap. The woman heard them coming, and, fearing that they might be frightened on seeing her, she attracted their attention by shouting, “I am here!” But the boys ran away. The woman shouted, “Don’t be afraid! My name is Takak .” But they did not understand her, because her cries sounded like, “I am glad, although I am starving.” The boys stopped a short distance from the fox-trap and listened to the cries of the woman. One of them shouted back, “If you are a human being, you will be able to see our tracks and follow us to our huts!” They went home and told what had happened. After a while the woman came up to the huts. The people asked her where she had come from, and she told them that she was the sister of one of their tribe. They hardly recognized her. They gave her food, and she told them she had not had anything to eat since she had left Aggo.

Nanwalokdjua , and his wife Koneruakdju , lived in Aggo. One morning, when the woman came into the hut, her husband asked, “How is the weather to-day?” She retorted, “Go out and see yourself.” This made him angry. He asked his wife to give him her hand. He took it, and pulled her fingers apart, so that the hand was torn up to the wrist. Then he beat her, forced his hand into her, and thus killed her.

Akkalow's son died at Nugumiut. During the same winter Akkalow went to Naujatelik. He was sad and angry, and determined to kill some one; but when the people noticed his state of mind, Egeewaping stabbed and killed him. He believed that Akkalow had intended to kill the husband of a woman named Unaq.

About eighty years ago, in Aggo, Aako murdered Unukchea . The relatives of the murdered man were living in Cumberland Sound. After some time the news of the murder reached them, while they were living in Kingnait. As soon as they heard of it, they made up their minds to avenge his death. The names of the relatives of the murdered man were TJnakjew and Etookshakjwen . They were brothers. The older people of the village advised them to go across land to Padli, and then to travel northward; but they decided to go by boat around Cape Mercy, although they were warned of the dangers of the pack-ice. It took them a whole year to reach Padli. There they waited; and when the ice broke up in summer, they travelled on to Aggo. Unakjew was accompanied by his wife, while Etookshakjwen travelled alone.

After some time they reached Aggo, and saw a great many men who were sealing in their kayaks. When the men saw the boat coming, they paddled towards the shore; but they were overtaken, and all of them were killed. When Aako saw that the hunters were being killed, he escaped inland. The boat reached the shore, and since Aako was not to be found, they staid there. They gave some meat to Aako's wife.

After some time Aako was compelled to come to the huts to get food. When Unakjew and Etookshakjwen saw him, the former said, “Come and show us how well you can throw spears.” Aako hurled his spear at Etookshakjwen; but the latter dodged, and the spear missed him. Then Etookshakjwen threw at Aako in his turn; but the latter also dodged him, and escaped the spear. Next Aako threw his spear once more at Etookshakjwen , and again missed him. Now Etookshakjwen threw his spear at Aako. He hit him, and the latter fell down. They stepped up to him, and asked, “Are you much hurt?” and he replied, “No. Only my arm is broken.” But in a short time he was dead.

They continued to live there for some time, and Etookshakjwen married a young girl. After some time they started to return to their home; but before leaving, the mother of the young woman advised her, when her husband caught a bear, a walrus, a ground-seal, or any other kind of game, to put some of her menstrual blood under its chin. “That will make him successful in catching more of the same kind of animal,” she said; “but do not let your husband or his brother know about it.” The young woman followed her mother's advice, and, when Etookshakjwen and Unakjew each caught a bear, she put some blood under their chins.

In the fall they reached Padli, and prepared to winter there. The weather was very-tempestuous, and soon they were starving. Unakjew was unable to rise because he was so much weakened by hunger. Etookshakjwen continued to try to find game, no matter how unfavorable the weather. One day while he was walking overland he saw some foxdung, although the snow was drifting about him. Then he thought, “The foxes must be near by,” and began to sound the snow all around. Soon he discovered a hollow. He dug through the snow, and discovered a bear's den; and when the bear came out, he killed it with his spear and skinned it. Then he took part of the meat to the huts, and said, “ I have caught a large bear.” Its meat sustained them for some time. When they had eaten it all, the weather still continued to be bad. The wind was blowing, and the snow was drifting. As soon as it cleared up, Etookshakjwen climbed a hill, and noticed some newly formed ice in the bay. He went there at once, and succeeded in catching a ground-seal. He cut it up and took it home. Then he told the people modestly, “I have caught a little ground-seal,” although it really was an old, large male. He went out with his dogteam and brought it back. When they had eaten it all, the weather still continued to be cold and tempestuous, although by this time spring had come. Then Etookshakjwen's wife, after singing for some time in a loud voice, said to him, “ When we left Aggo, my mother told me to touch the chin of the first game that you should catch with my monthly blood, and she advised me not to tell you. I followed her advice when you killed the bears.” As soon as she had said so, the weather changed, and became calm and pleasant. Then they caught seal after seal, and suffered no more hunger. They continued their journey, reaching Cumberland Sound after having rounded Cape Mercy.

The following stories (Nos. 73-81) were recorded by Rev. E. J. Peck.

73. Dialogue between Two Ravens '

Father. My son, my son, always be on the lookout for men.

Son. There is a person away there.

1 Compare p. 216.

Father . Where is he?

Son. By the side of a great iceberg.

Father. My son, my son, always be on the lookout for men.

Son. There is a person away there.

Father . Where is he?

Son . There in front of us.

Father . My son, my son, always be on the lookout for men.

Son. There is a person away there.

Father . Where is he?

Sow. Just beyond the point of land.

Father . My son, my son, always be on the lookout for men.

Son. There is a person away there.

Father. Where is he?

Son. This side of the point.

Father. My son, my son, always be on the lookout for men.

Son. There is a person coming.

Father. Where is he?

Son. Just beyond the beach.

Father. My son, my son, always be on the lookout for men.

Son. There is a person away there.

Father. Where is he?

Son. He is in the entrance of our dwelling.

So the raven told his son to go and look for men, and so he discovered a man.

(The rest of the story was not recorded by Mr. Peck. It will be found in the version given on p. 216.)

74. The Ptarmigan . 1

Grandson. Grandmother, tell me a story!

Grandmother. Go to sleep, I have no story.

Grandson. Grandmother, tell me a story!

1 Compare p. 220.

Grandmother . From there, from there, from the little corner of the tent, came a little lemming that has no hair at all, that went under a person’s arm-pit.

The grandmother now tickled the boy, and he flew away. Then she called out, ‘‘Grandson, grandson! where is he, where is he?”

The lad who flew away, and his grandmother, became ptarmigans; and the peculiar cry of these birds is interpreted as “Nauk, nauk” (“Where, where?”), — an imitation of the grandmother’s cry. The red mark over the eye of the ptarmigan is said to be the result of the grandmother’s weeping for her grandson.

75. The Song of the Raven.

The father of a man named Apalok killed a bear; and a Raven which was near thought, “Shall I not try to eat the blood by putting my head into the wound?” But while the Raven’s head was in the wound, the hunter came up and killed the Raven by twisting its neck. The Raven, while dying, cried, “I am taken by the neck in the hole (wound)! Oh, where is the light now? My dear little children! I think of them only. They are wandering about unfledged, unprotected from the cold. 0 Aimakta, Nuimakta, Atsenaktok, Tokoyatok, Ovayok, Makkongayok, Akpayok!” 1

76. The Fox*

A man named Neqingoaq, whose mother was dead, had a fox-trap which he went to look after. As he walked, he heard a fox that was caught in the trap sing, “Oh, why did you put the bait in the trap, my son Neqingoaq? This flat stone is in my way. Pray, come and take it away.” When Neqingoaq heard the fox singing, he was much surprised, and let it go.

77. The Woman who became a Raven.

The husband of a woman named Peqaq was angry with her. She left her home and went away, walking on the ice,

1 These are the names of the children.

and weeping bitterly. Her husband followed her on his sledge; and when she saw him, she said, “Oh that I might become a raven!” She was turned into a raven, and flew to the top of an iceberg. Her husband drove along by the side of the iceberg, but, since he did not see his wife, he returned home.

As soon as the man had returned home, the raven flew away, and in the evening alighted on a rock near Niutang. The people were surprised, and said to each other, “What is that on top of the rock? Is it'the moon?”—“No,” said some, “it is a man.” Now these people went to sleep, and while they were asleep the raven came down. She peeped through a hole in a tent and saw a man in the rear. She thought, “Oh that he might come out and ease himself!” She had hardly thought so, when the man put on his garments and went out to ease himself. The raven had resumed the shape of a woman; and when he saw her, he took her for his wife.

78. Kalluapik.

A man named Kalluapik met a lad who was doing something to his feet. The man questioned him, saying, “What are these?”—“My feet,” replied the boy. “What is the matter with them?” said Kalluapik. The lad answered, “These are my poor feet, which cannibals have tried to eat.” Kalluapik said, “ If cannibals try to eat your feet, take hold of them and cover them with your hands.” The lad then said to Kalluapik, “The cannibals are upon you!” Then Kalluapik ran away from the lad, and rushed into the water. Thus the boy was left again to himself ! 1 2

79. The Giant?

It is said that a giant used to bail out of the sea with his hands the people and their boats. Then he put the people into a large box; and, as he watched it all the time, they

1 The point of the story seems to be the artful plan adopted by the boy to get rid of an unwelcome visitor. — E.J. Peck.

were unable to escape. It is also said of him that he caught whales just as one would catch sculp ins, by straddling a fiord and fishing in this manner.

80. The Orphan Boy .

An orphan boy who lived with an old woman always tried to obtain gulls ; and because he only caught gulls, they had just a little to eat; but one day, when that poor boy went to catch gulls, he caught a whale instead. He made it fast with some whalebone which he attached to its tail. Then he went home to tell of his good fortune. An old man derided him, saying, “What, is this mite of a boy making a man of himself ?”

The old woman with whom he lived said, “Go and tell those outside.” Now the old woman gave him a knife; and because the neighbors wished to partake of the whale-meat, they gave the old woman some nice dressed skins.

81. Podluksak , 1

Podluksak was a murderer. He had stolen the wife of one of three men, a father and his two sons. These determined to kill Podluksak. They pursued him, but when near a boat, he suddenly sat down, holding his knife over his shoulder. One of the two sons stumbled, fell on the knife, and was killed. Then Podluksak continued his flight on his sledge. Pursued by the remaining two men, he suddenly turned aside from his track and buried himself in the snow. When the leading sledge reached him, he moved his whip and thus caused the dogs to turn away. He now fled to a distant country. When the surviving son reached the place where Podluksak lived, he shot him with his arrows. Finally the father arrived, to avenge the death of his sons. He saw Podluksak’s son playing with a whip, and stabbed him in his stomach. Podluksak saw what had happened, and stabbed and killed the murderer of his son.

[. December , igoi .]

1 Compare p. 290.

TALES FROM THE WEST COAST OF HUDSON BAY.

i. Origin of the Caribou.

A long time ago a spirit came to a village and married a woman. He did not need any food, and did not go hunting: therefore the men told him repeatedly that he had to provide for his wife, and that he must go hunting. Finally he grew angry, and with his spear made a hole in the ground. Out jumped a caribou, which he killed and took home. The next time he went, a man followed him secretly, and saw how he caught the caribou and how he closed up the hole again. As soon as he had gone back to the village, the man opened the hole. He did not close it quick enough, and all the caribou came out, and spread over the earth. When the spirit saw the caribou, he became angry, kicked them in the forehead, so as to press it flat, and told them to run away and always to fear man.

2. Origin of Day and Night.

Once upon a time the Fox and the Raven were quarrelling. The Raven wished it to be daylight all the time, because he was unable to find his food in the dark; but the Fox wanted it to be dark, because he could smell his food, and approach it without being seen. Finally they settled that light and darkness should alternate.

3. Sun and Moon . 1

Once upon a time there were a brother and a sister. One day the sister became provoked with her brother. She took up the stick that is used to trim the lamp, lighted it, and ran out into the dark. Her brother took up a knife, thinking it was a stick, lighted it (as he thought), and ran out to catch his sister. They ran around the hut, and gradually rose higher and higher until they reached the heavens, where the sister became the sun, while her brother became the moon. Very soon the light on the brother’s knife went out, and that is

1 See No. 8, p. 173.

why there is no warmth in the moon. He is still in pursuit of his sister.

At one time there was a young woman or girl who lived. with her parents. She was very fond of playing with the bones of seal-flippers, 1 which she made to represent people and animals. One evening when her father and mother were asleep and she was playing alone, the Moon came down to her on a sled, and called her by name: u Tootocuttuke, Tootocuttuke , come live with me and bring your games with you!” She could not resist, and put on her clothing, sat down on the sled, and went with the Moon and became his wife.

The Sun and Moon are looked upon as sister and brother. When they were young, the Moon wished to rub noses with his sister, and in that way were caused the dark spots on his face.

4. Musk-ox and Walrus . a

In olden times the Musk-ox and the Walrus were great friends. The Musk-ox gave his horns to the Walrus, and the Walrus gave the Musk-ox his tusks. But the Musk-ox found that the tusks cracked in cold weather, so that he could not hear anything but the noise of the cracking tusks. Therefore they gave back to each other the tusks and horns in the spring.

5. Origin of the Black Bear*

Once upon a time there were a brother and a sister. Their parents were dead. The girl, who had grown up to be a woman, had not obeyed the laws of the tribe, and had made herself offensive to the other people: therefore they did not allow her to stay in the village, and she had to live by herself in an old hut. She had no clothing, and hair began to grow all over her body. Her brother used to go to see her,

2 See No. 3, p. 167.

3 See No. 5, p. 171.

because he was very fond of her. One day the girl said to her brother, “I think I shall be transformed into a black bear (agdlaq). When you move to another place, take a number of sticks and place them around your hut, so that I may recognize it. I am going to devour the other people.” The people began to move away, because they were much afraid of the woman, whose body by this time was completely covered with hair. When they made the new village, the woman's brother put the sticks around his house, as he had been told by his sister. After a short time she attacked the people and devoured all of them except her brother.

6. The Black Bear . 1

The people of a village found that the bodies of a number of people who had recently died had been carried away out of the graves. When another person died, a certain man watched the new grave, and saw a black bear come and take the body away. After some time a woman died, and her husband, when visiting the grave, saw the same black bear carry her body away. He determined to take revenge, and told one of his friends that he would pretend to be dead, and requested him to cover his body with stones. He wished to be taken away by the bear. His friend did as requested. Soon the black bear came in the form of a person, and when he saw the new grave, he opened it, put a line around the supposed body, and dragged it off to his home. While on the way, the man held on to the grass and to bushes, so that the Bear found it very hard work to drag him along. Finally, on reaching home, the Bear placed the man against the wall, intending to thaw the body preparatory to cooking it. Now the Bear lay down to sleep, being very tired. After a while the man blinked with his eyes. At once the young Bear told his father that the man was opening his eyes; but the father did not believe him, and turned over to sleep. The mail opened his eyes again, and he saw that the Bear's wife was going out to get water. He also discovered a hatchet

1 See No. 12, p. 176.

lying close by. He seized it, killed the Bear, and ran out of the house. The woman saw what had happened. She transformed herself into a bear and gave chase. When the man saw that she was gaining on him, he wrought a spell, and made a high ledge of mountains rise between himself and the pursuing Bear. While the Bear was running up the hill, he was swiftly running down on the other side; but after the Bear had once reached the top of the hill, she began to gain on him. When she came quite close, the man wrought another spell, and made a river between himself and his pursuer. When the Bear came to the bank of the river, she asked the man how he had succeeded in crossing. He told her that he had made a passage across by drinking the water. Then the Bear jumped into the river and began to drink and swim across; but when she reached the other side, she was full almost to bursting, and when she shook her fur, she did actually burst. Then a great fog arose from the water. The Aian finally succeeded in reaching his house.

7. How Children were formerly obtained.

In olden times the women did not bear children, but when they wanted one, they went out and searched on the ground until they found one. Some women were unable to find children. 1

8. Qaudjaqdjuq . 2

[Captain Comer gives only an abstract of this legend, noting the differences from the version recorded in the “Central Eskimo,” p. 630.]

A boy went sealing with his sister close to the edge of the ice. Suddenly a gale arose, which broke the ice. The boy drifted out to sea, and finally landed at a distant shore, where two women found him, and carried him by the nostrils into the house. He was ill treated and given only walrus-hide to eat. Two girls 8 took pity on him, and gave him a piece of ice for a knife. They warned him not to let any one see it.

1 See No. 13, p. 178. 9 See No. 16, p. 186. 8 Perhaps the same ones who found ii n

After he had lived in this manner for some time, the Man in the Moon took pity on him. He came down and called the boy to come out of the house. In order to make the boy strong, he threw him down repeatedly until he was able to lift a heavy bowlder.

When the boy was strong enough, the Moon Man said that on the following day he would send three bears, and he advised him what to do. Then he returned to the moon, while the boy went home and lay down in the porch.

When the bears came, the men went out to kill them, but, on seeing how huge they were, they became frightened, and resolved to have them eat Qaudjaqdjuq. They called him, and he put on his boots and came out of the porch, singing, “ While I slept I had the dogs for my blanket. While I slept you stepped on my hands in passing in and out of the house.” They tried to throw him at the bear; but he seized them one at a time, and flung them at the bears, which killed and devoured them.

Soon all the people had perished except the two women who had been kind to him. According to the Moon Man’s instructions, he spared them and married them. Then he twisted his hair around two small walrus-tusks. This also was done according to the Moon Man’s wishes. When he entered his hut, he asked his wives, “ Do I look pretty? ” The women were at work, one on each side of the house. The one looked up quickly, and replied, “Yes, you are very pretty.” The other one did not answer at once. This annoyed him, and he beat her with a walrus-tusk that lay near by. Then he went to the bed, sat down, and called his wives to come to him. The one woman came quickly, while the other one delayed. Then he beat her again.

9. Kukiyarayatoapkin . 1

Once upon a time it happened that the children in a village were lost one after another. One day two girls who had taken their baby sisters out in their hoods were playing

1 See No. 17, p. 189.

outside the huts. They saw a piece of ivory on the ground carved in the form of a small bird, like those used in playing dice. They picked it up, and then dropped it again, because they saw another toy near by. Thus they were led farther and farther from their village, until they came to the door of a stone house. They were so much interested in the toys, that they did not even notice that they were led inside of a house in which an old woman was sitting, until the latter arose and closed the entrance with a large stone. Then they saw, in a small adjoining room, human skulls and bones. The children knew at once that they were in the house of a witch, who had placed the toys near the village in order to decoy them to her house. The older girl said to the witch, ‘‘You have succeeded in getting us into your house, and I suppose you are going to eat us. See that you close your door tight, so that we cannot escape.” The witch, although she thought that the girls would not try to run away, went to the doorway in order to close the door more tightly. While she was doing so, the older girl said to the younger one, “ Make a hole in the side of the house. I will stand between you and the witch, so as to hide you.” While the witch was securing the door, the younger girl made an opening through the side of the house, through which she crawled. Then she helped the older one to crawl out also. When, after a while, the witch turned round, she found that the girls were gone. They ran home to their father’s house and told what had happened. Then the people went to the house of the witch. One man went in, and said to the old woman, “ Don’t you want to have your toe-nails cut? I can do it very nicely.” She consented, and raised her foot to have her nails cut. The man took it, and, while pretending to cut her nails, he slipped a line around her ankles, and then called to the other people to pull her out of the house. She braced her feet against the doorway, but the people pulled so hard, that her legs broke, and they dragged her to their village. Then she told the people that her teeth were made of flint, her stomach of copper, her liver of lead, and her knees of beads. The people killed her with their spears, and when they cut her up, they found that her body was organized just as she had said. They divided the flint, lead, copper, and beads among themselves; but when they woke up on the following morning, they found they had been transformed into flesh, bone, and teeth.

io. Igimagajug , the Cannibal . 1

Igimagajug was hunting seals one day. He caught a ground-seal, and brought it to his hut. His wife, a short time before, had had a still-born child. When he reached the door, he called to her to come out and haul the seal in. She replied that it would be better for her to remain in the hut, telling him what had happened; but he only became angry, and commanded her to come, and to haul the seal in. This offended Nuliayoq, who withheld the seals from the people, who became very hungry. Then Igimagajug killed his father-in-law and his mother-in-law, and ate them. He killed all the other people near by, and ate them. His wife became afraid that he might want to eat her also, and therefore one day when he was away sealing, she prepared to escape. She was a powerful angakok. She made a figure by filling her clothing with moss. She told it to turn its back toward the door when Igimagajug should enter, and to cry, “ Uk, uk /” if Igimagajug should stab it with his knife. Then she built a small snow house near by, and made a peephole in its walls.

Soon Igimagajug came back from hunting. The figure turned its back upon him, and he stabbed it. Then it cried out, “ Uk , uk ! ” But after a little while he discovered that it was nothing but clothing filled with moss. He sat down angry, and, being very hungry, he cut a piece out of his leg, which he ate. The wound hurt him, and he said, “ I did not think it hurt the other people when I killed and ate them; but I find it hurts me.”

Now Igimagajug wished to know whether his wife had gone far, therefore he wrought a spell by pulling upon a seal-line. He asked the line a question, and when the answer was in

1 See No. 20, p. 194.

the affirmative, the line would become heavier; but if the answer was in the negative, the line would become lighter. He asked, “Is my wife near by?” The line became a little heavier. “Is she close by?” The line became very heavy. Now he took his spear, and went out and probed the snow to find her. Once he struck the small snow house that she had built, and his spear passed between her fingers, but still he did not find her.

On the following day Igimagajug went sealing, and while he was gone his wife started for the village where her brother was living. When Igimagajug came back from sealing, he saw her tracks, and started in pursuit. When she saw him coming, she hid behind some hummocks of rough ice. When he came to the place where her tracks stopped, he kicked the snow away, but could not find her, and he returned. In the mean time she continued to run toward her brother’s house. When she reached there, she told her brother and his friends of what had happened.

The following day Igimagajug started out in search of his wife, and arrived at the village. He found the men at play, swinging on a tight-rope, with a line tied around each wrist. He joined the game, and tried it once; then he took a rest, and the other men had their hands tied, and each swung in his turn. Finally Igimagajug's turn came again. The line was tied around his wrists, and while he held his hands up, his brother-in-law, who up to this time had pretended to be very friendly, said, “You killed and ate my father, my mother, and the other people!” Here Igimagajug said, “ Who said so?”—“ Your wife.”—“ What is my wife’s name? ” —“ Pubelarleyark,” replied her brother. “I don’t see her,” said Igimagajug. He had hardly said so, when his wife stepped forth from her hiding-place. When he saw her, he said, “You ate your father’s and your mother’s hands and feet!” But she replied, “No! I took them out of the kettle. I only pretended to eat them, and I cried very much to lose my father and my mother.” When she had said so, the other people rushed upon Igimagajug , and killed him with their spears.

11. Inupajukjuk.

A long time ago there was a man by the name of Inupajukjuk. He was so large that he could scoop up a walrus in the hollow of his hand. He used to speak of whales as of codfish. One day he walked out into the water and caught two whales, one in each hand. Two people watched him. After he had caught the whales, they asked him for some of the meat. Inupajukjuk had teeth like a squirrel, and the men said in asking him, “You have teeth like a squirrel.’’ This made the giant angry, and he rushed to attack the men, but one of them turned himself into a giant of equal size. They wrestled, and endeavored to throw each other down. The other man had remained small, and he cut the sinews in the heel of Inupajukjuk. The latter fell and was stabbed to death, but before dying he called his wife to come and help him. She came at once, and seized the man who had transformed himself into a giant. She hit him on the head, and it seemed as though she were going to kill him, when the other man cut the sinews in her heel, and she fell and was killed. Then the two men started to go to the house of Inupajukjuk. On the way they found the young child of the latter, which his wife had dropped when she went to help her husband. It was lying on the ground, crying. The man who had remained small tried to raise the baby’s head, but it was so large that he could not lift it. Then they went up to the house, and, on looking into the doorway, they saw two large boys sitting on the bed. They became frightened, because they thought they would not be able to vanquish the two boys, so they ran away.

At the time when the Eskimo reached this country, there were many giants here who caught fish by dipping them out of the water in their hands. These may be seen now, turned into stone, at Repulse Bay, where their footprints may also be seen.

1901.] BoaSy Eskimo of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay . 3*5

12. The Tornit . 1

In early times the Tornit, a race of very large people, inhabited the country. They quarrelled with the Eskimo because the latter intruded upon their land. This made the Tornit angry, who broke the ground with their lances and spears, and split the rocks into pieces.

At one time, while the people were off hunting, the Tornit came to their houses and killed the women and children; only one woman and her two children saved themselves by making a smoke in their house, which prevented the Tornit from finding them. One of the aggressors felt about in the smoke. Then she caught his hand with her teeth, and bit his thumb so hard that he died then and there. The other Tornit left their dead friend and returned. When the people came back from hunting, and saw their houses destroyed and their wives and children slain,, and also the dead Tuneq, they went in pursuit.

Finally they reached the village of the Tornit, and pretended to be friendly toward them. The Tornit were building a large house for a dance. The people helped them; but when the Tornit were putting on the top blocks, they killed them with their spears.

One of the Tornit, who had not been wounded, pretended to be dead; but the men went up to him and stabbed him with a knife, which made him turn quickly. Then they despatched him. After all the men and women were dead, they took all the Tornit children home. On their way back, whenever one of the children became tired, the people would drill a hole in its forehead. Most of them were despatched in this way. Only two arrived, — one boy and one girl.

The Tuneq boy became a great hunter. His mode of spearing game was to lie down, rest the spear on the top of his back, and then with a throwing-stick fling the spear a great distance perfectly straight.

1 See No. 28, p. 209.

One day the people wanted to see him fling his spear, and they told him to try to hit a dog. He said that he did not like to kill a dog, but was told that the dog was old and useless. Finally he consented, and cast his spear, which went right through the dog’s body. 1 The Tuneq took his spear, ran off, and was never seen afterwards. The girl was married by one of the people.

It is said that in the Iglulik country the land still shows how the Tomit tore it up with their harpoon-shafts when they were about to leave, in fear of the Eskimo.

It is believed that the Tomit and Ijiqan, both races of giants, inhabit the interior.

13. The Inuarugdligait.

The Inuarugdligait are dwarfs about as high as the knee of an ordinary man. They are believed to live in the country between Wager River and Chesterfield Inlet. A few years ago an Aivilik man saw the tracks of two of these dwarfs in the snow near Wager River. Their footprints were about four inches long. A Kinipetu claims to have met an Inuarugdligaq near Chesterfield Inlet. The dwarf approached, and stopped a few steps from him. ’ Then he used his power to make himself as large as the man, and proposed a test of strength. They commenced to wrestle, and finally the man threw the dwarf, who, however, would not let go. Finally the man took him by the wrists and compelled him to let go. He left the dwarf on the ground, and while going away looked back occasionally, and saw him lying as he had fallen. If the dwarf had succeeded in throwing the man, the latter would have been unsuccessful in hunting, and would finally have died of hunger. It is said that they always propose a test of strength when they meet a man. The only weapon they carry is an ice-chisel. 1 Once upon a time a couple of these dwarfs came to join a dance in an Eskimo hut. In passing through the entrance, the woman’s child dropped

out of her hood and was devoured by the dogs. When she found that she had lost it, she began to cry; but her husband told her to dance and to enjoy herself, she might have another child later on.

14. The Ijiqan 1 People.

West of Great Fish River there live giants twice as large as ordinary men. One old man by the name of Siksik tells that when a boy he met with two men of this race. He was hunting with his father, who had killed two caribou, when they saw two very large men coming towards them. The strangers did not say a word, but picked up the caribou as though the weight were nothing, placed them on their shoulders, and went off with them, Siksik’s father offering no resistance.

. 15. Story of Three Girls?

Three girls were at play near the beach. When they saw a whale blowing, one of them said jokingly, “ I will take the Whale for. my husband.” The second one looked up and saw a large Eagle. She said, “ I will take the Eagle for my husband.” The third one, pointing to a large Bowlder, said, “I will take the Bowlder for my husband.” While saying so, she went up to the Bowlder and put her hands on top of it, but she was not able to take them off again.

The Eagle came down and carried the girl to his nest on a high cliff, and the Whale carried off the third one to an island. The Whale gave the bones of his body to the girl to build a house, and she became able to live in the water or on the land, wherever she pleased. One day the father and the brothers of this girl came in their boat to an island. When she saw them coming, she told her husband that she wished to go to the island. The Whale, who was afraid that he might lose her, fastened a line round her, and then let her go, holding the other end of the line. After she reached the island, she took the line off and tied it to one of her buckles, to which her father gave the power to speak. Soon the Whale shouted

1 Spelled at one place Eurack , at another Eyecark.

9 See No. 34, p. 217.

and asked her, “Are you ready to come back?” The Buckle replied, “After a little while.” The Whale called again. Again the Buckle replied, “I cannot come yet.” Then the Whale became angry, and hauled in the line; and when he saw there was only a buckle attached to it, he flew into a rage, swam ashore, tore the house down, and put the bones back into his body. But in his fury he forgot to take his breast-bone and hip-bone. Meanwhile the father and the brother, who had taken away the young woman, had a long start, but the Whale set out in pursuit. After a while he was drawing near. Then the father of the young woman told her to throw her boots into the sea. When the Whale came, he stopped and struck them with his tail until they fell to pieces. Then he continued his pursuit. When he came near, she threw her jacket into the sea. Again the Whale stopped and struck the jacket until it was torn. In this way they succeeded in getting away from their pursuer. When the Whale pursued them again, she threw another piece of her clothing into the water. Again the Whale stopped and struck it with his tail. When all her clothes were thrown away, they found themselves close to the shore. They pulled the boat over a reef, and soon landed. The Whale, in his hot pursuit, did not notice the reef, and stranded. When the tide went out, the people killed him without difficulty.

The father and the brothers of the second girl, who had been carried away by the Eagle, also set out to rescue her. Whenever the Eagle was away caribou-hunting, she was working on a line made of sinews of caribou’s legs. When she saw her father and her brothers coming, she told the Eagle that there were a great many caribou in a certain place far away. The Eagle believed her, and flew away to hunt the caribou. Then she finished the line, which was now long enough to reach down to the water. She let it down, and her father and her brothers took hold of the end. She climbed down, was taken into the boat, and they returned home. When the Eagle came home and found that she was gone, he flew to the village and tried to recover her. He broke the window of her father’s house with his wings, but her father shot him with an arrow and killed him. The people point out the Eagle's cliff up to the present day. They say that the people used to cut off pieces from the line until it was out of reach.

The third girl, who had married the Bowlder, was unable to let go, and so gradually turned into stone. But the people used to bring her food as long as there was any life left in her. This stone is also pointed put to children.

16. The Owl and the Lemming . 1

An Owl saw a Lemming feeding just outside of his hole. He flew down and perched at the entrance of the hole, and then said to the Lemming, “Two dog-teams are coming!" This frightened the Lemming so that he came up close to the hole, pretending that he would rather be eaten by the Owl than caught by the dogs. He said, “ I am very fat, and you can have a good meal. Take me! If you wish to celebrate before eating me, I will sing while you dance." The Owl agreed, drew himself up, and the Lemming began to sing while the Owl danced. When dancing, the Owl looked up to the sky and forgot about the Lemming. While he was moving about, he spread his legs far apart, and then the Lemming ran between them into his hole. The Owl called to him to come out again, saying the dog-teams had passed by. But the Lemming’s wife told her husband not to go, but to throw some dirt into the Owl’s face, which he did.

17. The Bear and the Caribou . 2

At one time the Caribou and the Bear had a trial of strength. They locked their fore-arms and tried to pull. The Bear said to the Caribou, “I do not think you can stand the strain without your leg breaking." But the Caribou replied, saying that he was not afraid, since his legs were strong. Then they pulled, and the Caribou proved to be the stronger.

1 See No. 36, p. 219.

a See No. 37, p. 220.

18. The Ptarmigan and the Small Bird . 1

A long time ago an old woman lived with her child in a snow house. One night the child said to its grandmother, “Grandmother, tell me a story.”—“I don’t know any story. Go to sleep! ” and, wishing to frighten the child, she said, “ Oh! I see a lemming without hair. And there’s another one, and still another one!” Then she gave a jump as though she were afraid of them. At the same time she gave a scream, which frightened the child so much that it drew itself so small that it became a small bird and flew away in terror. Then the grandmother felt sorry at the loss of her child. She cried and wailed, “Now, now , now! ” She rubbed her eyes so that the skin came off round the lids. She hung a pouch around her neck, and put her needle into the leg of her boot. Then she flew away and became a ptarmigan. The pouch became the gizzard, while the needle became the bone of the leg.

19. The Loon and the Crow?

The Crow and the Loon met, and, since both were good dressmakers, they agreed to make a suit of clothes for each other. They sewed the skins together with thread which they rubbed with lampblack. The Crow took the needle first, and passed it in and out of the skin which she was working until the seam had gone all round the Loon’s body, therefore the Loon is speckled. Then the Loon took the needle and commenced work on the Crow. But the latter would not sit still; and at last the Loon lost patience, and poured the contents of the lamp over the Crow, thus making her black all over. The Crow became angry, took a stone and threw it at the Loon, thus breaking her legs, and making them flat.

20. The Owl and the Two Rabbits .

An Owl saw two Rabbits playing close together, and seized them, one in each foot; but they were too strong for him, and ran away. The Owl’s wife shouted to him, “ Let one of them

1 See No. 38, p. 220; No. 74, p. 302.

2 See No. 39, p. 220.

go,and kill the other!” but he replied, “The Moon will soon disappear, and then we shall be hungry. We qeed both of them.” The Rabbits ran on; and when they came to a bowlder, one ran to the right side, while the other ran to the left side, of it. The Owl was not able to let go quick enough, and was tofn in two.

21. The Fox and the Rabbit .

Once upon a time a Fox met a Rabbit, and asked him if he had recently caught any seal. The Rabbit became angry on account of this question, and said to the Fox, “ Yes, if you follow my tracks backward, you will find one I have just killed.” The Fox went along the Rabbit’s tracks, but, instead of finding a seal, he only found the place where the Rabbit had spent the time sleeping in the sun by the side of some rocks. He ran away, and whenever he met an animal, he would tell him that the Rabbit was a great liar.

22. Storm caused by a Loon.

A long time ago some men who were at play caught a loon. For sport they pulled out nearly all its feathers, leaving only one long feather in each wing, and let it go. In the following winter a great fall of snow set in, and, although the people had stores of walrus-meat buried under stones, they were unable to reach them on account of the depth of the snow. Many died of starvation. This storm was caused by the loon in revenge for the ill treatment it had received.

23. The Soul . 1

Once upon a time an old woman who had died was buried, and then a raven came and began to eat her. Her soul entered the body of the raven, and she became a raven. The raven laid its eggs; but a man came and shot the bird, took it into his house, and gave it to a dog to eat. Then the woman’s soul entered the dog. When the dog was struck

[December, igoi.]

1 See No. 48, p. 232.

by the natives, it pretended to be sick, and cried, “Ma, ma, ma!” The dog had pups. After some time a wolf came and killed the dog and ate it. Then the woman’s soul was in the wolf, and the wolf had pups. The wolf was very hungry, but could not run fast. When it followed the pack, and came to the place where they had killed a caribou, it found that the other wolves had eaten all the meat, and left nothing but the bones. The wolf asked, “Why can’t I keep up with you?” And an old wolf told it, “You ought to spread your claws when you run, and not keep them closed.” The wolf did so, and when they ran again, it ran so fast that the others were left behind. It killed a caribou and ate all it wanted, while the other wolves came up later on. The wolf was caught in a trap set by the people, and was killed. Then the woman’s soul became a caribou, and the caribou had young ones. Soon winter set in, and the ground was frozen and covered with snow. The caribou said to the others, “Why can I not find anything to eat?” And the others told it to scratch away the snow with its forefeet, and it would find moss underneath. The caribou did not like its companions, and went off in the direction of a village, where it was seen and killed by a man. Now the soul went into a walrus, and the walrus had young ones. This walrus became hungry and went down to the bottoffi of the sea to dig clams, but the clams would not open their shells, and it came up still hungry. It said to the other walruses, “ I cannot get anything to eat. The clams refuse to open their shells for me.” Then the other walruses said, “ When you go to the bottom of the sea, say, ‘ Eok , eok , eok ! ’ ” It did so, and as soon as it said, “ Eok! ” the clams opened their shells, and it had all it wanted to eat. Soon after this the walrus was caught by a man, and the soul of the woman went into a ground-seal, which had young ones. This also was taken by a hunter. Then the soul went into a seal, which had young ones. This seal met another one, and the other seal said, “There are two men waiting for seals at holes in the ice. You go to that hole, I will go to this one.” But the seal in which the woman’s soul was embodied said,

“ No, when that hunter was a boy, he was lazy. He would not put snow into his mother’s kettle. 1 He does not deserve to have good luck.” The other seal went to his hole, and the hunter threw it with his harpoon, but only wounded it. The wounded seal cried out, “You have hurt me, and your harpoon is cold.” The two seals went together, and the one in which the woman’s soul was embodied told its companion to go to the other hole, but the seal refused because the hunter had been lazy as a boy. Then the seal in which the soul was embodied went to the good hunter, who killed it and took it home. When they arrived at the house, the seal staid close to the harpoon, and said, “Why does not the woman come and take the harpoon into the house?” Soon the woman came and took the harpoon, and then the soul went into her.

After some time she had a child, who was no other than the old woman. When she came to be about eight or ten years of age, she would go out to see what game the hunters brought in, and she recognized her old companions, and told them by what name each was known among his own kind. When she grew older, she told the other people in what animals her soul had been, and what the animals liked and disliked. She told them that while she was a walrus, other Calluses used to come up and kiss her until her nose became sore. She also told them that the ground-seals were very good, but that they always looked very angry. She said that when she was a seal, she used to play all the time, but that as a wolf she was hungry. On account of this tale it is customary to bring in the harpoon-line at once after the seal has been taken into the house.

24. The Old Woman and her Grandchild . 2

A long time ago the people were starving. They went away from their village, leaving an old woman with her grand-daughter behind. As the two were very hungry, the old woman wrought a spell to induce the foxes to come

2 See No. 40, p. 221; No. 54, p. 248.

to her house. At first the caribou came. When they heard them coming, the child went out and saw a large herd of caribou. She re-entered and told her grandmother that the caribou had come, and the old woman ordered her to send them away. Next the musk-oxen came. When they heard them coming, the child went out; and when she saw the musk-oxen, she reported to her grandmother, who told her to send them away. Next came the wolves, but they were also sent away. They heard a tramp of more animals. The child went out, and saw a large number of bears. She went in and told her grandmother, who ordered her to send them away. The old woman said, “I want the foxes to come.” Again they heard tramping. The child went out to see who was there, and found a great number of wolverines. She told her grandmother, and the old woman ordered her to send them away. Once more they heard a noise, and when the child went out, she saw a great many rabbits. She told her grandmother that the rabbits were outside. The old woman at first thought that she would like to keep them; but when she saw how lean they were, she told the child to send them away. Again they heard a noise, and when the child went out, she saw a great number of foxes. Now she told her grandmother that the foxes were outside. The old woman asked her to invite them in; and when the whole house was full, she shut the door. The old woman took a stick and killed them all.

Now they wanted blubber for their lamp. Then the grandmother took the strap from her waist, and made a harpoon and a line out of it. She urinated, and thus melted a hole in the ice, and soon a seal came up, which she harpooned and caught. Now they had plenty of blubber.

Now she had all she wanted except a man. Therefore she transformed herself into a man by making a penis out of the bone for trimming the lamp, and by making her testicles out of fire-stones. Then she wanted to go sealing. She transformed her privates into a sledge. Then she defecated, and wiped herself with snow. She transformed the pieces of snow with which she had wiped herself into dogs by throwing them on the ground. She made a kayak out of the tattooing on her forehead, and a paddle out of the tattooing on her cheeks. Then she married the girl, who was soon with child. One day when she was out sealing, a man came to the snow house. When he saw the sledge, he asked, “ Who made the sledge?”—“Grandmother made it.”—“Who made the dogs?”—“Grandmother.”—“Who made the kayak?” —“Grandmother did.”—“And who is the father of your child?”—“Grandmother.” While the man was in the hut, the grandmother returned from sealing, and, looking through the entrance, she saw the man’s legs. Then she was overcome with shame, and dropped down dead. The man wanted to take the young woman home with him, and they sat down on the sledge; but when he whipped the dogs, they were transformed into snow, and the sledge was retransformed into what it had originally been. Then they walked on to the camp. Soon afterwards the young woman died.

25. The Angakok who became a Woman . 1

There was a man who was a great hunter and a great angakok. One day the people, went whaling in their kayaks. This man, when near enough, harpooned a whale; and the latter struck him with its tail, and crippled him, so that he could no longer go hunting. On account of this he made up his mind to transform himself into a woman. He rubbed the skin of his face so that it came off, and he had now so changed in appearance that he looked like a woman. A man who saw him doing this dropped down dead. The angakok then pulled out his chin-beard.

He wanted to marry a certain man; and the latter, who was afraid to refuse, took him for his wife. This man had not been a successful hunter. When the couple went out caribou-hunting, the man who had transformed himself into a woman took bow and arrows, and killed many caribou. On their return to the village, the other people remarked that the man who had before been so unsuccessful had become a great hunter.

1 See No. 55, p. 249.

After some time the woman who had been a man had a child. One day when one of the women saw her again nibbing her face, she laughed at her. Then she fell down dead at once.

The other people were much provoked to see that two of their number had died on account of this angakok, therefore they resolved to put him out of the way. The angakok, however, was at once aware of their designs. He arose, went to the house in which the other people had assembled, and said, “ I should like to see the one who said that I should be killed.” And, although the people did not tell, he killed the person who had made the suggestion.

Then it was decided that they would have a great feast, and that the angakok was to be invited. While he was eating, another powerful angakok assumed the form of a spirit, and crawled from under the lamp into her,’ tore out her heart and intestines, and then carried them outside, where he fed them to the dogs. One-half of her heart he kept for himself. The woman felt at once that the food which she swallowed did not cause the same feeling as usual, and she soon discovered what had happened. • She put on her boots, went out of the house, and gathered up her intestines and the half of her heart that was given to the dogs, but she could not find the other half. Then she put them back into her body, but, since her heart was too small, she did not live long.

26. The Transformed Hunters.

There were four men who went hunting together. Three of them were brothers, while the fourth one had taken their sister as wife. They went out to the floe-edge. Suddenly the ice broke away, and carried them out of sight of land. After some time the floe of ice became smaller and smaller. Then the oldest brother, who was a great angakok, summoned his guardian spirit, a large bear, and told him of their plight. Then the ice floe began to tip up, and when it became quite steep, the oldest brother slid off into the sea. When he came up again, he was transformed into a bear.

The other brothers followed his example, and when they came up were also transformed into bears. Then they swam to the shore. The oldest brother told the other men that if they should see any seals, they must not kill them, else they would not regain their human shape. The brother-in-law could not resist the temptation of killing a seal when he saw it, and he devoured it. When they reached the land, the oldest brother transformed himself into a gull, and flew to a place where the Eskimo were cutting up a whale. He ate some of the meat, and took some back to his brothers. Then the brothers resumed human shape, but the brother-in-law had to remain a bear.

27. The Woman who married the Dog . 1

Not far from Iglulik lived an old man who had an only daughter who refused to take a husband. One day her father, who was provoked at her refusal to marry, said, “Perhaps you would rather marry a dog,” to which she replied that she would.

Her father had a dog that transformed himself into a man. Since the skin on the dog’s belly was white, he had the appearance of having on a handsome coat with white fur. After dark he entered the house and asked the woman to marry him. On the following morning she discovered that what she believed to be a man was a dog. In time she gave birth to some pups. The father put his daughter, the dog, and the young pups on an island, and the old dog would swim back and forth from the island to the mainland to bring food to his family. The girl’s father put the food into bags, which he hung over the back of the dog, who swam across with them. After a while the girl’s father desired to get rid of the dog. For this reason he one day filled the bags with small stones. The dog started to swim across, but was nearly drowned before he reached the island. On the following day the girl’s father put some fine sand and very small pebbles into the bags. When the sand became wet, it was so heavy that the dog was drowned.

1 Compare p. 165.

From this time on, the father used to carry meat to his daughter and to her pups. The woman, however, felt sorry for the loss of her husband, and told her children to go down to the beach and to lick off the blood from the kayak of her father, and then to kill him.

They did as they were ordered; and when they had nearly killed the old man, the woman ran down and pretended to scold them. The old man, being unable to move, lay down on the beach until the tide came in and covered him up.

Then the woman made a shoe, placed some of the pups in it, and sent them adrift. Finally the shoe was transformed into a boat, which carried them to the mainland, where they became the ancestors of the Indians. The rest of her children she put into another shoe, and put in a reed for a mast, and sang a lay, telling them that they would go to a land where they would always have an abundance of everything. They drifted away and became the ancestors of the Europeans. The woman became Nuliayoq. Her father and her dog live with her under the sea.

28. Armuckjuark.

At Amitoq there once lived a man and his wife. The man wished his children to be very strong. For this reason he made the mother, after each child was born, sit on the floor of the hut with her feet raised to each side of the doorway. In this position she had to eat, taking a large piece of halfcooked meat in both hands, and tearing off pieces with her teeth, while the fat ran down her arms. While she was doing this, her husband remained in the entrance-way and kept off the dogs with his whip. This made the children exceedingly strong.

One of the sons of this couple was named Armuckjuark. He came to be a very strong man. His wrists were as thick as the legs of a bear. He had one brother, who was called Artinarkjuark , and one half-brother.

He had two wives ,—Eccootlikechark and Arknuckkaark. The former was thin and lean, while the latter was very stout. Eccootlikechark was jealous of the other wife, and used to taunt her, saying that she had large hips and did not look well; while Arknuckkaark would retort that the other one had legs as thin as the pieces of bone which are used to dig marrow out of broken bones.

Armuckjuark was a successful whaler. He liked best to go off in his kayak when a strong southeasterly wind was blowing. He would go out alone, carrying a large float made of the skin of a ground-seal; and when he had killed a whale, he would leave it, and the whale would soon drift ashore. Between times he used to go home and tell the people to be on the lookout for a whale. He was not a good caribouhunter, however, because he could not paddle on the lakes as quickly as others. His uncle, particularly, used to pass by him in his kayak and kill the caribou before he could reach them.

One day when the caribou were crossing a lake, he asked his wives to bring him his paddle. It was so large that it required both of them to carry it. He took his brother Artinarkjuark into his kayak and started. His uncle followed him, and soon passed him. This enraged Armuckjuark , who, with a powerful stroke of his paddle, made the water whirl so rapidly that his uncle was capsized and drowned. Artinarkjuark did not like the way in which his brother was acting, and as soon as they reached the shore he jumped out of the kayak and went to his tent.

Later in the winter the people went to fetch some cariboumeat from their caches. When they returned, Eccootlikechark distributed it. Soon she returned and told her husband that she had met his half-brother in one of the entrance-passages, and that in trying to pass her he had tried to overcome her. In fact, they merely happened to meet, and in trying to pass each other had always moved to the same side. Armuckjuark believed his wife. The next morning he arose early, went to his half-brother’s house, and said that he was going to kill him. His half-brother said, “Wait until I am dressed.” He got up, and as soon as he was dressed, Armuckjuark stabbed him with his knife. Then their mother began to cry. She was sad over the loss of her child, and told Armuckjuark that his wife had deceived him, and had lied in regard to his half-brother, and ended by saying that she hoped Armuck - juark would not die if he should be stabbed by the other people.

Armuckjuark returned to his house. Early the next morning he asked Eccootlikechark which way the wind was blowing. She retorted that he might find out by going out himself. Then he took hold of her hand with both of his, pulled her fingers apart, and split her hand and arm up to the elbow. 1 She gave a wild shriek and died. He knew now that she had lied, and he felt sorry for having slain his half-brother.

The next summer, while Armuckjuark and Artinarkjuark 1 s wives were out gathering moss, they saw a number of people who beckoned to them to come. The people told them that they were intending to kill Armuckjuark and Artinarkjuark that night, and asked the women to put out their (?) stockings from under the tent. The women returned. They did not tell their husbands of the designs of the people, and when they lay down they put their (?) stockings out from under the tent. At dark the people attacked them. By far the greater number assailed Armuckjuark 1 s tent, while only about half that number attacked Artinarkjuark 1 s tent. They jumped on top of the tent-skins, so that the tent fell down, and they tried to stab the inmates. As soon as Armuckjuark felt the tent falling down, he arose on his hands and feet, and crawled in this way quite a distance, carrying tent and men along; and finally he was despatched. The other men broke down Artinarkjuark 1 s tent; but one of their number pitied him, and, while the others were trying to kill him, he shouted, “Armuckjuark is coming!” Then all the men jumped up from the tent, and Artinarkjuark took this opportunity to escape; but blood was flowing from his wounds. Finally he came to a stream, and by wading in it he covered his tracks. Then he travelled on until he came to the place where his parents lived, near a point where they were catching ducks with whalebone snares. They dressed his wounds and gave him new clothing. On the following day the people who were pursuing him came to the tent. Then

1 Compare p. 299.

his mother made him lie down on the ground, and covered him up. The people asked the old couple if they had seen any one coming that way. They replied that no one had come, and invited them to rest, and gave them to eat. Soon the people left, believing Artinarkjuark to be dead.

Soon his wounds healed, and he staid with his parents, hunting. During this time he made a beautiful set of clothing for himself, and one for a woman. In winter he went back to his own village, and when the people saw him coming they recognized him at once. The man who had stabbed him in the side, and who thought that he had died of his wound, had carried a charm as a protection against Artinarkjuark's spirit. When he saw Artinarkjuark alive, he dropped the charm when no one was looking. Artinarkjuark now called his wives, one of whom came quickly. He asked her to take off her old duckskin suit, which he tore to pieces, and gave her the beautiful clothes which he had made. He would not have the other woman because she did not come at once when he had called.

He then challenged two men who had stabbed him, and slew both of them. Then he left the village with his wife, and lived happily ever after.

29. The Spirit of the Dancing-House . 1

The people had abandoned a village, and had built another one near by. One night two men went to the dancing-house in the old village; and while one remained outside, the other one started to enter. While he was passing in, he said, “Where are the people who dance ?” As he stooped to enter through the doorway, he saw afoot. He said, “I see a foot.” Then he touched it with his hand, and felt the leg, saying, “ I feel the leg.” Then he said, “ I feel the thigh; ” and creeping in farther,he said, “I feel the body, I feel the arm, I feel the head.” Then he felt for the hair, but there was none; and he said, “ I do not feel any hair.” At this moment the spirit tried to take hold of him, saying at the same time, “ I have no hair; ” but at that moment the man jumped through the window and

1 See Boas, Central Eskimo, p. 636.

made his escape. He told his companion what had happened to him, and from this time on he was a great angakok.

30. The Owl and the Bear .

Once upon a time an Owl was watching the hole of a Lemming, when a Bear came near. The Owl said to the Bear, “ Why are you always walking about? ”

The Bear . Why are you always standing by the side of the Lemming hole?

The Owl (angrily). Why don’t you keep yourself clean?

The Bear. Neither you nor your children can turn your

• eyes in your head.

The Owl. Your eyes are green, and look like fire.

The Bear (advancing towards the Owl). Stop where you are, and I’ll sit down with you.

The Owl, however, was afraid that the Bear might kill him, and flew a little ways off. Then the Bear pretended to be dead. When the Owl saw this, he came nearer and nearer, and, when he was close to the Bear, the latter caught him in his mouth and killed him.

VI. TEXTS FROM CUMBERLAND SOUND.

I. ITIQTAUJAQ.

The following version was recorded and translated by Rev. E. J. Peck: —

Translation.

There was a man named Itiqtaujaq who had no wife, and because he wanted a wife he went in search of one. Some children (young people) were staying in a tent while their mothers were away in a boat. Itiqtaujaq, during his wanderings, saw this tent, and on going to the door of the same, a lad came out. Itiqtaujaq then said to the lad, “Let one of the most beautiful girls come out.” The lad went in and delivered Itiqtaujaq’s message; but one of the girls said, “What doep

[December, jgor J

1 Said to be an obsolete word.

he call himself? Who is he?” The lad answered, ‘‘He told me to say that he is called Netsiasuase.” The girl, not knowing a man so called, did not heed his request; and the lad, having no message to deliver, did not go out to Itiqtaujaq. Itiqtaujaq now journeyed on again, and came to another land. Here he saw some women walking with bare feet in a lake (by its side). Hiding himself so that they might not know of his presence, he went towards them and took their boots. When they knew that their boots were taken, they asked for them, saying, “ Give me my boots.” He gave some their boots, but he kept the boots of one (said to have been the most beautiful one); and when she asked for her boots, he said to her, “ I will have thee for a wife.”—‘‘No,” she said; but he said to her, “ I will give thee thy boots if thou consentest to be my wife.” —“Bring my boots,” she kept on calling out. “I will have thee for a wife,” he kept on saying. At last, when she consented, he gave her boots to her. She then became his wife. She conceived and brought forth a child, and they had a son.

Now, when this child grew up, the people caught a whale; and while they were cutting up the whale, the women were taking away pieces of the whale-meat. Itiqtaujaq’s wife, who was nice and clean, was displeased because her husband threw some meat on her garments. Being displeased, she went away by the seashore, weeping. Now, there was a lot of feathers by the shore. She picked these up and put them between her finger-joints, and both she and her son then flew away. When the Eskimo saw her fly away, they said, “ Itiqtaujaq’s wife is flying away.” Because they said so, Itiqtaujaq followed after her, singing, in this manner, —

“Away there, away there! I am ever inclined to walk to the hole of heaven, to the land of the birds. What is this that appears? Is it not a great kettle which is boiling rapidly? Now, this kettle can in no wise be passed by going around it, so through the boiling scalding meat I stepped from piece to piece, and so I passed on.

Away there, away there! I am ever inclined to walk to the hole of heaven, to the land of the birds. Now, what is this which appears again? It is a great lamp which is burning brightly. Now, this lamp can in no wise be passed by going around it, but only by stepping on the burning pieces of blubber did I pass on.

Away there, away there! I am ever inclined to walk to the hole of heaven, to the land of the birds. Now, what are these which appear? Two great monsters which are eating their own flesh, and only by rushing between them, and actually losing portions of my coat-tails, did I pass these by.

Away there, away there! I am ever inclined to walk to the hole of heaven, to the land of the birds. Now, what are these which appear? Two large flat stones which close quickly together, but I just passed between them with the greatest difficulty, as the end of my coat-tails were cut off by the closing stones.

Away there, away there! I am ever inclined to walk to the hole of heaven, to the land of the birds. Now, who is that who appears down there? It is Eqaluqdjuq, who is busily engaged in making fishes.”

Now it is related that before Eqaluqdjuq knew of the other man’s coming, he (Itiqtaujaq) went to him. When he reached Eqaluqdjuq, he (Eqaluqdjuq) said to him, “From where, from what direction, didst thou come to me?” Itiqtaujaq answered, “Just close from thy side I reached thee.” It is related of Eqaluqdjuq that he said to Itiqtaujaq, “ If thou hadst approached me from my front (in the direction of my face), I would certainly have chopped thee with my axe.” (The Eskimo say that Eqaluqdjuq had a distorted face, and would not allow anyone to approach him from the front.) It is also said of Eqaluqdjuq that he made fish by chopping up wood, and when he cast the pieces of wood into the water, they came to life (turned into fish). It is also related that Itiqtaujaq asked Eqaluqdjuq if he knew where his wife was. “She is on the small islands down there” (said Eqaluqdjuq), “on that small island the tents on which look like a lot of stones. Now go to them, embarking on the end of a fish’s tail and shutting thine eyes.”

So he embarked, having the fish’s tail for a canoe. While he was going to the islands, (out of curiosity) he just opened his eyes (a little way), and he was almost capsized. When the paddle of his canoe touched the land, he opened his eyes

(wide), and saw his son. “ Let thy mother come down to the beach,” he said, “for I have arrived.” The son then went up to his mother, and said, “ My father has come; go thou down to the shore.” But the mother answered, “ Is this thy father who I thought would not come, the one we left far away?”

When the son went,down again (the woman was pregnant and was ashamed to go), he (Itiqtaujaq) went up, but his former wife had a husband. This husband said, ‘ ‘ Bring that great box up here which is full of feathers.” He then put the quills between his finger-joints, and both he and his neighbors flew away. When his wife also began to fly away, Itiqtaujaq cut «her with a knife and wounded her, and a great number of eggs kept falling down.

In 1883 I recorded the following versions of Itiqtaujaq’s song, and parts of his dialogue with Eqaluqdjuq and with the people on the island. 1 The first version was obtained from a native of Cumberland Sound.

Tavunga avunga pisupagasupunga tigmidjen nunanun, silap North- north- I am inclined to walk the birds their coun- the ward ward try to, world putuanun. Nutitaun okoa? Quliqdjuaq una niguvikssauits hole to. Who are those A lamp that being like that appear ?

vadjut j angitung qangij oqssauvadjut j angitung kisiani a place that cannot being like a place that cannot be only be avoided passed okoa oxomeangitigun maojardlunga tavunga imna those through pieces of I step up there that blubber one pisutalupurnalirmijunga.

I one who must walk again. (?)

Tavunga avunga, ... (as before). Ukusikdjuarle tirti-

North- north- etc. But a large but one ward ward, kettle that tukdjuarle nuname mane niguvikssauvadjutj angitung is boil- on the now being like a place that cannot be ing much land avoided

1 See also F. Boas, Central Eskimo, p. 655.

kisiani okoa ovingnitigun maojardlunga, ... (as before), only those through those I step, etc. cooking

Tavunga, ... (as before). Aktlirtuang okoa miketuqdjuang

Northward, etc. Two aktlaq those biting kisiani okoa aqoardjukadle ilakungu'luin, pisutalupurnaonly those but my coat- they mutilate, I one who must tails walk lirmijunga.

again. (?)

Tavunga, ... (as before). Okpadjuang okoa nuname mane

Northward, etc. Two thighs those on the now land nigovikssauvadjurtjangitung kisiani okoa pilaomejoving being like a place that cannot only those ?

be avoided pisutalupurnstlirmi j unga.

I one who must walk again.(?)

“ Nakin tikipinga? ”—“ Manga sivuardnin tikipagin.” — “Where did you come “ Here from your front I came to from tome?”— you.” —

‘‘Manga tagva. Tunune tikikuvinga omunga ulimasukgalo- “From it is so. From the if you come with this I will chop you here back to me one with my axe.” — “My wife’s may you not know “What are place them?”— these here qeqertakulume qigotluitlerpun? ”— 44 Uitaililutit qajartulirin, on the small looking like stones?”—“ Keep your go in kayak, island eyes shut uij eragovin qaj auterperavin.” — “ Anaigoung atirdlen.” — every time you you capsize.” — “Your mother let her come open your eyes he says down.”—

“Atatagoung tikingmen aterit!”—“Atatlena tikinesuga,

4 4 My father said for he has go down! ’ ’— 4 4 But your mine what come father I thought would not come for a long time, atatlena javaqduanun qimajujavong, silap putuanun qimabut your to the great we two left him, the to its hole we father distance sky jujavong. ,, two left him.”

The following version of the song was sung at Qivitung on Davis Strait by an old woman: —

Tavunga avunga aivirgasupunga pisupagasupunga qilap North- north- I am inclined to I am inclined to walk the ward ward travel (?) sky putuanun, tigmidjen nunanun, tavunga imnapisutalungato its hole, the birds to their north- that where I must country, ward taimangaima sapidlirigema, tavunga ima aitadlungewhen I am tired northward thus when I must already, apalirmigema. travel on.

jartlunga qangimijiqotaimangaima ... (as before). I step (?) etc.

Then also two large stones closing quickly (?) only also

2. THE GIRLS WHO WERE CRUSHED BY A LARGE ROCK.

Translation .

There were two girls who were carrying infants in their hoods. As they stood by the side of a cliff, the cliff fell on them and crushed them to death. When they were covered with stones, the two persons who carried infants in their hoods were turned into sea-pigeons.

3 . THE WOMAN WHO BECAME A LOON.

savingmet nunamauunailingmet taimna ananatsianga when he was when he did not come that one his grandseparated to the land mother she commenced to thus: “Grandson, strongly paddle!”

shout

Taimna emgautalik maliksanerpoq qarsauktune erngauta- That one having a she followed when she be- her grandgrandson came a loon menik. Savingmet erngautanga qajaqtoartoq soruseq son. When he was her grandson going about in the boy separated a kayak taimna ananatsianga nipatuinalungnorpoq erngautamenik that one his grand- she only cried for pain for her grandson mother ungajoq erngautaq nunamauunailingmet qajaqtoartune. she who her grand- when he did not come going about in longed son to the land a kayak, for

Translation.

And there was one who became a loon. Her grandson went away in his kayak, and was driven away from the land. His grandmother began to shout, “Grandson, pull hard, pull hard!” The woman, while following her grandson, was turned into a loon. When he was driven away.from the land, his grandmother continued to cry from grief, because she longed for her grandson, who could not reach the land again.

4. BALL-SONG. — I. 2

Translation .*

You are up in the air, you are up in the air, thou who thou art above me art coming down. He who is above me is going up again. It is said the head of a walrus is turning round. Let us cause mine above me to turn round, samma! Let them be very light for us samma! sala, salala. Your partner (the other ball) who is going down is a little bird. He goes to a heap of stones amama. He goes away again. He does not sing. Now he sings with a faint voice, which is hardly audible. When it is summer, he relishes eating fish, aija. The caribou buck lies down, for its haunches are fat again.

I recorded another song quite similar to the preceding in 1883: —

arkodulu sala, atagoana ijijivatseung tigmeraqdjung audlarare light sala, one going for he is your a little bird he who for us (?) down partner goes toung qigonun uqalirotiune atinikun pokierpoq, akakaja. away to a heap turning into a from un- it escapes, akakaja. of stones rabbit der me

Translation.

You are up in the air, you are up in the air, thou who thou art above me art coming down. He who is above me is going up again. It is said the head of a walrus is turning round. They are light, sala. Your partner who is going down is a little bird. He who goes away to the heaps of stones turns into a rabbit which escapes from under me. Akakaja.

. 1 The ball-songs are very disconnected, and difficult to understand. The free translation is therefore somewhat doubtful in its connections. The game is played with several small pebbles, which are thrown and caught in one hand. — E. J. Peck.

5. BALL-SONG. — II. 1 2

(B) Qoleqpa, qoleqpadjuitup oma ainavatin, tigunavatin,

(P) - Qoleqpayuitub oma ainavatit, tigonavatit,

The one that is this one it goes to you take it, never uppermost you,

(B) aileta, ailita, ailita, kokilita, kokilita nanunudlo tuk-

(P) aileta, — — kokileta, kokileta nanunulo tuklet us let us let us let us pick let us pick and to the and go, go, go, our teeth, our teeth, bears

(B) tunudlo qatiktanudlo. Sunauvaina puirvalang, manu- (P) tunulo qatiktanulo. (menuto the and to those It was this it was a blow- to the caribou that are assembled. ing seal, collar

(B) minun kokilita. Aqbing taqtatsivung taqtalaitsivung (P) menut) kokileta. Aubvet taqtatsevut taqtaletsevut of his let us pick A whale (our) steps (our) progressive coat our teeth. (A cater- into the soft steps in the soft pillar ) 4 snow snow

(B) aigema ailigema qamamanga ttimamanga tuqojaq (P) aigama una for I go this for I begin (?) (?) the larynx way to go

7. BALL-SONG. — IV.

Nutale okoa? amarauqet tikigaptigo But new those ? many wolves for we come ones ap- to them pearing

9. BALL-SONG.-VI.

Nerlasalo kangoatsalo aulajut qangidlajut ukiarultomut And many and many those those which to the place geese small geese which pass by without winter move

The preceding description of the Eskimo of Cumberland Sound and of the western coast of Hudson Bay shows that the arts, customs, and beliefs of these tribes are very much alike. They not only bear all the important characteristics of Eskimo life, but are also much more nearly allied to each other than they are to the arts and customs of the Eskimo of Greenland and of Alaska. The opinion which I expressed elsewhere 1 —namely, that the Eskimo between King William Land, Smith Sound, and Labrador, may be considered as one of the main subdivisions of this people — seems to be well borne out by the new facts here presented. From the observations on the language of the Smith Sound Eskimo made by Dr. A. L. Kroeber, it would seem that the last-named tribe occupies an intermediate position. 2 I am inclined to consider their arts as similar to those of the central Eskimo, while their language seems to be nearer to that of Greenland.

Notwithstanding the far-reaching similarity between the tribes of Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay, a number of interesting differences may be noted. While some of their implements are almost identical in shape, — such as throwing-sticks, harpoon-shafts, knives, — others show typical differences. The light kayak of Hudson Bay differs very much from that of Baffin Land; the harpoon-points from Cumberland Sound cannot be mistaken for those from Hudson Bay. The sides of soapstone pots of Baffin Land converge toward the top, while those of Hudson Bay diverge upward. The cup-and-ball game of Baffin Land is played with figures made in imitation of animals, while in Hudson Bay another form is in use. The difference in costume is very striking. It would seem that a somewhat intermediate style of clothing is worn on the northern x Central Eskimo, p. 420.

a A. L. Kroeber, The Eskimo of Smith Sound (Bulletin American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XII, »p. 321).

part of the west coast of Baffin Bay, but no specimen from this region is available for detailed comparison. One of the most curious parts of the Hudson Bay costume is the enormous ankle-pouch of the women. It is difficult to explain the origin of such a fashion. At the present time the women of Baffin Land wear boots similar to those of the men, short drawers, and a pair of leggings. It would seem, however, that in the middle of the eighteenth century their clothing was somewhat different. H. Ellis, in his description of the Eskimo, figures the women of Savage Island, on the north coast of Hudson Strait, as wearing enormous boots similar to those now in use in Smith Sound, and probably also worn in Ponds Bay. He says that these boots were kept open by means of whalebone hoops or stays, and that the women were in the habit of putting their children into the boots. 1 A woman is figured by him carrying a child in her right boot. It seems plausible that the wide ankle-pouch of the long stocking of the west coast of Hudson Bay may be a survival of this wide boot. Evidently the wide stocking was also worn at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Parry and Lyon visited Iglulik. 2 * * * The designs on the garments of men and women are quite characteristic of definite areas, and only slight variations are found in each district. The region from Cumberland Sound southward, including Hudson Strait and Labrador, would seem to possess one well-defined type of clothing, while the western type extends from Iglulik to the extreme southern Eskimo tribes of the west coast of Hudson Bay. It is not known how far to the west this type extends. The illustrations of Eskimo from Boothia Felix, in Ross’s “Second Voyage,” 8 suggest a general similarity of the style of their clothing to that of the west coast of Hudson Bay, although the boots and stockings of the women seem to be of a different character.

To a certain extent the differences in art and implements

1 Reise nach Hudsons Meerbusen (Gottingen, 17*50), p. 142 and plate facing p. 140.

2 Parry, Journal of a Second Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage

(London, 1824), plate facing p. 436.

8 Ross, Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-West Passage (London,

1835).

may be explained as due to the influence of surroundings. One of the most remarkable features of this kind is the occurrence of limestone lamps and limestone pots on Southampton Island, the natives of which are unable to procure steatite, of which lamps and pots are ordinarily made. It is very striking that in this case the form of the object has been so persistent that a material which might be considered hardly fit for the purpose has, by the use of most ingenious methods, been given the desired shape.

The implements of the tribes of the west coast of Hudson Bay are different from those of Baffin Land on account of the occurrence of the musk-ox, the horns of which are extensively used for making spoons, ladles, and bows. I will call attention here to the gambling-game played on the west coast of Hudson Bay with a ladle of musk-ox horn, 1 while in Cumberland Sound it has degenerated to a regular roulette. 2 The Kinipetu live so far inland, and it is so much easier for them to obtain wood, that their arts are considerably affected by this fact.

The stone skin-scrapers of the Kinipetu tribe deserve special mention in this connection. Among the more northern tribes, most of the scrapers have bone handles of peculiar form, into many of which a stone blade is fitted. 3 Among the Kinipetu are found a number of very curiously shaped skinscrapers made entirely of stone, the form of which suggests that they are an imitation of the bone scrapers of the more northern regions. It is hardly conceivable to my mind that the curious form of these scrapers should have developed in the stone implement.

The material here presented throws light also upon some features of the ethnology of Greenland which have hitherto remained obscure. This is particularly the case in regard to the angiaq, 4 the spirit of a child bom prematurely. In one tale 6 it is stated, that, as soon as the mother of an angiaq confessed that she had given birth to it, the angiaq felt a pain

1 See p. no. 2 Boas, Central Eskimo, p. 568. * See p.«

4 Rink, /. e., p. 45. * Rink, /. c., p. 440.

in its head, lost its senses, and died. At another place J it is told that a woman named Kakamak had an angiaq which killed its brothers soon after they were bom. An angakok whose help was requested said, after having performed his conjuration, “When the children died, the sister-in-law of Kakamak always reproached her as being guilty of a crime, and having an anghiak who had killed the children.” Although .here the idea is not so definitely expressed as in the former case, the words also imply that confession might have saved the brothers of the angiaq. This, taken in connection with the statement that the abortions (agdlerutit) infest the hair of the deity of the sea-mammals and induce her to withhold the food-supply, makes it quite clear that the angiaq was originally identical with the attachment of the soul produced by a transgression, more particularly with that produced by an unconfessed secret abortion among the Central Eskimo. 1 2 This idea may also conform to Dr. Kroeber’s somewhat obscure statement in regard to the Smith Sound Eskimo. 3 He says, “The angiyang is described as a bird, visible only to the angakoq. It causes sickness. Wherever a person has pain, the angiyang is pricking him with its bill. When a person is about to die, the angakoq kills the angiyang, and the sick person recovers. When a person dies, the angiyang dies too, after a while. It also informs the angakoq when one has disobeyed his orders, or refuses to tell him the truth.” All of these features seem reconcilable with the notion of the “attachments” of the soul among the Central tribes. The bird form may be considered as a specialized conception of the “attachment.”

In other respects also there are clear indications that the fundamental ideas of the tribes of the Central regions and of Greenland were more alike than they heretofore appeared. Witchcraft 4 proves to exist in the same form as in Greenland, and the number of traditions that are common to both regions is materially increased.

1 Rink, /. c., p. 391.

a See before, pp. 120,125.

3 Kroeber, Bulletin American Museum Natural History, Vol. XII, p. 309.

4 See before, p, 135 ; Rink, /. c., p. 49.

Following is a list of traditions common to various Eskimo tribes: 1

The Sun and the Moon. Greenland (Rink, p. 236), East Greenland (Holm, p. 34), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 179), Cumberland Sound (p. 173), Ungava (Turner, p. 266), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 306), Mackenzie River (Petitot, p. 7), Point Barrow (Rink, p. 237), St. Michael (Nelson, p. 481), Lower Yukon (Nelson, p. 482).

Nakasungnak,—tale of a man killed by mosquitoes. Greenland (Rink, p. 438), Cumberland Sound (p. 213).

The Visit to the Moon. Greenland (Rink, p. 440), East Greenland (Holm, p. 80), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 180), Cumberland Sound (p. 198).

The Woman who wanted to be a Man. Greenland (Rink, p. 442), Cumberland Sound (p. 248), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 323).

Atungak. Greenland (Rink, p. 162), Cumberland Sound (p. 228), Labrador (Rink, p. 447).

Sikuliarsiujuit. Cumberland Sound (p. 292), Labrador (Rink, p. 449 )-

Aklaujak. Cumberland Sound (p. 270), Labrador (Rink, p. 449).

Avigiatsiak; the transmigrations of a soul. Greenland (Rink, p. 450), East Greenland (Holm, p. 59), Cumberland Sound (p. 232), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 321).

The Bird’s Cliff. Greenland (Rink, p. 451), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 173), Cumberland Sound (p. 216).

Amarkuagsak. Greenland (Rink, p. 466), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 179), Cumberland Sound (p. 163), Labrador (H. I. Smith, Journal of American Folk-Lore, 1894, p. 209), Ungava (Turner, p. 262), West Coast Hudson Bay (p.327), Alaska (Boas, Journal of American Folk-Lore, 1894, p. 205).

Torait. East Greenland (Holm, p. 52), Cumberland Sound (p. 209), Labrador (Rink, p. 469), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 315).

A Woman who was mated with a Dog. Greenland (Rink, p. 471), East Greenland (Holm, p. 56), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 168), Cumberland Sound (p. 165), Ungava (Turner, p. 261), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 327), Point Barrow (Murdoch, American Naturalist, 1886, p. 594), Port Clarence, Alaska (Boas, Journal of American Folk-Lore, 1894, p. 207).

1 Besides the works quoted heretofore, the following have been used: —

G. Holm. Sagn og Fortaellinger fra Angmagsalik. (Quoted : Holm.)

A. I*. Kroeber. Tales of the Smith Sound Eskimo (Journal of American Folk-I^ore, Vol. XII, 1899, pp. 166 £F.) (Quoted : Kroeber.)

Eucien M. Turner. Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory. (Eleventh Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, 1894, pp. 159 £f.) (Quoted: Turner.')

David Cranz. Historic von Gronland. Leipzig, 1765. (Quoted: Cranz.)

E. Petitot. Traditions indiennes du Canada nord-ouest. Paris, 1886. (Quoted(Petitot.)

Owl and Lemming. Cumberland Sound (p. 219), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 319), Norton Bay (Nelson, p. 514).

Lemming and Fox. Cumberland Sound (Boas, Journal of American Folk-Lore, 1897, !?• XII )» Labrador {ibid.).

The Lemming. Cumberland Sound {ibid., p. 112), Labrador {ibid.).

The Giant. Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 167), Cumberland Sound (p. 196), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 314).

Qautipalung. Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 172), Cumberland Sound (The Echo, p. 172).

Orion. Greenland (Cranz, p. 295), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 173), Cumberland Sound (p. 174), Point Barrow (Simpson in Further Papers relative to the Recent Arctic Expeditions. Printed January, 1855, p. 940).

Owl and Raven. Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 174), Cumberland Sound (p. 220).

The Woman and the Bear-Cub. Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 176), East Greenland (Holm, p. 82), Cumberland Sound (p. 222), West Coast Hudson Bay (Boas, Central Eskimo, p. 638).

Kagsagsuk. Greenland (Rink, p. 93), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 178), Cumberland Sound (p. 186), Labrador (Turner, p. 265), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 309).

The Blind Man who recovered his Sight. Greenland (Rink, p. 99), East Greenland (Holm, p. 31), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 169), Cumberland Sound (p. 168), Labrador (Rink, p. 99).

Igimarasugsuk. Greenland (Rink, p. 106), East Greenland (Holm, p. 11), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 177), Cumberland Sound (p. 194), Labrador (Rink, p. 106), West Coast Hudson JBay (p. 312).

A Tale about Two Girls. Greenland (Rink, p. 126), East Greenland (Holm, p. 42), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 175), Cumberland Sound (p. 217), Labrador (Rink, p. 126), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 3i7)-

The Faithless Wife. Greenland (Rink, p. 143), Cumberland Sound (p. 222). See also the Fox Woman. Greenland (pp. 143,427), Ungava (Turner, p. 264).

The Man who mated himself with a Sea-Fowl. Greenland (Rink, p. 145), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 170), Cumberland Sound (p. 179).

Giviok. Greenland ,(Rbik, p. 157), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 177), Cumberland Sound (p. 182); see also incidents in East Greenland (Holm, p. 48), Greenland (Rink, p. 222).

Transformation into Bears. Greenland (Rink, p. 168), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 326).

Navaranak. Greenland (Rink, p. 174), Cumberland Sound (p. 207), Labrador (Rink, p. 175).

The Lost Daughter. Greenland (Rink, p. 186), Cumberland Sound (p. 178).

A Lamentable Story. Greenland (Rink, p. 232), Smith Sound (Kroeber, p. 172), Ungava (Turner, p. 262), West Coast Hudson Bay (Boas, Central Eskimo, p. 639).

Incidents of Tales.

Trembling legs of murderer give warning. Greenland (Rink, p. 147), Cumberland Sound (p. 191).

Killing the dog of a friend. Greenland (Rink, p. 215), Cumberland Sound (p. 200), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 316).

Curiosity of inlanders. Greenland (Rink, p. 218), Cumberland Sound (p. 205).

Persons pulling off skins from bones. Greenland (Rink, p. 219), Cumberland Sound (p. 249), West Coast of Hudson Bay (p. 325).

Head-lifting. Greenland (Rink, pp. 269, 467), Cumberland Sound (p. 135), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 158), Alaska (Nelson, p. 433).

Flying garments. Greenland (Rink, pp. 264, 277), Cumberland Sound (P- 1 37 ) :

Threat to kill a person who tells that a person previously dead has revived. Greenland (Rink, p. 299), Cumberland Sound (p. 235).

Woman forced to marry a man, kills him and escapes. Greenland (Rink, p. 343), Cumberland Sound (p. 191).

Terrifying face. Greenland (Rink, p. 353), East Greenland (Holm, p. 26), Cumberland Sound (p. 254).

Witch sinking into ground, harpooned. Greenland (Rink, p. 372), Cumberland Sound (p. 235).

Diminishing distances by drawing ground together. Greenland (Rink, p. 402), West Coast Hudson Bay.

Dwarfs can change their sizes. Greenland (Rink, p. 403), West Coast . Hudson Bay (p. 316).

Hole in sky. Greenland (Rink, p. 468), Cumberland Sound (p. 339).

Arrows in body so numerous that dead cannot touch ground. East Greenland (Holm, p. 37), Cumberland Sound (p. 289), Bering Strait (Nelson, p. 329).

Moon man marries woman. East Greenland (Holm, p. 47), Cumberland Sound (p. 205).

Giantess's husband. East Greenland (Holm, p. 86), Cumberland Sound (p. 197).

Origin of caribou. Cumberland Sound (p. 167), Point Barrow (Murdoch, American Naturalist, 1886, p. 595).

Origin of fishes. Greenland (Cranz, p. 262), Cumberland Sound (Boas, Central Eskimo, p. 617), Point Barrow (Murdoch, l. c ., p. 595).

Thunder and lightning. Greenland (Cranz, p.296), Cumberland Sound (p. 175), West Coast Hudson Bay (p. 146), Point Barrow (Murdoch, /. c.,p. 595).

It appears from this extended list that the folk-tales of the Eskimo are very uniform. Among thirty-one tales that have been recorded in both Greenland and Cumberland Sound, nineteen are common to both regions. In character, the Cumberland Sound tales are evidently very similar to those of Labrador. Even the names of the heroes in these two countries are often the same. We find, for instance, the hero of the tale Attongey (p. 228) given as Atungak in Labrador, Sea - colearseawetto (p. 292) as Sikuliarsiujuit, Uktowyonakjew (p. 270) as Aklaujak, Eavarnan (p. 207) as Iavaranak. The conservatism with which complex tales are retained, the parts of which have no inner connection, is very remarkable. The most striking example is the tale of “The Faithless Wife,” the first part of which deals with a woman who had for a lover the spirit of a pond, an element undoubtedly derived from Indian sources. The second part relates how the husband, after killing his faithless wife, marries a fox. 1 This is also true of apparently trifling tales of wars and quarrels which one might be inclined to consider as quite recent, if it were not for their wide distribution. For this reason, I have recorded all tales of this character, no matter how trifling they appeared. The conservatism of the Eskimo, which is brought out in language, customs, beliefs, and folk-lore, is very curious when compared with the tendency to differentiation found among almost all other peoples.

A comparison of the culture of the Eskimo of Alaska as described by Nelson, 2 with that of the eastern Eskimo, also brings out the fundamental sameness of all Eskimo culture. It is evident that the fundamental forms of weapons, utensils, and implements, and of the clothing and tattooing, of the Alaskan Eskimo, are identical with those of the eastern Eskimo. But besides this, a considerable number of particular customs and beliefs are analogous to well-known Eskimo customs. I will mention a number of striking features of this kind. The child is given the name of the person last deceased, 8 whose soul

1 See before, p. 222 ; and Rink, p. 143.

• 1 $. W. Nelson, The Eskimo about Bering Strait (Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Part I, Washington, 1899).

3 See before, p. 132; and Nelson, l. c., p. 289.

enters the body of the person bearing his name. 1 Girls are often exposed immediately after birth or during the first few years of their lives. 2 The carving of a whale is put into the mouth of a new-born male infant in order to make him a good hunter. 3 The souls of animals see the halo of those who are unclean. 4 The custom of loaning wives and of exchanging wives at certain religious festivals obtains. 5 After the death of a person, no cutting-implement must be used, that the shade may not be injured. 6 After a death has occurred, the heads of the mourners must be covered with a hood. 7 In gambling, the peculiar method obtains, that the last winner has to stake a prize, so that the result of the game is a constant exchange of articles. 8 Among the games that are common to Alaska and to the eastern tribes, I may mention the games nuglutang, 9 arm and finger pulling, wrestling, 10 the buzz. 11 Festivals in the singing-house are common to all the tribes, and songs in which two persons taunt each other are a principal feature in their assemblies. 12 The aurora is believed to be 1 See before, p. 132; and Nelson, l. c. } p. 364.

2 Boas, /. c. f p. 580; and Nelson, /. c., p. 289.

3 See before, p. 160 ; and Nelson, l. c., p. 290.

4 See before, p. 120; and Nelson, /. c., p. 291.

• Boas, /. c. y p. 579 ; and Nelson, l. c. y pp. 292, 360.

8 See before, p. 144; and Nelson, /. c., pt>. 312, 3^ 364.

Vol. XII, p. 313 ; and Nelson, l. c. y p. 315.

8 Boas, l. c. y p. 569 ; and Nelson, 1 . c., p. 333.

• See before, p. no; and Nelson, l. c ., p. 334. 10 L. c., p. 339. 11 L. c., p. 341.

12 L. c ., p. 347.

18 See before, p. 146; Rink, L c. y p. 37 ; and Nelson, /. c., p. 336.

14 Rink, l, c., p. 35 ; and Nelson, l, c,, p. 430.

18 See before, p. 135 ; Rink, /. c., p. 269; and Nelson, l. c., p. 433.

18 Boas, l. c ., p. 612; and Nelson, l. c. f p. 435.

17 See before, p. 153 ; and Nelson, /. c., p. 427.

18 Nelson, 1 . c ., pp. 379 flf. 437. 19 Nelson, L c., pp. 382, 441.

20 See before, p. 124. 91 See before, p. 148.

Skins of small mammals are attached inside of floats to prevent their being tom. 1

While some of these ideas and customs are of such character that they might perhaps spring up independently among diverse tribes, their whole mass is so great, and so characteristic of the Eskimo, that they must be considered sufficient proof that all these features were common to the whole of the ancient Eskimo stock.

It is remarkable that the number of traditions that are common to the Alaskan and to the eastern Eskimo is quite small. Among this small number we find one of the trifling beast fables which I first discovered in Baffin Land, and which have since been repeatedly found among different Eskimo tribes. It is the story of “The Owl and the Lemming,”— in Alaska the Raven and the Marmot,—in which the Lemming flatters the Owl, and finally makes good his escape. 2 Besides these, the story of “The Sun and the Moon” 3 occurs, and there are indications that the stories of “The Dog who married the Woman” 4 and of “The Mother of the Sea-Mammals” 6 are also found. The legends of the origin of the caribou, of fishes, of thunder and lightning, and of the Orion, also occur. 6

The occurrence of the myth of the mother of the seamammals all the way from Alaska to Greenland, and the frequent connection of this myth with ideas in regard to the souls of men and of animals, indicate that it is a fundamental idea common to all the Eskimo tribes.

Nelson’s corroboration of the belief that the souls see the vapor rising from unclean persons, and his explanation of the custom (recorded in the Central regions) that no cutting-tool must be used after a death has occurred, in order to prevent an accidental hurt of the soul of the deceased, show clearly that among all the Eskimo tribes the underlying idea of the taboo is the protection of the souls of the dead, men as well as animals. As long as the soul is near the body, actions that

1 See before, p. 152. 8 kelson, l. r. y p. 514. * Nelson, l. c., p. 482.

4 J. Murdoch, The American Naturalist, i886 t p. 594: and Boas, Notes on the Eskimo of Port Clarence, Alaska (Journal of American Fotk-hore, Vol. VII, 1894, p. 207). • Boas, Journal of American Folk-I<ore, Vol. VII, 1894, p. 205.

6 Boas, l. c., p. 642. See, also, detailed list above.

might hurt it must be avoided. It is a well-known fact that taboos exist all over the world. They are not, however, always primarily connected with the idea of protecting the souls of the deceased from evil influences. We recognize, therefore, in the Eskimo belief, a specialized form of a more general belief. It must have existed in this specialized form among the ancestors of all the Eskimo tribes, since it is found now among all the tribes of this people.

Among the Central tribes this group of beliefs appears still more systematized by combining the idea of the protection of the soul with that of a protectress of the sea-animals. Not only is the soul of the dead animal hurt by an infraction of the taboo, but the protectress of the animal herself is affected, for when the animal goes down to her the infraction causes pain to her also.

It seems likely that the relation between the protectress of sea-mammals and the ideas regarding the souls of men and animals was also an original feature of Eskimo beliefs, which gradually disappeared in Greenland, and perhaps also in the west. At least, the disconnected beliefs of the Greenlanders are more easily interpreted in this manner than by the assumption of a later systematization of these beliefs among the Central tribes. This point may perhaps be cleared up by more detailed researches among the Alaskan Eskimo.

It is also of interest to investigate the foreign influences that manifest themselves in the culture of the Eskimo. Some of the implements of the tribes of the west coast of Hudson Bay clearly show such influence. The crooked carving-knife, 1 probably used with two hands, is not found among any other eastern Eskimo tribe, while it occurs among the neighboring Indians and also among the Alaskan Eskimo, who have it in common with their Indian neighbors. The occurrence of the tobacco-pipe 2 is also undoubtedly due to Indian influence. The soapstone head and the stem of the pipe, which is made of a split piece of wood grooved out and tied together again, are characteristically Indian. I am not sure whether the three-feathered arrow of Southampton Island, which was

described before, 1 may be considered as an original Eskimo invention, since all the eastern Eskimo seem to use the arrow with two feathers.

The importation of foreign ideas is nowhere demonstrated more clearly than in the folk-lore of these tribes. A comparison of the traditions from the west coast of Hudson Bay with those of the rest of North America proves clearly that borrowing has taken place. It has been shown elsewhere 2 that such importation has even extended to Baffin Bay and to Greenland. The following are the most striking examples: —

The tale of “ The Origin of the Narwhal ” consists of several portions, one of which has its equivalent in Indian tales from British Columbia, 3 and from the Mackenzie Basin; 4 while the peculiar combination found here is known in Hudson Bay, Cumberland Sound, Smith Sound, and Greenland.

The tale of a fabulous being which steals bodies from graves, the visit to its house, and the magic flight, were not known heretofore as occurring among Eskimo tribes. The tale is quite common among the Athapascan tribes and on the North Pacific coast, and must be considered as originating among Indians. 5 The element of the magic flight is closely connected with similar incidents found in the lore of Pacific coast Indians and also in the Old World. 6 The name of this fabulous being “ Nareya ,” a fabulous being with thick belly, is also found in Greenland with the same significance. 7

The tales of the “ Origin of the Caribou ” 8 and the “ Origin of Day and Night,” and of the “ Giant whose Sinews are cut by a Man,” 9 are also clearly of Indian origin.

According to Nelson’s description, the whole social struc-

2 F. Boas, Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Kiiste Amerikas (Berlin, i 895 )jJ>. 349 . . .

3 F.Boas, Indianische Sagen, etc., p. 229; I,. Farrand, Traditions of the Chilcotin Indians (Memoirs American Museum of Natural History, Vol. IV, p. 35); Morice, Trans. Canadian Institute, Vol. IV, p. 171.

4 F. Petitot, Traditions indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouest (Paris, 1886), pp. 84, 226.

5 Boas, The Mythology of the Bella Coola Indians (Memoirs American Museum of Natural History, Vol. II, p. 86); I*. Farrand, Traditions of the Chilcotin Indians (Memoirs American Museum of Natural History, Vol. IV, p.47).

6 F. Boas, Indianische Sagen, etc., p. 356, No. 55.

7 Rink, l, c ., p. 155.

8 See Petitot, l. c., pp. 154, 380 (Athapascan); A. I,. Kroeber, Cheyenne Tales (Journal of American Folk-Fore, 1900, Vol. XIII, p. 180).

• See Petitot, pp. 41,137.

ture, the customs and beliefs, of the Alaskan Eskimo, are infinitely more complicated than those of the eastern tribes. This, I believe, is largely due to foreign influences.

The difference between the art of the eastern Eskimo and that of the Alaskan Eskimo is very striking. In the east we find hardly any attempt to decorate implements, while in Alaska there is a very strongly developed tendency to do so. Realistic carvings representing animals are exceedingly frequent in both regions. Those made by the eastern tribes are partly made simply for the pleasure of carving, partly adapted to definite purposes. In Alaska the fundamental character of these carvings remains the same, but they are at the same time frequently decorated with engraved patterns. The few etchings that occur among the eastern Eskimo either consist simply of dots or lines, 1 or they are clearly of very recent origin, being due to European influence. 2 Even the inlaid patterns on needlecases and pipes 8 must, I believe, be included in this class.

I am inclined to believe that the strong tendency among the Alaskan Eskimo to decorate all their utensils with painted and etched designs is largely due to contact with the Indians. On the one hand, we find that the Eskimo of southern Alaska are very greatly influenced by the customs of the Indians of the North Pacific coast, from whom they have adopted, not only a large portion of their mythology, but also many of their arts; while, on the other hand, they are in very close contact with the Athapascan tribes of the interior of Alaska and of the Northwest Territories. The similarity of Eskimo etchings to the scratched birch-bark designs of the Athapascans is so striking, that a common origin seems exceedingly likely. For this reason, I cannot quite agree with the opinion expressed by Professor Otis T. Mason, 4 who believes that this branch of Eskimo art is entirely due to contact with the whites. It is very likely, as Professor Mason suggests, that the exuberant development of this art dates from the introduction of

\ Central Eskimo, pp. 523, 531, 532, 555, 559, 567 ; and in this paper, pp. 74, 107, 109.

• See pp. 94, 107, 109.

4 American Anthropologist, Vol. XI, p. 356.

iron and steel tools, but its character is certainly purely American. The American petroglyphs, birch-bark designs, and the ivory etchings of the Eskimo, all seem to me to point to the same indigenous source.

When we compare the description of the Point Barrow tribe given by Murdoch 1 with the data recorded by Nelson, the much greater simplicity of the customs at Point Barrow becomes at once apparent. This I believe will be found true, notwithstanding the fact that Murdoch had very little opportunity to observe the inner life of these people. A study of the available collections brings out so strikingly the great abundance of masks and carvings in the extreme south, and the rapid decrease in their number northward, that the character of their geographical distribution must be considered proof that these carvings are due to contact with the elaborate art of the Indians of the North Pacific coast. In fact, the forms of the masks would hardly be intelligible without a knowledge of the masks of the Tlingit. Although masks are found in many parts of the world, such complex forms as occur among the Eskimo and Indians of Alaska are rare. Here we see, among both Indians and Eskimo, animals attached to parts of the face, parts of the body attached to the mask, in order to bring together in the compass of the mask the whole individual to be represented. Notwithstanding the difference in style, these features are so striking that they appeal to me as strong proof of common origin.

The folk-lore of the Alaskan is taken almost bodily from that of the Indians of the North Pacific coast. The whole cycle of Raven stories is, one might say, identical with that of the Tlingit; while the number of recorded stories that are characteristic of other Eskimo tribes is exceedingly small.

The impression which I receive from the available portion of Alaskan Eskimo folk-lore is, that here the old original stock of legends is practically swamped by recent introductions from the south, while the current beliefs and practices have remained more constant than the elaborate stories.

1 John Murdoch, Ethnological Results of the Point Barrow Expedition (Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, 1892).

This would be in accordance with the theory that ritual is more permanent than the explanatory tradition, — a conclusion which I previously drew, based on a study of the tribes of British Columbia. 1

Another very striking feature brought out in Nelson’s description of the Alaskan Eskimo is the apparent occurrence of totemism among these tribes. If what Nelson refers to is really totemism, we should have to explain its occurrence as a copy of Indian customs. Evidently the whole system of the potlatch has been introduced all along the east coast of Bering Sea. 2 The details of the customs described by Nelson are so much in accord with what we know about the Alaskan and British Columbia potlatch, that there seems to be no doubt as to their common origin. The Indian potlatch is very closely connected with the division of the tribe into groups, most of which have animals for their crests. It would seem that these ideas have been borrowed by the Eskimo, together with the potlatch. At the same time. Nelson’s statements do not convince me that the divisions which he describes are really family groups with totems. His description is not quite clear as to whether there is a definite number of such subdivisions, or whether a person may found a new group with a new totem at any given time. He mentions 3 the case of a man whose ancestors were noted as successful hunters of sea-animals, and who adopted a totem representing ripples on the water. However this may be, it seems from his remarks that certain family groups use a definite design as a symbol of their belonging together. This corroborates the theory which I expressed in a previous paper, 4 that the property-marks observed on a number of harpoons from Alaska would seem to characterize certain social groups; in fact, Nelson gives the interpretation of a number of marks recorded in that paper.

All these data seem to me to prove conclusively that the culture of the Alaskan Eskimo is very greatly influenced by

1 F. Boas, The Social Organization and Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians (Annual Report of the U. S. National Museum, 1895, p. 663;.

• Nelson, /. c ., pp. 287. 305, 361, 366, 369.

8 L. c ., p. 325.

• Property-marks of Alaskan Eskimo, American Anthropologist, N. S., Vol. I, p. 602.

that of the Indians of the North Pacific coast and by the Athapascan tribes of the interior. This is in accord with the observation that their physical type is not so pronounced as the eastern Eskimo type. I believe, therefore, that H. Rink’s 1 opinion of an Alaskan origin of the Eskimo is not very probable. If pure type and culture may be considered as significant, I should say that the Eskimo west and north of Hudson Bay have retained their ancient characteristics more than any others. If their original home was in Alaska, we must add the hypothesis that their dispersion began before contact with the Indians. If their home was east of the Mackenzie, the . gradual dispersion and ensuing contact with other tribes would account for all the observed phenomena. A final solution of this interesting question might be obtained by means of archaeological research on the coast of Bering Sea. On the whole, the relations of North Pacific and North Asiatic cultures are such, that it seems plausible to my mind that the Alaskan Eskimo are, comparatively speaking, recent intruders, and that they at one time interrupted an earlier cultural connection between the two continents.

1 Journal of the Anthropological Institute, 1890, pp. 452 £F.