Chapter V: Part 5

The disposition and condition of the dogs chiefly determines the number attached to the sled. With these animals there is the same difference as is to be found in horses or other beasts of draft. Some are energetic and well-behaved; others as stubborn or lazy as is possible. Strange dogs in the team are liable to be pitched upon by all the others and with the long traces ensues such an entanglement of lines, dogs, and flying snow as is difficult to conceive. The good qualities of the driver are manifested by his ability in keeping the dogs in order and showing promptness in separating them when quarreling. Fighting among the dogs can always be prevented by the driver keeping the dogs in proper position.

WEAPONS AND OTHER HUNTING IMPLEMENTS.

These people are now provided with firearms, which have entirely superseded the bow and arrow.

The bow formerly used in this region appears to have been similar to the one obtained from a party of East Main Innuit, who made their way to Fort Chimo. This bow has accordingly been figured and described (Figs. 61 and 62--90137).

It is made of larch wood and has a backing of eight double strands of twisted sinew. This sinew is in one piece sixteen times the length of the bow. One end is looped and passed over one "nock" of the bow and carried back and forth from nock to nock eight times. This backing has two turns of twist put in from the middle to increase its elasticity, and is lashed to the middle of the bow with a stout thong of reindeer skin. The bowstring is of twisted sinew with a loop at each end.

With this bow were seven arrows. Three of these are for shooting reindeer and wolves. They have an iron point set in a short foreshaft of reindeer antler, and a wooden shaft about 16 inches long (Fig. 63). Three more are pointed with large nails, one of which has been beaten to a chisel-shaped point (Figs. 64 and 65). They are intended for large game at short range, or for small game, such as hares and ptarmigan. These six arrows are feathered with the tail feathers of the raven. The last arrow is a simple shaft, without feathering or head, and is intended for small game, such as a wood hare crouching under a spruce tree, or the little red squirrel on the top of a low tree.

In drawing the bow, the Innuit invariably hold the arrow between the middle two fingers of the right hand, and the string is drawn with all four fingers, and released by straightening them.

The bow and arrows are carried in bow case and quiver fastened together and slung on the back. Fig. 66 represents a model (No. 3257) of such a bow case. The bow case is made of buckskin and is of sufficient length to contain the bow, excepting the extreme end, which is left projecting for convenience in handling. The case is tied around the bow at the projecting end. The quiver is attached to the bow case and contains two models of arrows for shooting large game. The arrows are tipped with leaf-shaped pieces of tin. They are feathered with portions of feathers apparently taken from the tail of a raven. The mouth of the quiver is also drawn up with a string to prevent the loss of arrows. I have not seen the Eskimo of Hudson strait use such a cover for their bows and arrows, but the opportunities to observe them are very limited, as few are used. I am led to conclude that only the poorer individuals of either locality have the bow and arrow at the present day.

I have already described the large harpoon used for striking white whales and large seals from the kaiak. A short-head spear (Fig 67, No. 90164) is used for dispatching wounded seals or white whales, or for killing white whales when they have been driven into a shallow arm of the sea when the tide ebbs and leaves them partly uncovered. It has a short wooden shaft with a ferrule of ivory, holding a short ivory loose shaft, kept in place by thongs, on which is mounted a toggle head like that used on the big harpoon. The line is either attached to the kaiak or to a small float made of the inflated intestine or skin of a seal. The toggle heads for these spears are made of ivory, and fitted with iron blades (Fig. 68). I have already referred to the large sealskin float in describing the kaiak.

Fig. 69 (No. 3531) is such a large sealskin float or á va tuk. The skin is removed from the body by skinning around the gums and carefully taking out all the flesh and bones through this orifice. As the operation proceeds the skin is turned back and at the completion of the work is inside out. The flesh side, now the exterior, is carefully scraped to free it from all fleshy matter. The hind flippers are cut off at the ankle and the skin either sewed or stoutly wrapped with thong. The fore flippers are usually left attached to the skin after the flesh has been scraped from them. The skin is now inflated with air and hung up to dry. In a few hours it is turned with the hairy side out and again inflated for awhile. The mouth and all other openings in the skin are carefully sewed up. A large button of ivory, shaped much like a pulley, nearly 2 inches in diameter, is put where the mouth of the skin is and a portion of the skin carefully wrapped around it, thongs of sealskin tightening the moist skin in the groove of the mouthpiece. This piece has a hole about one-third of an inch in diameter bored through it. The hind flippers and tail have a stick of 2 or 3 inches in length placed within the skin and are then firmly bound around the stick, which serves to stop up any hole and also to furnish a handle by which to drag or hold the float. The hole in the mouth-piece is plugged with a stopper of wood. When the float is wanted for use the skin is inflated. When inflated the float has a diameter about two-thirds the length. If it is to be attached to a tracking line the float is fastened by the stick, which is secured within the skin of the hind flippers and dragged backwards. The function of the float in this instance is to prevent the tracking line from becoming "fouled" among the rocks and stones of the beach along which the line runs in towing a boat (or umiak). In a similar manner it is affixed to the harpoon line used for large marine mammals, such as the white whale and the larger species of seals. This float not only retards the flight of the speared animal, but it serves to mark the spot where it sinks, for at certain seasons the seals sink as soon as they die. A speared animal always sinks more quickly than one shot dead with a ball, probably because its struggles are more prolonged in the first instance and exhaustion of breath is more complete.

The hair of the animal whose skin is intended for a float is sometimes scraped off before the skin is removed from the body, otherwise it may be left until the skin is partly dry and then be shaved off. The manner of loosening the hair is similar to that used by butchers of hogs, only that the boiling water is poured on and a small patch of hair pulled off at a time, instead of submerging the entire animal. The hair from the green skin must be carefully pulled out or else the black scurf adhering will be detached and thus render the skin less nearly waterproof.

The skins or bags used for holding oil and fat are prepared in a similar manner, excepting that the hair is left on the skin and the hairy side left within. The oil and fat are put in the skin at the posterior end and it is then tied up like a float. The largest sealskins are used for oilbags, and may contain as much as 300 pounds of fat or oil.

When a sack of oil is sold the bag is usually returned to the seller, who again fills it with oil or converts the skin into bootlegs or soles. The leather having become thoroughly impregnated with the oil makes the best for wear, often resisting moisture for three or four days of continuous wet.

Before leaving the subject of weapons and their accessories, I may mention No. 3069, a small pouch made of thick sealskin. The shape is somewhat like that of a leg of mutton. This is used for carrying gun caps. The neck is only large enough to permit one cap to fall out at a time.

HUNTING.

I have already referred briefly to the various methods of taking seals, white whales, and other game, while describing the boats, spears, and other apparatus used in their pursuit.

The most important hunt of the year, however, comes in the autumn, when the reindeer are migrating in large herds and crossing the rivers. The deer are wanted now for their flesh for food and their skins for clothing. Everything necessary for the chase is taken in the umiak, or, perhaps, a whaleboat, to a locality convenient to where the animals cross over. Here the tent is pitched, and a camp is made. The hunters scour the neighboring land for herds of reindeer, which are seen running about under the impulse to seek the opposite sex. As they arrive from different directions, those of one sex must cross the river. Since the females furnish the lighter skins for clothing, and the males the greater amount of meat and a heavier skin for various purposes, deer of both sexes are equally useful.

A band of three or four, or as many as a hundred, may be sighted slowly winding their way through the openings of the timbered areas on the opposite side of the river. The native with telescope, or binocular in focus, observes their movements until they pause a moment on the bank and then plunge quickly into the water, where they keep well together until the opposite shore is reached. Here, if undisturbed, they will stand to allow the water to drip from their bodies, and then will walk slowly along to a convenient place to climb the bank and penetrate the strip of woods or bushes and emerge into the open country beyond. As soon as the native sees the deer everything is put in readiness on the kaiak, and with quick strokes of the double-bladed paddle he is behind and below the now terrified animals. They rear and plunge in frantic confusion, endeavoring to escape their most dreaded foe. The hunter calmly drives the herd through the water as the shepherd does his flock on land. Those disposed to break away are rounded up and driven back. The greatest care must be exercised not to let the animals get below the kaiak, or they will swim faster with the stream than the hunter can paddle. As there are, generally, two or more kaiaks, it is an easy matter for the men to drive the animals wherever they desire. When the camp is above, the deer are driven diagonally across so as to make them come out near the camp. If the site is below, the animals are allowed to drop down to a convenient place. These maneuvers depend on the wind, as the sense of smell of the deer is very acute at this season, and the scent of the camp, if detected, would throw the animals into such terror that the greater number would escape.

When near the place the hunter takes his deer spear, which is exactly like the one used by the Indians, and quietly stabs the animal in a vital spot, endeavoring so to wound the beast that it will have only enough strength to enable it to attain the shallow water or shore, and not to wander off. Among the hundreds of times I have had the opportunity to witness this, I never knew a deer wounded with the spear to turn back to swim in the direction from which it came. They appear to dread the water, and strive most frantically to regain the land where, if mortally wounded, they stand; the limbs gradually diverging to sustain their trembling body; the eyes gazing piteously at the foe, who often mocks their dying struggles, or pitches a stone at their quivering legs to make them fall. A convulsive struggle as the blood fills the internal cavity, a sudden pitch, and the life is gone without sigh or groan. As many of the herd as can be speared are quickly dispatched and the entire number secured if possible. It is supposed that the ones which return to the shore whence they came give the alarm and frighten other arrivals away from the starting point. The hunters strive to prevent their return, and will often allow two, near the camp, to escape in order to pursue the retreating animal.

Those which have been killed and are lying in the water are dragged on land and skinned. The pelt is taken off as that of a beef is when skinned by a butcher. The ears and the skin of the head are left on. The body is opened and the viscera are removed. The intestines are freed from the fat; the stomach is cleansed of the greater portion of its contents, and the blood which collected within the cavity is scooped up with the hands and ladled into that receptacle; and both are reserved for food. The heart and liver are taken to the camp, where they help to form a variety in the animal food of these people. Other portions of the flesh are also consumed. The sinew, which lies along the lumbar region just below the superficial muscles, is exposed by a cut, and with the point of a knife or tip of the finger loosened from its adherent flesh. One end, usually the forward end, is detached and a stout thong tied to it, and it is jerked from its attachment by a vigorous pull. It requires a strong person to remove this tendon from the body of a lean animal. A stroke of the knife frees the wide layer of sinew from blood and particles of flesh. This is now laid aside for awhile, then washed to free it from the blood, which would stain it dark in color and also tend to diminish the strength of the fibers by rotting them. It is now spread out and allowed to dry. The body is cut across the small of the back and laid aside. The head is severed from the neck and discarded if there be no portion of the horns which is needed to serve some purpose, such as a handle for a knife or other tool. If the head be that of a young deer it is often taken to the camp and put into a pot and boiled in the condition in which it comes from the field. When cooked for a long time it becomes very soft; the muscles of the jaw being reduced to a semigelatinous condition, which makes an excellent article of food.

The tongue is invariably taken out entire, and is considered the greatest delicacy, either frozen, raw or cooked, or dried and smoked. In fact a tongue from the reindeer is good at any time or condition.

The hindquarters are seldom separated, but are placed within the thoracic cavity, and either cached near the scene of slaughter or placed on the kaiak and taken to a spot where others are deposited from which supplies may be taken when the food for the winter is required.

Here and there along the bank will be placed the body of a single deer, sometimes two or three, which have been killed too far from the present camp for the hunter to bring them home. These spots are marked or remembered by some visible surrounding, lest the deep snows of winter obscure the locality, and often the place can not be found when wanted. The cache in which the flesh is deposited is simply a few stones or bowlders laid on the ground and the meat put upon them. A rude sort of wall is made by piling stones upon the meat until it is hidden from the ravages of ravens, gulls, foxes, wolves and the detested wolverine.

As soon as the hunter considers that the deer of that particular locality have ceased to cross, he will repair to another station and go through the same process. The deer which are first slain, when the hunting season arrives, and the weather is still so warm that the flies and decomposition ruin the meat, are reserved for supplies of dog food.

MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS.

I have already, in the earlier pages of this paper, referred to various tools and implements.

In addition to these, the Koksoagmyut have comparatively few tools.

In former ages stone and ivory were fashioned into crude implements for the purposes which are now better and more quickly served by instruments of iron or steel.

These people have now been so long in more or less direct contact with traders who have supplied them with these necessaries that it is rare to find one of the knives used in former times. Certain operations, however, are even to this day better performed with a knife made of ivory. The ice from the kaiak bottom or the sides of the boat may best be removed by means of an ivory knife, resembling a snow knife but shorter. The steel knife is always kept sharp and if so used would, on the unyielding, frozen skin-covering of those vessels, quickly cut a hole. The Eskimo living remote from the trading stations use a snow knife made from the tusk of a walrus or the main stem of the reindeer antler.

That steel or iron is deemed an improvement on the former materials from which cutting instruments were made is shown by the crude means now employed. If the person has not a knife an unused spearhead, having an iron point, is often employed instead for skinning animals and dressing the skins.

Stone heads for weapons of all kinds have been discarded. Ivory spears are at times used but these only when the hunter is close to the prey.

Some of the men have acquired considerable skill in fashioning iron into the required shape. They eagerly stand around anyone who may be at work, and evince the greatest curiosity in anything new.

The collection contains two of the snow knives referred to above. No. 3067 is a large snow knife, made from the lower portion of the main stem of the horn of the male reindeer. It is simply half of the split horn with the middle scooped out. The length is 12 inches. This form of instrument is used more especially to smooth down the inequalities of the blocks of snow after being placed in position. No. 3140 (Fig. 70) is a large snow knife made of walrus ivory. It is 13 inches long and nearly 2 inches wide for the greater part of the blade, which terminates in a rounded point. The instrument has two edges, and in general appearances resembles a double-edged Roman sword. The handle is cut to fit to the hand.

Among other peculiar implements collected is one represented in Fig. 71 (No. 3555), which is a "back-scratcher." This instrument consists of a shaft made from a limb of a larch tree. It is 17 inches long and about three-fourths of an inch through, flattened to less than half an inch and tapering toward the end to be held in the hand. On the lower end is a dish-shaped piece of reindeer horn, two and one-eighth inches long and seven-eighths of an inch wide. Through the center of the piece of horn an oblong hole has been cut for the insertion of the shaft or handle. The edges of the horn piece are sharp as can be made. This piece is one-third of an inch thick, and having the sharp edge up is convenient for thrusting down the back to scratch one's self in places where the hand could not reach on account of thick deerskin clothing. The Eskimo name of the instrument is ku-mé-u-tîk, or that which removes lice.

The steel needles obtained from the traders are kept in a little ivory receptacle of various shapes, two of which are shown in Figs. 72 and 73.

This is hollow and filled with any sphagnum moss. One end is permanently closed by a wooden or ivory plug, held in by little pegs. The plug in the other end is easily taken out. The needle case is usually pierced to receive a loop by which it may be hung to the belt or the workbag.

Needles are also kept in a kind of small cushion (Fig. 74) made of sealskin, elaborately ornamented with beads and stuffed with sphagnum moss. The cushion is perforated around the edge to receive the needles, which would not easily go through the tough skin.

Accompanying one of these needle cushions in the collection is one of the old-fashioned thimbles such as are still used, although metal thimbles are preferred. It is simply a strip of sealskin sewed into a ring large enough to fit the forefinger, and is usually attached to the needle cushion by a thong with an ivory toggle on the end, to prevent the thimble from slipping off.

Small articles used in sewing, such as scraps of skin, needle cases, sinew thread, thimbles, etc., are carried in small bags of deerskin, which are often elaborately ornamented with beads of various colors, like the specimen in the collection, No. 3047.

AMUSEMENTS.

Notwithstanding the fact that these people have had their lot cast upon the frozen shores of the sea, they appear happy and contented and loath to leave the land of their birth. Although it is a constant struggle amidst the terrible storms of a region where for eight months in the year the soil is frozen and the few warm days of summer bring forth a scanty vegetation, yet so strong is their love for these inhospitable shores that the absent pine for a return and soon lose their hold on life if they are not able to do so.

During the intervals between the hunts and when food is still plentiful, the Eskimo, divert themselves with games of various kinds of their own. They are also quick to adopt other games which require outdoor exercise.

Football calls out everybody, from the aged and bent mother of a numerous family to the toddling youngster scarcely able to do more than waddle under the burden of his heavy deerskin clothes. Wrestling among the men is indulged in for hours at a time. The opponents remove all their superfluous garments, seize each other around the waist and lock hands behind each other's backs. The feet are spread widely apart and each endeavors to draw, by the strength of the arms alone, the back of his opponent into a curve and thus bring him off his feet. Then with a lift he is quickly thrown flat on his back. The fall must be such that the head touches the ground. Where the contestants are nearly matched the struggle may continue so long that one of them gives up from exhaustion. The feet are never used for tripping. Such a procedure would soon cause the witnesses to stop the struggle.

The Eskimo and Indians often engage in comparative tests of their strength in wrestling. The Eskimo prove the better men in these engagements. Throwing stones at a mark is a sport for the younger men, some of whom acquire surprising dexterity.

If a pack of playing-cards can be obtained they engage in games which they have learned from the white people and teach each other. Small stakes are laid on the result of the game. The women appear to exhibit a greater passion for gambling than the men do. They will wager the last article of clothing on their persons till the loser appears in a nude condition before spectators. Then the winner will usually return at least a part of the clothing, with an injunction to play more and lose less.

The young girls often play the game of taking an object and secreting it within the closed hand. Another is called upon to guess the contents. She makes inquiries as to the size, color, etc., of the object. From the answers she gradually guesses what the thing is.

A favorite game, something like cup and ball, is played with the following implements: A piece of ivory is shaped into the form of an elongate cone and has two deep notches or steps cut from one side (Fig. 75). In the one next the base are bored a number of small holes and one or two holes in the upper step. The apex has a single hole. On the opposite side of the base two holes are made obliquely, that they will meet, and through them is threaded a short piece of thong. To the other end of the thong is attached a peg of ivory, about 4 inches long. The game is that the person holding the plaything shall, by a dextrous swing of the ball, catch it upon the ivory peg held in the hand. The person engages to catch it a certain number of times in succession, and on failure to do so allows the opponent to try her skill. The skull of a hare is often substituted for the ivory "ball," and a few perforations are made in the walls of the skull to receive the peg. It requires a great amount of practice to catch the ball, as the string is so short that one must be quick to thrust the peg in before it describes the part of a small circle.

The children sometimes use a stick or other sharp-pointed instrument to make a series of straight lines in the newly fallen snow and at the same time repeat certain gibberish. This was at first very confusing to me, but a woman repeated the words and I guessed from her description where the idea sprang from.

These people had heard of the teachings of the Labrador missionaries (Moravians), all of whom are Germans, and as the Eskimo of that coast use the German numerals in preference to their own, the natives of that region have at some time repeated the names of those numerals to certain of the Hudson strait people and they have taught each other.

The names of the German numerals as sounded by the Koksoagmyut are as follows. The numbers are one to fifteen, consecutively:

Ái i; chu vái i; ta lái i; pi û´ la; pi li pi; tsék si; tsé pa; ák ta; nái na; tsé na; ái lu pûk; chu vái lu puk; ta lak si na; pi ûk´ si na, and pi lip´ si na.

I have already referred to the game of football as played by these people.

Fig. 76 represents the football (No. 3070) and the whip for driving it. The Eskimo are very fond of this game. All the people of every age, from the toddling infant to the aged female with bended back, love to urge the aí uk toúk, as the ball is termed. The size of the ball varies from 3 to 7 inches in diameter. They have not yet arrived at perfection in making a spherical form for the ball, but it is often an apple shape. It is made by taking a piece of buckskin, or sealskin, and cutting it into a circular form, then gathering the edges and stuffing the cavity with dry moss or feathers. A circular piece of skin is then inserted to fill the space which is left by the incomplete gatherings. This ball is very light and is driven either by a blow from the foot or else by a whip of peculiar construction. This whip consists of a handle of wood 8 to 12 inches in length. To prevent it from slipping out of the hand when the blow is struck, a stout thong of sealskin is made into the form of a long loop which is passed over the hand and tightens around the wrist. To the farther end of the whip handle are attached a number of stout thongs of heavy sealskin. These thongs have their ends tied around the handle and thus form a number of loops of 12 to 20 inches in length. These are then tied together at the bottom in order to give them greater weight when the ball is struck by them. A lusty Eskimo will often send the ball over a hundred yards through the air with such force as to knock a person down.

At Fort Chimo the game is played during the late winter afternoons when the temperature is 30° or 40° below zero. It is exciting and vigorous play where a large crowd joins in the game.

Sometimes the ball is in the form of two irregular hemispheres joined together, making a sphere which can be rolled only in a certain direction. It is very awkward and produces much confusion by its erratic course. Nos. 3461, 3287, and 3460 are footballs of the pattern first described.

The Innuit who come from the western end of Hudson strait, the so-called "Northerners," have a game which they play with sets of pieces of ivory cut into irregular shapes, and marked on one face with spots arranged in different patterns (Fig. 77). The number of pieces in a set varies from 60 to 148. The name of the set is Á ma zu´ a lát, and somewhat resembles our game of dominoes.

The game is played in the following manner: Two or more persons, according to the number of pieces in the set, sit down and pile the pieces before them. One of the players mixes the pieces together in plain view of the others. When this is done he calls them to take the pieces. Each person endeavors to obtain a half or third of the number if there be two or three players. The one who mixed up the pieces lays down a piece and calls his opponent to match it with a piece having a similar design. If this can not be done by any of the players the first has to match it and the game continues until one of the persons has exhausted all of the pieces taken by him. The pieces are designed in pairs, having names such as Ka miú tik (sled), Kaiak (canoe), Kalé sak (navel), Á ma zut (many), a taú sïk (1), Má kok (2), Pïng a sut (3), Si tá mût (4), and Tá li mat (5). Each of the names above must be matched with a piece of similar kind, although the other end of the piece may be of a different design. A Kamutik may be matched with an Amazut if the latter has not a line or bar cut across it; if it has the bar it must be matched with an Amazut.

This game is known to the people of the Ungava district, but those only who have learned it from the Northerners are able to play it. The northern Eskimo stake the last article they possess on the issue of the game. Their wives are disposed of temporarily, and often are totally relinquished to the victor. I have heard that the wives so disposed of often sit down and win themselves back to their former owners.

The little girls play with dolls like civilized children, and build little snow huts, where they have all their playthings and play at keeping house. The collection contains eleven dolls, most of them elaborately and accurately dressed, as shown by the illustrations (Figs. 78, 79, 80, 81) and large quantities of doll clothing.

The only musical instrument which I observed among these people was a violin of their own manufacture, made, of course, in imitation of those they had seen used by the whites. Its form is sufficiently well shown by the figure (Fig. 82), and is made of birch, or spruce, and the two strings are of coarse, loosely twisted sinew. The bow has a strip of whalebone in place of horsehair, and is resined with spruce gum. This fiddle is held across the lap when played.

The old woman of whom I procured the instrument was able to play several airs--such as they sing among themselves. I was surprised at the facility with which she made the various notes on such a crude imitation of a violin.

ART.

Art is but slightly developed among these people. Their weapons and other implements are never adorned with carvings of animals and other natural objects or with conventional patterns, as is the case in so great a degree among the Eskimo of Alaska. They are, however, not devoid of artistic skill, as is shown by the good taste often exhibited in the trimming of their garments, and also by the dolls, which I have already referred to and figured.

The collection also contains several small ivory carvings, which possess considerable artistic merit. Among these, the small objects, (Fig. 83), collected from the so-called Northerners, represent various waterfowl cut from pieces of walrus ivory. The various species thus carved are loons, ducks, geese, sea pigeons, and murres. One represents a female eider with two young mounted upon her back. It is readily discerned, in most instances, what position and action of the bird was intended to be represented. The last shows in the plainest possible manner that the loon is just starting to swim from an object which has given it alarm.

These carvings are fashioned from the tusks of the walrus or the teeth of various large mammals, and are simply tests of the skill of the worker, who prepares them as toys for the children. Notwithstanding the assertions of others, who claim to have knowledge of it, I must state that on no occasion have I seen or heard, while among these people, of these objects being used in any game.

In addition to these we have a very artistic figure of a polar bear, and two human figures, 1¾ inches long (Fig. 84), representing tattooed women, and two carvings representing bags of oil.

STORY-TELLING AND FOLK LORE.

Like all other Eskimo, the Koksoagmyut are exceedingly fond of story-telling. Sitting in the hut, engaged in their evening work, the old men tell what they have seen and heard. The old women relate the history of the people of former days, depending entirely on memory, often interspersed with recitations apparently foreign to the thread of the legend. The younger members sit with staring eyes and countenances which show their wondering interest in the narration. Far into the night the droning tone of her voice continues reciting the events of the past until one by one the listeners drowsily drop to sleep in the position they last assumed.

I was fortunately able to collect a number of these ancient legendary stories, some of them of considerable length.

_Origin of the Innuit._--A man was created from nothing. It was summer and he journeyed until he found a woman in another land. The two became man and wife, and from them sprang all the people dwelling there. [It is extremely difficult to get the native to go beyond the immediate vicinity in which he lives while relating these stories and legends. They invariably maintain that it was "here" that the event took place.]

_The Coming of the White People._--The Eskimo were on the verge of starvation and had eaten nearly all their food. They saw that in a few more days death would come. The greatest Tungaksoak or great Tung ak determined to bring relief and prophesied that people having light hair and white skins would come in an immense úmiak. He placed a young puppy on a chip and another on an old sealskin boot, and set them adrift on the water. The puppies drifted in different directions, and in the course of time the one on the chip returned and brought with it the Indians. A long time after that, when the people had nearly forgotten the other puppy, a strange white object like an iceberg came directly toward the shore. In a few moments the puppy, now a man, announced that the people had come with many curious things in their vessel. The man immediately became a dog.

_Origin of living things on the earth and in the water._--A long time ago a man who was cutting down a tree observed that the chips continued in motion as they fell from the blows. Those that fell into the water became the inhabitants of the water. Those that fell on the land became the various animals and in time were made the food of mankind. (This was the version given me by a person living at Fort Chimo.) Another person from farther west gave the following account of the origin of the living things of the earth: Previous to a time when water covered the earth the people lived on such food as they could always find prepared for them in abundance. They did not know of any animals at that time on the land or in the water. The water finally went away and the seaweeds became trees, shrubs, bushes, and grass. The long seaweeds were the trees and the smaller kinds became the bushes and grass. The grass, however, was in some manner put in various places by a walrus at a later date than the appearance of the trees.

A woman who had lost her husband lived among strangers. As they desired to change the place of their habitation, they resolved to journey to another point of land at a distance. The woman who was depending on charity had become a burden of which they wished to rid themselves. So they put all their belongings into the umiak and when they were on the way they seized the woman and cast her overboard. She struggled to regain the side of the boat, and when she seized it, the others cut off her fingers which fell into the water and changed to seals, walrus, whales, and white bears. The woman in her despair, screamed her determination to have revenge for the cruelty perpetrated upon her. The thumb became a walrus, the first finger a seal, and the middle finger a white bear. When the former two animals see a man they try to escape lest they be served as the woman was.

The white bear lives both on the land and in the sea, but when he perceives a man revengeful feelings fill him, and he determines to destroy the person who he thinks mutilated the woman from whose finger he sprang.

_Origin of the guillemots._--While some children were playing on the level top of a high cliff overhanging the sea, the older children watched the younger ones lest they should fall down the bluff. Below them the sea was covered with ice, and the strip along the shore had not yet loosened to permit the seals to approach. Soon afterward a wide crack opened and the water was filled with seals, but the children did not observe them. The wind was cold, and the children romped in high glee, encouraging each other to greater exertion in their sports and shouted at the top of their voices. The men saw the seals and hastened to the shore to put their kaiaks into the water to pursue them. At this the children increased their shouts, which frightened the seals till they dived out of sight. One of the men was angry, and exclaimed to the others, "I wish the cliff would topple over and bury those noisy children for scaring the seals." In a moment the cliff tipped over and the poor children fell among the fragments of huge rocks and stones at the bottom. Here they were changed into guillemots or sea-pigeons, with red feet, and even to this day they thus dwell among the débris at the foot of cliffs next to the water of the sea.

_Origin of the raven._--The raven was a man, who, while other people were collecting their household property preparatory to removing to another locality, called to them that they had forgotten to bring the lower blanket of deerskin used for a bed. This skin in the Eskimo language is called kak. The man used the word so often that they told him to get it himself. He hurried so much that he was changed into a raven, and now uses that sound for his note. Even to this day when the camp is being removed the raven flies over and shouts "Kak! kak!" or, in other words, "Do not forget the blanket."

_Origin of the quadrangular spots on the loon's back._--A man had two children that he wished might resemble each other. He painted the one (loon) with a white breast and square spots on the back. The other (raven) saw how comical the loon appeared, and laughed so much that the loon became ashamed and escaped to the water, where it always presents its white breast in order to hide the spots of the back which caused so much ridicule. The raven eluded the attempt to be painted in like manner, and stoutly refused to come near.

_Origin of the gulls._--Some people in a boat desired to go around a point of land which projected far into the water. As the water there was always in a violent commotion under the end of the point which terminated in a high cliff some of the women were requested to walk over the neck of land. One of them got out with her children in order to lighten the boat. She was directed to go over the place, and they promised to wait for her on the other side. The people in the boat had gone so far that their voices, giving the direction, became indistinct. The poor woman became confused and suspected they wanted to desert her. She remained about the cliff, constantly crying the last words she heard. She ultimately changed into a gull, and now shouts only the sound like "_go over_, _goover_, _over_, _ove_," _etc._

_Origin of the hawks._--Among the people of a village was a woman who was noted for the shortness of her neck. She was so constantly teased and tormented about it that she often sat for hours on the edge of high places. She changed into a hawk, and now when she sees anyone she immediately exclaims, "Kea! kea! kea! who, who, who was it that cried 'short neck?'"

_Origin of the swallow._--Some small children, who were extraordinarily wise, were playing at building toy houses on the edge of a high cliff near the village in which they dwelt. They were envied for their wisdom, and to them was given the name "Zulugagnak," or, like a raven, which was supposed to know all the past and future. While these children were thus amusing themselves they were changed into small birds, which did not forget their last occupation, and even to this day they come to the cliffs, near the camps of the people, and build houses of mud, which they affix to the side of the rock. Even the raven does not molest them, and the Eskimo children love to watch the swallow build his iglugiak of mud.

_The hare._--The hare was a child who was so ill treated and abused by the other people, because it had long ears, that it went to dwell by itself. When it sees anyone the ears are laid down on the back, for, if it hears the shout of a person, it thinks they are talking of its long ears. It has no tail, because it did not formerly have one.

_The wolf_ was a poor woman, who had so many children that she could not find enough for them to eat. They became so gaunt and hungry that they were changed into wolves, constantly roaming over the land seeking food. The cry of the mother may be heard as she strives to console her hungry children, saying that food in plenty will soon be found.

_Lice_ are supposed to drop from the body of a huge spirit, dwelling in the regions above, who was punished by having these pests constantly torment him. In his rage to free himself the lice dropped down upon the people who condemned him to this punishment.

_Origin of mosquitoes._--A man had a wife who was negligent and failed to scrape his skin clothing properly when he returned from his expeditions. He endeavored to persuade her to mend her ways and do as a wife should do. She was again directed to remove the accumulated layer of dirt from the man's coat. She petulantly took the garment and cleaned it in such a slovenly way that when the husband discovered the condition of the coat he took some of the dirt from it and flung it after her. The particles changed into mosquitoes, and now (in spring), when the warm days come and the women have the labor of cleaning clothes to perform, the insects gather around them, and the women are thus reminded of the slovenly wife and what befel her.

_Story of the man and his fox wife._--A hunter who lived by himself found when he returned to the place after an absence that it had been visited and everything put in order as a dutiful wife should do. This happened so often with no visible signs of tracks that the man determined to watch and see who would scrape his skin clothing and boots, hang them out to dry, and cook nice hot food ready to be eaten when he returned. One day he went away as though going off on a hunt, but secreted himself so as to observe the entrance of anything into the house. After a while he saw a fox enter. He suspected that the fox was after food. He quietly slipped up to the house and on entering saw a most beautiful woman dressed in skin clothing of wondrous make. Within the house, on a line, hung the skin of a fox. The man inquired if it was she who had done these things. She replied that she was his wife and it was her duty to do them, hoping that she had performed her labor in a manner satisfactory to him.

After they had lived together a short time the husband detected a musky odor about the house and inquired of her what it was. She replied that she emitted the odor and if he was going to find fault with her for it she would leave. She dashed off her clothing and, resuming the skin of the fox, slipped quietly away and has never been disposed to visit a man since that time.

The following is a story obtained from Labrador:

_The rivals._--Between two men there existed keen rivalry. Each asserted himself to be the stronger and endeavored to prove himself superior to the other. One of them declared his ability to form an island where none had hitherto existed. He picked up an immense rock and hurled it into the sea where it became an island. The other, with his foot, pushed it so hard that it landed on the top of another island lying far beyond. The mark of the footprint is visible to this day, and that place is now known as Tu kik´ tok.

_The jealous man._--A man fell in love with two women and was so jealous of them that he would not permit them to look upon others, much less speak to them. The women finally wearied of the restrictions placed upon them and resolved to desert the man. They fled along the coast until they were faint from hunger. At length they came upon the body of a whale cast on the shore. Here they determined to dwell for a time. The man sought for the women in every possible place with no success. A conjurer was consulted, and after much deliberation, he told the deserted man to journey to a place where he would find the carcass of a whale and to secrete himself in the vicinity and watch for the women. He started out accordingly and before long had the pleasure of seeing the two women. They detected the man hastening toward them and tried to secrete themselves until he should get by. He seized one of them, however, and bound her with thongs. The other was less disposed to submit, and the man put out her eyes to deprive her of the privilege of looking at any man. They remained about that locality for some time, and various animals of the land came to the carcass to feast upon the remains. The man caught a great number of foxes and other valuable furs and after a time returned to the camp whence he came.

_Story of the orphan boy._--A small boy, who had neither father, mother, nor any living relatives, was dwelling with some people who maltreated him in every way their fancy could suggest. He was kept in the entry way to the hut, like a dog, and was permitted to eat only of the skin of walrus when they had it to give him. At other times they would throw to him what they themselves would not eat. They forbade him to have a knife with which to cut his food, and he was compelled to gnaw the bones like a dog. A little girl, the daughter of the head of the family with whom he lived, would secretly take to him a knife with which to divide the tough skin of the walrus. She also carried food of better quality to him when she could do so clandestinely. These kind attentions pleased him very much, and made him long for an opportunity to escape. But how was he to better his condition when the hand of everybody was raised against him on account of his treatment at home? The little girl who had so often befriended him could not assist him to escape from such a life. He endeavored to lay a plan, but it came to naught. There seemed no help for him. One night he abandoned all hope and threw himself on the ground in despair. While there he gazed at the bright moon, and the more intently his gaze was fixed upon it the more he thought he discerned the face of a man in it, and at last he cried to the man to come and help him escape from his miserable life. The man came down from the moon and gave the poor boy a frightful beating, but the more he was beaten the larger he seemed to grow. After a while he became so strong that he could handle a large rock as easily as he had hitherto handled a little stone. A large, round bowlder from the beach was no more to him than a bullet held in the hand of a strong man.

The moon man then told the boy that he was large enough to take care of himself and do as he pleased with the people who had treated him so badly. With this the two parted, and the moon man went to his hole in the sky, while the boy walked along the beach picking up rocks and tossing them along the shore until the character of the water's edge was entirely changed. When the boy arrived at the hut it was daylight, for he had tarried so long on the beach testing his strength that the night had slipped away.

The people were terrified when they saw to what enormous proportions the abused boy had grown. He became frenzied the instant he saw his former persecutors, and seizing first one and then the other in his hands dashed them against the rocks. The blood and brains ran in streams. One of the men, seeing his doom, begged for his life and promised his kaiak, spears, sled, and wife if he should be spared. The enraged boy continued the slaughter until only the little girl who had so often befriended him was left. She became his wife, and in the course of a few hours the man, whose name was Kou jé yuk; became of a natural size again and passed his life in comfort.

This story was obtained from a man from Labrador. The Eskimo assert that this occurred near Ohak (often pronounced Okak), now a missionary station. They show the rock, which a little imagination gives the appearance of having dried blood and brains still upon it.