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Vol.20. The Alaskan Eskimo. The Nunivak. The Eskimo of Hooper Bay. The Eskimo of King Island. The Eskimo of Little Diomede Island. The Eskimo of Cape Prince of Wales. The Kotzebue Eskimo. The Noatak. The Kobuk. The Selawik.{view image of page i} {view image of page ii} Cthi (ttitian itd timitrtf to $ibe wunlrer Aeta of Wtfticf tftid it iltmbr...~. '. {view image of Frontispiece} On Kotzebue Sound [photogravure plate] {view image of page iii} THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN BEING A SERIES OF VOLUMES PICTURING AND DESCRIBING THE INDIANS OF THE UNITED STATES, THE DOMINION OF CANADA, AND ALASKA WRITTEN, ILLUSTRATED, AND PUBLISHED BYEDWARD S. CURTIS EDITED BY FREDERICK WEBB HODGE FOREWORD BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT FIELD RESEARCH CONDUCTED UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF J. PIERPONT MORGAN IN TWENTY VOLUMES THIS, THE TWENTIETH VOLUME, PUBLISHED IN THE YEAR NINETEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY {view image of page iv} I I * - -, 1 /.:, COPYRIGHT, I930 BY EDWARD S. CURTIS THE PLIMPTON PRESS * NORWOOD * MASSACHUSETTS PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA {view image of page v} Contents of Volume Twenty PAGE ALPHABET USED IN RECORDING ESKIMO TERMS... X ILLUSTRATIONS.................... Xi INTRODUCTION................. XV THE ALASKAN ESKIMO............ 3 Introduction................... 3 THE NUNIVAK..................... 5 General Description.............. 5 Social Customs......... 48 W arfare..........54 Ceremonies...55 Bladder Feast............. 58 The Anuc'hcthihkiyim Ceremony...... 66 The Messenger Feast............ 67 Spring Hunt Ceremony, or the Consecration of the K aiak.................. 7 Hair-seal Ceremony............ 73 Summer Hunting Ceremony......... 73 Ceremony for a Boy on Catching His First Bird. 73 Walrus Ceremony........... 74 Mythology.7................. 74 The Origin of Nunivak Island (as told at Cape Etolin)............... 74 How People Came to Cape Etolin.......75 The Origin of Nunivak Island (as told at Nash Harbor)................. 77 How People Came to Nash Harbor..... 78 The'Obtaining of Light...........79 The Seal-spirits............. 79 The Flounder-spirit............ 80 V {view image of page vi} vi CONTENTS The Wolf-spirit...... The Cannibal Dwarfs Spider Comes to Earth............ The Monster Serpent The Woman in the Fi h-skin Parka... How a Family Preserved Youth and Strength. The Fifth Brother Marries a Corpse Raisers of the Dead The Woman Who Went into the Sky The Man Who Became a Fox The Price of a Wife The Penalty for Leaving the Puberty House The Wife-stealer....... ESKIMO OF HOOPER BAY ESKIMO OF KING ISLAND........ General Description........ Mythology Origin of King Island The First Woman Comes to King Island... The Gleaming Belt-ornament. The Bird Woman The Man Who Wished to Become a Medicine-man PAGE 82 83 85 86 87 88 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 97 99 99 I05 I05 O05 Io6 107 0O9 The Ivory Tusk and the Fish Belly The Story of Yimuik... ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND. General Description..... Social Customs............ Mythology The Story of Manina... The Story of Ubuk... Sea-man and Moon-man. The Big Diomede Medicine-man Siuktinyi and Angasuk The Orphan Who Raised the Dead Story of Unguiktungik... Story of Unurutuk.... ESKIMO OF CAPE PRINCE OF WALES.. General Description..... Mythology........ The Son of (glazhuna I Iog......o109...... IIO ~...... III..... III...... 119...... 124...... 126...... 127..... I29...... 131...... 132..... 133...... 134...... I35......~ 135......I50......I50 {view image of page vii} CONTENTS The Land of the Whale PeoF A Good Whale-hunter Story of Putuguiik The Man Taught by Walrus The Spirit Marks on the Me: The Woman Taught by Spir The Man Who Married a Pc THE KOTZEBUE ESKIMO.... General Description Legend of the Messenger FeC Mythology.... The Trap.. The Lost Boys The Spirit Wife. The Tree-man Eagle-woman.. Story of Kaiyonanit Story of Ululina.. The Trader.. ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ vii PAGE )le....... 151 152......... ' I53 *......... 1 I54 n's House....155 it Medicine-men.. I56 )lar Bear..... I57......... i61......... I6I ast........ 68......... I77......... I77......... I79......... I8I......... 183......... I85......... I88......... I90......... 19 I......... 193......... I93......... I97 st........ 97......... I98......... 199......... 200 201......... 203......... 204.................205......... 205......... 207......... 207......... 214......... 214......... 216......... 217 rpents......220......... 221 THE NOATAK...... General Description. Mythology Origin of the Messenger Fea The Four Wolf-spirits... Sun-man... The Fisherman... The Serpent Killer. The Giant Mouse Story of Ugfiknik The Kobuk Massacre Warfare with the Kobuk. THE KOBUK............. General Description... Mythology..... Raven Brings Land.. Raven Brings Light.. The Kobuk Traveller.. The Youth Who Slew the Se The False Wife... {view image of page viii} V111 CONTENTS PAGE The Youth Who Learned to Laugh...... 223 How Squirrels Came to Make Many Holes... 224 THE SELAWIK (Silivik).................225 General Description............... 225 Mythology.................. 228 The Rescuer................ 228 The Powerful Orphan........... 230 The Rescue of the Stolen Wives.... 232 The Hunter Who Went to the Moon... 235 The Six Medicine-men...... 237 The Powerful Medicine-woman........ 239 APPENDIX GENERAL SUMMARY............ 243 APPENDED LEGENDS.................. 245 Nunivak.................... 245 Death of Crow.......... 245 Squirrel's Skin Becomes Red..... 246 The Disobedient Field-mouse..... 247 Why Loon Has a Stiff Neck......... 247 An Exchange of Families. 248 How Spotted Seal Became Humpbacked.. 249 Mouse Decides to Remain on Land..... 250 Adrift on the Ice-floe........ 250 King Island...................25 Kahta, the Magician........ 251 The Mother-in-law Medicine-woman. 251 The W ife-beater.............. 252 The First Fish at King Island..252 Little Diomede Island.........252 Story of Unroasiuk............. 252 The Killerwhale-spirit......... 253 Cape Prince of Wales........... 254 The Youth Who Married a Crane.. 254 The Strong Young Man.......256 The Spy............... 256 Kotzebue.................. 257 Klinklik................. 257 {view image of page ix} CONTENTS The Youth Who Killed the Whale-man The Ravenous Baby....... Noatak.. The Shouter...... Kobuk........ Fox and Bear. Crow Finds a Caribou.... Selawik......... The Woman Who Became a Bear. An Indian Raid..... VOCABULARIES................. INDEX..................... ix PAGE... 258... 259... 260 260....260.....260... 26i... 261... 26i... 262.... 264... 28I {view image of page x} Alphabet Used in Recording Eskimo Terms [The consonants are as in English, except as otherwise noted] a a a ai e i I o 6 6 o oi u u h as in father as in cat as in awl a greatly shortened 6 as in aisle as in they as in net as in machine as in sit as in old as in how as in not as in oil as in ruin as in nut as in push always aspirated h as ch in German Bach k a non-aspirated k k velar k q as kw hi the surd of 1 dl fused d and 1 n as ng in sing sh as in shall ch as in church ih as z in azure fh as in thin s as in hits a glottal pause stresses enunciation of the preceding consonant superior vowels are voiceless, almost inaudible {view image of page xi} Illustrations On Kotzebue Sound Frontispiece Map Showing the Dialects and Hunting Territories of the Coast Eskimo of Alaska 3 Mihkoyak, a Nunivak Village 6 Ground-plan, Roof-plan, and Section of Eskimo Men's House 8 Mihkoyak, Men's House at Winter Camp - Nunivak 12 At Nash Harbor, Nunivak 16 Baninaguh - Nunivak 20 Waterproof Parkas - Nunivak 24 Girl's Costume - Nunivak 28 Holiday Costume - Nunivak 30 Duck-skin Parkas - Nunivak 32 Fish-drying Racks - Nunivak 34 Nunivak Youth 38 Jukuk - Nunivak 42 Kaiak Frame - Nunivak 44 Kaiak on Rack - Nunivak 48 Kaiak with Seal Hunting Equipment - Nunivak 52 Ready for the Throw - Nunivak 54 A Nunivak Hunter 56 Sled - Nunivak 58 Chahali - Nunivak 60 Line Stretching Posts - Nunivak 62 Herring Racks - Nunivak 64 Kenowun - Nunivak 66 Dahchihtok - Nunivak 68 Jukuk - Nunivak 72 Dishes - Nunivak 74 Baskets - Nunivak 78 {view image of page xii} xii ILLUSTRATIONS Ceremonial Mask - Nunivak 80 Maskette - Nunivak 82 The Ivory Carver - Nunivak 86 Hooper Bay Homes 88 Hooper Bay Man 90 Ukowuhhuh - Hooper Bay 92 Drying Whale Meat - Hooper Bay 94 Food Caches - Hooper Bay 96 A Grave-post - Hooper Bay 98 King Island 100 Looking to Sea - King Island 102 On the Cliff Edge - King Island 104 Housetops, King Island 106 Nuktaya, King Island 108 Drilling ivory, King Island 110 The bow-drill, King Island 112 Village at Little Diomede 114 Home structure, Diomede 116 Underground house tops with whale-rib drying rack, Diomede 118 Walrus boats, Big Diomede in distance 122 Drying walrus hide, Diomede 124 Siluk, Diomede 128 Diomede girl 132 Tahopik, Diomede 134 Home structure, Cape Prince of Wales 136 Start of whale hunt, Cape Prince of Wales 140 Umiak and crew, Cape Prince of Wales 144 Aiyak, Cape Prince of Wales 148 Koaninok, Cape Prince of Wales 152 Oksiwik, Cape Prince of Wales 158 Berry-pickers, Kotzebue 162 The beluga, Kotzebue 168 Cutting up a beluga, Kotzebue 172 Food containers, pokes, Kotzebue 178 Umiak frame, Kotzebue 182 Umiak, Kotzebue 186 {view image of page xiii} The umiak, Kotzebue 190 Noatak village 194 Noatak home 196 At Noatak village 198 The seal-hunter - Noatak 200 Noatak man 202 Noatak child 204 Bark dishes, Kobuk 208 On the Selawik River 226 At Selawik 228 Kihsuk, Selawik 230 Selawik women 234 Selawik woman 236 Selawik girl 238 {view image of page xiv} {view image of page xv} Introduction PURSUING the original plan of this work to include those native tribes of the United States, the Dominion of Canada, and Alaska, which still retain such of their aboriginal customs and beliefs as to make them worthy of special treatment, the study of the primitive peoples of this vast territory was brought to a close after a summer spent among the Eskimo of the Alaskan islands, coast, and inland waterways, in I927. Although it was not the intention to project the research to include every phase of Eskimo culture, which indeed extends from eastern Greenland to Siberia over a coastal strip exceeding five thousand miles, a glimpse of the general features of that culture may be had from the results of the observations in the territory immediately covered, namely, from the Aleutian islands to Point Barrow, a region occupied by the northwesternmost aboriginal inhabitants of the New World. The distance between the continents is not great: indeed from the Eskimo village of Kingegan, at Cape Prince of Wales, to the Siberian coast one may, on a clear day, discern the faint outline of the Asian shore. The Eskimo of this area, by virtue of the physiography of their domain, gain their livelihood chiefly from the sea, although during half of the year they suffer the usual rigors of the arctic winter, with little opportunity to obtain food from either land or water. With the coming of temperate weather, however, and the breaking-up of the great ice-fields, they go forth in their skin craft in quest of the food so long needed, buffeted constantly by sweeping gales and the treacherous, shifting, grinding ice-packs. None but the most expert canoemen could survive the stress of these arctic conditions, let alone the acquirement of food in the face of every difficulty. The oft-repeated narratives of hunters who put out to sea in their frail skin kaiaks, never to return, afford one a faint idea of some of the vicissitudes of Eskimo food-seekers in a lone and inhospitable region. Only the fittest, indeed, in such an environment could survive. xv {view image of page xvi} xvi INTRODUCTION Yet, while many of the Eskimo visited and studied by the writer still retain much of their hardihood, they appear to have lost not a little of the vigor observed during his study of the coast Eskimo thirty years ago. As among so many primitive people, contact with whites and the acquirement of their diseases have worked a tragic change during this period. A notable exception was found in the natives of Nunivak island, whose almost total freedom from Caucasian contact has thus far been their salvation; and yet within a year of the writer's visit it was officially reported that the population decreased nearly thirty percent. In all the author's experience among Indians and Eskimo, he never knew a happier or more thoroughly honest and self-reliant people. A characteristic of the Eskimo, which the student can not fail to observe, is his ready adaptability, even to the extent of desiring at once to assimilate, at least outwardly, the manners of the white men about him. In this respect the Eskimo stands in strong contrast to the average Indian, whose attitude, evidently because of the distrust he has learned to engender toward the whites, is that of contempt. It can only be regretted that the descriptive text and the illustrations in this volume depict only the summer life of the Eskimo herein treated; but it was not possible, owing to the writer's state of health, to spend a winter at one of the isolated villages for the purpose of studying and picturing the winter life of its inhabitants. Throughout the work, including the preparation of the text, he has had the enthusiastic aid and cooperation of Mr. Stewart C. Eastwood. In this Introduction to the concluding volume of the series, the author recalls, with a sense of deep gratitude, those friends whose sympathetic interest made the inception of the work possible. Early in the history of the task the keen interest of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan was at once manifested when the opportunity was offered to present the plan and scope of the volumes and to exhibit some of the illustrations. Ever appreciative not alone of the esthetic, but imbued with a deep appreciation of everything tending to increase and disseminate knowledge, as so well exemplified by his constant patronage of scientific investigation and the accumulation of treasures in literature, art, and history, Mr. Morgan afforded much of the means for carrying on the work of which these twenty volumes of THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN are the result. The author will not attempt to say more in appreciation of Mr. Morgan's generous interest, which was duly noted in Volume IX, published soon after the passing of this beneficent patron. He must make this the opportunity, however, of saying that, {view image of page xvii} INTRODUCTION Xvii save for Mr. Morgan's encouragement and support the work probably could not have been completed; and it is extremely doubtful that if his son, the present J. Pierpont Morgan, had not inherited the father's love of the beautiful and that high sentiment from which arose the desire to bring the undertaking to completion, the volumes could hardly have been finished in their present attractive form. In bringing to a close this result of thirty years of research the writer wishes also to record an expression of his gratitude to those other friends who offered every encouragement during the formative period of the work and who never lost faith in its ultimate fruition. Mere thanks seem hollow in comparison with such loyal cooperation; but great is the satisfaction the writer enjoys when he can at last say to all those whose faith has been unbounded, "It is finished." EDWARD S. CURTIS {view image of page xviii} {view image of page 1} The Alaskan Eskimo VOL. XX-I {view image of page 2} {view image of facing page 3} Dialects and hunting territories of the Coast Eskimo of Alaska [photogravure plate] {view image of page 3} THE ALASKAN ESKIMO Introduction THE Eskimo, a marginal people, who number somewhat fewer than thirty thousand, inhabit the coast and many islands of North America approximately from the Aleutian islands to eastern Greenland. The extent of the territory occupied by the Eskimo, with some exceptions, from the coast to the interior, is but a few hundred miles. When this vast territory is considered in connection with the relatively small population, it might be expected that many differences will be found in the culture of the various groups. Although such is the case, the similarities in the culture of the Eskimo as a whole are perhaps more uniform than are those of the people of any other American culture area.' The population of the Eskimo dwelling in Alaska is officially given as I2,405. Their territory includes the coast and adjacent islands from the Canadian border on the Arctic ocean to the Aleutian islands. Many dialectic differences occur in the Eskimo language spoken in this territory. The inhabitants of Nunivak island and St. Lawrence island, groups in the region of the Yukon mouth from Nelson island to Cape Smith, and some in the vicinity of East Cape, Siberia, speak a common dialect; the dialects of those who dwell in the coastal territory drained by the Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers, including part of the Norton Bay region, are barely intelligible to the people of the first group; a third dialect is spoken in the areas comprising the western half of Seward peninsula and including Little Diomede and King islands, and Cape Prince of Wales; the great expanse of territory from Unalakleet on Norton sound, embracing the eastern part of Seward peninsula and spreading wedge-like northward to Point Barrow, is inhabited by a number of groups speaking a still different tongue.2 See Clark Wissler, The American Indian, 2d ed., page 229, New York, I922. 2 The linguistic information was obtained partly from the expedition's research and partly from Paul Ivanoff, of Russian and Eskimo parentage, a man widely travelled throughout Alaska and thoroughly conversantwith the dialects extant. For the linguistic distribution of the Eskimo of the Alaskan coast, see the accompanying map. 3 {view image of page 4} 4 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN In culture, the groups treated in this volume, namely the peoples of Nunivak island, King island, Little Diomede island, Cape Prince of Wales, and those in the vicinity of Kotzebue sound - the Kotzebue, Noatak, Kobuk, and Selawik - are broadly similar. The mode of life of the Eskimo depends on the distribution and migration of game, whether it be mammal, bird, or fish, or all three; hence when different groups are dependent on different game foods, variations in culture occur. This is well illustrated by comparing the most important food products of Nunivak and King islands with those of Little Diomede island and Cape Prince of Wales. The former islands lie directly in the path of seal and walrus migrations, both north and south, hence their inhabitants may be characterized as having a distinctive seal culture. Walrus and whales are deemed most important by the Diomede and Cape Prince of Wales Eskimo, being more numerous than seal within the range of their villages: whaling indeed is the prime occupation of the latter. These groups, in turn, differ from those of Kotzebue sound, who hunt beluga and seal on the coast and caribou (now reindeer) along the streams. This variance is reflected strongly in their ceremonies and in certain phases of their social customs. While it is desirable to outline the extent and number of the Eskimo as a whole, and to comment on the Alaskan Eskimo with respect to language, population, and similarity and differences of culture, nevertheless it is the detailed descriptions of the various groups herein presented that must furnish the basis for such general observations. {view image of page 5} The Nunivak General Description NUNIVAK island rises bluffly from Bering sea approximately at the intersection of 60~ north latitude and I66~ west longitude. The chart shows that the island lies about fifty miles to the westward of that part of the mainland between Kuskokwim river on the south and Cape Romanzof on the north, an extremely low, flat coast with many narrow, shallow inlets. Numerous inlets are a part of the intricate net of waterways which form the mouth of the Yukon and its delta. Nunivak island extends east and west about one hundred and twenty miles, with a distance of fifty miles between its most northerly and southerly points. The shore-line is bluff and rocky, and its few harbors are suitable only for small craft. Such harbors as are not obstructed by dangerous reefs or sandbars with tortuous ever-shifting channels offer little real protection and must be navigated with the utmost care. The interior of the island is comparatively level, with only a few mountains grouped in the southwestern end and one in the centre whose heights have been estimated to be between five hundred and eight hundred feet above sea-level. The entire area is treeless; the vegetation is tundra-grass, moss of several varieties, and edible herbs and roots. Over this bleak, cheerless island sweep the heavy winter storms, intensified because of the unbroken expanse of Bering sea in which to accumulate force from both north and south. Few Eskimo have penetrated the interior, which is given over to the recently introduced reindeer and to foxes and other animals. The natives prefer to dwell along the coast, where they are assured of a fairly abundant supply of birds, and sea mammals and other sea food, and where the broken coast affords a slight degree of shelter. The villages on Nunivak island are situated with respect to accessibility of the food supply. Since the major part is derived from the sea, the inhabitants of each village erect their homes close to the 5 {view image of page 6} 6 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN shore, facing the water. Again, because of dependence on the seasons for their various foods, it is necessary for each group of people to possess more than one village, thus moving with all their belongings from one place to another to take advantage of the seal run, the different fish runs, the bird season, the berry season, et cetera. The loss of one seasonal item of provision might entail serious hardship, even starvation, for if one should fail to reap the harvest, be it fish, bird, or berry, a full year would be required to make up the loss. Thus the people at Cape Etolin alone occupy five villages and camps. From December to the end of March is spent in the winter village, Mihkiyak, containing permanent structures and the men's and women's houses. The season of April, May, and June finds them at the spring fishing village, Pungohpuk, also permanent. The months of July, August, and September are spent in two widely separated fishing camps - Watawiya, a village of temporary structures and not containing men's and women's houses, and Kfingiehslu, both summer and fall and permanent. Another fall settlement is the seal-netting village, Akitoh, also permanent. Most of the villages of Nunivak island, so far as known, are situated on the northern and eastern shores, especially on such prominent headlands as Capes Corwin, Manning, and Mendenhall. The people on each of these capes have at least two villages and camps. These settlements, or groups of villages, scattered as they are along the coast, contain only as many as about forty inhabitants each. A census of the whole island, made in I926, gave one hundred and seventy-seven natives; in I928 only fifty-two were reported. The winter village at Cape Etolin, typical of all the permanent settlements, included eight structures, two of which were men's houses and two women's, all within an area of fifty by forty-seven paces. This small cluster was built on an incline facing the sea and a wide stretch of sandy beach. Behind and above the houses, etched sharply against the skyline of the hill, were a number of graves and grave-boxes. As observed from the water, the village appeared to be merely a group of grass-covered mounds or hummocks; only human figures and the evidence of human occupation betrayed the presence of a community. The structures were grouped irregularly, as follows: A men's house and a women's house side by side; obliquely to these were three ordinary houses in a row; parallel to these, and but a slight distance away, another men's and a women's house, with another ordinary house to the rear. A tunnel passed along the front of each row of houses, and the two were joined by an intersecting tunnel. The only {view image of facing page 6} Mihkoyak, a Nunivak village [photogravure plate] {view image of page 7} THE NUNIVAK 7 ingress to the village was through two shafts which descended into the tunnels by the men's houses at each end of the village. The tunnel permitted communication between the occupants of the houses without the necessity of appearing above ground, a great advantage in winter, as the inhabitants wear little clothing while indoors. Air and light are provided by means of smoke-holes in the individual houses. Evidences of a larger village in former times are seen in a row of grass-grown pits and demolished houses below the present site, with which it was connected by sloping tunnels. The centre of activity in any village is the men's house (g'ya). Here ceremonies are performed, especially during the winter months; here the men make kaiaks, weapons, utensils of all kinds, and carve ivory; here they smoke, gossip, and have their sweat-baths. Such a house is built to contain a whole village on ceremonial occasions, each family being allotted a space at one of three sides of the room, with a lamp before it. Large villages boasted of two or more men's houses. During the spring, summer, and fall seasons, when the people move from camp to camp or from village to camp, and are sometimes scattered and busy gathering the year's food supply, the men's houses are largely unused. Men of family usually remain with their families, hunting, fishing, working, eating, sleeping, performing the various functions which make up their lives. Youths and young unmarried men may occupy the giyq. In winter, most of the men, including heads of families, occupy their places in the men's houses. Above each man hangs his seal-bladders for the Bladder feast. From pegs depend gear of various kinds. Here he keeps weapons and tool-box, and his lamp burns before him. He sleeps here, with head on a wooden head-rest, and his wife brings his meals. In winter the numerous lamps and the warmth of the bodies heat this underground dwelling so that few clothes are necessary. The men's house is a community club house. Somewhat similar in function is the women's house. In the winter the women gather there, work, sleep, eat, and prepare meals for the men. However, it has no part in ceremonial life, for all of this takes place in the men's house. Other individual family houses are much smaller and are used more for storage of clothing, food, and various supplies than for actual habitation. Each family has such a house in each permanent village and camp, where are stored such food supplies from the particular season's catch as are not put away in the caches. They take back to the winter villages, where they remain longest, enough to last them {view image of page 8} 8 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN through the winter. These houses are used for dwellings in the summer. In the construction of the men's house, a pit about eighteen feet square and four feet deep is first dug. Around the pit edges logs (duset) are laid (a in the plan). From these logs to the floor the pit walls are sheathed with split timbers (b). About three feet out from each wall and at each corner is a post seven feet high and about six inches square (c). Thus, in each corner are two adjacent posts. Each pair is connected at the top by a cap timber on which rest horizontal beams. Thus, the first framework, a horizontal square, extends three feet above ground and is three feet away from the pit edge, the first step toward the conical appearance of the roof. Split timbers (d) lean from the pit edge, logs against these eaves beams (agulut). Then the rafters (kqangut) are placed in position (e). Across the eaves beams stretch two parallel rafters, each about three feet from the corners of the framework. At right angles to these and again away from the ends are two parallel rafters. The final set (f) forms the square sides or sills (klituh) of the small smoke-hole (tunnakium), an opening four feet square covered in stormy weather with a sheet of gut, thus admitting light but keeping out rain. The rafters are overlaid with split timbers and covered heavily first with earth and then sod, rendering the structure impervious to stormy weather. The appearance of the finished house is that of a mound of earth. In the centre of the room a rectangular firepit (kqnegiwih) is dug, six feet long, four feet wide, and four feet deep (g). This is walled with stones (h) and edged with small logs (i). The firepit, for sweat-baths mainly, when not in use is covered with planking (himugiahzt) easily taken up or laid down (j). The floor (najitit) of the room is of wooden planking (k). A draft (chupuhhun) is bored through the ground to that part of the entrance which tunnels beneath the house wall (1). The entrance (luyuh) to the room (m) is tunnelled four feet deeper than the floor and extends on each side of the house wall (b'). This has wooden hand-rails (ayapuzhiyuh), which become highly polished from constant use (n). The outer passageway (amzh) is at the same level as the floor of the house, that is, about four feet under ground, and extends out about eighteen feet (o). At the farther end are three log steps (p) and a square opening (q) at the top. One first descends through the outer opening, creeps along the passageway, swings down and under the house wall, and finally pulls himself up into the room. In cold weather the inner entrance is usually covered with a mat (pahotti). {view image of facing page 8} Ground-plan, roof-plan, and section of Eskimo men's house [photogravure plate] {view image of page 9} THE NUNIVAK 9 Along three walls, at the height of the eaves, extends a bench (r) about three feet in width. This is used as a seat during ceremonies; at other times it forms the sleeping platform for boys and youths. Around the three sides, on the floor, about five feet out from the walls and parallel to them, are small logs (s). In the space thus formed, matting (asliikat) is laid. Upon this men work, recline, and sleep, using the wooden rails as head-rests (agitzt). Before each man, outside the head-rest, is his lamp-stand (nuniglu) with lamp (kzumun) on top (t). The women's house (n'na) is built in the same manner, but the interior furnishings vary. Light sticks are laid across the lower rafters for the suspension of fish, meat, or drying sealskins. Two long hooks (wiulic'htit) depend and swing over the fire for roasting meat. On the rear wall is a shelf at eaves height for cooking-pots, and a second shelf two feet above the floor to hold food about to be cooked. Similar shelves extend on each side of and above the entranceway to accommodate clothing, sewing bags, and various household utensils and oddments. The other two walls have sleeping benches (a'chit), raised some two feet above the ground and extending five feet into the room, covered with matting and having the usual head-rests. The fireplace near the rear wall is a square mound, two feet high, walled with stones and the interior filled with earth and ashes. The top is edged with stone, and in the enclosure the fire is built. Because of the scarcity of wood, the greater part of the cooking is done over oil lamps. The individual houses follow the same general method of construction, but are much smaller, about eight feet square, with the entrance opening into the tunnel. While the winter village of the Cape Etolin people was tunnelled, the spring village consisted of separate houses, each with its own outside entrance and not connected in any way with the men's and women's houses. The most important garment of the Nunivak, and of the Eskimo generally, is the parka. This is a frock, made of animal, bird, or fish skins, which is slipped over the head and reaches about to the knees. The general style for men and women is similar, except that while the bottom hem of the men's garment is regular all the way around, the parka of the women has a deep slit or open seam on each side, in much the same manner as a white man's shirt. Parkas for outdoor wear, for travelling or hunting, and for winter use, are provided with a hood, which may be drawn up to cover the head, or thrown back at pleasure. Such a hood, made of the same material as the parka itself, usually has a strip of long hair, wolf or wolverene commonly, attached to the VOL. XX-2 {view image of page 10} IO THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN edge for ornamentation, so that the wearer, with hood up, seems to have a halo of long hairs outlining his face. The Nunivak have a variety of parkas, each for its own purpose. Indeed there is seemingly no limit to the number and kind that a person may possess. Of the bird-skin parkas alone, six different styles were counted: the very light in weight (c'hibilit), the light (tununut), and the medium (mfithut). These three are fashioned to be worn indoors. The aspuvt is a bird-skin parka for ordinary outdoor wear; the kla.nuit is a waterproof outdoor parka, and the tuno6htt, of gullskins, is worn in hunting or in warfare. Of furs for parkas, those in general use are caribou (reindeer in these times), mink, and squirrel. These are for outdoor wear. The caribou garment (kaliluh) is worn in travelling. In winter two parkas are often worn: an inner one (uzvwutel) of light fawn-skin without a hood, the fur turned next to the skin, and an outer one (atkut) with hair-side outward. For decorative effect, fur parkas may be made of strips of alternately colored fur, such as brown and white, or they may be of a solid color with a long white strip, the belly-fur of reindeer or caribou, extending over each shoulder and well down both front and back. Bird-skin parkas are either of a single color or have alternating squares of dark and white skins. For wet weather, or for use in kaiaks, parkas are made of seal intestine. These have draw-strings about the face and the wrists to keep out water. A hunter in a kaiak wearing such a garment lashes the bottom edge around the manhole rim with a thong, and thus may paddle his craft in rain, spray, or choppy seas, and keep dry. It is not customary for women to wear any kind of head-covering other than the elaborately beaded headgear which forms a part of the dance costume. Caps (wifkoh) for men and boys, worn in either summer or winter, are made of squirrel-skins, sewn to fit the head snugly. A circular piece of fur forms the crown, around which strips are sewn in coils until the cap is of the proper size. Such caps are often adorned with beads, tufts of hair, or tails. Trousers for both sexes are made from two sealskins with the bellies removed. In former times the skin from caribou legs made up the trousers. At the top a loop is formed by turning down and sewing the edge; a thong passed through this loop and secured by an ivory toggle serves as a belt. Men's trousers end at the ankle, but those of women are of full length, terminating in a crimped sole for the foot. Women's trouser boots (yznikluga) are of three varieties: the light for indoor wear; the outdoor and travelling boots, usually hair {view image of page 11} THE NUNIVAK II less and waterproof (6tayuhslugq); and the decorated dance or ceremonial trouser-boot. Boots worn by men extend to below the knees, where a drawstring (tahpzuiha) holds them firmly to the legs. To the feet are attached hard sealskin soles (atuni), which are bent up, crimped at toe and heel, and thus sewn to the uppers. Two long tanned strips of hide, about eighteen inches long and an inch wide, are sewn on each side of the ankle by the sole. These thongs pass up through horizontal loops, cross above the instep, are passed about the ankle and tied in front, thus holding the boot bottom securely on the foot. Such a boot (angiutth or ivah6c'hih) is hairless and waterproof for ordinary wear, or it may have highly decorated fur tops for ceremonial or house wear (achifhsluhuah). The fur boots may be of seal alternating with wolverene strips, or of brown caribou with strips of the white belly fur running horizontally down the legs. Two or more bands of alternately colored fur make up the top edges. Further ornamentation often consists of brightly colored yarn tassels hung from the tops. For summer and indoor use men sometimes wear a short ankle boot (kumuksih). Socks (aliksuh) woven of grass are worn inside the boots. Dried grass is doubled over or bunched into pads (tunimi) and placed in the boots as inner liners. These not only provide a soft cushion, but absorb moisture that may have leaked through seams. Mittens (aritfit) are of four types. Women wear one kind only; these extend nearly to the elbow and have wolverene trimming along the upper edge. Men also wear this kind of mitten, mainly when travelling overland. A second type (pinivyet) has a forefinger and is used while working outdoors near the house. A third kind (arislugut) is both hairless and waterproof. The last (arikuhhuzt), for wear while paddling a kaiak, is short, barely extending to the wrist. Facial ornamentation consists of tattooing and the wearing of ear-rings (plain, aguit; beaded, chiujittt), nose beads (iniicut), and labrets (tutet). Of these forms of adornment men use only the labrets; but at the present time these lip ornaments are becoming rarer, though they are worn on Nunivak island to a far greater extent than on the mainland, where contact with whites has made them almost obsolete. The holes for labrets are punched through the flesh just beneath the extremities of the lower lip, both of youths and maidens, about the age of puberty. At first a small ivory plug is inserted to keep the aperture distended. As the skin heals and hardens, larger plugs are used, thus gradually enlarging the orifice to the desired size. Men's {view image of page 12} 12 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN labrets consist of a disc worn on the inner surface of the lip and which rests against the teeth. A shank projects through the hole and terminates in a rounded point slightly larger than the shank proper, the point extending beyond the lips. A variation of this most common form is a curved, slender ivory bar attached horizontally to the shank, so that when both labrets are in place the tips of the bars nearly touch in the middle of the lower lip. In connection with ceremonial and dance costume, women wear a labret with a straight, slender, horizontal ivory bar attached to the shank. From this bar hangs a row of beaded strings measuring several inches in length. As a part of the everyday costume, women insert labrets similar to those of the men. Young girls frequently have the nasal septum pierced and insert a small ring or hook from which four plain or white beads dangle. For ceremonial and dance wear, several styles of ear-ornaments are worn by the women. One such was a pendant, several inches long, consisting of rows of beaded strings on a horizontal ivory bar. A small hook fastened to the centre of the bar was then inserted in the pierced aural cartilage. There is a variation of this form of ear-ring in which the strings of beads form a long loop from one ear-ring to the other, the loop passing under the chin or around the back of the neck. A third ear-ring observed had on its hook a flat piece of ivory about three inches long and an inch and a half wide, inlaid in which was a piece of bright-colored cloth. Tattooing, employed by women only, consists of simple parallel vertical lines extending from each corner of the mouth to the chin. Other parallel lines may be tattooed around the wrist. The process of tattooing consists of dipping a sinew thread into a mixture of charcoal dust and seal's blood; then with a small, sharp ivory needle, fine stitches are taken in the skin and the thread drawn through, leaving particles of the mixture permanently beneath the skin. The kaiak (kaiyuh) is the most important craft of many of the Alaskan Eskimo, for by means of it the livelihood of the people is chiefly obtained. Men transport themselves from one hunting camp to another in the kaiak; from it they fish, spear waterfowl, and pursue seal and walrus. Almost as soon as a boy can walk, he learns to paddle and manceuvre this small but efficient craft. New kaiaks are made in late winter or in early spring during the season of Qigitanit ("Mother of Rivers" -when rivers begin to open up). Their construction takes place with ceremony in the men's house, usually under the supervision of some old man well skilled in {view image of facing page 12} Mihkoyak, men's house at winter camp, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 13} THE NUNIVAK 13 boat-making. The men measure and cut each individual part of the wooden frame according to a prescribed system based on the length of various members of the body or a combination of such members. Thus each man's kaiak is built according to the specifications of his own body and hence is peculiarly fitted to his use. For instance, the length of a kaiak is determined by the following standards of length: Little finger to elbow; first finger of right hand to thumb of left when arms are outstretched; elbow to middle finger; the span of middle finger to thumb; first finger of right hand to thumb of left when arms are outstretched; the width of first and second fingers held together. After each part is meticulously made according to measurement, the frame is put together with lashings of rawhide. The workmanship must of necessity be fine, because no cutting with edged tools may be done once the parts are finished and are being joined. The measurement of a typical Nunivak kaiak showed a length of fifteen feet over all, a beam of three feet, and a manhole thirty inches in diameter. The kaiak frame consists first of a keel with bow and stern posts. The curved ribs, lashed to the keel, are mortised into the gunwales. A number of longitudinal strips extend from bow to stern, and the ribs are lashed also to these. The deck is formed by many slightly triangular supports or crossbeams whose ends are mortised and lashed into the gunwales. Two strips, one from bow to manhole and one from stern to manhole, run along the apexes of the deck supports and form ridge-poles. Slightly abaft the centre is the manhole, framed with a wooden hoop about thirty inches in diameter, lashed to the framework of the kaiak. The bow for hunters and married men may have a hole some three inches in diameter, used mainly for mooring or towing. The stern for this type has a quadrate projection several inches long and either straight or slightly upturned. The accompanying drawings illustrate the several types of kaiaks. The night after the lashing of the kaiak frames is completed, the women gather to cut sealskins to size for the coverings, three thick and heavy hair-seal skins for the bottoms and sides, and two spottedseal skins for the lighter decking. As they work, the women wear waterproof parkas, which are believed to prevent any evil influence from entering or afflicting the new kaiaks. After the cutting is finished, the women prepare food for the men. The following day, while the women, dressed as before, are sewing together the skins, the kaiak owners sit before the bows of the completed frames and sing their hunting songs in an almost inaudible tone, since these songs are both sacred and secret. Kaiak owners {view image of page 14} 14 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN bb _e e c-S -- 1 e a, ^A I _f.. g A B a e " —....I),;1. C r AQ5^ e 9,. C - e - e tr f~~~~~~~~~~."tk --------------- - D I a e e c. e eJ=_m ^ e d _ o E a, e e, C, el <-= ---==n e ie b _<5dO ESKIMO KAIAKS A, B, Kaiaks for hunters and married men, showing talismanic paintings. C, D, Kaiaks for young unmarried men; these have no talismanic paintings. E, F, Kaiaks for boys, also without talismanic paintings. (a, bow; b, stern; c, manhole; d, mooring hole; e, rawhide lines; f, ivory hooks; g, mink; h, body and wing of fowl; i, posterior body and feet of fowl or mink; j, eagle-feathers; k, pintail feathers; 1, white fox painted blue; m, red fox painted red.) {view image of page 15} THE NUNIVAK I5 often have their sons beside them to learn these chants, which descend from father to son. After the singing, when the hides are nearly sewn, each wife brings to her husband a new wooden dish of fish or berries. Stripped to the waist, he throws a portion of the food to the floor as an offering, and prays for good luck during the coming hunting season. He then gives the food to the oldest man present (often the one who has supervised the kaiak-making), who distributes it to all the men at hand. The owner then walks once about the kaiak frame, pretending to carry a lighted lamp. Next he motions as if to shove a lamp underneath the bows, that seal may see and approach his kaiak as he hunts. As the last flap, on the after-deck, is sewn, after the frame is shoved into the completed covering, the now naked owner, accompanied by all the men present, sings his childbirth song to his new kaiak. The owner washes the cover with urine to remove any oil that may adhere to the surface, and rinses it in salt water. He then hauls his craft through the smoke-hole of the house and rests it in the snow, which will absorb dampness from its surface. Later he puts the kaiak on its rack and drapes over it his talismans, strung on belts, which are later to be kept in the kaiak. Here it remains a day and a night. Then at night he carries the craft to the ice where he sings his hunting songs, sacred only to him and to his family. Outside in the freezing weather the skin coverings bleach white. As soon as each new kaiak is finished, the owner performs his ceremony. On returning to the men's house, the owner dresses in new parka and boots, and, grasping a bunch of long grass fibres, makes motions of sweeping toward the entrance. By this action he brushes outside any evil influence or contamination from his kaiak, the covering of which has been made by women. The kaiaks for hunters and married men are painted and inscribed with the owner's talismanic mark in the spring hunting camp in the following season of Takokit-tanoket ("When young seals are born"). Boys, youths, and young unmarried men have no talismanic devices on their kaiaks. Near the bow is drawn or painted the head of the bird, animal, or fish representing the spirit-power of the owner. A narrow line running from stem to stern symbolizes the body. This line terminates in animal, fish, or bird tails or flukes according to the nature of the drawing. Near bow and stern the fins, flippers, or legs are drawn and in each case the male genital organ is represented. One craft had a combination mark of fowl and mink; another bore a representa {view image of page 16} i6 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN tion of both white and red fox. The former had legs and wings in the same body, and the latter had both animals drawn separately. The belief is that the spirit-power of the animal will become embodied in the kaiak and aid materially in catching game. The original talismans may be the shaved noses of land animals, such as bear, mink, or fox; or birds, or sea animals, and are often objects carved from ivory or wood. These are kept in a wrapping of bark inside of a parchment roll of hair-seal bladder and are taken from their coverings only during the Bladder feast, when they are worn on headgear. When a man dies, his talismans are all wound in one bundle and given to the surviving sons; or, failing sons, are divided amongst the nearest relatives. Usually some particular talisman is handed down in a family from father to son. The possessor of a talisman acquires supernatural power through the spirit of the animal, bird, or fish which it represents. A man's mark on kaiak, masks, weapons, or walrus- and seal-skins, is a medium through which the spirit-power always keeps in touch with the owner. It is also a mark of identification. It is taboo for a man to eat, wear, or even touch the animal, bird, or fish which his talisman represents, for his spirit would then be destroyed. The talismans at present extant at Cape Etolin and Nash Harbor on Nunivak island are: ancient flint knife, arctic loon, auklet, brook trout, cormorant, crane, crow, eider duck, pintail duck, flounder, helldiver, human hands, mink, polar bear, rock cod, sea-horse, barn owl, white owl, walrus tooth, white fox, wild goose, wood. The finished kaiak, with hooks and lashings properly adjusted and a paddle set upright to represent the owner, when drawn up on shore or placed on racks is pointed seaward so that the spirit-power of the kaiak may always be thinking of and watching out for game. The kaiak rack is constructed as follows: Two poles are crossed and lashed together at the point of intersection so that the two ends project well outward. The lower ends are stuck firmly in the ground and the crosswork supported by a third pole. A similar arrangement is set up at a distance of about ten feet. The kaiak rests between the projecting ends of the poles. Nunivak kaiaks are broader of beam, deeper of draft, and heavier than those of the mainland farther north, which are very narrow of beam and light of draft. Those of King island and south of the Yukon mouth, both north and south of Hooper bay, are similar to the craft of Nunivak. The open water, rarely smooth, necessitates a sturdy craft. Often killing and cutting up his game far from home, either {view image of facing page 16} At Nash Harbor, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 17} THE NUNIVAK I7 on the water or the ice, the hunter must have room beneath the decking for loading meat, which the deep draft provides. Around home waters it is not uncommon to see two people riding a kaiak, one facing aft, the other paddling. These seemingly frail craft are in reality very seaworthy, riding rough waters safely. The lashed framework readily yields to wave action, while a rigidly constructed boat would pound, and the decking sheds sea and spray alike. Besides the occupant, a kaiak carries a full complement of weapons, food, tools, and paddles, and, if the hunt has been successful, a load of meat, fish, or birds. The kaiak is used also for cruising along the shore and gathering driftwood. If the weather becomes too stormy for safety, two boats are tied together with thongs carried for that purpose. To relieve the monotony of the sitting position, skilful paddlers sometimes propel the boat standing up. Adept men can upset a kaiak and right it again with a paddle. The ordinary kaiak equipment, other than weapons, consists of two single-bladed paddles (zunuahun), one held in reserve in case of possible breakage or loss, and a small paddle (unuah6gah) for use in working a kaiak near a seal before the spear is cast. The small paddle, a sculling blade, is used on the side of the kaiak away from the seal; thus the kaiak, while ever moving closer, appears to be drifting, there being no perceptible movement to frighten the intended quarry. The paddler has beneath him a seat (akumuq6tut) of wooden slats to keep him dry from the inevitable seepage. For his further comfort a grass mat (ikahaslitit) is provided to sit on or to be used as a windbreak or as a ground cloth for sleeping when out overnight on the ice. The combination landing hook, a boat-hook and ice-pick, consists of a wooden shaft, five inches in circumference and four and a half feet long, bearing on one end the ice-pick and on the other the hook. The hook (luhchihpuh), of bone about eight inches long, is set in a slot in the shaft and held in place with two rawhide lashings passing through holes drilled in both bone and shaft. The ice-pick (dugua), about sixteen inches long, on the other end of the shaft, is also of bone. Four inches of its length are laid along the shaft and neatly inset. A wooden peg passes through shaft and bone, and the pick is further made firm with a rawhide lashing. The pick is used mainly for enlarging seal blow-holes when hunting on the ice, in order that a harpoon may be thrust through when the seal comes up to blow. A smaller hook (luhchikictoha) for poking cut-up seal pieces under the bow and stern decking, and pulling them forth again, is carried; this has a hook, four inches in length, set in a four-foot shaft with a cirVOL. XX-3 {view image of page 18} I8 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN cumference of three inches, in the same manner as the hook on the larger implement. On the end of the shaft is a bone heel, laid and lashed with rawhide on one side of the shaft, spike-shape and projecting about three-quarters of an inch. This heel, with its sharp point, greatly aids in stowing away the meat cargo beneath the fore- and after-decks, while the hook is the simple and ready means of withdrawing the meat when the hunter returns to his village. For convenience in handling meat while cutting up on the ice, the hunter uses a hook (klomihjiun) the size of the hand and resembling a longshoreman's hook. These various hooks are usually painted red and may also bear the hunter's talismanic mark. The hunter at sea slakes his thirst with water carried in a bag of walrus-bladder (the gall-bladder is used in the Bladder feast). This container has a wooden stopper and a cup attached to it by a thong. An air-bag (k'uinuh), or float, is carried on the sled on the afterdeck; or, if the hunter goes out alone, he may carry two bags to be placed in the water, one on each side of the kaiak, to steady the craft while the paddler cuts up his seal. Small seals and baby seals, skinned carefully so that there is no break or opening in the hide except at the neck where the head has been lopped off, form the airbags. The skinning is so delicately done that even the claws remain on feet and flippers. The hair is left on. The neck opening is then puckered or gathered in and lashed tightly with sinew, forming a projection about the size of a knife handle. Attached to this projection is a strong line of walrus- or seal-hide, five feet long and ending in a loop. The purpose of the loop is for making the float fast by means of a toggle (c1hoh) to the harpoon line (ushah). Then after the weapon is cast and the line runs out, the attached air-bag is thrown overboard. When not in use, the air-bag is released from the toggle and carried on the sled. The bag is inflated through an ivory tube inserted and firmly lashed to the anus. A wooden stopper fits tightly into the tube and is attached to it by a sinew cord. The hunter carries four lines (achihuta) of seal-rawhide in his kaiak, each line six feet long by an inch wide, used to secure his catch to the craft while he cuts up the meat, or, in a storm, to lash two kaiaks together, the lines passing under and over both boats. Another line is a painter of seal- or walrus-hide, fastened to the bow to make the boat fast when drawn up to the ice or to the shore. A cord (aga'hln) also passes about the manhole rim, so that in rain, spray, or choppy seas, the paddler may lash down the skirt of his waterproof parka to the rim and thus prevent water from entering the boat. Immediately {view image of page 19} THE NUNIVAK I9 before and behind the manhole, cords (tapha) pass over the deck and are secured at the gunwales. Similar cords are passed over the decking at a distance halfway between manhole and bow, and manhole and stern. On each cord at the deck edges or gunwales are small ivory hooks (akugiyuahkta). Paddle handles, boat-hook shafts, and harpoon shafts rest on the small hooks nearest to the manhole, ready to the hand of the paddler; while the blades, hooks, and harpoonheads are shoved beneath the cords farthest from the hunter. In this manner the implements are not only held securely in place, but are ready and convenient for use. The line tray (aAhaluh) rests on the forward deck. This consists first of a wooden hoop, about twelve by twenty inches, roughly rectangular in shape with rounded ends and with edges about two inches high. The floor is formed of two thin slats, each six inches wide, running the length of the tray, projecting about fifteen inches at one end and tapering to the width of an inch. These projections are designed to hold the tray in position when they are thrust beneath one of the cords passing around the kaiak. The line attached to a harpoon is carefully coiled on the tray, so that when the weapon is flung it will run out rapidly and free from snarls. The sled (kamoka — tuh) carried on the kaiak is about five feet long; it is without stanchions and railings, consisting only of runners, the longitudinal strips over the runners, and three cross members or braces.' In hunting on broken ice and approaching open water the kaiak is unloaded and launched. With the craft in the water, the sled rests on the afterdeck; thus the hunter is equipped to haul his kaiak easily over ice and to carry his sled while in the water. These sleds may be used as an additional drag on the end of a harpoon-line to tire out a wounded seal or walrus. The ice knife (chikutakun), of ivory, three inches long, is used to scrape frozen spray from the kaiak. Ice or frozen spray tends to soak into the kaiak skin and to render it leaky, or else to reduce its buoyancy. For protection of the boat-covering in crushing through skim or slush ice, a nose-piece of old, tough kaiak-covering, about three feet square, is lashed over the bow. Wooden eye-shades, shaped to conform to the facial contour about the eyes and bridge of the nose, and with narrow slits to look through, are worn to protect the eyes from wind, spray, and glare. On land, goggles and shades protect the eyes from the snow glare. 1 See plates facing pages 48 and 52. {view image of page 20} 20 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN The large skin boat (iuniyuh), commonly known in the northland as the umiak, is used mainly for transporting a family, or perhaps two families, together with dogs and the household goods, from one village to another, depending on the season of the year. These craft are very seaworthy in spite of their lightness, though necessarily much slower than the smaller kaiak. With a following wind an umiak travels under a single sail; at other times it is propelled with oars and paddles alone. It is not uncommon for the family kaiaks to be towed while the men paddle the larger craft. One umiak seen not only had several kaiaks attached, but towed also several long beams lashed together, to be adzed out later into an umiak frame. When these boats make a trip of several days' duration, the procedure is to paddle while light lasts, then to draw up on shore for the night and make camp. In such an instance the crew unloads, draws the boat above tidewater, and tips it on one side, the upper gunwale supported by notched poles.1 Such goods as are not needful for the overnight camp are left beneath the boat for protection from the elements. In stormy weather, if the crew is without a tent or it is impossible to pitch a tent or to build a suitable shelter, the upturned craft offers temporary relief, although it may prove somewhat drafty and spindrift may enter. When not in use it may be set on shore in the manner described or inverted on a rack. Such a rack consists of four posts firmly driven in the ground, each pair connected by a stout crossbar. To this frame the umiak is lashed tightly. To maintain the tightness of skin, the cover lashings must be kept tightly drawn. If kept in the water or frequently used, the cover must be oiled every few days to prevent waterlogging and rotting. Tightness and a well-oiled surface are vitally necessary to seaworthiness. While the general size of such boats is fairly constant, varying only a few feet, for illustrative purposes the dimensions of a typical umiak were found to be: length over all, twenty-eight feet; depth from keel to gunwale, four feet; beam, six feet. The boats are somewhat smaller on Nunivak island, however. Some of those in the vicinity of Kotzebue sound measure nearly forty feet in length. The construction is similar in all cases. The keel, sternpost, and bowpost are adzed out of one timber. The bowpost (tunt.ia) curves upward schooner-fashion, while the sternpost (chdtinuy3sktiti) rises at a right angle to the keel.2 1 See plate opposite page 186, which gives a view of the interior and shows clearly the construction and method of lashing on the skin cover. 2 The framenwork and method of construction are shown in the plate facing page I82. {view image of facing page 20} Baninaguh, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 21} THE NUNIVAK 21 The bottom of the umiak is flat. Two long beams (jagfinarit) stretch fore and aft on each side of and flush with the upper surface of the keel, so that the keel projects as on modern dories. These beams swell out slightly to give the bottom its dory shape; their respective extremities are attached to the sternpost and the point where the bow curve begins. At points midway on bowpost and sternpost respectively are the extremities of two fore and aft beams, one on each side. These are held apart by the six or more thwarts (ak6muwe), the longest thwart in the centre, the others diminishing in length toward bow and stern. These thwarts and sometimes additional braces (nzilumit) with their varying lengths give the craft its shape. They also are used as seats (izntai) for paddlers. Since these seats are from a foot and a half to two feet below the gunwales, just that much freeboard is provided for the protection of the crew. The gunwales (apamuk) extend from bowpost to sternpost. A flat wooden platform, six inches square, is lashed on top of the bowpost; on this the gunwales are secured with thongs passing through holes in the platform. A similar but larger platform, about two feet square, is lashed on top of the sternpost, and to this the after-ends of the gunwales are made fast. This platform serves also as a seat for the steersman. Numerous floor braces are laid across the keel, their ends secured to the long fore and aft bottom beams by lashing. Sideposts (napogiyut) rise from the floor-beams to the inner sides of the gunwales, lashed to floor-beams, midway-beams, and gunwales. These not only support the main framework, but also press out the skin covering against water pressure. Next the covering of walrus-hide (amih) is put on, overlapping the gunwales and coming down in the interior of the boat for a foot or more. The edge is pierced along both gunwales at intervals of a few inches, and lashings (numuhhut) pass through these holes and around the middle fore and aft beams. By tightening these thongs, any slack is taken up and the cover kept taut. In former times a mat sail (tupiyagunuit) was raised between two poles so that the sail appeared wedge-shape. With the innovation of canvas and in imitation of sailboat rigging, several rigs are in vogue: catboat, leg-of-mutton, lateen, and a single square sail or lug. Sail in its varieties, however, is much more prevalent farther north, especially about the Kotzebue Sound region. The most usual propulsion is by means of oars (jawun). These, {view image of page 22} 22 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN crudely shaped and light, are held firmly to the gunwales by lashings (cdhauchika'wit), but in such manner as to allow a free movement of the oars. The steersman, perched in the stern, uses a paddle. It is not uncommon to see paddles alone used, or to see both oars and paddles, especially when a boat is crowded and all the oars are in use. The large family sled (ikumarih), for moving and hauling household belongings from place to place, is drawn by four dogs.' The sled, about twelve feet long, has runners of wood (akuhtuh), gently curved upward at the front for a distance of two feet. The runners, with whale-bone shoes (asigumihhak) to give good traction in frozen or wet snow, are about four or five inches high and three inches wide. Longitudinal strips, about three inches above the runners and extending the full length of the sled, rest on and are lashed to three crosspieces (chqanib'naiyuh) spaced at regular intervals along the runners. These crosspieces in turn rest on and are tied to short wooden posts which are lashed to the runners. These posts make the three-inch space between longitudinal strips and crosspieces, and these in turn form the bed of the sled. The railings (kkulamzuyuk) angle from a three-foot height at the rear to the point of intersection with the upturned runners at the front. The railings are supported by four stanchions (nupakutarut) on each side, spaced at such intervals that their bottom ends are at points midway between the crosspieces on which the flooring rests. Railings are lashed to stanchions with rawhide (numuhit), and stanchion bottoms are mortised into the runners and also lashed to the longitudinal strips above the runners. The rear stanchions are slightly curved and their tapered upper ends pass through slots in the railing ends. These are strengthened by two diagonal braces (kikiyaguth) fastened into slots in the stanchions. Across the railings at the rear is a bar (ktzzimohhaduh) whose ends project almost two feet on each side. On this the driver rests his weight while guiding the sled. The hunting sled, built for the use of one person, is constructed in a manner similar to the family sled, but it is only six feet in length. Dogs which draw the sleds formerly were community property, people needing to use them taking them at will. In the last few years, however, dogs have been owned individually. The Nunivak method of attaching dogs to sleds differs from that employed by other natives of the North Pacific region. Rather than the customary long string 1 See plate facing page 58. {view image of page 23} THE NUNIVAK 23 of dogs forward, the Nunivak hitch one dog to each side of the sled, in some cases two on a side. The draft- or tug-line is fastened to the sled aft of the middle. Thus the dogs have nothing whatsoever to do with the direction of the sled - they merely supply the motive power. The driver, leaning his weight on the rear crossbar, directs the sled. The bone used for the shoes of the runners is from the jawbones of large whales and retains a polish equal to that of ivory. The making of a set of bone shoes involves such a great deal of labor that they are regarded as a most valuable possession. Each shoe is about an inch thick and three inches wide, and must be shaped, especially the curved forward part, with great care. No other material is equal to bone for sled shoes. White men who have used sleds shod in this manner claim that two dogs will pull as much with a Nunivak sled as will twelve with the ordinary iron-shod sled. In killing walrus, sea-lion, and larger seals, heavy harpoons and lances are employed. Both weapons are similar in detail, except in the construction and setting of the points. A typical harpoon (qaskok) measures about five feet five inches in length, of which four feet five inches form the wooden shaft. This has a diameter near the head of an inch and a quarter, and tapers gradually to a butt three-quarters of an inch thick. A heavy bone head is attached to the shaft. One dovetailed end of the head fits into a deep slot in the shaft. A hole is pierced through the bone at its extremity and a similar hole passes through the shaft; through these a stout length of sinew is drawn taut. The joint is further lashed tight by coils of sinew passed around the shaft. The bone head, eight inches long, gradually increases to a diameter of an inch and three-eighths. At this point it is bevelled off sharply and at the extremity is cut off squarely. Into this end a hole is drilled and plugged with wood. The plug is then drilled to hold the point, because wood, especially when wet, swells and grips the point tighter. Harpoons, javelins, and lances are all made in this manner in proportion to size, the exceptions being carved heads and varying arrangement of the points. The points are in three parts. First, a sharp triangular piece of metal, about an inch and a quarter long, is set in a slot in a flat piece of ivory about three inches long and commonly carved into the talismanic figure of the owner. Into the butt of this a hole is drilled for the insertion of a slender ivory rod about two and a half inches long. The other end is thrust into the drilled hole in the bone head. Through holes drilled in both rod and point-holder, thongs are looped, {view image of page 24} 24 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN each loop about eighteen inches long. These are attached to a long heavy line which is wound many times about the wooden shaft. When the harpoon is flung from the kaiak, the coiled line on the line tray, attached to the line on the spear-shaft, rapidly runs out and the attached air-bag is cast overboard. The point sinks to full length in the animal and disengages itself from the ivory rod. The pull of the line causes the point to swivel, so that it is at a right angle to the line and hence firmly embedded in the flesh. The spear-head and -shaft form a drag, as does the air-bag on the other end of the line, helping to retard the wounded animal's progress. The weight of the heavy bone head with the impetus of the throw hits the animal with bone-crushing force. A much lighter harpoon had an ivory head, flat on one side. On it were etched the head and flippers of a seal. Beads were used for eyes. A complete harpoon-point assemblage, when not in use or carried as spares, is set in a wooden stick and the thong loop stretched flat along the stick and held by a notch. Flattened conical wooden covers protect the points when not in use, and further serve to keep the owner from inadvertently stabbing himself. It is said that at one time good hunters made these point-protectors of ivory. When asked why they are now of wood, the invariable reply is: "Long ago when a hunter lost at sea or driven by storms arrived at a strange village, the people there would kill him if they saw ivory point-protectors. They would think that a good hunter and warrior might some day return to attack their village, so they slew him. When strangers saw wooden protectors, they thought: 'Oh! He is a poor hunter and warrior. We need not fear him. Let us feed him and let him go."' Lances are similar to the harpoons, but have a heavy metal point in one piece to which the line is attached. The point formerly was of barbed bone or ivory tipped with a sharp metallic piece. Several hunters attacking walrus at close quarters often drive in point after point from the same shaft, the extra points being carried in a small bag. Both harpoons and lances may be used as clubs, hence their appellation kohch'tah ("club-spear"). On the shafts near the point of balance are ivory finger-pegs. These show the hunter where to grasp the shaft and aid in giving impetus to his thrust. For small adult seal and baby seal the javelin or throwing harpoon (nuhhiaqiyut) is used. This is constructed in the same manner as the larger harpoons, but is much lighter. In length these implements are about four feet seven and one-half inches, with a diameter of half {view image of facing page 24} Waterproof parkas, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 25} THE NUNIVAK 25 an inch. The points are single pieces of ivory about two and threequarters inches long, bearing two barbs on each side of the blade, and are ground and polished to exceeding sharpness. These are thrown with the attaching line, as are the larger harpoons, or without them. The javelins are feathered near the butt. The three feathers are secured on one end by inserting their split quills in slots and lashing them down. The other ends, the feather tips, are thrust in slits in the shaft and glued in place. The length of the throwing-stick (nok), used in connection with the javelin, is always exactly the distance from the middle finger to the elbow of the owner. The inner flat side is grooved to hold the javelin shaft, the groove shallowing toward the handle end. An ivory wedge is mortised in the far end of the groove. The outer side of the implement is bevelled off so that it presents a roughly triangular shape. On the handle end on one side is a grooved slot for the thumb. The other side is cut away to a depth of half an inch so that the fingers cross the full width of the handle easily. Into this edge are driven two ivory pegs spaced so that they will project on each side of the middle finger. In use, the butt of the javelin rests against the ivory wedge; the shaft lies along the groove and passes over the fourth and fifth fingers; while the thumb and the first and second fingers hold down the shaft. With the leverage obtained by this implement it is possible to hurl the light javelin fifty or sixty yards. The fish-spear (nulayahihutit) is a barbed implement for use either in shallow streams or through holes in the ice. When the fish make their runs upstream, the spear is frequently employed in addition to nets and hooks. In winter the spear is carefully let down into the water through a hole in the ice. The shaft is twirled slowly between the palms in order that the slow motion and gleaming ivory may attract the attention of the fish. As the quarry draws near to investigate, its curiosity proves its undoing, for then a sharp downward thrust securely grasps the fish. The serrated barbs hold the fish, not impaling it. Of one such weapon the total length, barbs and all, was exactly five feet. The diameter of the slender wooden shaft was about half an inch, swelling at the extreme butt to three-quarters of an inch. Toward the head for five inches the diameter gradually tapered to an inch; then it sharply inclined to a small nub. The three barbs for a length of four and one-half inches, a length tapering almost to a point, were beautifully inset into the head of the shaft so that they were flush with it. The gently sloping head thus VOL. XX-4 {view image of page 26} 26 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN gave the barbs the proper pitch. A small cord passed then three times around each barb and the nub projecting from the head, the nub being in the exact centre between the barbs. The same cord was then carried down the inset barb ends, and, at intervals of about an inch, passed around the head twice in half-hitches. It was then wound around the lower ends of the barbs in a coil of twenty-two wrappings. The cord next wound in a long spiral to the very butt and returned spirally to the head where it was made fast, the spirals giving a decorative effect. The three ivory prongs or barbs jutted out six and three-quarters inches, each tapering gradually to a point. These prongs, ovoid in form, whose greatest width was a quarter of an inch, were provided on the inner edges with about twenty-five small teeth, each of which pointed toward the shaft-head. Two of the barbs projected outward slightly on the same plane as the slightly inclined shaft-head. The remaining barb curved outward crescentically, thus allowing enough space between the three points to catch and hold a fish of fair size. Small fish would be driven by the impact of the thrust much farther up between the barbs. In the bird season, in addition to snares and nets, pronged spears (nuiyahpit) are employed. Birds often nest and hatch along the bluffs, in such great numbers that a spear cast, as in the case of the bolas farther north, can hardly miss. The spears are also thrown from kaiaks, especially in moulting season when the birds are unable to rise from the water. Here the wooden shaft keeps the missile afloat, either with the kill or in the case of a miscast. The spears may be hurled by hand, or may be of such shortness and lightness as to permit the use of the throwing-stick. An unusually fine specimen of such a weapon had a total length of six feet three inches. The wooden shaft was four feet eight and one-half inches long, with a three-quarter inch diameter. The last several inches toward the head were sliced down nearly to a point. On this taper point was laid the similarly cut-down shank of the head and the two were lashed together firmly. For seven inches the wooden head-shank was of the same diameter as the shaft, then it rose abruptly in a shoulder an inch and a quarter in diameter and an inch and a half long. Into the extreme edge of this shoulder the ivory prongs were mortised at an angle. The shoulder then fell away into an eight-inch projection to which was jointed the centre prong of ivory. The seven fine ivory prongs, each thirteen inches long, were flat strips half an inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick, and slightly {view image of page 27} THE NUNIVAK 27 bow-shape. When set in place they had a span of about six inches from one tip to the diametrically opposed point. The last few inches of each prong were carved into several blunt teeth. In addition to being firmly set in the shoulder of the wooden shank on the shaft, strong cord passed several times around each one and about the centre barb at a point about a third of its length. While the centre prong may impale a bird, the purpose of the spear is to catch head or body between the barbs where the teeth hold it in an inescapable position. The arrow for caribou, before that animal became extinct on Nunivak island, was either sharp-pointed with two barbs, or had one sharp point of wood or stone (cfhlniluk). A bird arrow (nuyit) usually had a long point and a wide outset barb that the bird's head might be caught in the interstice. Another form of bird arrow bore an ivory crosspiece set behind a blunt head in order that, should the arrow-head miss the bird, the crosspiece would strike. For the hunting of baby seal, the arrow-shaft was blunted at the point and a hole drilled for the insertion of a harpoon-point carrying a rawhide line. Bows (ugolowuh), commonly about six feet in length, were of spruce. A tough, flexible bow could be formed only from the resinous, grainless, dark wood cut from the underside of spruce which had grown by the bank of a stream. The proportioned wood was first steamed by being wrapped in wet moss surrounded by hot stones to make it pliable. Then it was placed in a wooden frame and lashed down with roots for shaping. The shaped bow, when thoroughly dried, was wrapped with caribou-sinew. Large nets for seal and walrus are set out between rock headlands or at the entrance of a small bight. Because such natural places are few, and because they must be in a directional line with the seasonal run, the nets are often at a distance from a village. The nets, of seal and walrus line, their very size necessitating a great number of skins, can be made and owned only by few, the greatest hunters and wealthiest men of a village. A single net carefully handled and repaired will last from three to six seasons, that is, years, in spite of strong currents, freezing water, ice, and other natural conditions which may tend to destroy them. In addition to disintegration by natural means, the struggles of the catch to escape often tear meshes, or the occasional large whale enmeshed may carry away or destroy such a net entirely. It is not uncommon for the white whale, or beluga, to drag a net several miles seaward before succumbing. The seemingly frail net overcomes such a powerful denizen of the sea by the fact that it is {view image of page 28} 28 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN not made fast to the shore, but is anchored to large stones, hence forming a resisting drag which soon wears down and kills the hopelessly entangled animal. However, walrus and seal are not of sufficient strength to drag the net from its moorings, but exhaust themselves vainly trying to escape from the yielding but relentless meshes. Usually two men make and own a large net, which may require fifty or more skins for anchor-lines, guy-lines, and the net itself. As many as five hundred seals have been caught in a good season, when the animals were moving southward. Rarely are more than two such nets found in a single village. When a chance beluga is caught, the head is taken to the oldest man in the village. The skin and meat are divided equally amongst the two owners, as is the case with the skin and meat of the several kinds of seal caught. Should a walrus become enmeshed, the first person to see the animal may slay it. In this instance the killer receives half the skin, the owners the other half, while the carcass is divided equally amongst the entire village. Fish often gill themselves on the meshes. The story of the origin of netting large animals is that two men from Cape Mendenhall once remained on a small headland to catch birds with light casting-nets. After a summer and fall, they set out to return to their village, but the wind was so strong and the swells ran so high that the men were forced to land on a small offshore island - an island still much used for netting. There, in a little bight, they saw seal in great numbers. Being without the customary harpoons, the men bethought themselves of their bird-nets and accordingly set them out with satisfactory result in spite of their seeming frailty. Since then men have made large, strong nets for seal, and the people from Cape Mendenhall, as the inventors, claim the best netting methods. Nets (takugasun) are made of seal and walrus line, smoked after the stretching. During the weaving, the makers must remain continent. The net proper in dimensions is sixty by three fathoms (three hundred and sixty feet by eighteen feet). The meshes measure twelve inches between knots. Along the upper edge, wooden floats (putakotut) are fastened at eighteen-foot intervals. Thus twenty such floats, each eighteen inches long, are required. Suspended several feet below the bottom edge are large stone sinkers (simuqai) set at thirty-six-foot intervals, or ten sinkers in all, which are attached to lines (simuqakiutai) running through the net to the top edge. Four long guy-lines (Chasutut), twelve and a half fathoms each (seventy-five feet), attached to top and bottom edges at each end of the net, extend out to toggles (nuhtokuh), thus forming bridles to stretch the net. To these toggles are attached {view image of facing page 28} Girl's costume, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 29} THE NUNIVAK 29 four anchor-stones ({himUhbit) at the ends of each of twelve-and-ahalf-fathom lines. These stones anchor in place the extremities of the stretched net, the floats hold the top edge at the surface, and the sinkers hold the bottom edge under water so that the net is in a vertical position. Such a net is set in a calm sea between two headlands, in an inlet or bight when the current sets in, and in line with the seal-run. In setting, the anchor-stones of one end are placed in position and the bridle lines are attached to the anchor-line toggle. The net is then carried out to its full length, and the opposite anchor-stones are dropped and attached. Last, the sinker-lines are attached to the top edge and the stones dropped. Men engaged in handling nets wear waterproof parkas and mittens, the object being to prevent any evil influence passing from them to the nets and keeping the seal away. An additional reason is to prevent the net from being tainted with the human scent, since seal, being air-breathing animals, possess the sense of smell. A few years ago one man, part Russian, scoffed at the idea and departed from the custom by refusing to wear mittens while setting out his net. That season two other men enjoyed a particularly successful catch, while his net yielded only one young seal. Gill-nets and seines, or drag-nets, for fish, are used, but to no great extent; doubtless the rocky and stone-strewn shores prevent their successful employment. For ice fishing and stream fishing hand-lines with bone or ivory hooks, and fish-spears, are used. The large bird net (tikakun) is of fine mesh made from caribou(of recent years, reindeer-) sinew. This is twenty-seven feet long by twelve feet wide. Light sticks or stretchers (ajiwun) at each end serve to stretch the net to its width. A long line, called a purse-line (utgoh) runs along each edge. This net the hunter carries coiled up on his arm as he walks along the bluffs where the birds nest and where they continually circle and fly. When he has chosen a favorable spot and a propitious time, he drops one end over the bluff in such a manner that the net swings at a right angle to it, and the birds in their blind and endless circling fly into the net. The hunter then draws up the far end by means of the purse-lines, forming a large bag, and secures his catch. Such a net is used in the vicinity of Cape Mohican about the month of July for auks and cormorant. On headlands, where air currents are strong and eddies swing birds in flight inland along the top of the headland, dip-nets on long handles are employed. The first bird so netted is impaled on a stick {view image of page 30} 30 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN and set up as a decoy. Others then approach to alight near their supposed comrade and are easily netted; the more decoys, the greater the catch. As on King island and the Diomedes, birds of many species are literally numberless, hence the task of netting is by no means as difficult as might be supposed. Spring and fall are the seasons in which the greatest catch of seal and walrus is made. After the New Kaiak ceremony, when the ice is breaking up along shore, the men, wearing new white parkas and white conical wooden caps, set out in their fully equipped kaiaks - setting out when the water is choppy, which allows them to approach closer to the animals. Seals are both seen and heard. The peculiar whining sound of the sea-lion (sometimes called mourning seal) emitted under water indicates to the hunter where the animal will come up. Seal in general, unless frightened, emerge in approximately the place where they went down. After the animals are located, by noise or sight, the hunters approach as near as possible, but remain hidden from the seals by ice-floes. When there is no longer available cover, the men come out to open water, where at a short distance their white costumes and kaiak-covers make them seem like floating pieces of ice, to the seal, at least. Once the quarry is chosen, the hunter, or a pair of them, works as closely as possible, using the short sculling paddle. With this means of propulsion there is no apparent motion to the kaiak. When finally close enough, the hunter casts the harpoon with line and air-bag attached. If a seal dives before coming close enough, the hunter waits for it to break the surface again. The animal, which usually has its eyes closed when first coming up for air, is a good target for the man. If two or more hunters are together, all try to catch the line and make fast to it, thereby forming a heavy drag and greatly impeding the wounded animal's efforts to escape. The hunter, when the exhausted seal ceases its struggles, pulls up the slack in the line and then kills it with the head of a heavy harpoon or with a large stone on a three-foot line. Young sea-lion, hair-seal, and spotted seal are killed by the light casting javelins to which no lines are attached. These young animals are carried home in a kaiak before being cut up. The kill of mature animals is towed to the nearest floe and there butchered. The skin with blubber is removed first; then the meat is cut up and the portions are stowed away beneath the forward- and after-decks. When the kaiak is loaded, the owner paddles home, and if it should be the first catch of the season, the appropriate ceremony is held. If the hunt takes place on open water and there is no ice, {view image of facing page 30} Holiday costume, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 31} THE NUNIVAK 3I and such a hunt often ranges far from the village, the carcasses are butchered at sea. Two hunters lash their sleds together to form a float for the body and cut it up as best they can then and there. When two or more hunters have made the kill, the flesh is divided according to the order in which harpoons were cast, or air-bags and kaiaks were attached to harpoon-lines. The man casting the first weapon is termed the owner of the animal, and to him, besides other parts, are always allotted the skin and intestines. When two kill the seal, the owner receives the upper half to the lower end of the ribs, while his companion takes the remainder. For three hunters, the owner takes the upper part to the lower end of the front flippers; the remainder is divided equally between the second and the third man. Of four hunters, the owner receives the upper portion to the lower extremities of the front flippers and a third of the remainder on the right side; the second hunter is allotted an equal portion on the left side; the remaining strip in the centre is divided equally between the third and the fourth man, the upper portion of the strip belonging to the third hunter. Young sea-lions killed by hunters are divided equally, the owners, as always, taking the upper portion. It is cut up, hide and all, without skinning. In summer, young sea-lions are often clubbed to death while sunning on the rocks. Walrus, fiercer, larger, and more wary than seal, are hunted by a group of men. After the feeding walrus are discovered, one hunter, the quickest and most alert, dons his waterproof parka, tying it around wrists and face in the event that if his boat capsizes, as frequently happens, he may remain as dry as possible. He carefully paddles his craft in good position for throwing his harpoon, because a quick, accurate cast is necessary to wound the wary animal. Immediately after a hit has been made, the others paddle up and cast weapons or make fast to the lines with their kaiaks. The heavy harpoons and lances have force enough to break ribs, and the barbs work themselves deep into flesh. Extra points, carried in bags, are inserted in the heavy shaft-heads of lances thrust until the animal is dead. In the cutting-up process the hunter recovers his barbs, for they bear his own mark. The walrus is then held up between four kaiaks with slings of rawhide, and taken to ice or shore for the butchering, which lasts over two tides. It is generally agreed upon beforehand how the carcass will be divided; but usage dictates that the man who first harpoons it, the owner, will receive the hide, the upper half of the body, and half of the intestines; the second hunter is given the lower half of the body; the third receives the ivory tusks; the {view image of page 32} 32 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN fourth is allotted half of the intestines, and the fifth takes the stomach. There are now no herds of caribou on Nunivak island, but the great quantities of bones and horns testify to their former numbers. The gradual extinction of these animals has caused the natives to depend almost entirely on the sea for their food supply. In recent years the island has been used as a reindeer experiment station for one of the northern reindeer companies. The ease of herding, because the mainland is too far for the animals to swim, the richness of the tundra grass, the abundance of moss, and freedom from ticks which spoil both hides and meat on the mainland, all contribute toward making Nunivak island an ideal place for a reindeer herd. The Biological Survey is watching with interest the crossing of imported caribou bulls with reindeer females. To date the result of this experiment has been a heavier animal and meat of finer texture. The herds wander at will about the interior, being rounded up only once or twice in a season for census, the marking of calves, and the slaughter of a small proportion. Hides are sold at a nominal price to the Eskimo through a small trading station maintained by the company, for there is little commercial demand as yet for reindeer-hides. The skins with light summer hair take the place of the former caribou- skins for making clothing. Hunters formerly set out in winter with bows and arrows for caribou. When a herd was located, the men worked as closely as possible to windward without being scented, and then, wrapped in their parkas, dug themselves into the snow. When the herd had come quite close, the hunters would rise suddenly. The caribou, which nearly always run up-wind when frightened, would dash by near the hunters, who loosed their arrows and often killed a large number. In summer the band of hunters divided on sighting a caribou herd. The best hunters stalked to windward and concealed themselves; others, after working to leeward of the herd, stampeded the animals with shouts and yells. The frightened beasts then plunged up-wind before the ready bows of the hunters and many were shot down. The front portions of the kill were divided amongst the hunters and the rear quarters went to the stampeders. Caribou were often caught with snares. A brush enclosure was built, one side being left open. Directly opposite this space, in the wall of the other side, a narrow opening was made, on each side of which was a heavy stake, nearly six feet tall, concealed by the brush. {view image of facing page 32} Duck-skin parkas, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 33} THE NUNIVAK 33 A thick line of sea-lion hide was firmly attached near the top of one of these posts. This line was carried to and passed through a loop in the opposite post, carried down the post through a loop at the bottom, then back a short distance above the ground to and through a loop at the bottom of the first post; thence it ran up this post and was attached in a running noose to the secured end of the line. In form the snare was simply a rope rectangle with a running noose at one corner. The hunter drove one or more animals into the enclosure, where the foremost would endeavor to break through the snared opening. Horns or neck then became tangled in the line, and the more the beast plunged and strove to break away, the tighter the line became. The exhausted animal was then easily killed. Pits were often dug in snow in these enclosures with a shovel made from the scapula of a whale. Caribou falling into pits could be killed with little difficulty. The animals very often wandered into enclosures, by day or by night, and became entangled without the necessity of the hunter driving them in. Smaller animals, before the day of steel traps, were caught by snare and pitfall. For fox, both white and red, pitfalls were dug with sides sloping steeply away from the opening. The opening was then covered with withes and brush, and bait placed on top. The animal, approaching to seize the bait, crashed through the hole into the pit, where it was readily killed by the hunter. Such pitfalls were watched closely, for should more than one animal tumble in, for instance, a red fox and a white fox together, the red would kill and eat the other. For puffins, a sinew snare -a loop with a running noose on a four-foot stick - is used. The hunter waits patiently, with snare set over the hole, and quickly tightens the noose when the puffin pops its head above ground. Where mink and other water animals are known to have holes and runways, a brushwork fence is built triangularly across the stream. At the apex of the triangle a wicker fish-basket, well submerged, is set. The animal attempting to break through the fence finally comes to the apex, looking for an opening. It enters the trap and is drowned. For land animals which live in holes, a spring snare is set. Near the entrance to the hole a pliant stick is firmly planted. This is bent over and an attached thong is lightly hooked by a trigger under a cross-stick bent across the runway. A noose attached also to the stick is set over the entrance. The lightest touch releases the trigger, the stick springs up, and the luckless animal, caught in the tightened noose, dangles helplessly in air. VOL. XX-5 {view image of page 34} 34 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Another form of snare is a wooden cylinder set in an underground runway. The inside of the cylinder has a deep groove around one end in which a noose is laid. The free end of the noose passes through a hole and is led above ground to a bent stick. A thong which holds down the stick passes through a hole in the other end of the cylinder, and stretches across the opening and through the bottom of the cylinder, where it is knotted. The animal passing through the runway enters the cylinder. Finding the other end barred by the thong, it gnaws through. This releases the stick, which springs upward and draws the noose tightly about the animal's body. The Eskimo of Nunivak depend for sustenance mainly on sea animals, fish, birds, berries, and plants indigenous to the region, of which there is a great variety. It is rare indeed to find a family which has not houses and caches well stocked with food in each seasonal hunting and fishing camp. Indeed the population of a village might well be sustained for a year at least by the supplies in hand. The most important item of food is blubber obtained from sealion, seal, and walrus. These animals are killed in the spring during their northward migration, appearing in this order: hair-seal and sealion; smaller seal with their young; spotted seal and walrus. They are also slain in the fall when migrating southward. At this time the men owning nets proceed to the seal-netting grounds. The blubber and meat are cut into large steaks and strips, which are hung over the drying racks to cure. A portion of this product may be kept in houses for immediate use, but the greater part is stored away in pokes. Blubber and oil pokes, the latter containing oil from tried-out walrus- and seal-blubber, are of sealskins. In skinning animals when the skins are to be used as food containers, but one incision is made, that at the head. The filled bags, termed "pokes" throughout the north, are tied tightly at the opening. For storage these are placed in caches in layers, each layer transversely to the next and separated by moss and stones. The caches (kngqnilhht) are merely shallow pits dug in the unfrozen muck of swamp, down to the frozen ground or ice, the depth usually being from three to four feet. A common method of preparing blubber, seal or walrus, is to cut long strips and put them in a pot. The pot, or a pair of pots, is set on a fire and the blubber allowed to boil in water until fairly well cooked; then finely minced dock-leaves are added. As soon as the water boils once more, fish-eggs are put in and the whole allowed to * The mats shown in the accompanying plate are for the protection of the fish at night and during stormy weather. {view image of facing page 34} Fish-drying racks, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 35} THE NUNIVAK 35 cook until the eggs are done. The food, both liquid and solid, is then served in wooden dishes. In the early summer, cod are caught on hand-lines. The women pack the catch to a suitable spot and there clean the fish. The heads, minus eyes, are split open, as are the cleaned bodies, and both are spread out on rocks near the shore to dry. After this sun curing, bodies and heads separately are strung on lines and stored in houses. At the same time as the cod catch, or shortly after, appear the smelt, which are caught in dip-nets. As many as possible, owing to the great numbers caught, are washed in salt water, strung on lines through the gills, hung over the drying racks (initut), and put in storage in the houses when cured. The drying racks consist of two parallel rows, in some instances two or more such series of rows, of upright posts set firmly in the ground and connected at the tops with long poles. At right angles to these poles other poles connect the parallel posts. When the catch of fish is so great as to preclude immediate curing, the remainder, for future use, is put in pits (akumtet) dug in dry ground, lined with grass and covered with sod. Midsummer is occupied with salmon- and trout-fishing, first on the coast and later along the streams. On the shore, drag-nets are used, a man at one end and his wife at the other. When filled, the man hauls in his net, hand over hand, until the flopping, wriggling catch is on the beach. When the salmon-run along the coast is over, fish are caught in the streams with hand-lines, dip-nets, and seines. Split heads and eggs are buried in dry, grass-lined and sod-covered pits, while the split bodies, tails tied together, are hung on drying racks and when cured are stored in the houses. Other edible fish caught in fewer numbers than those above mentioned, cured and stored in the same manner, are blackfish, bullheads, dogfish, flounder, halibut, herring, freshwater sardine, and whitefish. Fresh fish must be cooked to be edible, but when dried are usually eaten raw, dipped in oil. Fish put away and frozen in pokes may be eaten raw with oil or cooked after thawing. Mussels and other sea food such as the clam, crab, saltwater snail, and shrimp, are eaten whenever found. Cowslips, which are picked in the spring as they emerge, are boiled before eating. Willow-leaves, soaked in oil, are laid away in pokes for winter use, at which time they are eaten with dried fish. Dockleaves are picked and parboiled to softness at the beginning of the rainy season, before they are full grown. Next they are laid away in holes about two feet deep, lined with grass and covered with sod. {view image of page 36} 36 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN These sod covers press the leaves dry. When ready to use, they are minced fine and parboiled, thus making a soup. Sometimes fish-eggs, fish, or oil are added to the soup. Plain dock-leaf soup is often used as a beverage, a tea. Wild-parsnip roots are stripped of outer fibres and picked to the tender inner part, which is eaten by dipping in oil. Lesser items of vegetal foods are sedge, wild cabbage, Alaskan potato, nut plant, fern-roots, Hudson's Bay tea, and lake weed. Berries are gathered when semi-ripe by the women, who collect them in wooden buckets. Those not used immediately are stored in dry pits, lined with leaves and grass to absorb moisture, and covered with sod. Another form of berry cache is a small box-like structure of flat stones lined with grass and covered with sod until air- and watertight. The most common berries are blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, and mossberries. The flesh of birds, either fresh or dried, is eaten usually with oil, or perhaps in a dock-leaf soup. Bird-eggs are consumed either in raw or cooked state. Among the geese are the Canadian Emperor, yellow-legged geese, and brant; of ducks, the eider, broadbill, mallard, pintail, and sprig; of snipe, Wilson's, yellow-leg, sand, red, and lake. Other varieties of birds are auks and auklets, cormorant, helldivers, loons, ptarmigan, puffins, and sea-parrots. Wooden pots and bowls (kundut), vital addenda to culinary implements for cooking and eating, range greatly in size, although shape and methods of construction are similar in all cases. They are usually made by the men in the men's house as a part of the preparations for the Bladder feast. The utensils of larger size are used generally for cooking and for storage purposes, while the smaller ones hold food for immediate consumption. The largest seen was thirty inches long, eleven inches wide, and six inches deep. The smallest was about seven inches long from edge to edge, four inches wide, and three deep; it was rectangular, with rounded ends. The bottoms of these vessels are of single blocks of wood, hollowed out on the inner surfaces, while the outer surfaces round up to meet the rims. Bottoms comprise from a half to two-thirds or more of the depth of the entire vessel. Rims are made of single wooden strips (lznapuh) steamed and bent into shape to fit the bottoms. The ends of the rims are gradually bevelled and joined together with glue made of seal-blood. Steaming is done while the men take their sweat-bath. The strips, wrapped in wet moss, are laid on hot stones and weighted down with other hot stones; after being thoroughly steamed, they are bent into the required shape. When set on the bottoms, to which {view image of page 37} THE NUNIVAK 37 the rims are glued, they project from half an inch to an inch on the outside of the bottom and a quarter to half an inch on the inside, depending on the size of the vessel. The inner rim edges are bevelled, and this slanting surface contains two or more wide, shallow grooves. The completed pot or bowl is painted red with a mixture of iron oxide (wituhah) obtained from Nelson island, and seal-blood. Each is decorated on the inner surface of the bottom with the talismanic mark of the owner and maker. One such bowl had in addition an etched line painted black on the outer rim, drawn completely around the vessel. Another bowl had two parallel lines on the top and bottom of the outside of the rim, and three parallel lines circumscribing the inner surface of the bottom, in addition to the owner's mark. Much of the fish food, and cooked solid pieces of meat, are taken in the fingers, dipped in oil, and eaten. Liquids and the "salad" of dock-leaf, tallow, meat, berries, and snow, are dipped and eaten with spoons (kasuzc'hiet). The examples of spoons examined were of wood, in one piece, with long, curved handles and wide, shallow bowls. Spoons vary in size according to the whim of the owner, from a few inches long to the ladle size (kalutut). Nunivak basketry (kulli.nmzh) is of the coil type and ranges in size from three to eighteen inches in diameter. The warp of a coil is composed of straight grass fibres bound with a grass woof. The coils are started and wound until a flat bottom is made; then coils are superposed, each projecting slightly above the last, until the maximum circumference has been reached. From this point the basket slopes to the opening. Covers, also of coiled weave, are made to fit snugly. In some instances the cover handle is a loop of braided grass, or else the coils themselves are carried above the cover proper and form a vertical handle. Decoration is meagre, for the greater part consisting of such simple designs as squares and crosses, usually red in color. These, which are widely spaced and run in rows from top to bottom, are woven into the coils. The coils of some baskets are arranged irregularly to break the monotony. On one such basket the two coils immediately above the greatest circumference slightly undulated. On another basket one coil was in steep waves and occupied the space ordinarily taken up by four coils, thus giving an appearance of openwork. This design was carried out both above and below the maximum circumference.1 1 See plate facing page 78. {view image of page 38} 38 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN It is claimed that basketry is a recent innovation, the art having been introduced by an Eskimo from Unalakleet. While the wearing of wooden masks (agaiyut) in various festivals and ceremonies forms a part of ritualistic procedure, it is especially difficult to procure any knowledge of their significance chiefly because the customs of the people have become so modified that complete and reliable information as to masks is well-nigh unobtainable. However, it is possible to classify masks into two groups: those of the medicinemen and those of the people in general. The leading medicine-man vaguely asserted: "Our masks are symbolic of the world and all the people. They must not be taken from the men's house. Anybody may wear other masks and take them out. They represent, in our festivals, only what people desire." Though the masks of medicine-men may, in their meaning, embrace the universe, it is probable that at the same time they represent the particular being or object from which the owners derive their supernatural powers. That such is the case is well illustrated in a story of Manina, heard on Nunivak, Kingisland, and Little Diomede.' Two Nunivak medicine-men's masks are carved in such a way as to bear out the description of the spirit-power in the tale. The face of the male mask (hMijh) is bisected. From a frontal view the redpainted right half appears as half of a normal human face with moustache and one labret hole. The left half, colored blue, has an eyebrow, eye, and complete broad mouth, all set at about forty-five degrees from normal. This mouth, wide and painted red, has a moustache with bristles widely separated, while the teeth are wooden pegs set alternately in upper and lower jaws. Surrounding the face is a thin wooden hoop held in place by three wooden pegs, two jutting out angularly from the forehead and one from the chin. On the top of this hoop, three tail-feathers, about three inches apart, are inset. Two small hands carved from wood and mounted on feathers are next inset, diametrically opposed. Below there are two more feathers, similarly opposite; and last come two feet mounted in the same manner. A corresponding medicine-woman's mask (ilijti) has the slanting features on the right side. Both medicine-men's and people's masks (and these latter are carved to represent the normal human face) are facial size and have hoops, hands, feet, and feathers as described above. The ordinary masks, the people's, were all painted red, the point of differentiation between those of men and women seemingly lying in the moustaches 1 See page I24. {view image of facing page 38} Nunivak youth [photogravure plate] {view image of page 39} THE NUNIVAK 39 of men's masks. Both display labret and tattoo designs. The significance, outside of the vague explanation by the medicine-man, was unobtainable. Of maskettes there are very many. Those seen on Nunivak are for wear on the forehead. The common forms are the heads of animals, birds, or fish mounted on hoops or head-bands of a size to fit the head. One such, a fowl maskette (tungumihslukuvh), was the head of a predatory bird bearing a fish in its mouth. The bird's head, fish, and hoop were colored blue. The eyes, mouth, and nostrils of the bird, and eyes, mouth, and fins of the fish, were etched or outlined in red. Two carved wings were mounted on feathers about three inches long, stuck into the hoop. A miniature spear, feathermounted, was stuck in the top of the bird's head. Three tail-feathers, two diametrically opposed on each side and one in the rear, were inserted on the hoop. A seal maskette (takokumra), mounted similarly on a wooden head-band, was in the form of a seal's head, with wooden ears and ivory buttons for eye pupils. The flippers were mounted on feathers and the quill-ends were inserted in the sides of the seal head. Mouth and eye outlines were painted red, nostrils were burned in, while the whiskers were represented by simple carved lines. A miniature feather-mounted spear was stuck in the head. A third masquette examined had a hoop, with arms, legs, and feathers, attached in a manner similar to the large masks. This one in miniature, the hoop only about six inches in diameter, was to be held on the forehead by means of a thong passing around the head. It (palo6ituh) was a grotesque caricature of a beaver. Above the slanting supraorbital ridge it was painted blue, with black eyebrows; the cranial ridge was in high relief, and the remainder of the face was colored red. In its wide, grinning mouth, between four peg teeth, it held a fish by the tail. It is probable that these maskettes are representative of the spiritpowers of their owners and that when worn the owner is believed to be imbued with the spirit of the animal, bird, fish, or object which his maskette may depict. The drums, used chiefly in the winter ceremonies, vary in diameter from a foot to five feet, but the method of construction for all is similar. These single-headed and narrow-framed instruments are in reality tambourines.' The frame of a drum is a two-sectioned hoop; the diameter of the one in the illustration is three feet six inches, 1 See folio plate 692. {view image of page 40} 4o THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN three inches wide and half an inch thick. At the points of union, the ends, one overlapping the other, are gradually thinned so that the joints are uniform in thickness with the rest of the hoop. The joints cover about twelve inches each of hoop circumference, and the ends are fastened tightly with root withes which pass through several bored holes. On the outer circumference is a shallow groove an inch wide to hold the head in place, a groove formed by two raised, carved ridges an eighth of an inch high. The handle, about fourteen inches long, has one end carved into the head of a bird, the talismanic mark of the owner, tapering from this point to a size suited to the hand. On the top of the head is a slot about an inch deep into which the hoop rim fits snugly. For ease in holding, a thong of sinew or a willow withe is passed through a hole near the end of the handle, forming a loop through which the hand may be thrust. The drumhead is of walrus stomach or bladder, carefully scraped and cleaned. This is put on while wet and is held in place with a long line which passes several times around the grooved hoop and is fastened at the end to the handle. When the head is loosely in place, it is tightened as much as possible by pulling up the edges under the cord, working gradually around the hoop. As the head dries, in sunlight or over a fire, it becomes very tight. When the drum is beaten, it is held in a position varying from horizontal to vertical, and the owner raises and lowers it as he beats upon it with a wand. The beating, either from beneath or above, gives forth a resonant sound depending in pitch upon the diameter of the drum, the largest producing a deep bass tone. The lesser tools used by men, such as small adzes, awls, chisels, drills, and punches, usually remain by the owner's place in the men's house. These are kept in wooden boxes about twelve or fifteen inches long by six inches wide and deep, the sides of which are formed by dovetailing, while the bottoms are pegged through to the sides, although in recent times nails and screws have come into use. Sinew and rawhide are widely used for the cover hinges. Many of the boxes are plain, while others are painted the conventional red and bear the owner's talismanic mark inside the cover. The adze (ka.bun), for chipping bone or ivory, has a flat blade about an inch in width, set on a haft of wood, bone, or ivory. The wood-cutting adze carries a blade as wide as four inches; it is made of a steel axe-blade, of saw steel, or of hoop-iron set in a wooden haft and lashed in place with rawhide. Other adzes, with wood or horn {view image of page 41} THE NUNIVAK 41 blades and wooden hafts, serve as ice-picks, root-picks, or as sodcutters for use in building houses. Chisels, for splitting small pieces of wood, for incising grooves, especially in carving, are of bone or horn. These, from eight to ten inches long, are round-pointed. In these times chisels are often edged in the white man's manner and set in the shafts. Three main parts comprise the drill (patuh). The drill proper is a shaft with a point of metal or of flint inset and lashed firmly. The tapered upper end of the drill fits into a hole in the cap. The cap is a crescentic piece of wood or bone having a projection on the concave side wide and long enough to be held firmly in the teeth. On the convex side is the hole for the insertion of the drill. By means of the cap the craftsman is enabled to hold the drill in place with his mouth, leaving the hands free for the manipulation of the draw-string (kaiiztuh), which has a handle at each end. This is passed twice around the drill-shaft, and the worker, grasping the handles, rapidly twirls the drill. Another method is to hold the drill in position with one hand and to bear on the cap and twirl the drill by means of a bow. In former times fire was made with the bow-drill (hzukichuki). To hasten the spark, powdered charcoal was dusted into the slot in which the drill revolved. The glowing coal was then deposited in a tinder of oil-soaked moss, and wood was piled on when it had ignited sufficiently. Later, when flint-and-steel were introduced, sedgegrass cotton was used as tinder. Knives (ci6wih) for woodworking have blades ranging in length from an inch to four inches, lashed in ivory, horn, or wooden hafts with sinew or rawhide. The blades, bevelled on one side only, have edges similar to chisel-edges. They are made of saw-steel or hoopiron, the flat side curved to fit thumb and forefinger which are laid along either side of the blade. While using these knives, men wear leather coverings on thumb and forefinger, held in place by thongs passing about the wrists. Knives are used for carving and finishing a great variety of wooden implements: shafts for harpoons, spears, and arrows; bows, net-floats, umiak and kaiak frames, drum-hoops, dishes, masks, et cetera. The rough work, the blocking out, is done with the adze, while for the finishing process the knife is employed. As a rule the Eskimo are clever and skilful woodworkers. Other tools commonly in use are ivory wedges; ivory, bone, or steel punches, and awls for etching. In etching, the outlines of the design are scratched with an awl; they are then smeared with soot that they may be plainly discernible, and carved with knife and chisel. VOL. XX-6 {view image of page 42} 42 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Women keep small objects used mainly in sewing, such as needlecases, bodkins, thimbles, sinew-twisters, and threaders, in "housewives" (tukiwih). One such receptacle was about fourteen inches long by seven wide. The backing was of soft-tanned leather with an outside covering of salmon-skin, and the several pockets sewn on the leather were of caribou-ears. The borders of the "housewife" and the edges of the pockets were trimmed with freeze-tanned seal intestine. A beaded thong for tying passed around the rolled-up kit. Other examples bore decorations of colored clothwork or beads around borders and pocket edges. The most common form of needle-cases (ctChkfwvh) are those made from ivory or the hollow wing-bones of large birds. The ivory is bored out and the outside carved or etched to resemble an animal or a bird. The closed end is carved, for instance, into a seal's tail, while the carved stopper forms the head. A hollow wing-bone needle-case is plugged at each end with a stopper representing the head and tail, respectively, of some bird or animal. Steel bodkins for punching holes for sewing, and triangular steel needles, are in use today. Formerly sharp-pointed bodkins with intricately carved handles were made of ivory, bone, or horn, while needles (c(hikut) were of bone, commonly the ulnae of loon's wings. Thimbles (kuniutut) are rudely formed from small, tough, oval pieces of sealskin commonly taken from old kaiak-covers. A strap is formed by cutting a slit close to one edge, through which the forefinger is thrust. This narrow strip crosses the nail and serves to hold the leather in place on the inner side of the finger. Boot-crimpers (tuhqasun), used for crimping heels and toes of boot-soles, are flat pieces of ivory about seven inches long. One edge is straight, while the other is an asymmetrical crescent. The wide horn of the crescent runs up abruptly to meet the upper edge, while the narrow horn meets the upper edge gradually and ends in a sharp point. This point is used to pull stitches, while the opposite blunt edge is the crimper. The flat sides may be either carved or etched with the family marks, figures of birds or animals, or scenes representing Eskimo life. Sewing sinew (iwalu) is shredded from fibres taken from the legs and back of reindeer or caribou. The shredders consist of ivory handles carved into animal or fish shapes, with eyes and feet or flippers etched in. In the mouths are inserted steel points to separate the sinew fibres. Larger line (such as that used for harpoons), heavy thongs, and lines for nets, are continuous strips often cut from the {view image of facing page 42} Jukuk, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 43} THE NUNIVAK 43 entire skins of seal and walrus. To insure uniform thickness, the line, after being stretched and dried, is passed through an ivory gauge (tzllun) - merely a square hole in the end of an ivory handle. An ivory implement, one end fashioned similar to a buttonhook, is used to draw line through punched holes in sewing kaiak-covers. The flat handle may be used to straighten out snarls in the line. Women's knives vary greatly in size, depending on their use, but are similar in shape. The blades are crescentic, honed until very sharp, and are made of saw-steel or iron. From the crescent horns the edges of the flat sides converge gradually until they reach the horn, ivory, or wooden handle. In skinning game, separating hides into layers, or cutting meat or fish, the knife (large, uihsch7laigt'ztlluh; small, ulugzuhwuih) is held almost horizontally and a wrist motion toward the body is employed. Flensing knives of stone or iron are made in the manner of the men's knives. Small skimmers - hoops about two feet in diameter with root nets attached to short handles - are used by women to skim slush from water-holes. Urine, the uses of which are many, is collected from the containers in the men's house only (since that of women is believed to be unclean), to be stored in tubs for at least two days before using. Women, in taking their baths, which are individual because the collective sweat-bath is confined to the men only, first bathe in urine, followed by a rinsing in either salt or fresh water. Both sexes frequently wash hands and faces in urine, and rinse with water; for urine, coming into contact with the body oils, acts as soap in removing grease and other impurities. The men, when about to take a sweat-bath, which is held frequently during the winter months but is not ordinarily ceremonial or purificatory in nature, gather in the men's house. There the floor boards are removed and a roaring fire built in the pit. When only glowing coals remain, the entranceway and smoke-hole are tightly covered to keep in the heat. Men and boys sit or lie in their places, completely naked except for perhaps a bird-skin cap as a head protection from the heat. The temperature rises to such a degree that respirators are necessary. These are of willow withes or shavings tightly woven together; in size about four square inches; in shape oval with a wooden pin placed horizontally in the centre of the concave side that the wearer may easily clench the device between his teeth. The participants, soon drenched with perspiration, bathe themselves with urine from the central pot (kuzn). After their bodies are aglow and all have sufficiently bathed, the {view image of page 44} 44 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN smoke-hole and doors are opened, floor-boards are replaced, and all repair outside where they rinse with either fresh or salt water. In winter the bathers often roll in snow or pour ice-cold water over their bodies, seemingly suffering no ill effects from the sudden and tremendous change of temperature. Indeed it might be argued with much truth that the profuse perspiration is very beneficial in aiding kidneys and skin to eliminate bodily poisons. Sugar of urine, a white precipitate, scraped from the bottoms of urine pots, is taken internally for medicinal purposes by people suffering from lung ailments, especially tuberculosis. Urine is further used as a soap to remove grease and other impurities from clothing; to clean the coverings of newly made kaiaks or those of old ones preparatory to oiling. In the curing and tanning of hides, urine is an essential ingredient, for it removes grease, oil, and particles of flesh from skins and soaks off hair. Soaking in urine renders dried hides pliable and easily worked. The smoking of bird-skins, or of any skin, tends toward hardening, hence urine is used as a softening agent before the actual tanning process is begun, because it does not remove feathers, although it attacks hair. In the tanning process, caribou- (now reindeer-) skins are first pegged down and the hide stretched as carefully as possible. After the skin has dried, it is soaked with urine, then scraped with flensing knives to remove the loosened dirt, blood, and flesh particles. Following the flensing, ground-up lava is sprinkled on the hide, which is then carefully worked by hand. In this manner the grit removes any clinging flesh particles and the working renders the hide soft and pliable. The hides of young caribou undergo the same process of drying, soaking, and cleaning. The skins are oiled and tied in bundles, two to a bundle, and rolled hide to hide, hair-side outward, and left overnight. Each is then stretched and thoroughly dried, after which it is smoked until hard and brittle. While in this condition another scraping, very light, takes place; this breaks the grain of the leather and covers the epidermis at the roots of the hair with innumerable fine cracks, a process which makes the skin very pliable. After another and more vigorous scraping, warm fish-eggs are rubbed into the skin; it is again rolled up and then worked with the hands until dry and soft. Skins so treated become very soft and pliable, with a gleaming white inner surface. Small seal, after the heads have been cut off, are usually skinned, without splitting, by peeling off the hide as one would take off a glove. The skins are scraped down to the grain and allowed to dry. The {view image of facing page 44} Kaiak frame, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 45} THE NUNIVAK 45 rinsing, after the urine soaking and before the scraping, is with snow rather than with water in winter. Such a skin after tanning may be split open and the hide used for boats and other purposes. In preparing small seal for air-floats, care is taken not to tear the skin near the flippers. The scraped and dried skin is turned hair-side outward, the neck-opening sealed, and a hollow tube with a plug for inflation lashed into the anal opening. Sealskins for pokes, removed in this manner, are washed thoroughly, but not scraped; then, with the hair-side inward, they are ready for use. When no longer suitable for use as pokes, they are cut up for boot-soles or for the legs of waterproof boots. Sealskins for water boots are scraped and dried, then turned hair-side outward. A wooden arch, but slightly crescentic, is inserted in the neck-opening. One end of the arch is almost vertical for eight inches, and from that point it curves slightly for about two feet. In removing the hair, a woman sits astride the skin with the arch inside, and after rubbing sand and ashes well into the hair, scrapes off the fur with a hardwood scraper. Large hair-seal and sea-lion are split open when skinned; the skin is then soaked in urine and scraped. Sometimes the hair is removed, at other times not, depending on the intended use. Next the skin is stretched on a square framework of four poles lashed together, the hide being secured with thongs which pass through holes in the hide a few inches apart and around the poles. Often two hides, one superposed on the other, are stretched and dried at the same time. The framework usually rests on four supports, two lower than the others, faced to secure a maximum amount of sunlight. When removed from the frame, the skin is ready for use. Young hair-seal skins, after preliminary scraping and dehairing, are twisted by hand with two sticks, then stretched lengthwise and dried. After drying, or at such time when need arises for their use, they are soaked in water for three days and taken to the men's house, where they are again scraped and rinsed. Now they are ready for use as kaiak-coverings, and while wet are cut to size and sewn together. After walrus-hide has been scraped and dehaired, it is split in two sheets, the one being of a thickness varying from an eighth to a quarter of an inch. Both sheets are pegged out and stretched as tightly as possible until thoroughly dried. The thinner sheet is then used for kaiak- and umiak-covers. The larger sheet is cut into a long line and stretched out to dry between poles (ikiutut). When dry, the line is soaked in water, restrung, and stretched. This process is {view image of page 46} 46 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN repeated four times to take all the stretch out of the line.' The finished line is used mainly for tug-lines on nets. The hind-quarter portion of the young hair-seal skin is cut up into a line about a quarter of an inch thick and treated in the same manner as the walrus line described. After the final stretching, it is passed through an ivory gauge to give it uniform thickness and shape. It is then wound tightly on a wooden drum, which not only keeps the line dry, but gives it a natural coil, so that it will run out freely when attached to a hurled harpoon and prevent snarling which might result in a miscast. When women receive intestines of walrus and seal, they strip off, as much as possible, the outside adhering tissue and ligaments with their fingers. Next they are bloated with salt water, and scraped outside with clam- or mussel-shells to remove the flesh adhering to the outside, and to loosen any solid matter, congealed intestinal juices, or blood-clots on the inside. For this latter purpose the women also employ horn rings set on handles, the rings having a diameter of from an inch to two and a half inches. To remove this material, the intestine is filled with urine, which is changed daily for several days. The outside is also treated with urine. Then follow a thorough rinsing with salt water and soaking in water for five days, making the long coils of gut clean and pliable. When it becomes white through the action of the uric acid, it is stretched on the ground and dried. The dried intestine is then cut open, the cut following the outside of the curves, and is ready for use in making waterproof parkas and ground blankets. Life on Nunivak island, of necessity highly seasonal, follows a routine which varies but slightly from year to year. In fact, any variation arises from natural causes, such as a late seal- or fish-run, which crowds the activities of one season into those of another; or a small seasonal catch which minimizes that particular season's occupations. Hence the twelve seasons of the Nunivak year, which are not lunar, but follow the dictates of nature, are elastic. The following enumeration of seasons contains a brief synopsis of activities occurring during these periods. Dinkelloyufh ("worst of the moon," about January). This first season of the year, which bears the same name as the last, is a time for story-telling and the preparation for and holding of the Bladder feast. Many foot-races are held, in which the father of a winning contestant, or any old man, offers gifts which are divided among the 1 See plate facing page 62. {view image of page 47} THE NUNIVAK 47 old men and women. The races are held in honor of the dead, and it is believed that spirits accompany the runners; hence the distribution of gifts pleases and placates these spirits of the dead. After a race the contestants are given homilies and lectures in the men's house. Qigita'nt (" mother of rivers "; literally, " when-rivers-and-streamsbegin-to-open-up," or "when-the-ice-breaks-up"). The first part of Qigitanit is devoted to the New Kaiak ceremony, in which the kaiaks for the forthcoming seal season are made. Following this ceremony is the Messenger feast, when visitors from the villages invited come during the full of the moon. Takokit-tanoket ("when young seals are born"). At this time the people leave the winter village and proceed to the spring fishing camp. Before the seal-hunt takes place, the new kaiaks are set on racks, bows seaward, and a ceremony held - The Consecration of the New Kaiaks. Ttn6ottk-tanoket ("sea-fowl appear"). This season is devoted almost entirely to the hunting of sea-fowl, such as auks, sea-parrots, and tufted puffins. During this period, when men, dressed in new clothing and with new kaiaks, engage in catching hair-seal, a seal ceremony is held. Tinmearut-tanoket ("land-fowl appear," about July). As the last of the ice goes out, land-birds, ducks, geese, and cranes, come north. When a child catches his first bird, a ceremony is held -The First Bird-catch ceremony. Not only are fowl caught, but now the main sealing season begins as these animals migrate northward. First come the hair-seal and sea-lion, next smaller seal with their young, followed last by spotted seal and walrus. Tinmeyakat-tmnutit-tanoket ("young fowl are hatched and fly"). At this time eggs are gathered; seal-oil is tried out and put in pokes; seal, walrus, and bird meat is dried and stored away. The latter part of the season is occupied with cod, salmon, and trout fishing. Aspajozwih-tunokih ("hawks fly south"). In this period berries and dock-leaves are picked and stored; the beach is combed for driftwood, which is cut, piled, and dried for winter use; and trout seines are set upstream on small rivers. Tilanmaiozwiti-tunokih ("puffins fly south"). Grass of two kinds is gathered: one of long and strong fibres growing on the margins of lakes and ponds is woven into ropes and boot socks; the other, found growing on sand dunes, is woven into matting. Fish is dried and stored away. Houses are repaired. Kokklikhawihi-tnokih ("going toward running-nose season," early fall). Men go up the river for salmon trout and store away the catch in dry sod caches. After seal-nets are overhauled, the people move to the netting grounds for the southward seal migration. Ninwahlachikutit-tanoket ("ponds are freezing"). Swamp moss, which, because of its absorbent quality, has many uses, is gathered and dried. This moss is used for bathing and drying babies, for {view image of page 48} 48 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN diapers and menstruation pads, for packing foodstuffs, for padding boots, and padding house walls. Seal-nets are set at this time, because freezing water aids in preventing decay. Those who have no seal-nets, seine for tomcod, which are put into pokes and allowed to freeze. As it freezes, the meat cures and excess water freezes out of the meat tissue. Then in the winter the frozen meat may be thawed and eaten. Wood is hauled home in kaiaks before the freeze-up. fmumumuguti-tanoket ("when the ocean closes up"). When there is no more open water, nets are pulled in and the catch hauled on sleds to caches and stored. The people move to the winter village. Dunkelloyuh ("worst of the moon"). Because of the short days, most of the people work inside, the men carving wood for kaiak frames, weapons, and dishes; the women sewing and working on furs and skins. This is a period of repair and preparation for coming hunting seasons. Women spear fish through the ice; and young men, sometimes with their wives, trap fox, the trap-lines extending only a few miles from the village. In the latter part of the season the Division of Men and Women feast is held. Social Customs A Nunivak village is composed of small family groups, each headed by the father or the grandfather, an arrangement which is in accord with the prevalent marriage custom whereby a newly married man is accepted as a member of his wife's family. No evidence was obtained in regard to a division of a village into clans, gentes, or bands, although the two or more men's houses in a single village in former times might indicate such a social condition to have existed. There is no actual chief or ruler of a village, although some one man, noted for wisdom, knowledge of ceremonial rules and precepts, or for hunting ability, is often recognized as a headman (unaiyukah), a counsellor and advisor to all who seek him. His decisions are ever respected, but are not always acted upon. Such a man, of strong and dominant character, or one noted as a powerful medicine-man, might become absolute in power, ruling through might and awe, as many of the legends attest. It is usually customary for a man to choose and woo the woman of his desire. After she has been won and the respective parents notified, her father carries goods, as much as he thinks his daughter is worth, to the men's house, where he exchanges them for an amount of firewood of equal value from any of the men present; for wood, the only source of which is drift, commands a high price in barter. The father then gives a sweat-bath to all the occupants of the men's {view image of facing page 48} Kaiak on rack, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 49} THE NUNIVAK 49 house. After the bath, the women bring food for their husbands, and the bride places food before the man of her choice. This act of bringing food constitutes the marriage ceremony. Marriage is sometimes arranged by the heads of families, but in each instance the consent of the prospective couple must be obtained. Often before the marriage occurs, the man and woman exchange gifts. After they are wedded, the man, although he usually lives in the men's house, is considered a member of his wife's family. Exchange of wives is not common among the Nunivak people. In rare instances it may take place, as when two youths, perhaps brothers, reared together and close comrades, marry and exchange wives from time to time. The purpose is to make exact paternity doubtful, so that the children of both families will consider themselves brothers and sisters together and be as close in spirit as were their fathers. The usual causes for a man to divorce his wife are failure to perform her household duties, disobedience to her husband or even to her parents, or adultery. The procedure is for the husband to call together his wife's relatives, and before them, and in the presence of his wife, to announce the reason for his leaving. He then goes to his own family or relatives, of whom he is once more considered a member. A woman, if her husband fails to provide, if he has committed adultery, or if the couple are unable to live together harmoniously, divorces her husband by refusing to carry food to him in the men's house. For a period of three days after a birth, the members of a family must engage in no work and must remain very quiet. After this time the father carries barter goods to the men's house, which he exchanges there for firewood. Friends bring in berries, of which some are cast on the floor in sacrifice, while those present pray that the new-born child may grow to be a good hunter, if a boy, or a good worker in skins and foodstuffs, if a girl. The father then offers the bartered wood for use in a sweat-bath. Since only goodwill and friendship must exist at a sweat-bath, any enemy of the father, the donor, must absent himself. The first-born, if a boy, is given the father's name; if a girl, the mother's name. A parent is then called "The father of " or "The mother of." Succeeding children bear the names of relatives. Should the parents die childless, their names, perhaps handed down for generations, are lost to that family, though they might continue in the village should relatives give those names to any of their children. No ceremony is held in connection with the VOL. XX-7 {view image of page 50} 50 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN naming of children, nor are names given in adult life in recognition of noteworthy deeds. A person dying, or dead, at night has a light placed before him. The body, if that of a man, is dressed as if for distant travel in his finest hunting costume, with the waterproof parka; if a woman, in her best clothing. The body, legs drawn up, is then lashed inside a large hair-seal hide and lifted by cords through the smoke-hole. The corpse is removed from the house as soon as possible, that it may proceed at once on the "spirit road," and taken to a burial place, selected by the relatives, outside the village. At Cape Etolin graves are placed along the edge of a bluff overlooking the village. The body, face to the east, is then put in a wooden grave-box about four feet square by about two feet deep, and placed on posts about three feet high, one at each corner. Inside the box, with the body, are laid food, dishes, and tools. If the deceased be a male, his kaiak, sled, spears, and hunting gear are piled on the box or on the ground, or both. In the vicinity of Nash Harbor it was customary to lay the body extended, face to the east, in a shallow grave. The body, with food, utensils, and implements, was then surrounded with stones, in a roughly oval shape, and covered with earth and stones. The prevalent belief is that the spirit hovers about the village for forty days before departure, but during that time it is harmless and often visible. At the end of that period the spirit loses all consciousness for a time, but awakes to find itself in a land of spirits among whom are many who have never existed in human form or been on earth. The location of this land is vague and indefinite. Those dying of violence go to this place "somewhere," as do the spirits of those who drown. These latter, however, travel with the wind until their clothing is blown off before they can proceed to the spirit land. The spirits of people who have led evil lives go somewhere below. The actual number of games played by the Nunivak Eskimo, that is, the variety, is small. During the ceremonies, such as the Bladder feast, foot-races occur, and in the Division of Men and Women feast there is a tug-of-war between the sexes wherein the women attempt to drag the men from the men's house. Singing and dancing during ceremonies, as well as feasting, form diversions. During the long winter nights, stories of valiant deeds, hunting experiences, legends, and myths, are related. Small children play with dolls and imitate the work of their elders, and boys practise with weapons to fit them for hunting careers. The few games noted, and which are accompanied with much betting, are as follow: {view image of page 51} THE NUNIVAK 51 The sand-bag game is played between men and women, the one opposing the other. A small skin stuffed with sand is tossed up, the object of each side being to retain it as long as possible, preventing the other side from obtaining the ball by passing it quickly from one player to another. This game may continue for hours. Another amusement is the tossing of individuals in a blanket. Those cast in the air endeavor to gain an upright position and come down on their feet. A popular diversion is rope-jumping. While two men swing the rope, two loops one way and then reversing the motion for two loops, three contestants jump. The one remaining longest without stopping the rope's movement wins. In the wand game, four contestants, two on a side, cast wands at a mark set between them about twenty feet away. Each side throws ten wands from a kneeling position. The cast nearest the mark wins for that side which then possesses all the wands. An interesting intimate glimpse into Eskimo life is contained in the following fragmentary narrative related by an old woman recalling the days of her childhood: When I was a child, my relatives took me to a large spring fishing camp where many kaiaks were up on stilts. Arrived there, a woman carried me on her back to the women's house, where they were preparing food for their men. But that winter we nearly starved, and all food had to be divided equally. Then in the spring, seal and walrus came in abundance, so that there was a great repairing of gear and mending of nets. I asked the men why they worked so hard. They answered: "Seal and walrus have broken our nets in many places. We must repair them for the next catch." I stayed with my grandmother. After the snow melted and roots began to grow, all the women went out to dig fern-bulbs, which we ate raw with oil. One day when the women were cutting up walrus, I saw my father land his heavily laden kaiak. Women and boys met him to help unload; but one boy ran home crying when my father said that his partner would never return, that he was drowned. In the men's house my father told the tale: "As we paddled along, a walrus suddenly came up close to my friend. I called to him not to harpoon, but to paddle away as fast as he could; but my friend would not heed my warning and cast his heavy spear. Then the walrus punched holes with his tusks in the kaiak, until it overturned. It seized my friend between its flippers and dragged him screaming and struggling beneath the sea. His yells became gurgles, and soon the last bubbles ceased to come up. I was powerless to help. I waited. In a short time the walrus broke surface, still holding my friend and rubbing his whiskers against my friend's face. Again the walrus {view image of page 52} 52 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN dived. That is the last I saw of my friend. I brought home his weapons." I looked at the drowned man's gear and saw the holes in the airfloat and the cut line where the walrus had used his tusks. Near noon, while the women were blowing air into gut before curing, people began to shout and run to the shore. Something was drifting in, blown by the wind. It was the kaiak of my father's partner, still carrying its load of meat. Many seal and walrus were killed, and some of the men drove a beluga into shallow water and harpooned it. Then the men put up racks for drying the meat, while the women sewed pokes of walrushide. We packed the pokes first with a layer of meat and then a layer of blubber until they were filled. Other pokes were filled with oil. These the women rolled into holes in the ground, putting in a layer of oil pokes on the bottom and then a layer of meat pokes until they had enough in the cache. These holes fill with water in the summer, but drain in the winter, so that the supply keeps. In winter we take out the pokes as we need them. A few days later I heard a great commotion and ran to the beach where all the people were. I was afraid, and hung back, but I learned that the drowned man's body had been washed ashore. His relatives stripped off all his clothes and boiled them, because that drives away evil spirits. Then they put new clothes on him. A man tied a child's outfit of parka, mittens, and boots on the body, saying, "When you get up there, give these to my child." I asked my grandmother why he said that, and she replied: "That man had a child who was drowned. Relatives always give things to a drowned man's body, that he may give them to those who, drowned, have gone before." Then I saw others hang things on the body. The people then propped the body up, stiff-legged, with arms outstretched and walking-sticks in both hands, as if he were ready to go somewhere. They piled all his clothes and weapons and his kaiak about him, and much driftwood. When this was set ablaze, the body melted like a lump of fat. My grandmother said that people worked fast with the body in order to get it started on its journey as soon as possible. One night I was awakened by a man who said that my father had sent from that point of land in the bight. I dressed and carried food to him. There I found nearly all the village netting a herring-run. Even people who did not own nets were taking herring from them. The run lasted a long while, and we built shelters on the beach. We girls and women picked up seaweed with herring's eggs stuck to it. These we dried on the rocks. We filled pokes with cooked herring strips and oil. That winter the men made masks and dance equipment, and composed new songs. Much food was collected and stored away. When I heard a great drumming and singing in the men's house, I knew that messengers had been sent with invitations to the people on Nelson island. My grandmother told me that the messengers {view image of facing page 52} Kaiak with seal hunting equipment, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 53} THE NUNIVAK 53 would bear greetings from people of our village, asking people there for gifts. One day, just as my father had finished making a kaiak, the messengers returned and went to both men's houses. There they delivered messages, asking our people for gifts. Next day I heard a great shout, " Kaiak! Kaiak!" and knew that our visitors were coming. My people paddled out at full speed to meet them, and they and the visitors raced back with much yelling, and with spray flying from the flashing paddles. One Nelson Island man turned his blade the wrong way and capsized. The visitors claimed they lost the race because of this man. The Nelson islanders all landed at one point, and those who had umiaks used them for shelters. We carried much food to them - berries and caribou-fat mixed with snow. Our men stood the visitors in small groups, passed a line about them, and dragged them to the men's houses. Thus were they welcomed. There our people set up a pole and loaded it with many skins and articles of great value. A Nelson Island woman, accompanied by drumming and singing, danced around the pole, while her husband put on it gifts of equal value. Then one of our people had to cover its value. We lost the pole and gifts when we could no longer cover their value. Then our people presented the gifts which the Nelson Island people had asked for by messenger. The next night, the visitors, dressed in their best, gave our people whatever we had asked for, starting with the oldest and coming down to the youngest. They then gave a dance for our people and sang their new songs. Their headman gave our headman a new outfit of clothes. We all feasted, and later went to the fishing camp. In the bird-hunting season we used the skins for parkas; we ate the flesh and the eggs. Then also we dug up wild cabbage with sticks. We washed it clean and ate it raw or cooked with oil. We caught cormorants, auks, sea-parrots, and puffins with nets. The men climbed down cliffs on lines and flung out long nets which the birds flew into. Many were caught in this way. I next went with my family to Cape Mendenhall in the fall, when we picked berries, grasses, and moss for the winter. Then we moved to Cape Mohican, but it is very dangerous to go around there, because of strong winds and breakers. There we had to pack water over the cliffs in seal pokes. We went to Nash Harbor, catching seal on the way, and there I saw most of the people on the beach cutting up a dead walrus which had been washed ashore. My grandmother and I returned to our own village overland. It was now winter; the ice had frozen over the nets, so that people had to fish through holes. During the winter the men made much new gear and began to prepare for the Bladder feast. They had already started in the fall. The younger people, in order to have their elders wish them good luck, gave away food every night - berries, dried fish, and fish that had been stored away in oil. {view image of page 54} 54 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Warfare Warfare, which is quite rare, since the Nunivak people are peaceably inclined, is entirely unorganized. Offensive fighting, when engaged in, is usually the result of a desire for revenge against a village or other smaller group of people. When an offensive is to be begun, some man makes a small war-arrow and carries it to the men's house, where he thrusts it into the middle of the floor. Then all the adults and youths prepare to descend by kaiaks upon the enemy. The attacking party, stealthily and at night, advances to the sleeping villagers, and bowmen are posted at all doors and smoke-holes. As the people inside are being shot down by those at the smoke-hole, the survivors endeavor to escape by the door, where they meet with a volley from the warriors outside. The invaders aim to exterminate all male adults, kill or capture the women, and make prisoners of the children. They do not scalp or take head trophies. The children are adopted and reared by the families of their captors, and possess the same privileges as other members of the families. That villages were not always surprised is shown by the following narrative: A Nunivak village, desiring to wage war against a village at the mouth of the Yukon, decided to invite the Nelson islanders to become allies. Before proceeding by kaiak to the mainland, the allies held a big dance. As the flotilla neared the mainland, they were seen by the people of the Yukon village, who immediately sent out messengers to neighboring villagers for aid. During the night, the allied Nunivak and Nelson Island people crept close to the watchful village to attack at dawn, unaware that their enemy was prepared. As day broke, before the allies could cover doors and smoke-holes by the customary tactics, the Yukon warriors rushed out and gave battle. While the fight raged about the houses, one party of the Nunivak succeeded in besieging a men's house. Those inside were so densely packed together that they had to hold their weapons overhead to make room. The continuous rain of arrows through the smoke-hole making the place untenable, the survivors rushed to the door, some succeeding in breaking through the enemy bowmen at the entrance. For a time both sides held their ground; then the warriors from other villages, summoned by scouts, came to the rescue of the Yukon people and the combined forces put to rout the Nunivak and Nelson islanders, killing nearly all. The survivors ran for their kaiaks and quickly paddled out of range. Until they were out of earshot they heard shouts of triumph and jeers and yells to them: "You Nunivak people go home in your big kaiaks! You do not know how to fight! If you come back we shall feed you to the dogs!" {view image of facing page 54} Ready for the throw, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 55} THE NUNIVAK 55 The villages of Nunivak, however, did not always take the offensive. In their turn they were raided. A story of an invasion and immediate revenge follows: One evening at Cape Etolin a woman, wandering outside the village, saw, or thought she saw, strange faces peeping from behind a knoll. Frightened, she rushed to the women's house and told her tale. One old woman advised: "Say nothing to the people of what you have seen, because they may become excited. What you saw were probably foxes, which look like humans at this time of year." The next morning, after all the men had left, as usual, to hunt, the enemy from the mainland burst upon the defenseless village. They entered all the houses and killed the women and children. Some of the bodies they wrapped in sealskins and threw them into the fires. Most of the children were hurled into a pond of stagnant tundra water. The enemy tied thongs to the arms and legs of one old man and pulled him limb from limb. One boy thrown in the pond pretended to drown, but later made his escape. The enemy then took one promising youth and departed for the mainland. Once there, quickened by success, they made immediate preparations for another raid, this time to the northward. Meanwhile the Nunivak men, observing the haze of smoke, hurried home and gazed in helpless rage upon the devastation wrought by the enemy. A hasty council of war was held, and heavily armed they set out in swift pursuit. As they neared the shore, still far out, the captive Nunivak youth and a companion spied them. The heart of the Nunivak captive beat fast in anticipation of freedom and revenge, but he carefully concealed his emotion. His companion pointed, and cried: "Look! Those are kaiaks!" "No," evaded the Nunivak, "those are sea-gulls." When night fell, the youth crept silently from the village and met two scouts, to whom he reported that all the men had gone north. Then the Nunivak men wreaked heavy revenge. They burned all the houses and killed every remaining inhabitant, sparing none. They went home, the elation of victory saddened by their own loss. Among the villagers themselves there was little violence. Quarrels were settled by combat between the two involved. No punishment followed for a killing in fair fight, though a murder would be avenged by friends or relatives of the deceased. Within the memory of the oldest informants there has been no suicide. Ceremonies The most important of the Nunivak ceremonies occur during the winter season, when the long nights and severe storms force the people to spend the greater part of their time indoors. Of these {view image of page 56} 56 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN ceremonies the Bladder feast, which consists of days of preparation followed by ritual and ending in gift-giving "good times," is the most important. At this feast not only is reverence paid with sacrificial food to the spirits of the dead, who are believed to be present during the rites, but the culminating act of the Bladder feast proper, that of thrusting bladders through a hole in the ice, is to insure a plentiful food supply and consequent good hunting throughout the following year. Of lesser importance, but nevertheless solemn and serious, are the rigidly ritualistic New Kaiak ceremony and the Spring Hunt ceremony, both held with the object of insuring a plentiful food supply by the careful observance of customary ritual. More social in nature are the Division of Men and Women feast and the Messenger feast; the latter forms a medium through which friendly intercourse between villages is maintained. Later in the spring and summer, after the hunting has commenced, other minor ceremonies are held, such as the Hair Seal ceremony, the Summer Hunting ceremony, the ceremony for a boy on the occasion of catching his first bird, and the Walrus ceremony, all of which have as their primary objective the continuance of successful hunting. In nearly all of the ceremonies and feasts occurs a distribution of food, or of useful articles generally termed gifts, or both food and gifts. Outside of its ritualistic significance, such distribution accomplishes a function of social value, inasmuch as the aged, the widowed, and the helpless obtain many needed supplies. In the greater ceremonies, not only do the needy gain relief, but a great exchange of gifts takes place between all participants, which may include the entire village, or, in the case of the Messenger feast, two or more villages. The origin of the Bladder feast, held in the season of Dunkelloyfih ("worst of the moon"), in our month of January, is contained in the following legend: A childless couple, who always had many furs and much food stored away, dwelled alone. They knew that they were alone, because they never saw another person. As time passed, the thought often came to them what the land would be like if there were other people. They pondered how to have children. The man thought that if he stored away the bladders of game, perhaps he might learn the extent of his next year's catch; perhaps something might happen. After the short days had come and winter was upon them, the man brought out these bladders and inflated them. That night, as the couple were sitting by the fire, they were startled to see a hand with outstretched fingers appear above the entrance hole. It ordered, "You must use {view image of facing page 56} A Nunivak hunter [photogravure plate] {view image of page 57} THE NUNIVAK 57 these five days for your Bladder feast." No sooner were the words spoken than the hand disappeared. Suddenly six spirits stood before the couple, then vanished through the walls of the house. In a short while the man and woman were startled by the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching, and soon heard the spirits moving about on the roof, where they were lowering wild parsnips through the smoke-hole. After entering the house, five of the spirits began to dance and sing, while the sixth sat on the log head-rest to drum for them. Nearly all night they danced and sang. On the following night the couple heard rapid footsteps outside their door. As they watched, they saw spirits enter, who began to paint the bladders hanging on the walls. These had now changed from birds' to seals' bladders. After putting the wild parsnips in the corners of the room, the spirits went outside to place stones and to plant paddles upright about the house. They had directed the man, "While we are busy outside, you must circle the room in the same manner as the sun makes his path across the sky." On reentering, the spirits bore with them a heavy walrus clubbing spear, which they set upright beside the stone lamp. All the while the man circled the room. Again they vanished. Because no one appeared on the next, the fourth, night, the man dared to sleep with his wife. The following day he found that the bladders had changed back to birds' bladders. Thus was he punished for not obeying the law of continence during a ceremony. That night, while sitting alone, he saw two old men spring up through the floor and sit facing each other by the entrance hole, where they sang the entrance song: My elbows I must use for walking-sticks. My shoulder-blades hump toward my neck. My legs are weary; But my spirit refuses to become aged. When the song ended, the woman entered, followed by the six spirits, who at once began to dance and sing. As the couple watched, many people suddenly appeared about the room, sitting on the log head-rests. These people, some naked, some fully clad, sang, swaying their bodies in unison to the rhythm. In the course of the singing, other people entered, bearing gifts which they gave away during the songs. Just before dawn, three calls were heard outside; the first syllable of each call was short and low-pitched, the second was shrill and long-drawn-out. Thus they yelled: "Luah! Luah!! Lah!" Then, one by one, many persons came in with gifts. When these had been distributed, all within the room suddenly disappeared, leaving all the gifts for the man. Early in the morning many men brought in wild parsnips to be tied on the walrus spear. They went outside and gave a long call. Then women rushed in, carrying bundles of dry grass which they VOL. XX-8 {view image of page 58} 58 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN threw at the entrance. These women the man saw very clearly, but they were invisible to his wife. The two old-men-spirits by the entrance, who now wore bird-skin caps, told the story of an owl who went beneath the sea. When they had finished the tale, one went outside and climbed to the roof, where he shook and rattled the smoke-hole cover, that the people might know day was breaking. The second old-man-spirit donned his waterproof parka and flopped about the floor, imitating the movements of the seal. Some of the people smeared soot on their faces. Then the old-man-spirit loudly announced from the smoke-hole, " It is now time to go out!" All departed, one of the number bearing the stone lamp, and the man following, to a water-hole in the ice in which they thrust all the bladders. After returning to the house, they stripped themselves of all clothing and rolled through the entrance. Inside they began their race, after which all disappeared. After nightfall, women entered to perform their dance. At the end, Khuguyuk, an old spirit, spoke to the man: " In the future you will have children; there will be many people. Every year, when the proper time comes, you must do as you have seen us do - then you will catch much game. You will never see us again." Bladder Feast First Night - Preparation While all the men are gathered in the men's house, some one person lowers an article of value through the smoke-hole. Any man of the assemblage is privileged to receive it, provided he returns to the donor something of equal value, be it fur, skin, weapon, or any article. This recipient must further furnish wood for the sweat-bath immediately to follow. The heads of families then begin to make wooden bowls for each member of their respective households - small bowls for the youngest and larger for the oldest. On this night the side-walls of the utensils are steamed while the sweat-bath is in progress. The wood is steamed by wrapping in wet moss, the whole surrounded with hot stones above and on top. When thoroughly steamed, it is bent into the shape desired and the ends are joined. Then it is dried and seasoned. While working on their family vessels, men are required to fast during the day, eating at night; they must keep clean in body and remain continent. Second Night On this night the men cut to size and hollow out the vessel bottoms from solid wood. These are fastened to the shaped side-walls of the {view image of facing page 58} Sled, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 59} THE NUNIVAK 59 receptacles with glue composed chiefly of seal-blood, a glue which will prevent leakage and withstand boiling liquids. Third Night Family talismanic marks are drawn on the bottoms and sides, inside the bowls. These symbols, which are handed down from eldest son to eldest son with the family names, are derived from some great deed done in the past at the time when the family name originated, and they also represent animal, bird, or fish spirit-powers. Then the bowls are painted with a paint of which the component parts are seal-blood and an iron oxide obtained from Nelson island. Fourth Night Another sweat-bath is held, given in the same manner as the first, at which the painted vessels are taken to the respective homes of the makers. Fourth to Ninth Nights- Collection of Food As soon as the bowls are taken to their owners' homes, the women of the families prepare food - trying out oil, cooking meat and blubber, making mixtures of oil, meat, berries, and snow, and bringing plant foods from the caches. Then five young men, without parkas, but dressed as grotesquely as possible with wisps of straw about elbows, wrists, necks, knees, and ankles, with small straw bundles on foreheads, chests, and backs, and with soot-smeared faces, visit each family home in turn. The five, one bearing an old dish, enter at the extreme right of the entranceway. The family inside must fill the old dish full of some kind of food, and at the same time sing a song whose burden is some mysterious happening which has occurred to its members during the year. Next the family load the five men with the new dishes, each filled with food, while the food-bearers cry "Kaveta ['Put more on top']!" As the women pile the full bowls, one on top of the other, following the direction of the cry "Kaveta!" these five call out the names and deeds that the bowls represent. As they leave a house, they make their exit at the extreme left of the entranceway. Bearing the stack of new bowls and the old one, they return to the men's house, where they pass the bowls through the entrance to two assistants, who in turn slide them along the sleeping logs or head-rests, where they remain until ready to be used. After bowls have thus been collected from all houses, the five enter the men's house, where singing is going on, and {view image of page 60} 60 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN in the midst of a song the bearer of the old bowl flings it to the floor. All stop singing to shout and cheer. The five food-bearers then strip naked. Each night, after the work of bowl-making and the collecting of food is over, all lights in the men's house are extinguished, so that complete darkness and quiet prevail. Each individual present composes a song to himself. When some one, even a boy, is "bursting with a new song," he picks up a drum and sings it through once, immediately repeating, with all present joining in the song. After all have given songs, a light is brought in from some home, and all lamps are lighted, the lamp-bearer following the course of the sun. These are the songs to be used during the coming year, for those of former years will no longer be employed. However, if a song is especially appealing to all the people, it may continue in use year after year. While such a song is common property, it is always known as the song of the originator. A father who is very proud of a song composed by his son often distributes gifts to all present. On each of the four nights, after the food is collected and the songs sung, two young men sweep the floor, piling the refuse on grass mats in each corner. Each corner is representative of one of the four winds. In the corners which the sweepers think are unfavorable, that is, are indicative of unfavorable winds, they pile the most dirt, saying: "0, wind, stay away! I am plugging up your corner, your entrance." Then the two fling the refuse outside. This gesture symbolizes the casting away of bad luck and evil influence. When the lamps are lighted after the new songs, a lamp is placed in each corner. Ninth Night -Distribution of Food, or "Mother of Distribution" On this night, when all are assembled in their places in the men's house behind the head-rests containing the bowls of food, it is believed that the spirits of the dead, of the men who originated the family names and the symbols on the bowls, are also present. Mothers with nursing babies are barred from the house, because in some way the spirits of the children might be influenced, perhaps harmfully, by one of these spirits. The small girls of the village next enter and sit on grass mats before the laden head-rests. One of the five naked food-collectors who has a good memory now picks up a bowl, which he holds out, saying: "This bowl belongs to - [giving his name]. It was given by his relative Here also is tallow for him. This food and tallow are for his spirit." {view image of facing page 60} Chahali, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 61} THE NUNIVAK Then he puts down the bowl and picks up one from the head-rest on the opposite side of the room, announcing from whom it was given and to whose spirit it belongs. After all the dishes are thus named, all the food is separated by kinds: all oil, all fish, all berries are placed in bowls, each group by itself. The little girls who came in last carry home the choicest bits of food; the remainder is distributed to all present, the amount varying according to age, the oldest receiving the largest portions. While two men dance to the new songs, the young boys go outside and yell three times. At the third call, all women, even those with babes in arms, enter to watch the dances and to hear the new songs. After the last song, the boys race for the entranceway, for it is said that the first out will grow up to be the best hunter. They are followed by their elders, the last one to go out pretending that he is not last, and shouting, "I am already out!" This exodus signifies a driving out of any evil spirits which might have entered the house. The men reenter, while the women bring more food to them and their day's fast is broken. The men hold a sweat-bath, during which heads are shaved, except for one patch cut in a design handed down from parents or grandparents. These long hairs on the unshaven patch are supposed to bring longevity. Following the sweat-bath is a house-cleaning, which ends the night's proceedings. Tenth Day - Bladder Ceremony At daybreak, the men, carrying the bladders of their year's sealcatch tied on sticks, followed by their wives bearing dishes of berries, and all dressed in new clothing, take their places in the men's house. The men inflate the bladders, cover them with sealskins, and hang them above their respective places. Their sons, with the skins of animals and birds killed during the year, sit on the benches behind and above their fathers. The dishes of berries are piled in the centre of the room and the contents distributed - the largest portions to the oldest - by some old man, who sings, "This is my wish: that I may breathe deeper; that I may live to catch more fish during the year." As he finishes handing out berries, he throws one berry to the middle of the floor. The bringing in and distribution of berries signifies the driving of spirits back to spirit-land. During the day, the hunters and youths regard their bladders and skins and then recall stories and incidents of their hunting. Following the tales, the boys call in all the women by giving three loud yells. {view image of page 62} 62 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN These enter and stand behind the men, who are massed on one side of the room, which has one centre light burning. All sing the new songs, swaying their bodies from side to side in unison. When the songs are ended, at the last word of the last song all the boys rush out; the first through the entrance, it is believed, will be the best hunter. The last event of the day is the bringing in of food by the women and the breaking of the day's fast. Tenth Night In the evening, while others sleep, and only the centre light is burning, two young men in new parkas go out very quietly and slowly for water. During the night, a man who has kept awake to see that the one lamp did not go out, lights all lamps and returns the centre one to its place. Eleventh Morning Before daylight, the men leave the house, each to go to his wife's house and awaken her by singing: "Hear! Hear! Hear! There is a big whale before the village. No spirit can touch [harm or influence] it." The first man to leave the men's house brings back a large spear, with a wild parsnip tied near the point, and sets it upright in the centre of the right side of the men's house. Then the women enter, bearing the morning meal. Immediately after breakfast, five grass mats are placed in the centre of the room and five young men, volunteers, sit on them. Men go out and call before each woman's house, "The parsnip-pickers are starving!" Hearing these cries, the women bring in small dishes of food, rich in fats, for it is each woman's wish as she prepares it that the ensuing year may be rich and plentiful in game. The five now begin to eat as fast as possible, throwing aside each dish when empty. The first to finish wins. Then a bowl of berries is offered to them, with the injunction, "Eat more, so that you will always get plenty of what you want." These five now dress, while all the men dance around them, following the direction of the sun's path and making all possible noise. Then the five proceed to one corner, while a man places upright five sticks, each with a dried fish tied to it, in a row. The first of the five men chooses the second stick; the second picks up the fourth; the third man takes the third stick; the fourth pulls up the first stick, while the fifth young man takes the last. Day has not yet broken when {view image of facing page 62} Line stretching posts, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 63} THE NUNIVAK 63 these five leave the men's house. They depart in pairs, except for the fifth man, each carrying a bundle of wild parsnips and unreeling a long line as he goes to guide him back safely to the men's house. They proceed to the place where they think the parsnips will grow thickly during the coming year, then return. At the men's house they lower their bundles through the smoke-hole, and the dry stalks are placed beside the lamps. As the five enter, they line up on one side of the room and dance to two songs, while men drum for them. Young children next dance. Fathers of children who have killed their first game distribute gifts to the children. (Skins of the first kill of each kind of animal used are kept as a matter of record, since boys are not of marriageable age until they have killed one of each.) Eleventh Night The women are called in to the men's house by the yells of the boys, and all sing the new songs. Next the wild parsnips are removed from the lamps and placed in the firepit. After the last song, a feast is held. Some time during the night, two men, volunteers, paint the men's talismanic marks on the bladders. These men also take up the wild parsnips and hang the stalks in bundles from the walls, while they tie the parsnips to the bladders. When they have finished, they wake the men and all go out to give the morning song. Twelfth Morning Food is brought in by the women to all but the two painters, who must fast during the day. Men now make drums, each with some tool attached to it. The youngest have the largest, while the oldest use the smallest drums. Fathers of boys who have never had a drum before, offer gifts in exchange for wood for future sweat-baths. This fuel is piled outside the men's house. At the same time, a circular lamp-frame to be hung from the smoke-hole is made. Twelfth Afternoon The women are called to the men's house by the boys. Then some boy who has caught his first bird or animal, his head wrapped in cured intestines, stands on a sealskin by the entrance, while the assemblage sing for him. Standing in a circle, wearing ceremonial caps and holding drums, the gathering first sing all the old songs, next spin around the new hanging lamp, and finally sing the new songs. After the mother of the boy has given out tallow, all depart. {view image of page 64} 64 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Twelfth Night- "Give-away Night" The women are again called into the men's house, and they carry dance equipment and finery, such as decorated caps, rings, bracelets, labrets, ear-rings, and nose-beads, all of which they don later. The oldest man and his family face the assemblage, sing his new song, and give the family dance. The sons of that family pile gifts in the middle of the room, and each family does likewise in turn according to age. When the last has finished, all jump up and crowd outside to drive evil spirits away. As soon as they reenter, the massed gifts are distributed in order of age. The more gifts a man has placed in the centre, the greater the respect accorded him, because his donation shows his ability as a hunter, worker, and provider. Thirteenth Morning Before daybreak two young men, dressed in hunting costume, go to the shore and pick a hole through the ice. Meanwhile the women bring in bundles of dry grass to the men's house, one for each man. Women give bundles also to their second cousins, whom they ridicule and of whom they tell stories of mishaps and misdeeds of the past year. The cousins must listen to all in silence. The other young men, also dressed in hunting costume, sing old songs. By this time the ice-pickers return, circle the room counterclockwise, and sprinkle salt water on head-rests and people. A man, dressed as fearsomely as possible, comes up the entrance hole three times. As he thrusts himself up the last time, the youngest infant in the room, regardless of his yells of terror, is thrust toward him and drawn back. This act symbolizes the protection a mother seal gives her young while on top of the ice. Next, the men, while the youths and boys stand and sing by their animal- and bird-skins, approach and withdraw three times from the entrance hole while drumming and singing old songs. After all have dressed in hunting costume, one man gathers up the old dried-grass bundles and the parsnip-stalks, picks up a lamp, and goes out, followed by all. After burning his burden before the village, he leads the procession to the hole in the ice and circles it once. The people divide into two parties and march about the hole, singing hunting songs. As the last song is ended, each man in turn shoves his stick with the bladders under the ice. Each family group now faces the rising sun and sings its ancient hunting song. Returning to the men's house, the eldest enter first, the rest in {view image of facing page 64} Herring racks, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 65} THE NUNIVAK 65 order of age. The younger boys roll through the entrance. Inside, the boys race single-file, clockwise, about the room. If one can touch another from behind, that one must drop out. When but one is left, he is the winner. A feast is held, after which two young men sweep the room. Stories are now told of wonderful happenings and outstanding events of the year. Hunters are not mentioned by name in these stories; the narrator points to where they sit. At the finish, all rush out, men first, to chase away evil spirits and bad luck. The sweepings of the room are thrown on a fire outside. This act ends the Bladder ceremony. During a few days following the ceremony, games are played and feasts given in a spirit of fun and joy; but first the "asking ceremonies" are held. Thirteenth Night Near midnight the men have a sweat-bath, using for fuel the wood piled outside the door. Inside the house, in place of bladders little drums are hung up. After the bath, men tap signals on the floor with their heels. When a woman, waiting outside, hears her husband's signal, she brings in food. At this time the men ridicule their wives and the wives' second cousins, who must all listen in silence. Many games and tests of strength follow the feasting. Some woman dressed in dancing finery brings in a strong rope, and, after giving her dance, a tug-of-war is held in which the women attempt to drag the men through the entrance. Some time during the night, a stick is thrown into the men's house, and all with loud ejaculations wonder what it can be. The man who picks up the stick tells the men present that the objects tied to it represent things that the women desire, and he interprets the meanings of the objects. The men then tie on the stick similar objects, signifying that they will fulfil the women's wishes. Fourteenth Night A partition of grass mats is raised, dividing the men's house. On this are hung objects representing what the women have asked for. The women are then called in, and they sing on their side of the mat while the men dance on theirs. Afterward the men hang their gifts over the mat partition. These men hang up additional gifts, singing, "No one has taken what I have hung up, so I have promised this for [naming the person]." When a named woman takes this gift, the man is privileged to read her a moral lecture. An "asking" stick is now given the women, and its meaning is VOL. XX-9 {view image of page 66} 66 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN explained to them. As they rush to provide these needs, two of their number raise up the partition again and hang on it objects representing those things which the men desire. Then the men sing while these two women dance. The women by this time reenter and hang their gifts on the screen. As each man takes what he has asked for, the woman reads him a moral lecture. Fifteenth Night During a sweat-bath, men paint boys' faces with a mixture of iron oxide, seal-blood, and soot. As the boys retire to one corner, the women are called in. As the women sing, the boys in their corner dance as grotesquely and comically as possible. Following the dance, they go outside to wash off the paint with snow. The men now present one woman with many gifts, gifts for all her family, including unborn children, men, and dogs. The women likewise shower gifts upon some one man. These two, man and woman, represent all of both sexes in the village. Lastly, the heaped-up pile is distributed among all present. The Anuchchihkiyum Ceremony ("When Women Take Possesion of the Men's House"), or Division of Men and Women Feast This ceremony, held during the season of Dunkelloyfih ("worst of the moon" - full moon of January), is said to have been originated by a couple living alone at Cape Mohican. It was their custom when feasting or celebrating to exchange gifts. Some night after the men have taken their sweat-bath, the women gather outside of the men's house and cry in unison to the men inside: "Look here! Look here! You are a fine spoon-maker!" The oldest woman enters first, bearing a dish of fat and berries, which she gives to her second cousin or other relative, and at the same time requests a gift of some article which she needs. All the women, in order of age, follow with food and make requests of their second cousins or relatives, coming through the entrance after giving the above cry. When all are inside, two women, clad in their best clothing and finery, face one wall and dance to the accompaniment of singing and drumming by the men. After they have finished, the women, followed by the men, leave the house, the men to bring the articles requested. The women, all carrying small lamps, now reenter, and one of their number signals the men that they are ready. Each man, in {view image of facing page 66} Kenowun, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 67} THE NUNIVAK 67 order of age and bringing his gift, enters and dances by the entrance to a tune sung by those still outside. After all are inside, the gifts requested are presented to the women. The women then leave to get suitable gifts for the men in return for those they now have. While they are absent, the men gather in a circle, blacken their faces with soot, and trace their talismanic marks in the soot. The women bearing gifts reenter in order of age. Each one dances, after presenting her gift, to the singing of the men, and all continue to dance until the last woman has entered. Women often bring their children to dance with them. The Messenger Feast The preparations and the sending of the messenger take place in the early part of the season Qigitanit ("mother of rivers"), while the actual feast occurs during the full of the moon. After the Bladder feast and its attendant "good times," a sweatbath is held in the men's house. As an indication of the initial rites, some man, henceforth to be known as the headman, the giver and initiator of the Messenger feast for that year, brings to the men's house a staff about six feet long. To one end of this staff he fastens a dog-skin; below the skin he paints two bands, one of soot, the other of red oxide, both bands about the width of a thumb. The decorated staff is planted in the middle of the room. After a long period of silence, in which the assembled men plan details of the coming festival, a young man, to show that he is volunteering to act as messenger, grasps the stick and immediately thrusts it beneath the eaves. A lamp is removed from a stand, lighted, and placed beside the messenger, now seated near the entrance. The headman, facing the messenger, places between them a number of wood splinters and names them, each name being that of some individual in the village which is to be invited to the festivities. The headman then binds the splinters together with sinew, and fetches food and water to the messenger. Before consuming the proffered meat and drink, the messenger pours a libation on the floor and rubs food on his insteps. Again the headman faces the messenger, this time pointing out carvings on a staff, the carvings indicating certain people in the village which is to be invited and the gifts which they must bring. Each name mentioned represents some group of people in that village; for instance, the name of an old man would mean all the old men and all the old women. (It is obvious that the names, or rather the {view image of page 68} 68 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN carved marks, of a whole village could not be included on a single staff.) He points to a mark, saying, " From this person [that is, the oldest group in the village] we want a seal-net." This request implies all the accessories to the net, such as lines, floats, and sinkers. Indicating another carving, he instructs: "From this one we ask a kaiak-load of seal meat and prepared intestines. Let them bring also a sealskin whose hide represents gifts of cloth, whose eyes are cooking-pots, and whose penis is ivory. These articles must they furnish. "This person shall bring us a hair-seal whose eyes are pots, whose penis is traps, whose hair is a white fox, the breath gunpowder, and the ears gun-primers. "That man shall convey to us a family sled, the handle-bars of which are saws, the sled-handle cloth. Let him bring in the sled a hair-seal whose head shall represent a cooking-pot, the eyes gunprimers, the breath gunpowder, and the penis ivory. Let him also bring knives for cutting up meat. "Let this one who stands for all the youths bring us a smoke-hole cover. The edges will be seal meat and sinew." And so he reads off all the marks. Before daybreak, the messenger, who has memorized his instructions, dresses for travelling, and, carrying his mnemonic staff and a new smoke-hole cover, walks to his sled, accompanied by all of them. The headman pulls his own parka over the messenger's head and presents him with some black soot. He then departs for the other village. Before reaching his destination, the messenger leaves his sled some distance from the village and endeavors to enter unnoticed. At the men's house he climbs to the roof and fastens the new cover on the smoke-hole. Next, with soot-blackened face and carrying the messenger stick, he enters the men's house and stands silent before the occupants. At length the oldest man present calls out: "Messenger! Messenger! Messenger!" He answers: "Messenger! Messenger! Messenger! The headman of my village wishes to see the headman of this village. Let him come with a gift of a large hair-seal skin." As soon as he sits in the middle of the floor, a lighted lamp is placed beside him, and the headman in person proffers food and water. Before breaking his fast, the messenger rubs food on his insteps and pours water on the floor. He then unwraps the bundle of {view image of facing page 68} Dahchihtok, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 69} THE NUNIVAK 69 small wooden splinters, names each one and hands it to the person named, beginning with the headman, thus indicating that these people are invited to his village to participate in the Messenger feast. The wooden tally-sticks are then thrown in the firepit. The messenger reads from his carved staff the gifts they are to bring. The stick is then hung by the smoke-hole, to be consumed eventually by heat and fire. The messenger remains as long as a month in this village, performing many tasks and helping the men as much as possible - this to create a favorable impression, so that all those invited will return with him at the proper time. Meanwhile, in the messenger's own village, on the night of his departure to invite the guests, men and women gather in the men's house, where, without lights, they practise all their songs. The following day and evening are devoted to the making of masks and many bird and animal ornaments of wood. On the third night the mechanism of an agility test to be performed later is set up and practice in the usage of it is held. This mechanism consists of a heavy water-logged timber suspended horizontally about three feet above the floor. On one side stands a strong man to swing the log; on the other is an agile, naked young man. As the log is swung toward him, the youth must leap over it. Failure to time the log properly results in the jumper being hurled heavily against the rear wall. A variation of this pastime is for the nimble youth to stand in the entranceway. The log is swung toward him and allowed to hit the wall. As it rebounds, the youth follows, leaps, and dodges before the log can crush him against the opposite wall. During the early part of the fourth night, the masks and the bird and animal ornaments, with the frames to hang them on, are painted. After the painting four large drums are made and suspended near the entrance, and four men are chosen to beat them. The best singer selects three men and three women singers. These, the men kneeling and the women standing behind them, to the drum accompaniment are rehearsed in songs and the motions and gestures proper to each song. There is a song for each invitation stick sent out. In the following days caps of deer, fox, seal, and wolf are made. All the articles of preparation - drums, ornaments, masks, and caps - are laid away until they are to be used. Much food is prepared and stored. The messenger, face blackened with soot, and carrying a new carved staff from the invited village, enters his own men's house and stands silent in the middle of the floor. After the oldest man calls {view image of page 70} 70 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN "Messenger!" three times, he answers similarly, and adds, "The headman of that village has no hair-seal." Then the messenger reads from the staff the articles that the visitors have asked from various people of the village. At the conclusion, a young man snatches the message stick, breaks it, and throws the pieces outside. At night all implements made in preparation are brought in, put in place, and a sweat-bath is held. Early in the morning, an old man, face blackened, wearing a white parka and dragging a small sled, goes to meet the approaching visitors. As he draws near their line of sleds, he dances until abreast of them. Then all stop and wait. Young men from the village run up and halt in a line with the visitors. Next, two men circle the assemblage counter-clockwise, and as soon as they come abreast, all, guests and hosts together, race to the men's house. There the visitors remain with their sleds, while the villagers raise a pole and afterward carry food to their guests. The headman of the village fastens a sealskin to the raised pole and dances about it. The headman of the visitors then takes down the sealskin and puts up one of greater value, such as a wolvereneor a whitefox-skin, in its place, keeping the former skin. In turn, hosts and guests raise and take down skins until each has a large pile. The last skin, raised by the hosts, is allowed to remain on the pole. Next, the villagers bring out all the articles that have been requested and distribute them in order of age to the visitors, who are now standing by their respective sleds. The guests are then invited to various houses. The messenger calls out, "That man wants food!" When his dish is filled, he carries it to the visitors' headman. The men of the village, who are in the men's house, strip to the waist and put on masks and animal-head caps. Then they rush to the entrance, singing the song which the messenger had brought back as a welcome to the visitors who are by this time waiting outside. The men line up about the room, with a great stamping of feet and loud yells, while the agile young man jumps over the suspended log. When the noise has abated and all are quiet, the messenger is bidden to fetch in three visitors. As these enter, they are grasped by their hosts and stood up against the wall. All lights but one small one are now put out, and a medicine-woman, crouched and swaying, enters, bearing a lamp. She places her lamp on the head of one of the visitors, and with outstretched forefinger draws an imaginary line past the noses of all three to drive away any evil. In this manner all {view image of page 71} THE NUNIVAK 7I the visitors enter and are seated on new mats. All night and the following day feasting prevails, and songs in honor of the guests are sung. At night the headman of the village and his wife, in dance costume, dance for the guests to the accompaniment of singing. After this dance, the visitors leave the men's house. In their absence all lamps and ornaments are carefully adjusted in their places and the trained singers, swaying and gesturing to the accompaniment of the four drummers, render a song for each of the guests. As the song progresses, the headman of the visitors reinters and presents a complete outfit of clothing, four sealskins and whatsoever else had been asked of him, to the headman of the village, to whom a song is now sung. In turn, each of the visitors enters with those articles requested of him by the messenger. At the conclusion, the singing ceases and the pile of gifts is distributed to the villagers, in order of age. On the fourth day, provisions of all kinds are brought to the men's house to be distributed to the visitors and taken home by them, and a feast is held. On the fifth day the headman of the village and his wife offer gifts to the headman of the visitors, who dances while the villagers sing. All the visitors then troop outside, sing for their hosts, and reenter, bearing small gifts. They conclude the gift-making with dances and new songs to their hosts. The concluding day and night, before the visitors depart for their own homes, are devoted to singing, dancing, and feasting. Spring Hunt Ceremony, or the Consecration of the Kaiak The first day after reaching the spring hunting camp in the season of Takokit-tanoket ("when young seals are born"), the men remain, fasting and continent, in the men's house, breaking their fast only at night. In the hunting of any game, hunters must have weapons in good condition, clean clothing, and clean persons. During the seal season, new kaiaks are used, or at least new covers, while sealers wear new white parkas. However, after the season, old kaiak-covers may be stretched on the frame for fishing. On the second day, each man makes two paddles, measured by the length of the arms outstretched, with handles fist wide. On the third day each paints his talismanic mark on his kaiak in light blue, a paint of cupric oxide obtained from Nelson island. Each day is one of fasting, followed by a feast at night. After the painting, the boat {view image of page 72} 72 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN owner carries his craft to the shore, where he fastens it by a line to his upright boat-hook and ice-pick. Early in the morning of the fourth day, before daybreak, the wife of a hunter bathes in urine, followed by a salt-water rinsing in the open; then she dresses in a complete new costume. Meanwhile, the man, with two handfuls of snow, enters the men's house, stands on a new grass mat, and rubs himself from the feet upward with the snow. His wife places a lighted lamp before him as he dresses in a complete new costume. The hunter, bearing a lamp, followed by his wife bearing berries in a new bowl, and his children also carrying lamps, goes outside to the kaiak, which they circle slowly. The man now inserts his lamp into and immediately withdraws it from the kaiak, and sets it in the snow. The children place their lamps beside the father's. The hunter, after putting each weapon and piece of equipment in its proper place, carries the kaiak to open water. There he paddles along slowly, praying for good hunting, plenty of seals, and good weather. He prays especially that he may catch sea-lions and hair-seals which have spirits. Next he offers berries to the sea, with the invocation that many seals will come before his kaiak, and afterward divides the berries amongst his sons. When the dish is empty, the hunter paddles clockwise in three circles and then straight out to sea. Thus begins the spring hunt. As the father departs, his sons cast their berries into the water and offer a prayer that their father will kill a seal before sunset; that they may have fresh meat. While her husband is hunting, the wife, with a sled-load of dried fish, distributes this food to widows and old people. The man, after killing a hair-seal, skins it, cuts up the meat, thrusts it below deck with his hooked meat-stick, and paddles home. At the camp he draws the nose of his kaiak on shore. Now, talisman under chin, he waves a grass mat on a paddle as a signal for his children to come to him. Then he places the talisman on his cap, rolls up the mat, and runs to the roof of the men's house where he slaps each wall with the palms of his hands, yells his hunting song, and finally lays a paddle horizontally before him. In the meanwhile his wife changes into her new parka, and the couple take the meat on a sled to their home. The man leaves his kaiak on a rack, bow pointing to the house, signifying that the craft has brought home seal. The wife carries the meat inside. Hunters usually perform their ceremony and go out hunting in {view image of facing page 72} Jukuk, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 73} THE NUNIVAK 73 pairs. However, a man may paddle away alone. Often all the hunters go out on the same morning. Hair-seal Ceremony 1 When a hunter has brought home a hair-seal, he cuts off the head before taking the meat inside the house. The head, complete with eyes, nose, mouth, and whiskers, but with skull removed, is hung on the wall facing the entrance. The hunter then proceeds to the men's house and changes his clothing. His wife, wearing a waterproof parka, places a strip of oil-blubber in a lamp and lights it. This, with the seal's bladder and a bowl of food, she brings to her husband. She distributes oil and food to the old people present, and departs. The man, while the assembled people sing his childbirth song, inflates the bladder, attaches it to a sooted stick, and hangs it above his place in the men's house, where it is kept until the Bladder feast. In the morning, the meat is stored away and the kaiak's nose is pointed seaward. For other seal there is no ceremony, but the bladders are inflated and kept for the Bladder feast. Summer Hunting Ceremony 1 When the proper time for the summer hunting and fishing season arrives (July), some man, an experienced hunter, calls out to the villagers to prepare. All begin to gather excess gear, weapons, clothing, oil, and food, for this is one of the many "give-away" ceremonies. Even visitors in the village overhaul their supplies for articles to give away. The entire village assembles in the men's house. The oldest man's daughter dances while the gathering sing for her. Then the oldest man goes out to bring his gifts. As he reenters, his wife likewise departs and returns. In order of age, husbands and wives, men and women, similarly bring in their gifts, all of which are divided amongst the unfortunate, the helpless, the aged, the crippled, and the widowed. It is an opportunity for them to obtain enough supplies to insure subsistence for the coming winter. As the gifts are distributed, the people pray to the spirits for aid and good luck in their summer hunting. Ceremony for a Boy on Catching His First Bird 2 A boy, catching his first bird, brings it to the men's house. There the father covers the bird with the skin of a young hair-seal, one under 1 Held during the season of Tin6tik-tinoket (" sea-fowl appear"). 2 Held in the season Tlnmearut-tinoket ("land-fowl appear"). VOL. XX-1O {view image of page 74} 74 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN three years. If he does not possess such a skin, he purchases one with firewood. The boy, clad in a waterproof parka to ward off any evil influence, offers this sealskin to some old man who will skin the bird in return. During the skinning, those present sing a birth song for the boy, usually some family song. From this occasion the boy possesses this song as his birth song. The boy's mother gives berries mixed with grease to the old people present. Other relatives offer dried fish and other food. As people accept food, they throw portions to the floor as offerings, at the same time invoking longer life and good hunting for themselves; that the boy may be healthy and long-lived; that he may become a successful hunter, and always able to eat his game. Walrus Ceremony 1 This ceremony is held after the walrus-hunt, about the month of July. Sea animals appear in this order in their northern migration: first the hair-seal and sea-lion; next, smaller seal with their young; third, spotted seal, young hair-seal, and walrus. After the hunt, a walrus-head is hung on the rear wall of the men's house, facing the entrance. Women bring in gifts, which are first piled in the middle of the room and afterward divided among the assemblage. Many songs, the endings of which are in imitation of the voice of the walrus, are sung. After the songs, boys cast toy spears made of sticks with attached lines of woven grass at the head. Then the walrus-head is carried to the beach and placed in a position facing the village that it may bring in more walrus. Mythology The Origin of Nunivak Island 2 Two brothers, one strong and one weaker and younger, were out at sea when a stiff blow came up. For protection they tied up on the lee side of some anchor ice. By the second day the younger began to whimper and cry. The elder warned: "Do not cry so. Schlimyoa ['Spirit Of The Universe,' sun, moon, stars, earth] will hear you." The boy kept on crying. Then they saw a spirit-being descending from the sky toward them. The elder said: " I told you that we should go home in calm weather, but you kept on crying. At last Scmhimyoa has heard you. Do not be afraid now, you who cried." The spirit stood with one foot on each kaiak. It wore a woman's parka of white fish-skin and carried something inside. The elder brother explained: "My brother has been crying since yesterday. I told him to hush, and not to call down a spirit." "As soon as I heard, I knew some one needed aid, so I came to you." 1 Held in the season Tinmearilt-tanoket ("land-fowl appear"). 2 As told at Cape Etolin. {view image of facing page 74} Dishes, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 75} THE NUNIVAK 75 With these words she scattered something on each side of the kaiaks, which became land, while the ice they were tied to turned into a mountain in the middle of the land. She sprinkled something more, which became plants and animals. The younger brother discovered himself changed into a woman. Since then woman has always been weaker than man. From these two descended the people of Nunivak. Young people are instructed never to yell loudly while in the village, because Sch-limyoa might hear, and, thinking it a real call of distress, come to give aid. If Schlimyoa is called needlessly, she may not come when one is in real trouble. How People Came to Cape Etolin There was a time, long ago, when a man all at once became conscious of himself. He found that he was a man standing naked in a men's house which was devoid of all furnishings, even grass mats. He saw light, which hurt his eyes, coming through the smoke-hole and flooding the entranceway. Going outside, he had to blink his eyes many times before he became accustomed to the sun's glare. Then, glancing about, he saw many strange things: calm smooth water, grass and plants, and animals. Closer observation showed that these animals, moving in herds, were unlike him, because they had four legs, tails, and horns on their heads. He thought: "Those animals are clothed, while I am naked. I must do something to cover myself." Near the house was a cache -a small hut on a raised platform with a notched pole for a ladder. Inside, the man found clothing, and, after much trying on, discovered which parts of the body the different articles were to cover. There were also bows and arrows, though he knew not their names and uses; to him they were only so many sticks. By manipulation he found that the stick with the string could be bent, and that other notched sticks fitted on the string. When he pulled on the bow and let go, he saw that the arrow flew away; the harder he pulled the farther it went. To make it fly straighter and be more effective, the man set flint in the head. In the cache were many wooden vessels. He stepped outside with his weapons, and the idea came to him to see what effect they had on the animals. He thought, cautiously: " I must not take any chances. I shall stay close to the house, so that if I hit an animal he will not be able to run me down and devour me." The animals, which were caribou, gazed curiously at the man, and some even started slowly toward him, but at that he became frightened and ran into the house. After peering through the entranceway for some time, courage returned, and he went out again. Cautiously he approached within bowshot and let fly an arrow, which to his surprise remained sticking into the animal instead of falling to the ground. The herd, now frightened, thundered away. The man thought: "They are running from me. I shall chase the one I hit." The man followed the blood-flecked trail until he came to the animal, lying still. He saw that the eyes were open, and he thought: " I do not think that animal is dead. It is pretending." He walked slowly about the carcass, thumped the ground with a stick, and finally poked the caribou. The carcass was stiff, and he then knew the animal was dead. Now he faced the problem of taking it back home. Though he pulled at the legs, and even bit the hide, he could not take off the skin nor separate the flesh into pieces. An idea came that if a flint on a shaft could penetrate flesh, with another flint he could cut the body. So it was skinned and quartered. A few mouthfuls of meat, the first he had ever tasted, were good. At home the hide was pegged out to be dried. While sharpening a flint arrow-head with a stone, sparks often flew up, and an acrid smoke wafted to his nostrils. "Now, why are those little points of light given off, and where does that smoke come from? I must find out." The man then hit a flint hard against a stone and many sparks flashed briefly. One spark landed in some dry grass, so that flame sprang up. The man then built his first fire. When he compared the heat of the fire with the coldness of the meat, he decided to warm the meat. The sweet smell of the roasting flesh was so good that he put a portion in his mouth. It was much better than raw meat. He declared, "I shall always prepare my meat like this." When the man returned to the carcass, he found that it was sun-dried and hard, but still good to eat. Thereafter he hung much of his meat in the sun. Once the man, on going to the beach, saw what appeared to be a hollow log, the hole in the middle being large enough for a man to sit in; but it had a wooden framework and skin covering. The idea came to him to float it and to get in, but he found that it continually tipped {view image of page 76} 76 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN over. To hold it steady, he put stones in the bottom; then he was able to paddle about, soon becoming used to the waves. While in the kaiak he saw many sea animals, seals, a few of which he killed with harpoons. Returning home, he found a steaming dish of food. He knew that some one had been there during his absence. He wondered now about the house, cache, weapons, and kaiak - who had made them; where all had come from; and what person had prepared the food. One day, while hunting caribou, he saw other animals, and noticed how they varied in size, shape, and weight. After killing some small game and returning home, he noticed smoke rising and knew that some one must be in his house. The person, who had hair much longer than his, looked up at his noiseless approach. She said: "I took notice of you and saw that you were doing everything alone. You have found a bow and arrows, spears, a kaiak, clothes, and wooden dishes, all made for you. You have a grandfather, though you did not know it, who made these things for you." Soon the person gave birth to a son. When he was old enough to be left alone, the mother departed one day to bring back more household utensils. On her return she found her son grown to manhood and become a great hunter. For him she made parkas and boots from land and sea animals. Often she told him that his great grandfather had made his equipment. When the wind blew ashore, Son would find parts for kaiaks, sleds, snowshoes, and everything needful to a hunter. These pieces he assembled. Once his mother directed: "You are strong and able to travel far. It is time for you to go out and see things. You must travel down the shore, keeping land on your right until you cross the bay. There, on a point of land, you will find your great grandfather. From him you will learn something." Arrived at the point, he found a house among tall grasses, a house so old that grass and weeds almost covered the smoke-hole. Smoke was coming out. As Son cleared the hole and put on a new cover, he heard a voice inside: "A fox is going to eat my smoke-hole. A fox is going to eat my smoke-hole." Son found a bent old man huddled in a corner. After being carried to the light, the old man exclaimed: " I have been suffering a long time. Who is this who treats me roughly and makes me suffer more?" Son cleaned the house, emptied the urine pot, filled the water bowl, brought in fresh dried grass and skin robes, carried in provisions of meat and oil, and finally clothed the old man in a new outfit. Then Son was instructed: " I do not know if you can find any one where you are going, but you may try. Follow the sun's path, and to return keep your face to the setting sun; that will be your path. If you meet any one, you must be very careful. You will go where I once went, long, long ago. There you will meet some one who was very old even when I was there. She will tell you what you wish to know. If you find some one, do not pass by on your return, but stop and talk with me." As Son was about to leave, the old man gave him the head of a pintail duck, saying, "Put this head on the nose of your kaiak." Son departed toward the rising sun and came at length to some habitations on a small bay. Before one of them a wolf's head swung in the wind, suspended from a pole. Son looked through the entrance and saw a lamp burning within. Then he heard the voice of an old woman, saying: "My granddaughter, no one has ever been at our door before. Some one is there now. Go and see if he is in trouble." The girl looked and saw Son. She called back, "There is a man here whom I have never seen before." "If he is in trouble, tell him to come in." Entering, Son saw much dried fish, berries, and roots. The old woman said to him: "It is too bad that you came here, for you are in great danger. There are two evil spirits who kill and eat people. If you try to leave here, they will get you, for they are very powerful." At daybreak the spirits knew that there was a newcomer with the old woman. In the form of one person they came and demanded of him, " I should like to see you alone." This was an invitation to combat. The old woman instructed Son: "Wait. Wait until he again asks you to fight." The spirits, as one person, again demanded, "You must come out to see who is the stronger and better hunter." The old woman said to Son: "My granddaughter has a small bow. Use that." On a nearby hill Son stalked a caribou, killed, skinned, and butchered it, and brought it {view image of page 77} THE NUNIVAK 77 back to the old woman. The spirits had not yet returned, but when they did so they brought only a small fawn. In a second contest they hunted the big hair-seal, going out after the challenge had been issued twice. Son soon returned, his kaiak heavy with meat, but the spirits came back at sunset with only a small spotted seal. Son was then challenged to the men's house, where he stripped for combat, but wore on his forehead the head of the pintail duck. The spirits, who were as one person, wore the noses of a wolf and a weasel on a belt. The firepit was filled with water containing sea-worms, which could strip the flesh from a man. The spirits instructed: "We shall race around this pit. Whoever loses will be thrown into the water." For a time the contestants ran side by side, neither at top speed. Son saw that his opponent had become half wolf and half weasel, and also had begun to draw ahead. In spite of all his efforts, Son was left behind. Then he thought of his talisman, and changed into a pintail duck, going as fast as wings could bear him. The wolf-and-weasel person was now panting heavily from fatigue, his tongue sticking far out. Son, with tremendous flapping of wings, came abreast and passed. He had won. Then he threw the evil spirits, wolf and weasel, into the pit, where the worms devoured the flesh. Son and the granddaughter of the old woman departed for home, stopping on their way to see his great grandfather, who instructed, "Any time you are in trouble and want to travel fast, wear your talisman and you will be able to make as much speed as a pintail duck." They lived at Son's home, and during their lives had many children, who, when they grew up, married and also had many children. The Origin of Nunivak Island 1 Two brothers lived together in a far land. One was still very young and weak, so that when the elder went on hunting trips he packed the younger on his back. One spring, when the younger was quite grown up, they made a kaiak and went hunting, but though they went far, they saw no game. At last, almost exhausted, they stopped by some anchor ice, intending to go home the following day. That night a stiff blow came up. "Let us go home!" often cried the younger. "No, we shall set out for home tomorrow," always answered the elder. The frightened younger brother cried so loudly that the elder threatened: "You had better stop that crying. If you do not, a spirit will hear you." But the crying continued. When the moon broke through the clouds for a brief moment, the elder saw, on looking up, something coming down to the water. Frightened, he exclaimed: "I told you not to cry! I told you that a spirit would hear you! Now look and see what is coming down to us!" The younger stopped wailing, and they watched. The spirit came closer, singing as it approached: " I hear people preparing for the night. I want them for my own. I shall have them for my own." The spirit woman, with fancy trimming on her parka and holding something inside it, stepped on their kaiak. Said she: " I heard that you are in trouble. I have come to help you." " I told my brother over and over that I should take him home tomorrow, but he wants to go now." The spirit woman took something from her parka and threw it on both sides of the kaiak, and it became land. The younger brother turned into a woman, whom the elder married. Then all animals, both of land and sea, became so numerous that the man, who was a great hunter, was able to provide everything in great plenty. Once, while hunting, his bow-string broke, so he returned home to have his wife make him a new one. As she was shredding sinew, he lay beside her watching, and began to tease her. As she edged away, he moved toward her, continually teasing, until at last she thrust her sinewthreader toward him. This she did many times, whenever he moved closer. Finally he became very still. Frightened by his quietness, she looked at him very carefully and saw that his body was full of tiny holes. Then she carried the corpse outside and buried it. That night the spirit woman entered and inquired for the man. "My husband broke a 1 As told at Nash Harbor. {view image of page 78} 78 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN bow-string and came home for a new one. He went out again and has not returned since," the wife lied. The spirit, not quite satisfied with the answer, searched about the house, finally asking: "Where did he go? Did he really go?" "Yes, he went away, taking his new bow-string with him." One winter night, as the woman built her fire, the smoke hung in the room instead of going through the smoke-hole, so she went outside to build a windbreak. While she was busy, the spirit woman returned and sat down to watch. As she reclined, she felt something protruding into her back, something which felt like a human knee-bone. She dug, and found the body of the man, punched full of holes. She asked the woman: "Why did you lie to me? You said your husband had gone away, but you killed him." "He was teasing me, but I only motioned at him with my sinew-threader, and that had to happen." "Why did you do that? You were intended to live together as man and wife." The woman sprang to her feet to run away. As she did so, the spirit woman reached out to grab her, but just grazed the sole of her foot. As the woman disappeared, she sang: Up shall I go; Up shall I go; To the middle of the sky shall I go. Where all the spirits go, there shall I go. Up shall I go. The spirit woman felt so distressed because the man had been killed and the woman had gone to the sky, that she broke her knife in two, inserting the halves into her upper jaws to make long fangs. Then she turned into a wolf, and all of her wolf offspring later became humans. How People Came to Nash Harbor Far away, somewhere on the mainland, lived a great hunter with his daughter and a big dog. The daughter persistently refused to marry any of the young men who sought her hand, disregarding the wishes of her father, who desired a son-in-law to help provide for the family. At last, in exasperation, he cried: "You must marry one of these fine young men; or would you rather have this dog for a husband?" She refused to answer, but the dog, on hearing the question, cocked his ears, then went out, to return soon, carrying in his mouth a boot-sole which he placed before them. Then he married the girl. The young men who had proposed marriage to her laughed in scorn when they heard about it. The father in disgust, and with a desire to be rid of such a son-in-law, told the dog: "Now that you are married, you must hunt for the family. Go out and get furs for parkas." When the dog had gone, the father put much food on a sled and with his daughter departed south. Past Cape Romanzof he went; crossed to Nelson island, from which he saw a land farther out to sea; essayed the straits and landed safely at Cape Manning on Nunivak island, but travelled on northward until he reached Nash Harbor, where he built a house. Now he thought he had successfully avoided his unwelcome son-in-law. After the long winter was over, and much food had been stored during the summer, the father left his daughter to return to his own village. There he found the dog, who had been seeking vainly for his wife. To avoid the dog, the father went northward along the coast. The wise dog back-trailed the man and finally found his wife safe on Nunivak island. By this time she had given birth to five male puppies and one human female. The dogs she had taught to provide food, and by her teaching they had become capable of human thought. After a year's absence, the father returned to live with the family, though he never could reconcile himself to his son-in-law or his grandchildren. When he could no longer tolerate the dog, he determined to kill him. He filled a sealskin poke with stones and tied it about the dog's neck in such a manner that it could not become unfastened. Then he ordered: "There is little food here. Here are supplies for you in this poke. Go out and hunt for us." {view image of facing page 78} Baskets, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 79} THE NUNIVAK 79 As soon as the dog entered the water, the stone-laden poke dragged him under, so that he drowned. In the meantime the man hurriedly departed for the mainland. When her husband failed to return, the girl sadly told her children, the dogs: "My father has killed your father. When he returns, you must kill him." Early the following spring they saw a kaiak approaching their home and the dogs knew that their grandfather was arriving, so they hid behind a bluff near the shore. The moment he stepped on land, they rushed at him and with tooth and claw tore him to pieces. The girl and her children continued to dwell on Nunivak island, and from them the present people descended. The Obtaining of Light When all the land was in darkness and there was no daylight, there were two brothers who lived near the shore. Even in the darkness they were able to hunt seal and caribou. Whenever they looked far away on the horizon, they could see a spot of brightness. They often spoke of it, wondered what it could be, and planned some time to travel there and to satisfy their curiosity. After they had provisioned a kaiak and prepared all equipment, they made ready to start. At that moment the younger brother exclaimed: " I have forgotten our sewing bag! I shall go back to the house for it." He found the sewing kit, and, as he was about to return, some one seized him. He vainly tried to escape, but he was helpless, unable even to cry out. The elder brother, impatient at the delay, and receiving no answer to his calls, decided to investigate. As he entered the house, he stumbled over his brother's body, and exclaimed, "What are you doing, lying there on the floor?" The younger brother, who had regained his voice, answered, "A person is holding me down." A strange voice spoke to them: "You brothers were preparing to go toward the light. You never could have reached it if you paddled a long time. You stay here while I fetch it." The brothers, angry at being detained, paid no heed, but set out in their kaiak. For a long time they paddled, until they thought that they must be far out at sea, but when they looked back they were astonished to find that they had not moved even the length of a kaiak. Puzzled and vexed, they returned home and lighted a lamp. In the light of the room they saw a young woman, who told them: " It is no use to attempt to reach the light. You could travel for more than a lifetime, so long that you would be humpbacked from paddling, and then be no farther than when you started. I shall go for you; but while I am away, you must sleep." When the woman returned with light, she awakened the elder brother: "It is time to get up. You must not sleep too long." He opened his eyes and cried out in pain: "Oh! That hurts!" Soon, by opening and closing his eyes, he became accustomed to light. Then he awakened his brother, who also had to become used to the unfamiliar glare. The woman said: "You have wished for light, and I have brought it. Now you must look about and make use of it. The night is for sleeping." The brothers liked the light and made use of it, hunting caribou and seal. In the night time they slept. Since that time there have been day and night. The woman was an ftic'hi (wolf-spirit). The Seal-spirits A seal suddenly discovered that she was alive, lying on a woven mat on a rocky bench by the water, under the ice. Below was water, above a hole in the ice through which the sky could be seen. As the water rose and covered the bench, she felt the need of air, so she popped her head through the hole and saw land near by. Then for the first time she used her flippers, swimming along close to shore. Therewas a village, with people moving about, but she thought: "Those people are not like me. I must keep away from them." She saw a new white kaiak disappear behind a floe, and when it emerged, the paddler had changed to a white ptarmigan parka and wore a white pointed cap. He resembled a piece of ice. Then the seal saw him put something, a talisman, in his mouth. Immediately a mist floated from the hunter to her, making her feel very drowsy. The man slowly approached, making ready his harpoon, but then the seal dived, breaking the spell. She thought, "That man meant some harm to me." {view image of page 80} 80 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN A long time she swam, following the shore. She fed, swam, and often slept in the sun on an ice-floe. Finally she arrived at a large seal rookery. A big seal, which had the power of becoming human at will, desired and took possession of her. One day food became distasteful to her; she was heavier and moved sluggishly. Her mate chose a solid ice-floe for her to rest upon, and there a male seal was born to them. In its early days it made much noise in its sleep, and would not wake up. The parents, frightened, thought, " If a hunter should pass by here the baby would be killed." Then the baby had waking intervals. The parents taught it to swim, and they all moved down the coast, close to land, but always in such a manner that they could get to sea quickly. They passed a village, but because an unclean woman was there (one in a menstrual period), they kept far out at sea. Many hunters came out in kaiaks, one wearing a white cap and parka approaching close. The man put a talisman in his mouth, and its power made them feel drowsy and helpless. As the hunter was about to cast his harpoon, they dived and escaped. Looking up, he could be seen, weapon in hand, waiting. The parents instructed: "When you are alone and hunters come out, be very careful, because they will throw sticks which tear the flesh and kill. You must always move swiftly. While swimming, keep close to shore, because if you are out, you may run into nets stretched between rock points." Once they came to a clean village where there was no garbage on the shore and the people were neat. The male parent said: "That village and those people are clean. We can go near them." A kaiak approached; the equipment was new. The hunter was well dressed, and the kaiak was a new one with white covering. The male parent said: "This is a good man. Even if he comes close, let us stay on top of the ice." The hunter used his talisman, and when the seals were overcome, he cast his harpoons at all three. They came back to consciousness and knew that they were dead. The scratching and tickling of the stone knife as it cut into their flesh made them feel good. They were happy when cut up and stowed away in the kaiak. On shore the man's wife carried them to the house on a sled. They were glad, because she was clean. Inside, after lighting a small lamp, she poured water in their mouths, which tasted sweet. Then she cut off their faces and placed them before the house. Before retiring, the man and wife burned bark and passed it under the seals' noses. This greatly pleased them. Late in the spring, as soon as some one had found an egg on the tundra, the woman, putting on new clothes, carried the seal flesh in a woven grass bag outside the village. There she built a small cache, facing the sun, and stored the meat within, placing on it her "medicine." This the seals disliked, so they went back to the ocean. Much swimming brought them to a small bight where a house stood on the shore. Leaving their skins behind, and becoming human, the seals entered the home occupied by a woman and her daughter. The young seal married the girl. Once the woman said to him, "Today you must be very careful, for your wife's relatives are coming." The young man's parents answered, "You must stay here, but we shall leave." Soon two women entered and seized the young man, taking him from his wife. Cunningly he told them, "Do with me as you will, but first take me to the water." On the shore, he broke away, diving into the sea, where he became a seal. Surprised and unable to catch him, the women went away. Then the young man, again a human, returned, as did his parents. The parents took the woman on their backs; the husband took the girl, and all set out for the land of the seals where they lived together on a goodly supply of clams, mussels, and fish. The Flounder-spirit Five brothers and their sister lived by themselves away from the village, where they had their own men's house. These brothers adhered strictly to spirit teachings, and were always careful to make their fires with the fire-drill and to hold a Bladder feast. After all the bladders had been painted, they slept. Some time during the night the lamp ran dry and flickered out - the lamp that must be kept burning all the time. The eldest brother awoke first, and, dismayed at what had happened, ordered one of the others to bring a new light from the women's house. This one, as he entered, called out, "Sister, the light is out in the men's house!" The women's house was also in darkness, and when the brother felt about for his sister, {view image of facing page 80} Ceremonial mask, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 81} THE NUNIVAK 8I he soon found that the house was empty. The brothers hastily made new light and searched for their sister. All was in perfect order, but she was nowhere to be found. They also found that their newly-painted bladders had disappeared. All winter, summer, and spring they searched, finally giving up hope of ever seeing their sister again. One spring night, as dawn was near, the eldest brother arose and went outside to look around. All was very still, and a light fog overhung the water. Listening very carefully, he heard the swish of a paddle when it dipped into the water, and the spattering of drops as it was pulled out, but, although he strained his eyes, he could see nothing. He rushed into the men's house, crying, "Some one is going to arrive soon!" All went to the shore, where they plainly heard paddling and singing. The eldest instructed: "When the kaiak touches land, grab his arms and pull him out. Hold him, because I know that he is after some one!" The brothers tried to hold the man fast, but he easily shook them off in spite of their efforts. This man, who was Nituihanuh,' spoke through his mouth, which was strangely twisted to one side: "Why do you try to hold me? I know you want your sister back." " If you know where our sister is, we shall not harm you," they answered, and led him to the men's house. There he commanded them to construct new kaiaks, and to oil them so that they would slip fast through the water. When the work was finished, he said, "Tomorrow, if the weather holds good, I shall take you brothers with me." The anxious brothers hardly slept all night. After daybreak, when they saw that all was calm and the water smooth, they wakened Nutuihanuih. He arose, scratched his head, yawned, looked through the smoke-hole, and said: "0 my! It is very stormy out there. We should be very foolish to go out in this weather. We shall wait." During that night a stiff blow came up and the seas ran high. Then Nuituihanuih awakened the brothers, saying: "This is fine calm weather. Let us go now." The brothers wondered and muttered among themselves: "We must be careful. He is perhaps trying to get rid of us!" Nutuihaniuh knew their thoughts, but made no reply, except to order: "Make ready! Get in your kaiaks and let us start!" After they had paddled a short distance, all the brothers became unconscious, as if asleep. After a time Nituhanuih woke them, asking them why they slept at this time of day. As they looked about, they were astonished to find themselves in a dead calm and out of sight of land. He drew off a short distance, and said: "You have talked of killing me. Now try to catch me!" They worked hard with double-bladed paddles, but he, paddling slowly with only a single blade, easily drew away. So it went from day to day. He would lead easily, while the brothers strove to keep up, but at night all ate and slept together. One day they saw a black speck far in the distance. Drawing closer, it was seen to be a bare rock with a tiny speck on top. "Look!" directed Nutuhanih, "Your sister has been here! There are her feces on the rock!" They passed the rock, and for many days travelled on until finally land was sighted in the distance, which proved to be an island. There they pulled up their kaiaks, and Ntituihanulh said: "Your brother-in-law who lives beyond that point will receive you. I shall guide you there." Around the point they entered a village and were welcomed in a house where lived an old woman and her daughter. The old woman informed them: "The great hunter of this village possesses many seal-bladders. On one trip he brought back a fine young woman, and I have long awaited people searching for her. Now you have come. Your sister married the great hunter, and he will kill you if you try to take her away." The following day they entered the men's house, which had an entrance so spacious that they did not have to stoop. Inside they saw the great hunter, who, as soon as he spied them, leaped from his bench and lifted each brother in turn by his armpits to arm length overhead to show his strength. The hunter's father cried: "My son, you have always been the best man here. You have always performed well, but now you will have to do your best." The great hunter stripped naked, moved a huge whale shoulder-bone to the entrance, and placed a urine pot beside it. He wore bear-claw armlets, and, walking like a bear, sang, "Now strangers, get down to me and meet me." He and the youngest brother fought until the hunter threw him to the floor. Then the hunter rubbed the face of the youngest brother through the 1 " Flounder-spirit"- a good spirit (yijth) sent to help the brothers, who were polar bears. VOL. XX-II {view image of page 82} 82 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN hole in the whale's shoulder-bone until it was scarred and bleeding. Next he washed the face in urine. To show that the fight was ended, he threw the body into the entranceway. The hunter started for the next brother, but Ntuihanuh objected, "Do not fight him; fight me!" Several times the hunter threw Nutuhannuh, but could not drag him to the whale's shoulderblade. At last, when the hunter was exhausted, Ntuihanih killed him, rubbed his face on the shoulder-bone, and washed the face with urine, then threw the body into the entrance. In like manner he treated the hunter's father. Next he gathered the bones of the youngest brother from the entrance, poured water on them, and the brother became alive and as well as before. Nutuhanuh, the brothers and their sister, ran to their kaiaks and paddled away as fast as they could. Looking back, they saw a huge wave sweeping the sea toward them. Now they were by the rock in the sea, and hastily climbed it. After the huge wave had passed and they looked for their kaiaks, they found only one fit to use, the one belonging to Nuituhanfh. They all tried to get into it, but no matter how they tried, one person was always left without a place. Nituihanuh then split it open, put all in, and bound it up with lashings. After they had gone a short distance, all became unconscious, though once the eldest brother revived, noticed the tremendous speed they were making, and felt the kaiak tremble. He saw they were on the back of a flounder. The flounder, NCtuihanth, ordered, "I told you not to look about!" Straightway the eldest brother became unconscious again. When they awoke, they were home. Nuitiuhanuh married the sister, but he was never happy. He always went around wearing the same parka, never changing. Finally, when he could bear living on land no longer, he said: "You have always thought me to be human. Now watch me!" He sat in his kaiak. Both he and the kaiak became flatter and flatter. When very flat, they flopped to the water and became a flounder. The Wolf-spirit There were five brothers and their sister who lived alone, a long distance from a village. The sister was very industrious, collecting and storing away much food in the different seasons. One time, when she was gathering dock-leaves and had filled her pack, she was accosted by a strange young man, who asked her: "I have come to fetch you to my village. Will you go with me?" " If I go, I must first tell my brothers." " I have already talked with them. They said that you could go with me." "Now, I think that you are lying to me." The man, when she doubted his word, seized and carried her struggling to the shore, where he had a kaiak hidden. Her brothers, hearing her screams and cries, said one to another: "The gulls in the bay are screaming and fighting over fish. The tide must be out." The man and the sister camped on the shore when the sun went down. During the night she made her escape and wandered about, lost, but in the daylight the man easily found her by following her tracks. He was not angry; he laughed, and said: "I was frightened when I awoke and found you gone. I thought perhaps I could not find you again." They followed the coast until they reached his village. There she lived with him as his wife. In the springtime the village held games, playing especially hide-and-seek. One man, whenever he hid, could not be found. His face was half white and half brown: he was a spirit, one of the wolf-spirits who know all things, even the thoughts of people; he had the power to ascend into the sky at will; as a wolf-spirit he could raise the dead; he could be either good or evil. In the games, the wolf-spirit always was near the sister. Once he touched her arm, and said: "Why are you so foolish as to stay here? Your brothers are very sad because they have lost their sister, and are searching everywhere for you." She answered: "If you know where my brothers are, will you bring them to me? They will reward you with a cache full of furs, clothing, and food." When the wolf-spirit refused her request, she urged further, " If you will bring my brothers to me, you may take me to wife." The brothers had searched long for their sister, finally giving up all hope of ever seeing her again. One foggy evening, the eldest brother, who was on the shore, heard a noise like {view image of facing page 82} Maskette, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 83} THE NUNIVAK 83 thunder booming over the water. He ran to the men's house and cried to his brothers: "Some one took away our sister! Now a spirit is coming to us!" As they listened, the thunder sounded closer. Soon, through the fog, they could see a small, twisted kaiak approaching. Then the eldest brother told his plan: "I think that person must be the one who has stolen Sister. When he lands, let us seize him." When the kaiak came close, the stranger ceased paddling and came to a stop, drifting on the water. "Why do you not come ashore?" called the brothers impatiently. "Because you plan to seize me. I have taken pity on you and have come to help you, but you are thinking of holding me. I have come from your sister, who has sent for you. If you want to see her, follow me in your kaiaks." The brothers eagerly paddled after the stranger, who led them a long distance to a village. He pointed to a house standing alone, and said: "My grandmother lives there. You may stay with her." The sister's husband, who was headman of the village, and a friend who was a great hunter, ordered the five brothers to move to the men's house, where all visitors were received. On each side of the entrance were deep pits of water. The wolf-spirit instructed them: "You will be challenged to fight, each in his turn. He will try to throw you in those pools of water, but I shall help you when you are in distress." The husband and the great hunter, wearing hawk bodies on their hoods, were sitting on a bench, but rose and challenged the newcomers. The hunter quickly overcame the eldest and the second brothers, and threw them into the pools. As their bodies splashed the water, he screamed like a hawk. The wolf-spirit challenged the hunter, "Now you and I shall wrestle." "No, I shall not fight you." The hunter, to defend himself, had to fight, but the wolfspirit soon conquered both him and the sister's husband, throwing their bodies into the pools; but he informed the brothers: "Tomorrow those two will reappear and challenge you to combat. Now I shall bring back to life these two brothers." Next day, as the brothers were sitting on a bench in the men's house, their enemies entered, swollen and bruised. One said to the other: "Why should I suffer so? I wish we could have a sweat-bath." The hunter answered: "There is plenty of wood outside. Let us bring it in and build the fire." They filled the firepit, and soon a great blaze roared, filling the room with suffocating heat. The wolf-spirit instructed the brothers: "You will now have a heat contest. Here are pieces of ice. If the fire burns you, rub yourselves with the ice." Although the heat was fierce and the air thick with smoke, the brothers felt cool as they rubbed themselves with the ice. The challengers, overcome, fell to the floor. Then the brothers built up the fire still more, and threw into it the bodies of their sister's husband and the great hunter. They were quickly burned to a crisp. The five brothers married women of the village; the wolf-spirit married their sister, and all returned to their own home. The Cannibal Dwarfs A young woman and her brother lived so far inland that they had no knowledge of the ocean. While still young, the boy accompanied his sister, who provided for both by fishing, snaring mink, and netting squirrels; but, after attaining manhood, he hunted while she remained at home. The young man became a great hunter, and his caches were filled with squirrel- and caribou-skins. One day, late in the afternoon, when in need of meat, the young man set off for caribou, though his sister objected because of the lateness of the hour. Not far from home, he found a herd and shot one, which limped away wounded. He gave chase, but it was long after dark before he killed and skinned the animal. Unable to find the trail home, he wrapped himself in the fresh skin and slept. All winter he roved about the country, vainly endeavoring to reach home. Summer came, and by then he had reached the water, which was so vast in extent that he was unable to see the opposite shore. Now his boots were worn through, and his parka was tattered because he had cut strips from it to bind on his feet. One day, exhausted, he fell beside a stack {view image of page 84} 84 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN of freshly piled driftwood. Not long afterward, he heard dogs howling, and soon two men, brothers, came by. Seeing him, they stopped, and noting his weak, emaciated condition, carried him to the men's house in their village. There, after being clothed and fed, he told the rescuers his story. He was sad because his sister was alone, except for a dog. After the young man had recuperated, his rescuers told him: "You are just breathing [your life is in danger]. Some day some people here will cause you trouble." Not long after, the men heard shouting outside and knew that a visitor was approaching the village. When near enough to be recognized, the young man saw that the stranger was his sister with her dog. She said to him, "The dog smelled your tracks and trailed you here." Later, when sitting in the men's house, the young man was approached by a youth, a messenger, who said, "You, the stranger, must come with me." The two brothers, the rescuers, asked the messenger, "Who wants him?" "My sister wants him." The two then informed the young man, "You may go with this messenger, but if you see his sister, you will never return alive." He followed the messenger to the home of the sister, where he saw the girl crying. She sobbed, "When shall I see you again?" The young man saw her parents in the room, two dwarfs (jusfihhat, "little people"), who said to him, "We pity you when you go out." When they began to prepare food for him, their future son-in-law, the girl said to him: "Do not eat their food. Come and sit with me on this bench." The dwarfs brought food to the young man, saying, "Our son-in-law, you must eat." After giving him the dish, they returned to their side of the room. The girl said to her new husband: "Do not eat their food. Pour it out close to the wall." On inspecting the food, he saw that it was composed of human fat. In place of it he ate caribou meat, which the girl handed him. After going to bed, his new wife said, " I wonder how long you and I shall be able to live together." For a long while he was unable to sleep, but thought of what the dwarfs might do to him. Toward morning he was awakened by a crackling sound and the sting of smoke in his nostrils. Then he saw that the house was blazing furiously. He dashed through the entrance, his clothing and skin scorched. Outside, his wife was crying because she thought him burned to death, but the dwarfs were dancing and laughing: "Why are you crying so? Did you not give a thought to your parents and uncles who might need fresh meat?" Upon hearing those words, the young man, enraged, threw the two dwarfs into the fire and turned to his wife, "Were you crying for them?" "No. You can not kill them, no matter how hard you try. They will be back again soon." He then went to the men's house, where his sister and his two rescuers were glad to see him alive and whole. The following day the messenger entered and again asked him to go to the girl. He went to his wife's home against the wishes of his sister and his rescuers. There he found his wife, eyes swollen with much crying, and the dwarfs, his parents-in-law. Again they prepared food and brought it to him, but he ate caribou meat instead, when he saw that the dish contained human hands. At midnight he awoke just as the house, in flames, collapsed, and he was overcome. He came to consciousness in a strange men's house. All about him he saw dwarfs, uncles of his wife, sharpening flint knives and exclaiming gleefully to each other, "How glad we are that our niece has brought us meat!" He noticed his own dog beside him. On discovering the dog, the dwarfs in glee shouted, "Our niece has brought us a relish to go with the man meat!" The dog, very large and vicious, was an h7lgalunuh (polar bear) in a dog's form. The young man asked the dog: "What shall we do? What shall we do?" After much thought of escape, he mounted the dog's back and the two floated up through the smoke-hole, escaping the clutching hands of the dwarfs. Outside he saw his two dwarf parents-in-law dancing, and singing: "Now our brothers are going to feast! Now our brothers are going to feast!" The young man angrily exclaimed: "What mean little people! They are always playing tricks on me!" Snatching a club, he beat his parents-in-law, smashing their bodies and throwing the pieces in their men's house. They were never seen again in the village. He went to his own men's house, where he found his two rescuers, his sister, his wife, and {view image of page 85} THE NUNIVAK 85 his wife's brother, the messenger. With the last he often hunted, going out with him in a kaiak in the spring to catch seal. One time, when the two were hunting together, the young man killed a seal and stepped out of the kaiak onto an ice-floe to skin and cut up the carcass. Then the messenger paddled off. "Why are you paddling away in my kaiak?" he called. "You killed my father and mother," was the answer, and the messenger started back for the village, leaving his companion on a drifting ice-floe. When he did not return, his sister and the dog traversed the shore, searching. At each village they inquired for the missing man. At one they told her, "We saw some one on the ice very far out, but it was impossible to go out in kaiaks to get him." At another village she was informed, "Yes, we saw a man on an icefloe during a heavy storm." While travelling along shore, the dog suddenly stopped, sniffed the air, and plunged into the water, swimming until he disappeared from the sister's sight. After a long wait, she saw the dog again, carrying her brother on his back. They all then journeyed back to the village. Close to it they halted, and the young man instructed the dog: "The people here have played many tricks on us. Now we must do something to them, but my two rescuers and their wives are not to be harmed. You go to the village, select a man for a husband to my sister, and take a wife for yourself. Do as you please with the rest of the people." When the dog returned, his jaws, flanks, and breast were flecked with blood. Entering the village, brother and sister found that all the people had been killed with the exception of those they had instructed the dog to let live. Their whole party then set out for the home of the young man and his sister. Spider Comes to Earth There lived in the sky a spider who had as neighbors a sea-gull and a hawk. Often, when alone in her house, Spider rolled aside the log head-rest and watched the people on earth. Far below there was a village in which dwelt a great hunter. The village was industrious, especially in the spring when the inhabitants were intent with preparations for the seal-catch. When all down below were making ready for the Bladder feast, Spider spotted two of the most industrious people, the great hunter and his wife. The man she could see clearly, but the wife seemed to be enveloped in a haze or mist. Spider's heart was filled with desire. She muttered: "I wish I could go down there and marry that man. I shall be here alone until my time to die comes. That will be bad. I wish that man were my husband." Again, looking downward at the village, Spider saw the Bladder feast being held. The man, the great hunter, was transparent to her. She could see through him, although there was one dark spot in his body, which was his stomach. Spider made up her mind. She told her neighbors, Sea-gull and Hawk: " I have been alone all my life. Now I am going down to earth. You must be ready to help me if I am attacked." That night, while the people were singing the new songs in the men's house on earth, Spider swung down on her long thread. As she landed, the women came out of the men's house. Spider hid by the path and quickly killed the great hunter's wife as she passed Spider's place of concealment. Spider then followed the women to the women's house, where she cooked food. With the other women she carried a bowl of food to the men's house and laid it at the feet of the great hunter. She lived with the hunter as his wife and nobody noticed that Spider was not his real wife. One day the hunter, now her husband, said: "You must be very careful in what you do. I know that you are not the wife I had before, and that her relatives suspect you. She had five brothers and five uncles. The youngest brother is the child who often comes here. Those people wish to know where their relative has gone." Soon Spider had a child by her husband, and then he warned her: "These people are trying to kill you. You have no chance to get away." One night, while Spider was walking with her child, she saw something sparkle on the ice far ahead of her. The sparkle travelled toward her, and soon she saw that it was a whale, plowing through the snow as whales push aside water with their blunt snouts. Spider was frightened, and thought of her neighbor, Sea-gull. As the whale approached near enough to strike, Sea-gull flew down and harpooned it with his long beak. The next morning, when she awoke, her husband said: "How did you escape the uncles {view image of page 86} 86 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN and brothers of my former wife? You must be very careful now, for her father is searching for you. Perhaps I had better stay by you while you are in trouble." "No," Spider answered, "you must stay in the men's house." That night Spider tied her child on her back and walked over the snow. Again she saw a sparkle on the snow moving toward her. As it approached, she saw that it was a beast with a serrated back, cutting through the frozen ground as easily as if it were swimming through water. Spider thought, "Now I am in trouble and need help." As the beast was about to strike her, she heard the thunder of wings and the wild screech of a hawk. Hawk swooped down and killed the strange beast with a thrust of his beak. In the morning, her husband said: "How do you escape the ferocious animals sent to kill you? The relatives of my former wife are very angry, because they all have the power to conjure up beasts, evil spirits. The next attempt will be the strongest, because all will work together." Spider was then so frightened that her teeth chattered. That night, when she opened the smoke-hole, all the brothers and uncles of the former wife entered the house. They said to her: "You have killed all the beasts, the evil spirits, that we have sent against you. Now we ourselves are going to kill you!" In her fright, Spider thought of Sea-gull and Hawk. As each one of the relatives came to grab her, Sea-gull and Hawk, poking their heads through the smoke-hole, killed them with their beaks, sparing only the youngest brother. That one said, "I told my uncles and brothers not to try to kill you, but they did not listen to me." The boy lived with them until he was grown, and old enough to take a wife. Then her husband told Spider: "That youngest brother, to avenge his relatives, will try to kill you. You must be very careful." Spider replied: " I am tired of being hunted and of people trying to kill me. Tonight I shall return to the sky. You must remain on earth, because this is your home." The husband felt very badly. He wanted to go with her, because he did not want to be alone on earth. At night Spider made preparations to leave, lashing the child securely on her back. After much pleading, Spider permitted him to go with her. She went up into the sky, dragging him after her. There they lived happily, often pulling aside the head-log to watch the people on earth. Sea-gull and Hawk entered the body of the husband and became his supernatural powers. The Monster Serpent In a village of many people, who had never heard of other villages, men disappeared each year. Men would go caribou-hunting and fail to return. People wondered. One time the son of the greatest hunter of the village set out for caribou. As he was cooking food by a large rock, he saw something coming over the horizon, becoming larger as it approached. The youth hid behind the rock and watched. He saw a monster with a huge head and body and with many legs go past his hiding-place. The body was so long that it stretched far beyond the horizon, and although the legs ran by all day, the monster did not pass the young man. At dusk the legs and body stopped moving, then began to run back in the direction from which they had come. As the head passed, the youth saw that the monster had a caribou and a man from the village. The monster stopped by the rock, and cried: "Some one has been watching me! My body feels some one near by!" The young man was badly frightened, and as soon as the monster was out of sight over the horizon, he ran back to the village, but told no one of what he had seen. The two following years the young man saw the monster, but he still remained silent. The third year he prepared weapons and hunting gear and set out in his kaiak. After five days of paddling, he came to a steep point of rock jutting far into the sky from the water. On one side only, which had steps cut into the rock, could it be climbed. On the top the monster made his home. The young man climbed and hid near the house. He saw a woman come out of the hut and soon reenter. Then he heard the monster saying: "I can not hunt in a small place like this. I must go a long distance from here." The monster uncoiled his long body and started off through the air, in the direction from which the young man had come. All day the body and legs ran past him. When they stopped {view image of facing page 86} The ivory carver, Nunivak [photogravure plate] {view image of page 87} THE NUNIVAK 87 he hewed at the body with an axe. Although he used all his strength, he was unable to cut the monster, but under the force of his blows the body bent and sagged till it touched the water. Soon that portion of the body sank and dragged down the rest, until finally the head became submerged and the monster drowned. The young man went to the top of the rock, where he found caches, one filled with caribou carcasses and the other with human bodies. As he was searching the caches, he heard voices. He hid and saw a kaiak approaching with two people. When they reached the top, one said, "I shall take the caribou; you take the humans." The other answered, "No; you always take the humans." Then the two went into the hut. The young man, peeping through the smoke-hole, saw two women and their parents, sleeping. He entered and cut off the heads, but the heads awoke and bounded up and down, jumping over to the eating bowls where they ate as though they still had bodies. The youth clubbed the heads, which snapped and bit at him, until they were dead. He paddled back to his village, where he told the people what had happened, and said that now men could hunt caribou without being in danger. The Woman in the Fish-skin Parka A man, his wife, and five sons lived by themselves. The wife combed only half of her hair, allowing the remainder to fall unkemptly over her eyes. The man was a great hunter, but when his sons had grown and had been taught the lore of the chase, he chose to remain at home. One time, when all the sons had gone hunting, two of them failed to return. A long search revealed no sign of them. The following spring two more disappeared, never to come back. Now the father and the youngest son hunted for the family. On a trip where they were forced to stay overnight and had made camp on solid ice, a woman, travel-stained and wearing a fishskin parka, came up to them and said: "You have worried about your sons. I have come for you. Immediately father and son became unconscious. When they awoke they saw a village near by, but there was no sign of the woman with the fish-skin parka. They approached the village and entered a house, where a woman greeted them: "You will suffer for coming here. Your sons would have been killed long ago, but I kept them alive so that you could see them before they died. There they are on that sleeping bench." Father and son saw the others, bodies scratched and emaciated, barely able to move, side by side on the bench. During this time the man's wife was alone. All winter and all spring she waited for the return of her husband and sons. One day a woman wearing a fish-skin parka entered her house, and said, "Your sons, who are very ill, sent me for you." The wife then became unconscious. She awoke in a strange village. She entered the first house, which was that of a woman, who spoke: "Now that you are here, you will suffer. Your husband and sons are nearly dead, but I have kept them alive, so that some day they can help me. The woman in the fish-skin parka caused their suffering." The wife replied: "I did not know what was happening. If I had known, I could have brought along my wooden dish." "You stay here. I shall go for your dish," she answered. Soon the woman returned with the dish. Then the wife said, "I shall go to the men's house and try to save my husband and sons." In the men's house she saw her husband and sons, bodies scratched and emaciated, barely able to stand. All about the room were people, and opposite the entrance was the woman with the fish-skin parka. The wife placed the dish in the middle of the floor, and said: " I am poor. I can not do much, but I want you people to listen to my song: Eya! Eya! I can not see that woman's uncle. Can I see that woman's uncle? With my own eyes shall I see him. At the end of her song, she tossed back her unkempt hair, so that her whole face could be seen. She stared hard at all the people, and so intense was her gaze that they caught fire and burned up. The woman with the fish-skin parka was the last to burn. Then the wife killed {view image of page 88} 88 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN all the people in the village. She and the woman cared for and fed the man and his sons until they were able to travel. After walking many days, they came to a graveyard, where the woman, who was guiding them, said: "We must go down through that graveyard to reach your home. The evil woman in the fish-skin parka brought you up here through the graveyard. The spirits of people, after death, go up into the middle of the sky, where they travel about." The woman married one of the sons and obtained widows for the others. All lived together in one place. How a Family Preserved Youth and Strength A man, with his wife and wife's mother, lived apart from the village. The wife bore five sons, each of the last four births occurring as soon as the previous son was able to walk; but then she became feeble and unable to bear more children. Her mother said to her: " I am about to die. Bury me standing up beneath my head-rest and facing the entranceway." The boys, who had toy spears and bows and arrows, in their play used their grandmother's head for a target. When they reached manhood, all had kaiaks. One night the youngest son, waking and having thirst, left the men's house for water. As he passed the women's house, he saw within a fire instead of a lamp, and decided to investigate. Inside he saw that his grandmother had come to life and was eating her daughter. In great fright he ran to his kaiak and paddled away as fast as possible. He heard behind him his grandmother calling: "Te-e-e! My grandchild is frightened and running away from me!" Looking back, he saw her running through the air toward him, and though he paddled with all his strength, she rapidly overtook him. In despair he aimed an arrow at her, which struck her in the mouth; then she fell in the water and sank out of sight. The young man paddled all summer along the coast, and, when the ice set in, he abandoned his kaiak to walk along the shore. Finally he came to a place where there were the tracks of many people. He found a pile of wood, and built himself a shelter. In the morning he was awakened by dogs howling, and heard a sled approaching, a sled driven by two men. When near, one said, "Some one has been here and disturbed our wood." The other, spying the young man, replied, "There is the person who has found our woodpile." These men, who acted friendly, took the young man to their village and clothed and fed him. He was adopted by one of the men, who were brothers. In a short while he married the daughter of the other man. Although he was happy, he often thought of his own village and family, and finally decided to visit them. After travelling a long distance, he arrived home safely and was welcomed by his family, who were glad to see him. He found that now his mother was young and well again, and that his grandmother was also alive. She said to him: "My grandchild, when you were frightened, you ran from me. You shot me before I could eat you. Here is the arrow which you shot at me. I swallowed it and have held it as a keepsake." Whenever any one became old and feeble, the grandmother ate and defecated them while they slept. Thus they preserved youth and strength. The other brothers returned with the young man to the village of his adoption, where they obtained wives. Then they went back to their own village. The Fifth Brother Marries a Corpse Five brothers and a sister lived on the shore of a small bight near a village. They had never heard of any other people or of other villages. The brothers were great hunters, and each had a cache of his own. The sister was very fast in sewing, but the lower half of her body was that of a bird. As she grew older, her body became more and more human. When the brothers had all grown moustaches and were old enough to marry, the sister called them into the house, and said, "You must tan skins for me to sew into women's clothes." They went to the men's house, grumbling because they must tan skins, but soon they had plenty ready to be sewn. When all the clothing had been made, the sister said to them: "There are five villages near here. You must take the women's clothing, go to these villages, and pick out wives, the daughters of the best hunters. The youngest must go to the nearest village and the eldest to the farthest. You must bring back a husband for me." {view image of facing page 88} Hooper Bay homes [photogravure plate] {view image of page 89} THE NUNIVAK 89 Four brothers soon obtained their wives, and a husband for their sister, and returned home. The eldest went to the men's house in the fifth village and stated his errand. The men said: "You have come for a wife. That is too bad, because the daughter of the best hunter died yesterday." That night the eldest brother was unable to sleep. Finally he arose and walked about the village, coming finally to the grave-box of the girl. This he opened and crawled into, lying beside the dead body. Soon he went back to the men's house and slept. During the night he was awakened by the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching. The dead girl entered with a pot of food for him, then went out. As he finished the food, she returned with a bowl of water and waited for him to drink. Then he knew that he must go with her. She was now alive. They went to her house and slept together. During the night, when he awoke feeling cold, he saw that she was again a corpse; but she became alive before morning. On the second night, he awoke several times, sometimes finding her with eye-sockets empty, again with the skull rolled to one side, or grass growing between moldered bones, or a grave stench arising from the corpse; but before morning she always came to life again. Five nights he slept with her, and each night was a year in length. Then they bathed, threw away all old clothes and made new ones, preparing to return to his village. He drove the dogs, while she guided the sled. Once when the sled grew heavy, as if dragging a burden, he looked back and saw that his wife was a skeleton dragging on the handles. Then the sled moved fast and light again, and he saw that she was once more alive. Five days they travelled, each day a year, and on each day she became a corpse. They were welcomed home by the sister, who was now all human, a fine slender girl, and by the brothers with their wives. All entered the house except the sister and the wife of the eldest brother, who remained outside for a long time. At last the sister entered alone, and the eldest brother asked where his wife was. The sister answered: "I have eaten her. I defecated her body, so that now she can never become a corpse again while she lives. She will bring in your food to you." Raisers of the Dead The best beloved son of a family died and was buried. The parents grieved so that at the end of three days they sent for two brother medicine-men, Gihlleayuh and Nuzsihy6h, who had the reputation of raising people from the dead. In the men's house they called on their spirits in song and instructed the parents to seize the boy and hold him fast whenever he should appear. Then they went out, opened the grave, stood the body on its feet, and started back. The body followed them. Inside the men's house, in spite of the terrible charnel odor, the parents seized the boy. "Now take off his clothes as fast as you can. Work his limbs until they are limber. Give him flounder to eat and then any food after that," they instructed. The youth lived in the village for many years. In the same village a boy was drowned, but the body was recovered and buried. The two brother medicine-men were sent for again. When they opened the grave-box and took out the body, they found that from the waist up it was human, but that the rest was animal. Though they tried hard to make him entirely human and alive, the boy remained as he was, so that they had to give up and return home. People on the mainland heard of Gihlleayuh and Nuzslhy6h, and sent for them to employ their medicine-powers to bring a young man back to life. They sang their songs in the men's house, and the body followed them when they reentered the house after opening the grave-box. They ordered, "Seize him quickly!" But the charnel odor was so strong that all were powerless to move, sitting with heads bowed. "Why do you not seize him? We have tried hard, but you are mocking us!" cried the two brothers, who knew then that it was useless to try further, because some medicine-man was working against them. After leaving the village, they found that, no matter how hard they paddled, they remained in one place. They knew that a medicine-man from the village was using his power to oppose them. The elder brother then threw his two walking-sticks into the sea, and they were able to return home without further mishap. After that time neither attempted to raise the dead. VOL. XX-I 2 {view image of page 90} 9o THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN The Woman Who Went into the Sky In the times of long ago, two villages stood, one on the north, the other on the south side of a river. In the north village dwelt a great hunter, noted for cruelty to his wife. On each return from a hunting trip, he beat her severely. In despair she cried and wailed to the spirits of her parents. On hearing her pleadings, they came to her house and gave her instructions. The following morning, after the hunter had gone forth, insects and bugs of every kind crawled through the doorway and circled about the room, following the direction of the sun's path. Upon these, according to instruction, the wife poured water from a wooden dipper. Then she went outside, where she saw a tall pole, and near by it a bowl of blood. After dipping her hands in the blood, she found that they readily clung to the pole, so that she could climb with ease. Up, up she went, until she was far above the village. About sunset the hunter returned. He entered the house, ready to beat his wife, as was his custom. All about the house and through the village he searched. When he chanced to look up, he saw his wife resting on the top of the tall pole. Angrily he commanded her to come down, and when she refused, he shot arrows at her, all of which fell far short of the mark. She laughed at him, calling: "Even though you command me to come down, and shoot arrows at me, I shall remain here! If you wish to reach me, you will have to climb as I did!" The man, now very angry, began to climb, pulling himself up hand over hand. When she saw that he could reach the top easily, his wife became frightened. In desperation she rocked the pole violently, until her husband's hold was broken and he fell to the hard ground, where his intestines burst from his body. The villagers, who had watched, gathered about and in revenge for the loss of their great hunter, began to chop down the pole. As it was about to fall, the woman asked, "Where are my two sparks?" Immediately two sparks fell to the ground, where they blazed into huge fires and burned up all the people. Then the pole fell and crushed the houses. The woman next raised the pole until it pointed to a sky-hole (a star), and climbed until she was able to crawl through. As she lay, panting from exertion, many people walked back and forth over her body. One person finally said, "She must be dead by this time." Then they all went away. The woman painfully limped on, reaching the house of an old woman, who welcomed her. She married one of the old woman's sons. One morning the old woman announced that her husband would arrive some time during the night. After dark, she bathed and went to bed. Long after nightfall her husband entered, wearing mittens and a waterproof parka. He was a sea-serpent, and his coils nearly filled the room. He slept with the old woman. In the morning, after he had gone, they found the bodies of many sea animals piled beside the door. A second time when the old woman said her husband was coming that night, another serpent arrived and left fish by the door. The third time, the old woman changed into a young girl and eagerly awaited her husband. Near evening people shouted that some one was coming. They saw approaching a man who was inside a cache on four stilts. The cache-man gave each person in the village a parka before going to his wife. In the morning, after he had gone, she became once more an old woman. The woman who had come through the sky-hole disliked the serpent husbands of the old woman, and planned to kill them. When they came to the house, each in his turn, she cut off the heads and chopped up the bodies. Some time later the cache-man came to his wife, bearing marten parkas for each one in the village. The young woman knocked his stilts from under him, so that he was helpless, and followed his tracks back until she arrived at the home of his other wife. There she saw the wife making a parka, and two skulls crawling about on the floor. These the young woman picked up and hurled at the wife, cutting deep gashes in her cheeks. The wife in great rage picked up fire, flung it on the floor, and ran around it as fast as she could, but the blaze was so great that she burned up, and the house was soon in flames. Then the young woman ran back to her village, where she put the cache-man back on his stilts and he departed for his own village. Soon people called, "Men are coming!" The young woman knew that the cache-man had found his wife dead and was leading his village over for revenge. She at once went to the men's house and instructed her husband to strip the skin from her forehead. Next she climbed to {view image of facing page 90} Hooper Bay man [photogravure plate] {view image of page 91} THE NUNIVAK 9I the men's house, knife in hand, to await the attack. The avengers shot all their arrows, but they fell short at the feet of the young woman. After all the arrows had been spent, she descended, and, charging the attackers with her knife, killed all but the cache-man. Him she let remain with the old woman, his other wife. The Man Who Became a Fox There once lived a man who was much talked about for his hunting ability on land and sea -a man who always carried the best and most complete equipment. He rarely came home, except to bring in game. While away he offered sacrifices to the dead at fox-holes. When his son became a man, about to go on his first hunt, the father instructed him: "Take food with you and sacrifice it to the dead at fox-holes. Then spend the whole day alone and in idleness, but hunt early the following day. Then you will always get game in plenty." The youth built himself a hunting lodge, with racks for drying meat. When he caught more caribou than he could carry home, he buried the carcasses in the snow, leaving the intestines on the surface for the foxes, which would eat those and leave the meat alone. The skins he folded and placed on one skin, hair down on the snow, which he used as a sled. The youth became a better hunter than his father. Once on his return from a hunt, he found a fire in his hut and the remains of a meal. He wondered who could have been there. Next day he set out as usual, wearing a new pair of boots, but on returning that night he found a pot of food and his old boots repaired with fine left-handed sewing. He decided to go out and watch at a distance for the person. Soon he saw the water-pot come out, moving as if some one carried it. It returned to the house, filled to the brim. Then he saw stones rolled off the roof, and the smoke-hole cover removed, but still no person was visible. Quickly entering, he saw no one; but, when he sat down, a naked woman suddenly appeared, sitting on the grass mat, cutting meat on a board. At first she took no notice of him, keeping her head bowed. He liked her, and spoke: "Why have you acted so secretively? Do not hide from me, but always remain visible, as you now are. Be a person. Do not leave me." She looked up, and answered, " I am following the wishes of my parents, who wanted me to come here." He picked the finest fawn-skin and gave it to her, saying: "You may go home and tell your parents that you are going to stay with me. I also shall be away several days." On his return he found that she was there also, and had hung the meat, dried the skins, and made sinew. When the ice was thick enough on the rivers to be crossed safely, they went to his home. The people said, "Our best hunter's son has returned with a girl we have never seen before." His parents, glad to receive her, gave her new clothes and made a place in the home for her. In two years she had a baby. One day, leaving the baby in the woman's house to go for water, she heard a woman say to the baby: "Why are you crying so for your mother? She is nobody. Her boots are falling down about her ankles, and her eyes are like fox-eyes." Hearing this, she felt so sad that she took the baby and ran away. The husband pursued when he learned what had happened, but could not catch up to her until they reached a fox-hole. Turning into a fox, she dived down, but he grabbed her tail and the tip remained in his hands. Soon a fox came out, and said: "My sister wants her trimmings. She is groaning in pain." "She must come out and get them herself." Several others pleaded for the tail, but he remained firm in his demand. Finally, weeping in agony, she came out. "Why did you leave me without saying anything? Did my relatives say anything or do anything to you?" demanded the man. " I could not stay after hearing them say that my fingers are like fox-claws, that I have fox-eyes, and my boots hang down over my ankles." She refused to return with him, but, after replacing the tail, invited him to stay. It was difficult for him to squeeze his head in the hole, but that once done his body became smaller and easily entered. In an underground room he saw his wife's family. The father spoke to him: "I sent my daughter to you, because you needed help. She went to your village, where she received such bad treatment that she had to come back here. You can go home or stay here, as you please." {view image of page 92} 92 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN That night some beings in human form entered hurriedly and snatched up weapons. "They are going hunting. You may go with them and take my sled, skimmer, and ice-pick," offered his father-in-law. He followed the men to the ice and skimmed the shell ice from a hole. They said to him, "When you see anything floating, scoop it up with your hands." He fished up dirt, leaves, and wild parsnips, and disgustedly thought: "What are these good for? We can not eat this stuff. Well, I shall do as I have been told." Looking down at the debris, the man saw to his surprise that it had changed to white whale, walrus, seal, and fish. He gave away what he could not carry to those who had caught nothing, and all went home. His father-in-law and all the village were surprised and pleased at the size of his catch. He lived with them a long while and happily as a fox, and had great plenty. Once he thought of his home village and journeyed there for a visit, but, as he drew near, the noises were so loud and the stenches so vile that he returned to his fox home. Thus his village lost a good hunter because a person had said what she had no right to say about some one else. The Price of a Wife In a village by the sea lived a hunter, Kaiuga, and his daughter Mir6k. Mir6k refused to consider seriously the youths of the village, and whenever one proposed marriage she would accept his gifts and carry food to him in the men's house. If he was liked by her, she would bring back the empty dish, but never again would she take food to him. Thus the father found himself burdened with an unapproachable daughter and all the youths of the village as sons-inlaw. In his distress, he ran his fingers through his hair so much that it stood on end permanently. One day an umiak containing a man and a woman, who were messengers, pulled up to the village. The woman went direct to Mir6k and said, "Unugchoa6dohn told me to fetch you to him." " I have beads on my bed and my possessions are here beside me. Can he replace what I now own?" "Yes, will you come now?" "Can fTUnug6hoa6oinh spread sealskins from the umiak to his house for me to walk on?" "It can be done." "Will Unug6hoa6clhin have caribou-skins spread from his door to the men's house for me to walk on when I carry food to him? Will the meat be caribou breast?" "If you will come with me, all shall be done." "Will Unugchoa6ohin have caribou-skins spread from my door to the urine pot, and will he have two reindeer-hides to stand on and reindeer-fur for drying?" " If you will come with me, it shall be done. He told me to fetch you." "Will Unug6hoa6ohin have three grease pots, one with blubber, one with grease, and one inlaid with ivory?" The woman messenger hesitated. Angrily Mir6k exclaimed: "Even if Unug6hoa6ohin is a good man and if he were here, I should throw urine in his face!" The messenger went back to the umiak, and they pushed off, anchoring some distance from shore. Then the other messenger opened a box containing an inner box, inside of which was a small whale of carved ivory. This, attached to a long string, he dropped overboard, and sang: Down there below me; Down there below me; Under the waves; Come up, daughter Mir6k. At once the messengers heard the voice of Mir6k on the shore, shouting as if in pain, "Oh, oh! My arm has gone!" At the same instant a whale thrust his head above the sea, bearing the arm of Mir6k. This the man with the whale-power took aboard. Again and again he sang, and each time the whale brought up some part of Mir6k. As soon as all the parts were there, the man assembled them and clothed her. When he had reached the village of TUnuig&oa6oh&n, he bade her remain aboard while he spread sealskins from boat to house for her to walk on. {view image of facing page 92} Ukowuhhuh, Hooper Bay [photogravure plate] {view image of page 93} THE NUNIVAK 93 Mir6k felt greatly humiliated for having asked for so much. She saw many riches in the house: nose- and ear-beads, clothing, and all necessaries. There were three grease pots, one with blubber, one with grease, and one inlaid with ivory. She found fresh caribou breast to eat, and caribou-skins to walk on to the men's house and to the urine pot, all as she had desired. fUngcdhoa6chin, a great hunter, married her, thus winning her over all the youths of her village and the surrounding country. The Penalty for Leaving the Puberty House Long, long ago a couple had a daughter born to them. When she arrived at the age of puberty, she became frightened about her condition and ran to her mother, who said: "My daughter, be not afraid. All women have such experiences. Your brothers will build you a snow-house to stay in until it is over. In summer they will build a shelter. We shall be able to talk to you." Said the father: "Be not afraid, daughter. There is much food here already prepared. When the time comes, call your mother and she will prepare you for the bath." After three days in the puberty house, the daughter was bathed with urine, and the mother instructed her: "Be sure to keep the lamp burning all the time. I shall feed you dry fish and dock-leaf soup when you are hungry." Two days later the girl had another bath, and one on the eighth day. On the ninth day the mother came to give her the last bath. The girl was tired of her confinement, frightened, and wished to go home. The mother replied: "You must stay here tonight, but you may come home tomorrow. All girls remain alone during their first menstruation. After this you can live with us; but when your period comes, you must wear mittens, so that people will know." The girl was unable to rest well that night, but tossed restlessly in broken slumber. Once she was awakened by the creaking of sled-runners over the snow. The sled stopped by her small snow-house, and two strangers, one with frosted whiskers, entered. They said: "We have come for you. We ask you to come with us." She was too frightened to answer. "Tell us now whether or not you are coming," they demanded. She thought: " I do not know these people, where they come from or where they are going. But my mother would not take me home yesterday, so I might as well go with them." Outside they put her on the sled, which had two tug-lines to draw it. She sat on a mat, and they flung caribou-robes over her. "After we start, be sure and not look out," they admonished her. They started out at normal speed, and she soon fell asleep. Once, waking to find the sled travelling at tremendous speed, she peeped out and saw that it was drawn by two wolves, mouths open and tongues hanging out. She cried, "Oh!" They stopped at once, and said: "We told you not to look. We are trying to go as fast as we can. Now do not peep out again." When they spoke, they were in human form again. The sled started off at normal speed, but soon gained rapidly. At last it stopped, and one of the wolves said: "Now you may look out. We are in our village." She was taken into the women's house, which was richly equipped with utensils, clothing, and food supplies. Soon she married one of her abductors. One day the cry "Caribou!" rose in the village. The girl's husband shouted, "Bring me my bow-sheath!" She hunted all about the house, unable to locate it, while he stamped about outside impatiently. "Where is my bowsheath? Why do you not bring it?" he cried. "I have searched, but I can not find it." "Can you not see it hanging on that post?" The bow-sheath was the nose of a wolf. In the hunt the husband brought down but two caribou, and blamed her, " If you had not been so slow, I should have killed more." "At home our sheaths are different; that kind is what I was looking for," she answered. One day all the people put on wolf-noses, becoming wolves, and went out. The husband said to his wife: "The two 'Fetchers' of 'Woman Who Has Power' have come. You must remain inside." Listening to the commotion outside, the girl thought: "Those people told me I could not watch games. I might as well." When she went out, she saw the two "Fetchers" flying in {view image of page 94} 94 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN the air. They had long sticks with which they reached down and struck the wolves. The wolves jumped and snapped at the sticks, but were unable to touch the "Fetchers." When she appeared, the wolves were beaten badly. Later her husband scolded her severely for disobedience. That winter, after her baby was born, the " Fetchers" arrived once more, and all the wolves went out to fight again. She was told to stay indoors, because the "Fetchers" would fly away with her if she went out. She thought: "It is not right for them to keep me inside like this. I do not like the way they treat me. I shall take a chance with these 'Fetchers,' whoever they may be." She put snow in the baby's mouth to stop its crying, and ran out. When the "Fetchers" spied her, they stopped beating the wolves, swooped down, and flew away with her. Soon the cries of rage and the pursuit were left far behind. When at last they came to a house, she was put down and told to enter. An old woman offered her a dish of berries and tallow, and said: " I am Woman Who Has Power. I am the Oldest of the Oldest. People sacrifice to the dead through me. This food is what your parents sacrificed to me. When young girls leave the puberty house too soon, the evil spirits, the 'Fearful Things' [fAhchi] who dwell in the walrus and wolves, take them. I sent out my two 'Fetchers' to bring you back. Eat and then return to your family, who are grieving for you." "How am I to travel?" "Outside you will see several bird and animal noses. Take your choice." The girl put on a raven-nose, became a raven, and flew away. Whenever she came to a village, she was unable to enter, because she was forced to peck around in garbage dumps as ravens do. She thought, " I shall never get home travelling like this." Next she tried a white-fox nose, but found that she merely went from knoll to knoll, unable to go long in any one direction. Then she put on a red-fox nose, and was able to go toward her village, but often had to sit motionless a long time in one spot. She thought, " I am going home now, regardless of how long it takes." Finally arrived, she was unable to enter, because foxes are shy of villages in the daytime. Then she took off the fox-nose, which immediately started back to Woman Who Has Power. In her home she saw her parents, now old, eyes red from weeping, each sitting in a corner. Her mother was wailing: "Why does my mind always make me see my daughter? I want my real daughter." "Mother, I am here. I am your real daughter. I heard that you wanted me, and I came." "Daughter, I did not think you were alive and real. If I had known that, I should not have said it." The girl learned that the man who was to have married her had taken another wife. Now she was left to live alone. The Wife-stealer A great hunter lived alone with his two sons, who, under his instruction, also became good hunters, so that all the girls in the village sought to become their wives. In time the sons married. In the same village lived a poor young man with his grandmother; to him the hunters gave weapons, while their wives provided clothing and food. In return for this kindness, the poor young man performed much work. One day, when the wives of the two brothers were away from the village gathering firewood, they saw a large white kaiak approaching. Thinking that it might be carrying a man from the village, they watched and waited, but the man proved a stranger. " I am going to take you away with me," he announced. "Will you come?" "No, we shall not go with you," they responded. "You must come with me," he insisted. Then he seized and bore them struggling to his kaiak and set out over the sea. After a long journey, they arrived at a land strange to the women. Their husbands searched long and anxiously, until they were forced reluctantly to give up the quest. It happened that, when the poor young man was gathering driftwood, he saw many footprints, those of two women and a man. The signs told him of a fierce struggle, which led to the water's edge. He could even see where the paddle had dipped, leaving a trail across the water. The poor young man, throwing a light load into his kaiak, hastily paddled home. He told his grandmother, excitedly: {view image of facing page 94} Drying whale meat, Hooper Bay [photogravure plate] {view image of page 95} THE NUNIVAK 95 "By some driftwood I saw signs of two women carried off by a man! I wonder if they were the wives of our hunters!" "Perhaps; but you had better keep the discovery to yourself, because if they were not the wives, you would be putting the brothers on a false trail," she counselled. The poor young man, after much disturbing thought, told the two brothers. The three went and carefully examined the signs. The hunters loaded their kaiaks with oil, meat, and fish-eggs. They packed clothing and weapons, but also borrowed old worn-out clothing as well as useless weapons from the poor young man. Then they set out in pursuit. For ten days they paddled before sighting a strange land. There they saw a poorly kept house, with seeds and grasses almost entirely overhanging the smoke-hole. By the door sat an unkempt, ragged old woman. The brothers pulled away the weeds, cleaned the house, emptied the urine pot, and put new grass mats inside. After they bathed and clothed the old woman, they asked, "Grandmother, have you seen a man with two women pass by here?" "A long time ago a white kaiak went by, going across the sea. When it returned, I saw the man had two women behind him. His village is over there." The brothers stripped themselves of clothing, rubbed fish-eggs on their bodies, rolled in soot and ashes, put on borrowed old clothes, and took up the old bows and arrows with no flint points. They appeared to be very poor. Next they departed for the village, where they entered the men's house. There the wife-stealer beckoned to them, "You strangers come and sit by me." He laughed and ridiculed them, saying: "You two are stinkers. Where did you come from, and what do you want here?" "Our grandmother sent us to get the meat which you throw away." The wife-stealer picked up their weapons and held them so that all the men could see. "Look at these bows of rotten wood," he jeered; "and see these pointless sticks for arrows! What would these two do if they saw a caribou?" He stood a grass mat by the entranceway, and said to them: "This is a caribou. Try to hit it." The brothers shot and purposely missed the mark. Then the wife-stealer derided: "What will these people think of you, you stinkers? You can never get game; why carry those useless things? I shall make you my servants, since you are fit for nothing else. I shall give you a fitting new name. I shall call you 'Rotten Fish-eggs!'" The men in the house were displeased at this treatment of the strangers. They talked among themselves: "Those two servants are well-built young men. Their muscles are hard. I believe they are deceiving us and that something will happen." Another said, "Our leader is carrying things too far with them." The following day the two said that they were going back to their grandmother. The wife-stealer laughed and jibed at them, and laughed all the harder when they began to run and stumbled in their effort to get away. Once out of sight, they tore off the old clothes and went naked to the old woman's house, where they bathed, put on new clothing, and equipped themselves with good weapons. Then they went back to the village by kaiak. The wife-stealer, not recognizing the men, greeted them in the men's house and with much laughter told the story of the two "Rotten Fish-eggs" who had visited him the day before. They also went into the women's house and found their wives eager to return home with them. The wife-stealer challenged the two brothers to a seal-hunting contest. With weapons they set out, and the brothers soon returned loaded down with a big hair-seal, while after a whole day the wife-stealer came in with only a small spotted seal. The following day the three hunted caribou. It took the brothers but a short time to bag more than they could carry, but the wife-stealer was gone all day before he succeeded in killing a small fawn. On the third day a challenge was again sent to them, but they replied that it would be a waste of time to go out; that they had beaten the wife-stealer twice before. The brothers loaded their kaiaks, took their wives and the wife of the wife-stealer, who begged to go along too, and set out for home. They all stopped at the old woman's house. The wife-stealer, in pursuit, came by and asked the old woman if she had seen two men and three women go by. She replied that she had seen them headed out to sea. The wife-stealer went home to his village to prepare for a long chase, while the small party came out of the old woman's house and went on their way. When the wife-stealer came past again, in pursuit of the two brothers and the three women, the old woman stretched out her hand with fingers outspread {view image of page 96} 96 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN and pushed back the horizon, so that the man, although he paddled all day, never got anywhere. Finally he gave up the chase and went home. Another time the wife-stealer attempted the pursuit, and succeeded in reaching the home of the two brothers, who at once made him a servant and heaped so many indignities, so much hard work, on him that he was entirely exhausted. Then the father of the hunters said to him, "Those two 'Rotten Fish-eggs' gave you so much to do that you are tired out." He begged them to let him go home with his wife, and they gave him a provisioned kaiak. His wife got in behind him, but as one brother shoved the kaiak clear of the shore, the other snatched back the woman. The wife-stealer cried, and returned home alone, but his wife remained and lived as a mother to the two hunters and their wives. {view image of facing page 96} Food caches, Hooper Bay [photogravure plate] {view image of page 97} Eskimo of Hooper Bay NORTHEAST of Nelson island and south of Cape Romanzof lies the village at Hooper bay, situated a few miles inland on a tidewater river. The houses, occupied in winter, are built on a mound which rises slightly above the surrounding flats. The dwellings are dug and built into the hill with such little regard for order that the entrance to one may open on the roof of a house below. On a spur of the hill, a short distance from the village, is an extensive graveyard containing many grave-boxes with accompanying pots, pans, paddles, and weapons. Here many poles stand erect as grave-markers, each with a small platform on top, to which is fastened a carved figure, one such being the image of a man, arms outstretched, sitting in his kaiak. The sources of food are seemingly few. Berries in profusion grow on the flats, while beluga, flounder, sole, tomcod, and many varieties of ducks supply the remainder. Fox, mink, muskrat, and weasel are trapped for their furs. It has occasionally happened, as in the year I927, that the fish-run yielded a poor catch, birds were scarce, and there were but few berries. The people were faced with starvation in the coming year; indeed only the aid of the Government teacher, who took out parties of hunters in his small power boat to run aground and shoot beluga, or white whales, saved them. Some sixty-seven beluga were thus caught, sun-dried, and kippered. In the summer the Eskimo of Hooper bay live in tents and brush shelters along the banks of the stream. The surrounding country is flat; barely a foot of it is above sea-level at high tide, hence it is always marshy. The tide-flats breed swarms of mosquitoes; the blue clay of the relatively more solid ground is soggy and sticky to a depth of six inches or more, making walking difficult except on beaten trails, and travel is treacherous even there. Slimy clay prevails everywhere. In summer shelters and winter houses alike, it VOL. XX-13 97 {view image of page 98} 98 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN oozes through the sleeping matting, and clothing, kaiaks, and everything in use become coated with it. Living conditions are therefore extremely filthy. Uncleanliness of person and possessions is the rule; the floors of dwellings are deep in filth and refuse of every description; fish and game are cleaned in the rooms, and the entrails and heads are carelessly flung on the floor to rot and to produce a pestilential stench. By reason of the continual dampness, it is estimated that nearly three-quarters of the inhabitants of the village are tubercular; yet few seem to be bedridden, but are able to pursue their daily duties. School and religious workers have endeavored many times to persuade them to move to a more healthful locality, always to meet with stubborn refusal. Say they: "How can we move? We have barely enough timber for our houses here; there is not enough for building a new village. Our fathers rest here in their graves; we can not leave them." The dugout houses are built in a manner somewhat similar to those of Nunivak island, differing chiefly in the shorter entranceway and having the outer opening at the end, rather than on top, of the entranceway. The kaiaks are built along the same lines as those of Nunivak, but the weapons used are much cruder. What the inhabitants lack in wood and ivory carving is made up in skilful joinery. The language is spoken more slowly and is less guttural than that of Nunivak. {view image of facing page 98} A grave-post, Hooper Bay [photogravure plate] {view image of page 99} Eskimo of King Island General Description KING ISLAND, the home of the northern seacliff-dwelling Eskimo, is barely a dot in Bering sea. It is almost at the entrance of Bering strait, and lies about ninety miles northwest of Nome and fifty miles southward from Cape Prince of Wales. It thrusts up its head from the depths, the sheer cliffs rising about seven hundred feet above sea-level. Flat on top, about two square miles in area, the island resembles a huge stone cube. This bleak, forbidding, rocky mass supports few varieties of growing things. A mossy vegetation, low bushes, and berries grow among the rocks and on the flat top; birds flock, breed, and migrate by millions, dwelling, while occupying the island, in almost inaccessible rocky niches; walrus and seal are numerous, for King island is in the direct route of the north and south migrations of these mammals. Berries are gathered, birds are caught, and seal taken; but the natives are primarily walrus-hunters, and it is the walrus that has attracted and held this small group of Eskimo to its inhospitable island. At the south side there is a rock slide, with its talus extending into the sea. This slide, not more than two hundred feet wide and scarcely less precipitous than the cliff itself, affords the only landing on the island for boat or canoe. Few vessels call: an occasional trading ship and the rare visits of the revenue cutter are about the only ones. There is no protection from the sea, and the water is too deep for easy anchorage. By the rock slide which serves as a trail, the inhabitants have erected a village of about twenty-nine houses, scattered irregularly on seven terraces, the lowest some eighty or a hundred feet above sea-level. Owing to the sheerness of the cliff, the dwellings are built on stilts. The rear parts of the houses rest on poles a few feet high, or else are built against the cliff. The fronts are attached to poles, well over twenty feet tall, which project above the roofs and, with 99 {view image of page 100} I00 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN horizontal connecting poles, serve also as drying racks. On the pole framework the two-roomed house is built. The facade of the habitation is set back about two feet from the long outer poles, in order that a platform or porch may extend the entire length. The front room, about sixteen feet long, nine or ten feet deep, and six feet high, is of hewn or whipsawed planks; a wooden door opens to the platform or porch, and the roof is of walrus-hide tightly lashed down. This portion of the house with its many shelves is used as a storeroom. To the rear of the storeroom is the livingroom proper. Entrance is obtained by means of a hole, barely large enough to admit the body, which opens into the storeroom and which may be closed with a tightly fitting wooden or skin cover. The interior, in dimensions about seven by eight feet and five feet high, is plank-lined. The floor is highly polished by contact with many bodies, and the whole chamber is kept scrupulously clean. Light is admitted by a small window in each end, formerly of intestinal parchment but now of glass. The seal-oil cooking lamp is placed just below the window, and above it is a rack for the cooking utensils. The exterior sides, roof, and floor are covered with walrus-hide tightly lashed in place. In exterior appearance this semi-airtight livingroom resembles a huge package wrapped and lashed with rawhide. About twelve or thirteen skins are required to build the house and storeroom or entry. Between interior and exterior is a filling of moss, a foot thick, which provides excellent insulation against the cold. The exterior hides are said to be renewed each year. Of late years the Eskimo of King island have spent the midsummer months at Nome, leaving their village entirely deserted, except by the dogs, which remain on the island in numbers, subsisting on whatever they can hunt or on walrus carcasses left by the natives apparently for the purpose. While continually fighting among themselves -and woe betide the animal which leaves his own terrace to invade another - the dogs, some of them splendid specimens, nevertheless were pitifully glad to see the members of the expedition, leaping, fawning, rolling underfoot, and in their joy upsetting the camera many times. In early spring, after the ice has gone out and the migratory season for fowl has begun, eggs are gathered and birds are caught in whalebone snares. The loops of whalebone dangle over the cliff edges at the ends of long lines held by the men. A quick jerk of the line draws the noose taut about the struggling bird. Crabs are easily caught by the use of fresh fish as bait. {view image of facing page 100} King Island [photogravure plate] {view image of page 101} ESKIMO OF KING ISLAND I01 At this time the hunting of black whale, walrus, sea-lion, and seal takes place, the principal occupation of this and the fall season. The hunters of King island, like those of some of the villages farther north, put to sea in skin boats, nine men to a crew, instead of in kaiaks. The hunting takes place in slightly choppy or stormy weather, rather than when the sea is smooth. It is believed that when the weather is calm, the spirits of the drowned will upset the boats of their relatives and drown the occupants. Black whales are not numerous in these waters; but should one be killed, the owner of the boat receives the hind-part and one flipper as his share, the remainder being divided equally amongst the crew. On the night following the killing of a black whale, a ceremony is held in the men's house by all the villagers. A number of women who are chosen to dance line up along one wall. To the accompaniment of drumming and singing, each woman in turn dances in the middle of the room with her husband. After these chosen dancers have finished, the skin of the whale is cut up into rawhide lines and divided amongst the women, an act symbolizing the spirit of the whale returning to the sea to enter another whale body. A feast follows. For nearly a week dancing and feasting are indulged in, in order that the whale-spirit may have plenty of time to escape. The game most sought is the walrus. When killed in the spring, such sea animals as walrus, sea-lion, and seal are too thin to float, hence it is necessary, in the case of the walrus and sea-lion, to insert carved ivory sticks in holes by the larger bones and to break loose some of the muscles; then air is introduced by means of a tube in the spaces thus made, and the holes are plugged. The several air spaces float the carcass, so that it may be towed home. Seals are not thus treated, but are hauled into the boat. If, for any reason, such as lack of buoyancy in the carcass, or if the weather should be too stormy for towing, the game must be abandoned, the crew endeavors to bring back a tusk to prove the kill. When men hunt in kaiaks, two of the craft go out together, and if successful they tow the carcass between them. In dividing a walrus, the boat-owner receives the flippers, and half each of the blubber, heart, liver, and intestines; the harpooner takes the ivory; the remainder is divided equally amongst the crew. At the end of spring, should a polar bear be caught, a dance and a feast are held for one night only. When the black bear is killed, the dance and feast are postponed until after the fall hunt. After the spring hunt, boats are repaired. If there should be a {view image of page 102} 102 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN break in any part, the entire frame is taken apart and relashed, new skin covers are stretched on the frames, and the boats are ready for the summer migration. The food supplies, meat and oil, are stored in walrus pokes and cached in a cave, which is icy cold even in the summer months; there it remains until removed for fall and winter use. Formerly in the summer a great many of the people paddled to Siberia, Kotzebue, the Diomedes, Cape Prince of Wales, and the Yukon, to exchange walrus-hides, meat, and oil for the skins of beaver, deer, and fox, and for fish and berries. As they journeyed along the coast, they picked up driftwood, both to trade and for their own use on the island. On these expeditions the same boat rarely returned to the same place in two successive summers, but visited another village until the circuit was made. About September the boats began to gather near Port Clarence. While waiting for all the people to assemble, the crews traded with the Sledge Island and Teller people for deer and moose, or hunted for themselves in this lake country. When all had gathered, the boats returned to King island on a good day and sang "happy" songs all the way home. Those who remained on the island throughout the summer months caught seal with nets two fathoms long, floated by inflated bladders and held vertical by bone sinkers. Fish, especially flounders, often became enmeshed. Fish-nets were not used, but lines and hooks were employed. Berries were gathered. In these days most of the population travel to Nome, where they spend the summer working for the whites or in carving ivory for trade. They are clever, skilful carvers, and their etchings on ivory are very well executed. On their departure from and return to King island the boats nowadays are carried or towed by one of the United States revenue cutters. In the fall, birds are caught at night by men lowered on lines from the cliffs above. Because of the numerous nests, a man easily catches the birds with his hands and stuffs them into a bag carried for the purpose. In daytime, nets or pronged spears are used. Seal-nets are set out, and sea-lion and walrus are caught. It is thought that in the fall, toward the close of day, these animals shut their eyes, hence are easily killed. Later in the fall, preparations for the winter hunt are made. Boats, weapons, and gear of all kinds are overhauled, and clothes are made. After the ice is in, sea-lion and seal are harpooned through blow-holes therein. The animals are carried home for butchering, because the intense cold freezes and hardens the meat. Walrus is {view image of facing page 102} Looking to sea, King Island [photogravure plate] {view image of page 103} ESKIMO OF KING ISLAND I03 cut into pieces small enough for a man to carry or drag home. Hunting on the ice occurs in the morning, before breakfast, as it is believed that sea mammals are more easily killed when the men hunt with empty stomachs. Polar bears are sometimes killed on the ice, in which case the weapon is a hollow-pointed spear obtained in trade from the Siberians. When the bear rushes the man, the hunter sets the butt of the spear on the ice with the point directed toward the bear's breast; the beast then impales himself. This method of hunting can be pursued only by the bravest men, for it often results fatally to thee hunter. Seal are also caught in nets on long lines held by men on the ice edge. These nets (it takes three sealskins to make one) are similar to those used in summer. Walrus are always sought, as they outrank all other animals in importance. The walrus not only forms the chief article of trade, but the meat and oil make up a large part of the food supply; boat skins require four hides each; the houses, which are re-covered every fall, need seven hides for the house proper, five or six for the storeroom and entranceway, and additional hides for the lashings. During the long winter nights, dances are held in the two men's houses, the occupants of each giving a dance and a feast in turn. These are performed almost nightly until the days begin to lengthen and the spring hunting season arrives. So far as could be learned, the King islanders have few ceremonies: those recorded are performed in connection with social customs, such as the naming ritual, or a youth's first bird, fish, or animal catch. As soon as a child is born, water is sprinkled on its head and lips, and it is given the name of a recently deceased relative. Thus a departed person who had left many living relatives would often be posthumously honored by having several of their children named after him. Until some child is ceremonially named for a deceased person for whom the relatives mourn, it is believed that actual death and the departure of the spirit do not occur. To the newborn is given some article that had belonged to its deceased namesake. From the period of birth until the child is able to walk and talk, the mother must isolate herself as much as possible; she is allowed no cold water to drink, and she must eat only one kind of food, usually seal meat. By following this routine, the male child is enabled to grow to be a strong, wealthy hunter and to obtain a good wife. When a boy has caught his first fish, he is honored with a feast. {view image of page 104} IO4 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN The first bird is skinned and dried outdoors, and a dance is given for the boy. A youth who kills his first seal must cut up the skin into lines and lashings, and distribute them to the villagers. He is further required to sleep four nights, without covering, at the entrance to the men's house, using some ivory-carving tool, perhaps a drill, for a pillow. On the termination of this ordeal, his father and uncle cut off all his hair. After a youth has secured each kind of bird, fish, and animal commonly used, songs are devised for him to use in the dances, and his parents search for a suitable woman for him to marry. When both parents have expressed their approval, the youth must provide clothes for the girl and food for her parents until she consents. They then live together in the house of his or her parents, and the parents move to another home or to the men's house. Loose sexual relations among the unmarried, should they become known, pass without notice; but after marriage they are a sufficient cause for separation. The husband may kill the adulterer; but if the people decide that he shall live, they express their opinion by cutting the husband's bow-string. Then he may not kill the man. The body of a person dying near the time of darkness is kept in the house and guarded. At sunrise, or in full daytime, the body, clothed in its best, is carried out through a hole slit in the wall of the entranceway in order that no evil may overtake the relatives while hunting. Wealthy persons have burial clothes made long before death and kept in a bag. Outside, the body is first wrapped in a hide and securely lashed, then carried four times if a man, five if a woman, in a circle following the course of the sun's path. Next the corpse is raised, while each near relative passes beneath it. As each goes underneath, a man with a knife, on which a face is carved, makes a stroke with it, in order that none of the relatives may die soon. The body is next carried to a place near the top of the island and laid on a carved board among the rocks. The board is one used in the home as part of the clothes-drying rack. The head of the corpse faces eastward. Possessions requested before death are deposited with it. If the body be that of a woman, a bead, considered a very valuable possession, is placed with it. The remains are then covered with a walrus-hide and large stones are piled around and on them. In order that the spirit may not be injured in any way, the near relatives must wear parkas with hoods up, belts, and mittens for four days, during which time they must do no work of any kind. Then the normal routine of life may be slowly taken up. {view image of facing page 104} On the cliff edge, King Island [photogravure plate] {view image of page 105} ESKIMO OF KING ISLAND Io5 Mythology Origin of King Island A man, who lived on the mainland, while fishing in a river near the Sawtooth mountains, once speared a large bullhead from his kaiak. By lashing its tail violently, the struggling fish so widened the river that it formed Salt lake. The fish towed the kaiak swiftly down the stream, but at the mouth the man was able to heave in on the line until near enough to cast a second spear. The pain-maddened fish flung about so furiously that it formed what is now called Grantley Harbor. The bullhead towed the kaiak out of sight of land before the man was able to make his kill. Then he towed the monster by passing a line through its mouth. He paddled long and hard. Tired out, he looked about and saw that he had not moved even the length of a kaiak. Glancing over his shoulder, he was astounded to see that the fish had turned into an island (King island); the hole where the line was attached can still be seen. The man, frightened, cut the line and paddled home at full speed. He said nothing to any one about what had happened, until one day he asked a poor youth to go hunting with him. To him he related the story, saying that he wished to see if the fish had really become an island. They paddled far across the open, when before them rose the rocky cliffs of the island. On shore the poor youth chased birds so long that the man, chafing impatiently, set out for home alone. The youth, finding that he was thus marooned, lived in a cave. With a stone knife he cut up dead seal and whale washed ashore. Here he lived all winter and spring. In the following summer, the man, curious as to the fate of the youth, paddled to the island. Seeing the kaiak approach, the young man hid, and did not answer the searcher's calls. The man thought: "That youth must have starved. I shall see if I can find his body." As soon as the man had climbed the cliff, the youth jumped in the kaiak and paddled away. He heard the man cry out after him, but shouted back: "You deserted me on this island! Now you can stay and live as I lived; but I am leaving a supply of food, although you left me nothing!" The man starved that winter. When the youth returned to the island the following summer, he was unable to find the body. The First Woman Comes to King Island A woman, the first person to come to King island since it had been made from a fish, came ashore. No one knows whence she came, nor how she got there. The woman built a hut of grass and cut up much meat for winter food. After being there some time she noticed that the carcasses, as she cut them, came to life and bled from their noses. Then morning after morning, on waking, she found part of her parka-hood gone. She knew some one had been with her, but could never discover anybody. At last, waking suddenly, she saw a man beside her. She said: "You have been coming here all fall and winter. I did not see you or know who you were." "I felt sorry for you," answered the man, "because you were alone, so I stayed with you. You and I are married. Now I must hurry; it is light, and I may be too late to see some one." The man always brought her much meat. The woman knew that her husband was Polar Bear. Then many seal were left for her, which she cut up and stored away. She knew that some one else was hunting for her, but neither she nor her husband could learn whom. One night Black Whale in human form entered, very angry because Polar Bear had married the woman. His gifts of seal had been his suit. The two fought in the house. Polar Bear Man cried: " There is not room to fight here; let us go outside!" They struggled on the beach in their own forms, Polar Bear snapping with teeth and slashing with claws. Whale lashed out viciously with his tail. Polar Bear lodged himself on Whale's back and sunk his teeth in Whale's nose. With furious energy Whale vainly tried to dislodge Bear. Exhausted finally, and crying, "I can fight no longer, I am giving up!" Whale dived in the sea. Polar Bear once more became human and lived peacefully with his wife. VOL. XX-14 {view image of page 106} io6 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN The Gleaming Belt-ornament A young man, a fine hunter, lived with his parents in a house built on a flat rock. His old mother, worn and tired from work, said to him: "I am tired. I need a daughter-in-law to help me. You must marry." While hunting birds on top of the island, the young hunter came to a rock-bound pool in which five girls were swimming. He stole their clothing and teasingly refused to return them. To four of the girls he threw the clothes, garment by garment. When dressed, they emerged from the water and flew away as geese. The fifth, too shy to talk, hung her head, not even pleading for her garments. The man thought, " I should like to marry that girl if I could catch her." He returned everything but her belt-ornament. She was sad without it, because she was unable to fly after her sisters. He led her to his home, but to her the smell was so strong that she could not enter or stay inside without holding her nose tightly. The girl could eat no oil or meat, but subsisted on grass-seeds and roots which her husband gathered from the pond. The headman, who had two wives, learned of this girl who had come from no-one-knewwhere, and desired her. When she refused to go to him, he sent a messenger to demand four ducks of the young man. The girl said to her husband, "Go to that pond where you found me, and if your power is strong, you will get ducks." Although it was winter, he found no ice on the pool, and, armed only with a club, he killed four ducks. These he threw in the entranceway to the headman's house. The headman sent another messenger, saying that if the girl would not come to him, he must have four cranes. These the young man soon obtained from the pool. The headman, angry at being defied and at the young man for being able to fulfil his demands, next asked for something which could talk. The wife now said to her perplexed husband: "Somewhere in the world is something which can talk, but I do not know where it is. When you seek it, you must take nothing but my belt-ornament. Your father will give you a staff which will show you the way. I shall make extra boots. I can not go home any more, and the headman will take me while you are away." The man set out. Whenever he raised the staff and let go, it fell in the direction for him to take. When he had gone so far that all his boots were worn out, he came to a mountain so steep that its slopes were unscalable. At his call for help, one of his wife's sisters appeared and aided him to the mountaintop. She gave him food and new boots, and sent him on his way. Two other sisters aided him, and the fourth, hearing his story, asked, "What have you to give in exchange for this thing which talks?" " I have only the belt-ornament of my wife, your sister," he answered. " If your power is strong, you will soon arrive at a village where the headman lives alone in the men's house. Two men armed with knives guard the door. They kill all strangers who try to enter. Show the ornament to them, and they will be blinded by its gleam. In the entranceway are six more guards, but dazzle their eyes and pass by. Inside lives the headman, who possesses the thing which talks." Just as the man's boots were worn out, and he was about to drop from hunger and fatigue, he arrived at the village where lived the headman who owned the thing which talked. The two outside guards halted him, and he said to them: "I am too tired to run. You can kill me if you like, but first look at this." When they set eyes on the belt-ornament, the glare so dazzled them that the man was able to pass without further hindrance. Once inside, six men with drawn knives stopped him, and asked: "How did you pass the two outside? Nobody ever is allowed to see our headman." He replied: " I am too tired to run away from you. You may kill me if you like, but first look at this." When their eyes also were blinded by the gleam of the ornament the intruder easily slipped through the door into the men's house. Here were two more sentinels, who asked: "How did you enter? That person there, our headman, who is in two pieces, will kill us for letting you enter." "The guards asked me to enter and speak to your headman," he lied. The man cut in two sat up, scolded the guards for allowing a stranger to enter, bade the man sit beside him, and said: "No one, no matter how wealthy, can see me. How did you, with no gifts and no wealth, pass by my men?" {view image of facing page 106} Housetops, King Island [photogravure plate] {view image of page 107} ESKIMO OF KING ISLAND Io7 "I have something I wish to show you." "Show me what you have," commanded the headman. The man dazzled the headman's eyes with the belt-ornament. The headman, amazed, questioned: "What is this which hurts my eyes so? I am so rich that I have everything I want, but I have no belt-ornament like that. Let me see it again." After gazing at it covetously, the headman continued: "If you will give it to me, I shall give you anything you desire. I shall have a house built for you such as this." "This ornament is all I possess," he replied. " I can not let it go for only that." " I shall give you half of all I have." " I want nothing of your possessions." "What do you want? Why did you come to me if you will not accept what I have to offer? I shall give all I own for that ornament." "Let me see what you have." " I have offered all my possessions, now I shall show you my cook." The headman called loudly for food. Immediately food was set before them by unseen hands, and a voice announced that the meal was ready. When they had finished, the empty dishes vanished. "Now will you trade your ornament for my cook?" "No, it is not enough." "I shall show you my guard." The headman lifted a box from a shelf. It contained an ivory figure on a chain and armed with a knife. The headman commanded it, "Come out of the box, but do not harm us." The figure walked about the room, knife held ready to strike. The man refused to take it. The headman asked: " I have offered you everything. What more do you want?" "Let me try these things." At the headman's order the unseen cook brought food and the guard walked about ready for his command to strike. When the ivory figure spoke to him, "You have bought me, I am yours," the man accepted, saying to his host: "I have at last found that which talks. Let us trade." When ready to leave with his new possessions, he was given a boat by the headman, who said: "Take my kaiak. It will carry you anywhere you wish to go, but be sure to send it back." The boat bore him home, the staff directed the way, the unseen cook served him food; but, once more on King island, he found that the headman had taken his wife. He strode to the men's house. When the headman saw him enter, he rose, and asked: "Did you bring for me the thing which talks? Let me hear the voice and I shall return your wife." Hiding his rage, the man ordered his invisible cook to serve them a meal. Then he brought forth the box with the carved figure. To the headman he said: "Here is the thing which talks. It will speak to you in its own way." To the figure he commanded, " If you do not like this headman, kill him, but leave the people unharmed." When the headman tried to pick up the carved figure, it stabbed his hand. Next it thrust the knife through the headman's heart. Then the man took home his wife and brought along the headman's wives to be his servants. The Bird Woman A man who owned a men's house adopted an orphan boy, whom he trained severely but thoroughly. To teach him to become a fearless youth, he sent him out alone in the darkness each night. One night, when grown, the orphan went out as was his custom, though it was storming. On the terrace below, his attention was attracted by a light gleaming through a rainspattered smoke-hole cover. He had never seen that house, so decided to investigate. Unfastening the cover and peering in, he saw a beautiful woman combing her hair. Without turning, but sensing his presence, she said: " I always felt sorry for you each night when you were sent out. In the morning, when you see me in the ocean, be not afraid, but jump in and stay with me." In the morning, waiting at the water's edge, he saw a bird bobbing up and down on the waves. It dived, but he stood undecided, thinking that if he jumped in, he might be drowned. At night, drawn back to the house, the woman chided him, " I told you that if you dived in {view image of page 108} Io8 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN after me you would be safe and never again be treated cruelly." Three times he went to the water, but lacked the courage to dive when he saw the bird. Then the woman said: "This is the last time I shall ask you. If you do not follow my directions, you will have a hard time all your life." The following morning, the youth watched for the bird, and, when it appeared, he dived after it. At first his ears rang from the pressure, but the ringing soon ceased. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was in a fine house, and before him was the woman combing her hair. She welcomed and fed him, saying: "Each night, when all the people are asleep, come to me; but in the morning you must return, because the water will enter and drown you. Tell no one." Each night he slept with her, for they were married. It was winter, and the ice came in. She asked, "What are those people making in the men's house?" "Those who have skins and furs are having new clothing made." "You shall have all new clothing. I have it nearly ready now. I am making also harpoons and a pack-sack for you. I shall hand them to you in the men's house, and the men shall see only my arms. When you harpoon seal, be sure to cut the line, because hunters always take a youth's first catch. The carcass will drop down to me. I shall give you the words to say while hunting. When you go back to the men's house, make a loop in your line and place your boots and clothes in the loop. The men will tell you that hunters never throw their gear down that way, but then I shall take it away and fetch you old clothes and water. Good hunters always give water to the old men. Do that, and then throw the bowl down the entrance hole, where I shall take it away." Before daybreak, an arm and a hand thrust a new outfit of clothing and weapons through the entrance. The men, puzzled and recognizing no marks, asked, "To whom do these belong?" The youth answered: "They are mine. I shall use them." His foster-father spoke up: "No! You have nothing like these!" " I shall use these things today, and if some one claims them, I shall return them later." Through a hole in the ice the youth harpooned a seal and immediately cut the line. When other hunters ran up to seize his first catch, he explained that the line had broken. Three seals he caught and sent down to his wife's home. Back at the men's house, when the hunters carefully put away their clothes and set their gear against the walls, he threw his own down the entrance hole. The others reproved him: "Good hunters do not throw their outfits down the hole. Dogs will get them." He knew his wife had taken away his outfit. Soon the men saw an arm pass in old clothes and a bowl of water. The youth spoke, "I have not had a drink all day; let me own this bowl." He drank, and then passed the bowl to the old men, who were greatly pleased. But they scolded him when he threw the empty bowl down the hole. Next the arm thrust up a dish of cooked meat. The young man said, when others did not recognize its mark, " I am hungry; let me own this meat." After passing meat to the old men, according to the manner of a good hunter, he threw the dish down the hole, where his wife took it away. The youth became a great hunter by carefully following the instructions of his wife. The men, seeing only her arm when she brought food, water, clothing, or weapons, knew he was married, but wondered why they never saw his wife. The youth repeated to her the wonderment of the men. She replied, "After your next hunt, when I bring water, I shall enter." When she came to the men's house and threw back her parka-hood, all saw that she was beautiful. The youth's foster-father gazed at her at length, and finally began to desire her. Many times he tried, during the husband's absence, to corner her in the house or to catch her in the entranceway, but she always eluded him. One night he approached his adopted son and suggested that they exchange wives. "You can exchange with others, but you can not have my wife," was the answer. "Ask your wife if she is willing, and tell me what she says." The youth informed his wife of the suggestion. She was sad, but said: " If he stays with me, he will drown. Then you will own all he has, but I shall be lost to you." The youth, thinking of his adoption and early training, consented to the man's suggestion, bringing him to his wife. She instructed her husband's foster-father how to get below the sea, but, like the youth before him, he was afraid. At last she said: " If you really wanted to sleep with me you would have dived as I instructed. Now I believe you do not care for me." {view image of facing page 108} Nuktaya, King Island [photogravure plate] {view image of page 109} ESKIMO OF KING ISLAND Io9 The man, gathering courage, dived, and stayed with the woman. In the morning he laughed at her warnings and refused to leave. The house crumbled, water came in, and she swam to safety. To save himself, the foster-father chewed his weasel talisman till soft, put it on, and rose to the surface. He crawled up on the rocks and went home. There the men clubbed him to death, exclaiming: "Here is a weasel! Kill him! Kill him!" The youth never saw his own wife again, but he took the wives and possessions of his fosterfather. The hunters of the village, that their sons might emulate the youth's prowess in hunting, sent them out at night to conquer fear of darkness and made them rise early. The Man Who Wished to Become a Medicine-man A man wished to become a powerful medicine-man, so that his fame would spread and that children would be named after him. He asked his cousin, a medicine-man, with whom he was very friendly, to help him. The two were talking together one night at the cousin's house, when the man made his request. The cousin only laughed at him. When the village became quiet and all were asleep, the man decided to go home. Fearfully he said, " It is long after dark, and I had better go home, but perhaps a spirit might get me on the way." The cousin derided, "How can you expect to become a medicine-man if you are afraid of spirits?" The man scolded himself for his fear, and asked his cousin again for a spirit, but was laughingly refused. The man, fear returning, asked his cousin to accompany him home, but the medicine-man refused, saying: " I can see you as you go, dark as it is. I shall be watching over you." As the man approached the village, he was frightened at seeing something standing near the men's house. Looking at the person's feet, he saw that they were a short distance above the ground, thus proving it was a spirit. He mumbled to himself, " I thought something like this would happen if I stayed out too late." He ran; the spirit followed. He stopped; the spirit stopped. He stood still for a long time, and then thought, " If I stand here all night, I shall not live, no matter how strong I am." Again he ran, this time downhill toward the men's house, followed closely by the spirit. He vaulted the whalebone fence around the smoke-hole, thinking to drop through and thus escape, but the cover was fastened. He lay still on the smoke-hole, hidden in smoke and steam. He saw the spirit walk about the roof, and heard it say, " If that man really falls through the hole, I can not get him." Hearing this, the man jumped up, ran to the entrance, and inside to safety. Looking out, he saw the spirit standing in the hallway. An old man, awakened by the commotion, asked what was happening. The man answered: "What has that thing been trying to do to me all night? I am very tired from running. Please chase it away." The old man threw many things, but the spirit still stood there. Then the old man rubbed together a stone knife and a stone lamp cleaner. These he threw at the spirit, which at once disappeared, for these things always drive away spirits. The man never again tried to become a medicine-man. The Ivory Tusk and the Fish Belly The headman's daughter rejected the marriage offers of all the young men in the village, because they could not pass her test. On her forehead she wore a long, sharp, pointed walrustusk. Whenever a young man entered the house to woo her, she lowered her head and pressed the tusk against him. None of the youths were brave enough to withstand the pain, so she remained unmarried. In the same village were two poor young men who had grown up together. They were such close friends that they bore the same name. After much discussion, they decided that one of them should attempt to win the headman's daughter. One set out along the shore to find some weapon or charm to use against her. First he picked up a seal-bone, then he saw a fish. He asked, "0, Fish, have you something I can use for a charm?" " I have only a sticky belly." "What good is that?" {view image of page 110} IIO THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN "In the fiercest storms, when the winds blow strong and the waves roll high, I can always stick to the rocks. Nothing can tear me loose." "Will you let me use it for a time?" " It is all I have, but you may use it. Put it on yourself, and if a person touches you, he can not get away." He told his friend what he had, and the friend answered, "We are too poor to marry that girl, but I shall ask the headman for you." The headman was willing to permit the marriage, if the young man could overcome his daughter. The youth fastened the seal-bone on his forehead, covered it with his hair, and stuck the fish belly on his shoulder. When he met the girl, she placed her sharp ivory tusk against his forehead and pushed steadily. The point, resting against the concealed bone, did not enter his flesh, so he stood, disdainful and unflinching. They were then married. The girl ran crying to her mother, because a poor youth had dared to win her when good hunters had failed. She was ashamed of him, because he was poor, and she refused to leave the house with him; then he pressed his shoulder with the sticky fish belly on it against her body, so that, unable to break away, she had to go with him. Now she began to respect him; he was too clever for her. When she chided him because he did not hunt, and hence was poor, he replied, " I can not hunt without proper equipment." The wealthy father-in-law overheard the conversation, and offered a kaiak and weapons. The youth became such a good hunter that he could harpoon seal from his kaiak while the stern was still resting on shore. His father-in-law liked him so well that he refused the best portions of game offered to him. The youth's friend also came to live with the family. The Story of Yumuk Yumuik had full possession of all his mental faculties from the moment of conception. He was aware of all that was happening while in his mother's womb and while being born. Ydumuk had no eyebrows, and his mother, ashamed of him, tattooed them on him. He was so conscious of his lack of eyebrows that, when grown and while travelling from village to village, he feared the ridicule of the people. Sometimes he returned to King island. Once while hunting with a companion, he speared a walrus. The two then lashed together their kaiaks, preparatory to cutting up the carcass. The walrus, still alive, pulled Yumuk out of the kaiak with his tusks, and dived. The man circled about, waiting for the body to come up. Soon Yumuk stuck his head above the surface and called: "I am all right! Do not cry for me! I am safe!" His companion pulled him aboard, and together they killed the walrus. They raised its head so that it would bleed in the kaiak. The blood almost filled the boat. One winter, when Yumuk had gone to Siberia, two youths, disregarding the warnings of relatives, tore down his house to use for firewood. Yiumuk, returning and learning who had destroyed his home, thought of revenge. One youth he found sitting on the men's house, arms folded under his parka. The young man, seeing Yumuk and feeling guilty, fled, but Yiumuk pursued and stabbed him with a stone knife. Yumuk remained in a house all winter, afraid to come out because the youth's relatives were watching and waiting to kill or starve him. Sometimes a friend smuggled in food, but Yumuik knew that he would not starve, because he was becoming a medicine-man. One day he put on the clothing of his friend and walked out unharmed, because if the people killed him thus dressed, it would be as if they had slain the friend against whom they had no feud. Yumuik, when ill, appeared as if about to die, but, after talking to the air, he always became well. One day when very ill he said to his children: " I am tired of living. I am going to die to rest. Look in my grave after four days. I am going to my people. If my body is not there, you will never see me again. Never name a child after me." After four days the children opened the grave, but, finding no body, they knew that he had gone somewhere. Some people on the mainland named a child after Yumuik. Soon it died, and medicinemen declared that Yumuk had taken its life. One day, a medicine-man, while doctoring, saw Yumuik holding the child. He spoke: "I took the child. If the parents will name another child after me, I shall return this one." When another had been named for him, the spirit returned to the first child, and it lived. The children of Yumuk learned that his spirit had gone somewhere north on the mainland and that people there named their children after Yumuik to keep them from dying. {view image of facing page 110} Drilling ivory, King Island [photogravure plate] {view image of page 111} Eskimo of Little Diomede Island General Description AT approximately the middle of Bering strait, between the Alaskan mainland at Cape Prince of Wales and the easternmost Russian outpost, East Cape, Siberia, lie the two Diomede islands. Through the middle of the narrow strait separating Big Diomede from Little Diomede passes the international boundary line between the United States and Russia. Little Diomede is a bleak, forbidding shore, ruggedly resisting the gales which sweep through the straits from the vast unbroken arctic into treacherous Bering sea. Interminable fogs envelop it; the great wind-driven ice-floes of the arctic pile against its granite cliffs. The ice-fields of Bering sea, borne relentlessly northward by the arctic drifts, are split asunder by its sheer walls. In these waters sport several varieties of whale, and walrus and seal herds rest here in numbers on their northward and southward migrations. Countless birds flock, breed, and migrate to and from these islands. Little Diomede, a few square miles in extent, rises from the sea in sheer cliffs that support a plant life represented only by a few species of mosses and berries. On the western side, a portion of a cliff, bowlder-strewn, slopes gradually to the shore, extends outward in a gravel spit, and ends in a submerged reef. Legend has it that in former times seal and walrus herds rested from their long migration on this spit. Today the small village of Eskimo, an aggregation of stone houses on terraces, is situated at a point just above the meeting of slope and gravel spit. Each family has its own dwelling, large and roomy, the outer walls of which are of bowlders. For building, there is no lack of stone in the detritus from the crumbling cliff. The interior of one such house (inu) was fourteen feet square and eight and a half feet high. The framework consisted of four large uprights at each corner, connected with beams at the eaves. Two whale jawbones arched to III {view image of page 112} 112 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN form the main roof supports, their ends resting on the horizontal beam of the eaves; and short beams extended from the whale-jaws to the eaves as secondary roof supports. The roof itself, extending slightly beyond the walls, consisted of adzed flat timbers heavily overlaid with earth and sod. The interior walls and the floor were wooden splits. Light and ventilation came through the smoke-hole covered with parchment of sea.l or walrus intestine. Three and a half feet above the wooden floor a wide bench ran around the room, above which were racks, attached to the eaves, for clothing and weapons. A stone oil lamp burned in one corner, serving for both heating and cooking. Entrance to the room was obtained through a hole in the floor about four feet from the front wall. Below the hole was a passageway about four feet high, twenty feet long, and three feet wide, gradually widening to ten feet at the outside entrance. This passageway, dug into the ground, was lined with stones; its size allowed dry storage for small boats, nets, and various utensils. Built on the roof of the entranceway, and against the house proper which forms one wall, was a small wooden storehouse, six by ten feet, covered with walrus-hide tightly lashed down and used for stowing away furs, clothing, and dried food. The typical men's house (kuzugi) is constructed in a manner similar to family houses, but on a larger scale. The social usage of the men's house - for on Little Diomede the family houses are large and comfortable - is not so complete and extensive as in the case of those, for instance, on Nunivak. Nor is the men's house used greatly for ceremonial purposes, since there are few performances of a religious character. The most important of the ceremonies are family affairs, and as such are carried on in the family houses. Caches, dug near the houses, are used as receptacles for oil pokes or containers, meats, and vegetables. They are circular, unwalled pits about six feet deep and five feet in diameter, sufficiently large for the use of more than one family. The caches are sealed with wooden covers weighted down with stones. The chief foods are primarily meat, blubber, and oil of walrus, seal, and whale. The excess hides, meat, and oil are articles of trade with the mainland people on both sides of Bering strait, from whom are obtained in exchange the furs of such land animals as fox, mink, muskrat, and squirrel, river fish, and other products. Fish caught with nets and with hooks, and eaten either fresh or dried, together with shellfish, clams taken from walrus stomachs, shrimp from whale {view image of facing page 112} The bow-drill, King Island [photogravure plate] {view image of page 113} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND II3 stomachs, and kelp, supply the remainder of the food staples derived from the sea. During the brief summer the rocky land provides a few varieties of berries, of which the salmonberry and blueberry grow in greatest profusion, and also the Alaskan potato. Berries are usually eaten raw. Whatever other succulent plants are gathered are either eaten raw with oil or, like the Alaskan potato, are cooked in oil. During the nesting and breeding season, birds' eggs are collected in great numbers. Men, women, and children search the rocky slopes for hidden nests, and bring back grass bags heavily laden with their find. Eggs (manik) are usually cooked in oil. During the summer months, birds in great number and variety are caught with nets, spears, slings, and bolas. These include, amongst many, auks and auklets, cormorant, ducks, ptarmigan, and puffins. Much of the catch is stored for winter use. Apparently no ceremonies and feasts comparable with the Bladder, Messenger, and Asking feasts of other places, are indulged in by the village as a whole. The ceremonies which have survived, if indeed there were ever others, seem to be purely family affairs, with the ritual passed on through the generations. They have to do with whale- and seal-hunting, the naming of children, and the first bird or animal catch by a boy or a youth. The first of these, which precedes the whale-hunt, is the most intricate, symbolic, and ritualized. While each performance is broadly similar to the others designed for the same purpose, yet they differ in detail among the various families. After successful whale-hunting in the fall, meat is distributed among the villagers who helped in the butchering, and to the people in general. This is followed by feasting and dancing. Distribution, feasting, and dancing occur also in the spring. In autumn the whaling season begins. In former years many whales inhabited these waters, and, considering the character of the native equipment, good catches resulted. In late years, however, beginning with the appearance of modern whaling ships, and especially after the introduction of bomb guns, whales became fewer in numbers and in time were rarely seen. Now, since the disappearance of the ships, it is said that whales are again increasing and are more frequently observed. The boats and all equipment are thoroughly overhauled and made ready. The boats are of skin, smaller than the walrus boats in order to afford easy portaging over the ice when necessary. Walrus-hunting is commonly done in open water relatively free of ice. The crew of a whale-boat consists of the owner, who is the steersman; a harpooner, VOL. XX-15 {view image of page 114} II4 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN secondary to the steersman in importance and position; and two crew members. Before the boat may be launched for the season, the Whale ceremony is held, as follows:' When the season has been adjudged propitious, the steersman, harpooner, and the two members of the crew, all wearing parkas and mittens, and carrying ice scrapers and staffs, proceed to the southern end of the island before dawn, and there pick a willowy shrub of the species used to tie the mouths of pokes. This is brought back to the village. They carry also all boat gear, lines, pokes, paddles, weapons, et cetera, into the owner's or steersman's house, and, once inside, bar the entrance with a stick, a sign that a ceremony is to take place and that those within are not to be disturbed. The crew immediately busies itself with scraping the wooden shafts, burnishing the equipment, and otherwise in making all ready, aided in the sewing, when necessary, by a woman. Within the house, other than the boat crew, are only an old man, possibly the father of the steersman, who has been chosen to conduct the ceremony, and a woman who bears an important part in the ritual, symbolizing the whalespirit and considered as a member of the crew. As soon as all is in order, the old man sits on a bench by the rear wall, with steersman and harpooner respectively on each side of him. The woman sits in the middle of the floor, and the two crew members by opposite walls. At this time the old man sings and drums the ceremonial songs, songs which have descended from father to son and which belong to and may be used only by the crew. After the singing is finished, all gear is carried outside the entrance; the crew, aided by the villagers, remove the boat from its rack and place in it all impedimenta, each article in its proper place. Now the members of the crew don new clothing and pull on waterproof parkas and mittens. In a small procession, led by the old man and with the woman in the rear, they proceed to the house roof. The woman carries a water-bucket and a dish of reindeer fat, a portion of which latter is molded in the form of a whale to signify that the boat is going on a whale-hunting expedition. The party circles the roof once clockwise, and returns to the boat, in which the woman places her bucket and dish. The crew now unload the boat and turn it bottomside up, the upper gunwale supported by two short poles, and the harpoon placed in the bow. While a fire burns beneath the craft, the woman dips a 1 Compare the Whale ceremony of Little Diomede with that of Cape Prince of Wales, pages I37-I41. {view image of facing page 114} Village at Little Diomede [photogravure plate] {view image of page 115} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND I 15 small grass mat in urine and carefully washes the harpoon, singing a ceremonial song as she works. At the close of the song, the harpooner shovels the fire onto a walrus shoulder-blade, carries it to shore ice, and dumps it there. Again the boat is loaded. Four inflated pokes are tied in pairs, one of which is placed beneath the craft near the bow, the other near the stern. These, secured firmly, prevent injury to the bottom of the boat while dragging it to the water. The crew take positions by their places in the boat, while the woman, who is standing over the waterbucket and food-dish, faces them. As the crew howl like dogs or wolves four times and raise paddles in air, the woman dances and sings a ceremonial song over the whale modelled in fat. At its finish, the crew stand clear of the boat, while the old man picks up the steering paddle, walks around the boat, and taps it on each side of the bow, that the whale may hear and approach the boat. Then, singing, he grasps the stern and raises it four times. The crew, howling, seize the boat and rush it to the shore, passing to the left of the woman. Then they return to her with the boat. She next places her dish of fat in the boat and takes up a short length of walrus intestine filled with bone ashes. She leads the way to the shore, scattering ashes at the command of the old man behind her, followed in turn by the boat crew with the boat, and all the children of the village. Woman and entourage halt at the very ice or shore edge. While she stands with bucket and dish, the old man with the steering paddle sings. At the conclusion of the song, the woman cuts up the fat and distributes the pieces to the children, who scamper home. The crew launch the boat, take their places, give four strong paddle strokes, and stop. Then the woman sings. At the close of the song, the steersman brings the boat about and they paddle toward her as she now stands with her back toward them. When close, the harpooner makes as if to hurl his weapon into her, since at this time she represents a whale and the harpoon motion a successful cast. The harpooner now lays down his weapon and the crew disembark, pull their craft up on shore, take out all equipment, and turn the boat over it. Led by the old man, they return home, and other villagers are at liberty to enter. A feast is begun and lasts till nightfall, when the smoke-hole is covered and a medicine-man called in to see that everything has been carried out properly. The smoke-hole may then be uncovered and stories told. The following morning, if all is well, {view image of page 116} II6 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN the crew set out to hunt whales. It is obligatory for the old man and the woman to remain in the house until the crew return. The following is an anecdotal narrative of an impromptu whalehunt as told by an informant: One day I paddled to sea in the large umiak with a crew of seven men to hunt walrus. Although we were out all day, not a single walrus thrust his tusks out of water. We were discouraged and sad at heart, for our families were in need of fresh meat. One man suddenly pointed, and cried, "A whale!" We dug our paddles in furiously, but our evil luck held; the whale sounded. I turned toward shore ice and carefully edged along, searching for walrus. We were suddenly startled by water breaking behind us. A hasty glance showed us a baby whale not ten boat-lengths away. It sounded, and our hearts sunk too, but we remained motionless, thinking that it might pass beneath us and come up ahead. We saw a dark form glide below, and we paddled with it. Just then a large whale suddenly came up near us. Quickly my harpooner grasped his weapon, heaved it aloft, and with desperate strength drove the barb deep into the animal's side. Others dropped the harpoon-line and air-bags into the water. Our hearts rejoiced as we foresaw a winter of feast and plenty. But alas! Our joy was short. The whale moved away rapidly, sounded, and dragged the air-bags under water. Then two other boats who had seen our whale, overtook us. The animal reappeared, but sounded again before anything could be done. It rose and dived so rapidly that the air-bags could hardly come to the surface. Finally one boat caught our air-bags and made fast to the line. This made an extra drag, and soon our whale broke water. The third boat then cast a harpoon. Now we rejoiced once more, and cast many weapons. The monster was soon dead, and exultantly we towed it to shore ice. There we cut off the flukes and hauled them ashore. Next we chopped a sloping runway in the ice. Our men of all three boats quickly cut off the whale's head, for new strength was in their arms. Head and body we heaved ashore up the runway, singing as we pulled. For two days and nights we labored cutting up the meat and hauling it on sleds to the village. There we divided it according to custom, each boat member to his share, and later held a huge feast and gave much meat to our people. All winter long our bellies were full, and in the spring we held another feast and gave away meat. In the distribution of the whale body, the steersman of the boat first harpooning is called the "owner." He receives the right half of the head to the fluke. The other half of the head is divided and the body to the left fluke is distributed amongst his crew. In addition, they receive twenty pieces of whalebone, and the woman of the ceremonies takes her share from among the smaller portions of the {view image of facing page 116} Home structure, Diomede [photogravure plate] {view image of page 117} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND II7 whale's body. The harpooner, in addition, takes a right front flipper, a section from the largest bone as long as a man's leg from foot to knee, and a section from the smallest bone the length of the foot of the biggest man in the village. A second boat to harpoon receives that portion from the head to the left flipper. The remainder is divided equally among all boats which aided in the hunt. After the fall whaling season, weapons and equipment are overhauled to prepare for the walrus-hunt. This is accomplished in larger skin boats with crews of seven or eight men, of which the owner, the steersman, and harpooner, are permanent members. The others may be chosen at random. The hunt takes place on open water or along the ice edge. The crews endeavor to catch single animals or to cut walrus from the herd and then harpoon. It is dangerous for a boat to run into the midst of a herd, because the very numbers of the beasts inspire courage at times to attack the boat, with consequent ill fortune and short shrift to the crew. After the harpoon has been flung and the frightened walrus sounds, the crew pelt it with stones when it breaks surface to make it sound again. This repetition keeps the animal under water so long that it soon becomes exhausted and may be pulled in by the harpoonline and easily killed. Walrus are sometimes harpooned on the ice. When loaded, the boat returns to the village. From the first few obtained, the boat-owner, or steersman, takes hide and blubber and the meat of the hind-quarters from the last three ribs, minus flippers and bones. The harpooner is entitled to the head and the body as far as the fourth rib. The remainder is divided equally amongst the crew. When the kill is great, hides, meat, and bones are divided equally amongst all. When sea-lion are speared from a boat, the steersman receives the upper part of the bodies to the front flippers, and the hide; the harpooner takes half of the hind-quarters; while the crew are allotted the remainder equally. Sea-lion are also harpooned through the ice, in which case the hunter plays the animal, until exhausted, on a twenty-fathom harpoon-line. Then he reels in the line and kills the sea-lion by thrusting the pick-end of his spear through one of its eyes. The blow-hole is enlarged and the carcass drawn through. Seal are killed by the same method, or are harpooned on open water from small boats or the larger umiaks. In former times the kaiak was used. Before firearms were obtained, bears were hunted with throwingspears, but the hunter usually ran from these animals. A story is {view image of page 118} I I8 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN told of a Little Diomede man who, hunting on the ice, surprised a polar bear behind an ice hummock. The bear rushed; the man cast his spear, but it only grazed the animal's cheek. The bear's bulk flung the man unconscious to the ice. Then the huge beast pawed and flung the helpless body in air several times, leaving when his rage was spent. Other hunters who had watched, but were afraid to attempt a rescue, rushed up, only to find a crushed and lifeless body. Three men, gathering courage, gave pursuit to the bear, which had shambled off leisurely. One hunter threw his spear, which glanced from the animal's back. As the bear rose up, turning angrily, baring fangs and snarling, the second hunter drove a spear through its belly. The third also scored a hit. The bear fell badly wounded, and was dead when the other hunters came up. The second hunter, who was now owner of the bear because he had made the first hit, took the best of the meat and divided the remainder equally among the others. An informant related a bear-hunting experience, as follows: I was hunting on the ice near Big Diomede when I saw three polar bears by the water. I crept close and watched them from behind an ice hummock. One bear left and went to an ice hummock, where it looked around cautiously. This bear seemed to be a sentinel. The other two stretched out flat, close to the water. Soon I saw a seal come up. It thrust its head high up and looked around, then dived. Several times I saw the seal's head, and it gradually came close to the ice. Then when the seal dived again, one of the bears slipped in the sea noiselessly. Soon the seal broke water, and when it began to splash and thrash about, I knew that the bear had attacked it from below. The seal died quickly, and the bear, holding the carcass in its jaws, swam back to ice. Then while the bear clung to ice with one paw, the second bear leaned over the edge, reached out a paw, and with teeth and claws hauled up the seal. The two bears covered the carcass with snow to cool it, while the third kept watch from a hummock. When the seal had cooled, they pushed aside the snow and began to eat. After a few bites, one went to the sentinel bear and took its place, so that it could feast too. Then as I was getting ready to shoot from behind my hummock, where I had built a little snow wall and thrust my rifle through, I heard shots in the distance. The bears stood up and looked around. Two were frightened and shambled off. I shot the one still eating; my bullets went through hip and chest. The other two were still within easy range, but I did not fire, because I could not carry so much meat. I took only the fore-quarters of my kill and started home. I thought to take a piece of the seal to prove my story, but did not. On my way I met two hunters and told {view image of facing page 118} Underground house tops with whale-rib drying rack, Diomede [photogravure plate] {view image of page 119} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND II9 them about my good luck. They set out for the meat I had left behind, and I went home. Another informant narrated the following personal experience: My son and I, armed with rifles, were paddling along the ice in our kaiaks. We heard shouting, but although we listened and looked all about us, we could not see anything, and the calling had ceased. Again we heard shouting, and then we saw three bears coming from behind an ice hummock - a mother and two large cubs, chased by some men. I paddled fast to the ice and clambered up on it. As I ran, I shouted over my shoulder to my son, "Let us head them off!" I had not run far before I knew I was alone. I looked back and saw my son still in his kaiak. He was afraid of polar bears. I decided to head off the bears alone, and ran toward them. The bears saw me, and I wondered whether they would stop when they realized that their way was blocked, or come to me. I thought to wait for them, but decided to keep on running. When I came within two rifles length of them I stopped, and they stood still. The mother bear rose on her hind-legs and I could feel her hot breath panting against my cheek. Then quickly, before she could attack me, I fired and killed her. Another shot killed one of the cubs. I had no more shells in my magazine, and I wanted to kill the smaller cub with my knife, but was afraid. I threw another shell in the breech and shot him too. As I was skinning, the other hunters came up. One of them was older than I, so I gave him a cub. Social Customs As soon as a child is born, a small fire is lighted in the parents' home and the baby is bathed in a wooden dish. After bathing, it is kept rolled up in a parka until the navel is healed. A male child, often receives such a parka from a successful hunter. The baby is named while still in the parka. The most common practice is to give the infant the name of the most recently deceased relative, in order that the name may remain in the family and not be forgotten. Sometimes the name of the most recently deceased person in the village is given. A person with no relatives, alone in the world, in order to perpetuate his name will ask the parents' permission to have the baby named after him. When the children of a family are all of one sex, it is customary to give some of the boys girls' names, or vice versa, that the family names may not be forgotten. As soon as the navel is healed, the father carries the child to the beach, where, if a boy, he picks up a walrus jawbone. The belief is that if the male child plays {view image of page 120} 120 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN with the jawbone he will become a good hunter. The father then returns home, where the mother is awaiting him by the entrance, and gives her the child. Girls are reared and instructed by their mothers. At intervals in their childhood, such as when they have caught their first tomcod or picked their first berries or greens, they are given a feast. There is no puberty ceremony for boys or girls. When a boy is of sufficient age, his father presents him with a sling, and the boy practises until expert. Slings either cast stones or are made as bolas. Bolas spread in flight, covering perhaps-three feet of space when fully extended. As soon as one bola stone touches a bird, the course of its flight immediately changes and it wraps itself about the prey; then the other bolas on the line perform in a similar manner. The change of course when bolas encounter birds in flight verges on the uncanny. Boys early acquire great skill with this weapon. The father skins and dries the first bird so caught, and a feast is held in the boy's honor, at which the parents make gifts to friends and relatives, especially cousins, and to any others in the village who may ask for a gift. A feast is given in honor of the boy for his first kill of each of the various species and kinds of animals used. The animals are given to the man who presented the boy at birth with his parka, a gift which signified that he would train the boy to hunt by his own methods. The feasts are conducted according to ritual handed down from generation to generation, varying in the different families, as for instance when some include dancing with the feast, while others do not. As a mark of honor, the boy's head is shaved when he has killed his first polar bear. The slaying of the first sea-lion is an occasion for a great feast and the presentation of many gifts to the villagers and relatives by the family. At this time the youth's head is shaved, even the eyebrows. As a sign of eligibility for the married state, a sign of ability to provide for a wife, it is necessary for a young man to have killed four of the larger sea animals, such as sea-lion or seal. When the parents have chosen a suitable young woman, or the youth himself has wooed and won a bride-to-be, his mother asks the consent of the girl's parents. When all has been satisfactorily arranged, either the youth or his parents present the young woman with a complete outfit of wearing apparel, after which the marriage is consummated by the youth going to dwell with his parents-in-law. He is further obliged to hunt for both his own and his wife's parents. {view image of page 121} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND 121 Divorce occurs when the couple separate, the man going back to his own home. Adultery, when either party is guilty, often results in divorce and sometimes in the death of the adulterer. A widow, when she does not remarry, receives aid from villagers in return for work performed. She is often the recipient of help from her own and her deceased husband's parents, especially when there are children. As soon as a person dies, the body is dressed in its best finery, and deerskin socks are put on in place of boots. The corpse is straightened; the hands are drawn in to the waist and held in place by a belt. If the death takes place during daylight, the remains are taken out at once; if at night, it is kept within the house and watched by the relatives. Those able to sleep, use the body as a pillow. The body is next lashed to a board and pulled feet-foremost through the smoke-hole in the roof. The feet are pointed to the south if in fall or winter; to the north in spring or summer. While some carry grave-boards and the personal belongings of the deceased, the close relatives bear the body by nine lines: four on each side, and one, a spear-line, in front. It is borne feet-foremost up the mountainside to a suitable spot. There stones are rolled aside in the form of an ellipse and the body placed within the enclosure. Two female relatives then strip the corpse and stuff the clothes into rocky crevices, though any one may take them if he so desires. Trousers are allowed to remain on the corpses of females. The grave-boards are put in place beneath, on the sides, and above the body, and weighted down with stones. All depart for the village, except close relatives, who circle the grave once clockwise. These then descend to enter the village from the north, unless the season should be autumn, when they enter from the south. When they reach the house, some one of the relatives carries in a stone. The room is thoroughly washed, and the relatives bathe. The stone is placed in the centre of the room, and all stand about and make motions as if to brush the water from their bodies onto the stone, thereby expelling any evil influence clinging to their bodies and transferring it to the stone. This rite of purification is concluded by rolling the stone to the beach. The period of mourning lasts four days for a man and five for a woman, but for ten days after death the relatives, whenever they leave the house, must wear their parka-hoods up, and mittens. Should they fail in these observances it is believed that they will either become deaf or their hands will be paralyzed or weakened. If the death has VOL. XX-I6 {view image of page 122} 122 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN occurred during the fall, the relatives must do no hunting until game has been brought in by others; if in the spring, they may not embark in skin boats until meat has been brought in by other villagers. Violation of these prohibitions would cause game animals to avoid the village and result in a period of starvation for all the people. Spirits of the dead are said to wander often through the village. When this occurs within a year of burial, the spirit wears grave clothes and plays mild, harmless pranks. Spirits returning after a year have their eyes open and do harm, which makes all the people fearful. One informant stated: "Once, when my mother entered her home, she saw a woman who had been buried a long time, sitting by the cooking lamp. My mother reached out to touch her, but the woman disappeared. The following day my mother's arm swelled, and was very painful for a long time." These spirits must be exorcised by medicine-men and driven to Ub'rik, the land below where the lost and drowned go. This place, where there is no ocean, where darkness prevails, and whence no spirit can return, is presided over by a long-haired woman. The spirits of the dead properly interred live in two villages, one at the north and the other at the south of the island, near where the dead are buried. Only medicine-men know these places. A medicine-man on earth is also one there after death. Here they live in plenty, in the same manner as humans; but it is said that the spirits of the northern village obtain better animals and have better food. The spirits of the land below, when they are thirsty, hold back the ice in the fall to get water, and thus delay hunting. In this event a medicine-man builds a fire on the beach, which he allows to burn out. Then, with legs about the ashes, he sits on one edge of a waterproof parka and holds down the other edge with his feet. The sleeves he holds up and shakes. Now the spirits below can speak clearly and loudly to the assembled people. They ask their human relatives to bring fresh water, for they are thirsty; this is poured into the outstretched parka of the medicine-man. Soon after the thirst of the spirits is slaked, the fall ice comes and the people may begin hunting. When famine occurs, and it is thought that the spirits above are obtaining all the game, a medicine-man who knows the location of the spiritland is sent up the mountainside. If he finds this is so, he orders, on his return, that the people model a seal of snow. This he takes to the north and south spirit villages respectively, and allows it to slide down the slope. This act, a sign that the medicine-man has taken the animals from the spirits, brings plenty of game, especially seal, to the people. {view image of facing page 122} Walrus boats, Big Diomede in distance [photogravure plate] {view image of page 123} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND 123 It is through the control of spirits, human or animal, that the medicine-man obtains his supposed supernatural powers. However, the spirits are by no means abject slaves subject to the beck and call of their masters, for, as shown in the legends, it is often a spirit who directs the medicine-man, failure on his part to carry out instructions resulting in loss of spirit-power and consequent loss of status as a medicine-man, or possibly death. Of course this leaves a loophole for the shaman in case his incantations and performances fail in the desired effect, for he can say that while he followed strictly his spirit's instructions, his assistants neglected their duties and angered the spirit, with the inevitable result. Spirit-powers may be handed down from a medicine-man to a son, relative, or close friend, with instructions how to use them. A spirit may appear to a man when he is alone and far from the village, and then fully instruct the man how to use his power. Then by demonstration in the village, showing what he is able to accomplish, the man assumes the functions of a shaman. Again, a spirit may enter a person's body, making its presence known by emitting weird noises through the man's mouth. People hearing the sounds, and recognizing them for what they are, immediately seize and strip the man naked. The spirit then causes the man to bleed profusely at the mouth, and to dash wildly about. While still under this spirit influence, the man visits each house in the village, pointing out the sick and instructing them in the causes of their ailments. If he walks about thus naked in winter time, he suffers no ill results. Such a procedure is conceded to be a demonstration that a person has received some supernatural power, but a long time must elapse before he may use a drum and be acknowledged as a medicine-man, a period during which he must prove his ability by successful performances. The political system here, as elsewhere in the north, is simple to the extreme. There is no chief or ruler, no executive, legislative, or judicial body. However, some one man is termed the headman. He may assume a nominal leadership, with the sanction of his fellow villagers, on account of his wisdom and by his example and advice. The qualities necessary for this honorary position are respect for the aged, including listening to and heeding their advice; material aid to the poor and helpless in the form of food and clothing; natural ability in excelling as a hunter and as a leader of men, by virtue of which the man is the wealthiest in the village; or by reason of being a successful medicine-man. {view image of page 124} 124 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Mythology The Story of Manina Manina, a Little Diomede hunter, had married a King Island woman. Though not a medicine-man, he, like many others, had a spirit-power which he called by stretching out flat on the floor, with a stick bound to his head. Then the spirit-power entered him, so that he became unconscious, while people questioned him. If a person could raise the man's head, the question was answered in the negative; if the spirit caused his head to be rigid, the answer was affirmative. One time Manina visited King island and participated in the dances there. The people divided into two groups, each trying to outdo the other in dance and song. The side of Manina, weak in song, was losing, so a medicine-man drummed and bent his head to the floor, as is customary when about to send spirits out, saying that he was about to obtain songs from his spirit-powers below. He said, "If any man wishes to learn songs from my spirit-powers, he must come below with me." Manina whispered very low to his neighbor that he would like to go. When his spirit returned, the medicine-man asked: "Who is that man my spirit heard talking and saying that he wished to go below with me? I shall take him, even though he be no medicine-man. If he refuses now, my spirit-powers will eat him." Manina's neighbor spoke up, "This is the man." Then Manina sat on the floor, legs and arms wrapped about the medicine-man, who directed the people, "When I lay down my drum, some one must hit Manina with a grass sock." When Manina was struck with the sock, after the drumming, he lost consciousness. On reviving, he found himself sitting on the floor of a huge, strange men's house far down below. Amazed, he looked about at all the spirits filling the benches. Amtiktullk, the spirit chief, sat on a bench at the rear wall. He was very ugly, with a sharp slanting mouth on one side of his face. His mumbled words were hard to understand. The medicine-man said: "Manina wants to learn songs. I have brought him here." All the spirits had once been human. Some of them, including the chief Amuktulik, had killed men when he too was human. Amiktilik called for his drum and directed Manina: "I shall sing a song from the mainland. You must learn as I sing it." Instead of stopping at the end, he went into a series of songs. Then Amqktuilk handed Manina the drum and ordered: "Sing! If you have not learned my songs, my spirits will eat you!" In spite of the uncouth articulation of the chief, and the unfamiliar mainland songs, Manina had learned easily and well. When he had finished, all the spirits yelled in delight. Amuktullk said: "We shall leave this medicine-man whom we have helped in the past. Now we shall be the spirit-powers of Manina. Where are you from?" " I am not a King Island man. I have come from Little Diomede." "We are now your spirit-powers. When you return to your village, we shall go with you. Now go above and repeat these songs." Again above, Manina gave so many new songs that his group easily won the song and dancing contest. Aided by his spirit-power, which gave him a fair wind, Manina returned to Little Diomede quickly. Following his return, he became a great medicine-man and cured many sick people, regardless of their ailment. During the winter, the chief spirit-power, Amuiktiulk, commanded Manina to go under the ice, so that there would be many seals in the spring. Manina knew that if he refused, the spirits would eat him; he knew that medicine-men must do as their spirit-powers ordered. The people cut a hole in the ice and collected all their ropes, which they tied together. These they piled inside the men's house in two great stacks, making an end of each coil fast to the entrance posts. In the evening they bound Manina, who was clad in waterproof parka and long mittens, his hands behind his back and his ankles fastened together. While most of the men remained inside, several of them carried Manina, as soon as possessed by his powers, to the hole in the ice and cast him into the black, swirling water. Then they ran back to the men's house. After {view image of facing page 124} Drying walrus hide, Diomede [photogravure plate] {view image of page 125} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND I25 the lines ran out to the final ends and Manina was far below the surface, two men and a woman grasped each rope and hauled in. As soon as Manina was dragged through the entrance, his spirit-powers left him. The people quickly unbound and unclothed him. They found seal whiskers in his right mitten. These were distributed among the boat crews. A great catch of seal was made that year. The next winter AmuiktilIk ordered Manina to have his head cut off and thrown into the sea. Men thereupon cut a hole in the ice and gathered in the men's house after dark. Manina ordered all lights out and brought a single stone lamp to the middle of the floor. Then he ordered his elder brother to use a fire-drill on his right eye. The brother twirled the drill rapidly, so that very soon the eye of Manina glowed with flame. This flame he put in the stone lamp and from it lighted all the lamps in the room. Next, two men held a waterproof parka under the entrance hole, while Manina lay flat on his back, head hanging over the hole. His eldest brother snatched out a long, sharp knife and cut off Manina's head. As it dropped into the waterproof parka, the two men folded it and ran to the hole in the ice, where they cast it into the water. The headless body was thrust down through the entrance hole. There the spirits ate it. The two men, bearers of the head, returned quickly and reported that as they came through the entrance the body was gone. The people covered the entrance hole with a mat and commenced to sing. At the end of the third song the eldest brother became worried, and wailed, "Why did the people listen to him when he wanted his head cut off?" At the end of the fourth song, the mat was lifted and all saw Manina standing in the entrance hole, as well as ever and with his head on his shoulders. His power thenceforth greatly increased. Manina could pull from his body anything people asked for. He brought schools of fish, herds of walrus and seal, and whales, to Little Diomede. The following summer, when the chief spirit-power, Amuiktuhk, ordered Manina to have himself burned alive, he objected. " If you refuse to be burned, I and the spirit-powers shall eat you," was the threat. "But I have no wood for a fire," objected Manina. "We shall give wood. In the morning you will see a tree with many branches drifting in to shore that will furnish enough wood." Manina knew that spirits feared bird-droppings, and that if any fell on him while being burned, the spirits might not be able to bring him back to life. After hearing this objection, Amilktullk answered: "The birds may leave droppings on you., You need not be burned." In the fall, when the ice was coming down from the north, Amuktudlk, chief of the spiritpowers, ordered Manina to kill his son when the ice was in. Manina sat day after day in the men's house, grieving and worrying that he could not raise his son Tuiktuk from the dead. When the ice came in, Manina still sat in the men's house, disregarding the instructions of the spirits. Then the wound where his head had been cut off opened and bled freely. He grew so weak that he could not talk. When he ordered preparations made for the slaying of his son, the wound healed and he recovered the use of his voice. Two grass mats from Kotzebue, and a long knife, were brought in. A man was chosen to drum for the people; two others in waterproof parkas screened off one end of the room with a single grass mat. All lamps were lighted. Manina stood in the entrance hole with the knife and called Tuiktuk, his son, to him. At the end of several songs by the people, Manina cried and kissed his son. Quickly then he thrust the long blade in the neck of Tuiktuk. The two men caught the body and shoved it behind the curtain. Manina at once stabbed himself, and his body slumped down into the entrance. Then the entrance hole was covered with the second mat. While the people sang, they heard spirits sucking the blood from the two bodies. When all songs were ended, Tuiktuk crawled from the curtain and Manina stood up in the entrance hole, their wounds healed. The power of Manina greatly increased, and his fame spread far. Again he was instructed by Amuktuilk, chief of the spirit-powers: "This fall you must make masks just like us and one like yourself. This is the last thing for you to do, and this dance to be held will be all in fun. Bring the masks and a woman's decorated parka to the men's house. Then cut off your fingers with an adze and throw them to the dogs." All summer Manina was busy making masks, and he also made one to represent his first spirit-power, before the King Island spirits had come to him and before he was a medicine-man. This spirit, Kangina, was but half a person from head to heels, and the other spirits feared him. When the people gathered that fall in the men's house, Manina cut off his fingers with an {view image of page 126} I26 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN adze and flung the severed members to the dogs. Then he reached his hands through the entrance hole, withdrew them, and the people saw that he once more had fingers. Manina covered the entrance hole with the decorated parka and surrounded it with all his masks. While all watched, Amuktilik, chief spirit-power, slipped into the parka from below. Hiding his face behind his raised forearm, he picked up and fastened on his mask. Then he danced while the people sang. At the end he dropped the mask and disappeared through the entrance hole. Each spirit-power danced in turn, and the half-man spirit, who had to have some one hold the drum because he had only one arm, danced longest. The people liked his dance best and called him back several times. When through with the dance, Manina gathered up all the masks in a waterproof parka and stored them away. The people still hold these dances. Even now, when a spirit comes to a medicine-man, he must act like his spirit. If the spirit-power is a walrus, the medicine-man must go through all the movements performed by a walrus. One spring some Siberians, among them a medicine-man, visited Little Diomede, and, as was customary, were asked to dance and sing. After the singing, Manina placed a bead in a sling and cast it in the sea. He called, "Bead, return!" When the bead returned, Manina was unable to find it. He called for a walrus-stomach drumhead, and, holding this outstretched, circled before all the people and visitors. Each time he passed the Siberian medicine-man he went very slowly. He then ran twice about the room very fast. He struck the Siberian medicine-man with the walrus stomach and ran back a few steps. When Manina shook the stomach, the bead rolled from it. As soon as the Siberian medicine-man returned to his own village, he dropped dead. Manina was the greatest medicine-man ever on Little Diomede. His fame spread to the Alaskan and Siberian mainlands. He cured all sick, brought sea animals in the hunting seasons, and broke up the ice when it filled the straits. The Story of Ubuk 1 Long, long ago, when a gravel bar extended from Little Diomede almost to Big Diomede, a couple came to live on it. No one knows whence they came. The woman said, "The people will live here forever, and never die out." The man answered: "No; if the people live here and multiply fast, they will find it hard to feed a great number." From this man and woman descended the people of Little Diomede. They subsisted mainly on walrus, which in those days pulled up on each side of the gravel bar. In the fall the walrus came up under the ice and poked their heads through to breathe. Even when ice is thick enough to bear a man's weight, walrus can thrust their noses through. Ubuk, a good hunter, for sport often ran along the ice, slashing walrus on the cheeks as they came up to breathe. One day Ubuk speared a walrus by the edge of the ice. It dragged him to the edge, and when he tried to let go the line, he found his hands stuck fast. He splashed in the sea and was carried far under. Coming to the surface, the walrus, a female, caught Ubuk and rubbed her flippers over his eyes. Then Ubuk saw as a walrus. She stripped him of clothes and they started south, joining the herd to go to the home of the walrus. When they dived to feed, Ubuk was the last to reach bottom; when they rose to pursue their journey, he was always behind. They fed on clams, eating fast, but Ubuk was slow and never got his fill. He became starved, thin, and weak. He was instructed: "When it is time to go below, look up into the sky and pick out a cloud. Then kick hard, as if you were trying to touch the cloud, and you will go to the bottom fast. While feeding, do not open the clams and pick them out, but swallow them whole, as we do. Then you will get your fill." Ubuk soon regained his strength, and was able to dive and come up as rapidly as any. After a long journey, the walrus arrived at their home in the south. There, to Ubuk, they seemed like humans, living in houses and burying their dead behind the village. He saw many with scars on their cheeks, and was told that he had caused them. Ubuk, craving the food of humans, sometimes cut meat from the dead. The herd objected strongly to this disturbance of bodies, but the chief ordered: "Let him eat. Walrus are the food of humans." 1 Compare the Prince of Wales story of The Man Taught by Walrus, page I54. {view image of page 127} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND 127 He noticed that the walrus went out in bands each summer, some going to the mainland or to Siberia, others to the Diomede islands, but all returning to winter together in the village. He travelled and lived with them for four years, becoming like a walrus, with hair growing on his body and arms. Once when his band came up on the shore ice south of his village on Little Diomede, Ubuk broke away and ran home. The village and home smelled so strongly that Ubuk set up a tent of walrus-skin some distance away, and there lived until he could become used to the odor. His mother dug roots and brought them to him to eat. After a long time he was able to go home. Whenever the walrus on their migrations came by, Ubuk took a boatload of roots out to them. He often dived under the ice and brought a waterproof parka filled with clams from the bottom to the villagers, because clams near the Diomedes are found only in very deep water. When the people needed meat, Ubuk went to the mountain, called four times like a walrus, and the herd would come to the island. ~Jbuk told the people that when he became old he would not die on the island, but would go to the home of the walrus. One day Ubuk disappeared, and all knew that he had gone to the walrus. Sea-man and Moon-man A man, a great seal-netter who always kept a full cache beneath the floor, lived with his wife, two sons, and a dog. One winter, when the straits were solid with ice, so that no fishing or hunting could be done, the people began to starve. The man died, and his family existed only by devouring his seal-nets. One morning, during a cold north wind-storm, the elder of the sons set out with his walkingstick to see if he could find anything on the shore which might be good to eat. Far from the village he found a peculiar conical object on the ice. It sounded hollow when struck by the walking-stick. A very heavy blow toppled it over, revealing a hole beneath. Looking through, the young man saw another world beneath the water. While curiously craning his neck, his body slid through, in spite of frantic efforts to recover his balance, so that he fell far below, limbs sprawling, until at last he struck bottom. While lying dazed, he heard the sound of chopping. Following the noise, the youth came to a house, where, beside the entrance, a man was cutting up wood with an adze. The man invited him inside, and his wife fed the young man whale meat. He ate voraciously, for it was his first meal in a long while. The man asked: "What are the people doing in your village? How are they getting along?" "We have no food. The people are very thin and worn. My father starved to death." "Spend the night here; you can go home in the morning." The youth remained overnight, though he lay awake long, puzzling how he was to reach the hole far above. In the morning, his host inquired, "How many people are there in your home?" "There are only my mother, one brother, and our dog." The wife then gave the youth a long strip of whale blubber and meat. The man asked another question, "When your father was alive, how did he hunt?" "He always hunted seal with nets." "Your village is surrounded by solid ice, so you cannot fish or hunt. Take this staff, which has an ice-pick on one end and a scoop on the other. At home go outside the village, out of sight, and strike the ice with the pick. Something will happen. Spread the net, and if you get something you can not kill, touch its head with the stick. Do not take this pick home, but bury it under snow near where you make holes." The man brought out a large top, as wide and taller than a man. The young man, pick in hand, grasped the top's pole. Then the host spun the top, which rose in air and glided through the hole in the ice. The young man dropped the top back through the ice, and went home. The family were weeping for him; they had thought him lost or dead. He removed his parka and cut a small piece from the whale strip. It swelled until it was large enough to provide a huge meal for the entire family. They soon became well and healthy. One evening the youth took net and ice-pick and went far to the north of the village. He chose a suitable place, struck the ice with the pick, and it cracked until there was a large space of open water. Next he scooped ice away from the hole and set the net. As soon as he felt it drag, he hauled in a large seal, which he killed by touching its head with the pick. All night {view image of page 128} I28 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN the youth netted, until he had a great pile of seal. Then going back for the whole village, after hiding his pick near the hole, he had them haul in the catch. All the village, and even the people on Big Diomede, feasted, and soon were strong again. The youth became a great hunter, always keeping a filled cache and giving away much meat to others. One night, when he went to find his pick, it was gone. There were no tracks; it had disappeared. In despair, he went to where he had fallen to the world below. There he wept and cried all night. In the morning the cone-like object appeared beside him. This he rolled aside, dropped through the hole, and went to the Sea-man's home. The Sea-man, upon hearing the tale, asked his wife to bring his sealskin hunting bag. From it he drew a long piece of seaweed. As soon as he flung the seaweed to the floor, it became a boat crew of eight men. Then Sea-man called for his broadbladed steering paddle. The handle was on a swivel, so that it could be turned in any direction; and set in the handle were two eyes. Sea-man asked the paddle, naming all the villages thereabout, "Is the person who stole my ice-pick in any of these villages?" "No one from these villages stole the ice-pick." "Did Sun take it?" "No." "Did Moon take it?" "Yes." "Young man, you will have to recover the ice-pick yourself. These men will carry you to the moon. When you get there, ask for the pick. If Moon-man refuses to give it back, let my paddle steal his wife and bring her here." The youth, paddle in hand, sat amidships and the crew took their places in the boat. They paddled up, through the hole, and then in the air toward the moon. Arrived there, the young man got out and approached a home where he saw Moon-man adzing wood. The man confronted the youth, who said, " I have come for my ice-pick." " I did not take it. I have everything of my own which I need." " I am told by the man who lives on the sea-bottom that you took it." Moon-man denied all knowledge of the ice-pick, so the young man returned to his boat, but, unnoticed by Moon-man, he first threw his paddle into the entranceway of the house. Moon-man's wife, startled by the clatter, rose and bent over the paddle. She saw the eyes staring at her. Curiously, she poked it with a foot. Her foot stuck to the paddle, and she was unable to release it. Desperately she kicked with the other foot, but it too became fast to the paddle. Then losing her balance, she fell to the floor. The paddle bore her to the boat and they quickly set out back to earth. Then the youth went home, while the boat crew with the paddle and Moon-man's wife went to the sea-bottom. Near midnight the young man was awakened by something striking the smoke-hole. The voice of Moon-man called through: " I have brought your ice-pick! Return my wife to me!" "I shall not get your wife. Find her yourself!" "I shall pay you anything for her. I shall make you the strongest man in the village," offered Moon-man; but the youth only answered as before. " I shall make you the best hunter on earth." "No. You must get your wife yourself." " I shall make you a great medicine-man." "No. You must find your wife yourself." "Come out and see what I shall give you." In curiosity, the young man dressed and went out. Moon-man said: " I shall give you this ivory hook. With it you can reach out and pull in anything in the world that you wish. I shall show you the man from Big Diomede who used to visit your father." Moon-man reached over to Big Diomede with his hook and dragged back a man who was still sleeping. "This man often came to your father's house. You too can do this. I shall put the man back where I got him." The youth accepted the ivory hook and took back his ice-pick. Then he guided Moonman down to the sea-bottom through the hole in the ice to get back his wife. Arrived there, Sea-man rushed out of his house and began to beat both of his visitors severely, shouting the while to the youth: "What did Moon-man pay you to do this? I told you to refuse all offers from him!" Sea-man stopped the beating, and Moon-man said: " I gave him an ivory hook with a {view image of facing page 128} Siluk, Diomede [photogravure plate] {view image of page 129} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND I29 supernatural power. For my wife I shall give you this spear. See! There is a polar bear! Watch!" With the spear Moon-man reached far away and touched the bear. It fell over dead. Pacified by the offer, and greatly desirous of such a weapon, Sea-man replied: " I shall return your wife for that spear. It will be an easy way to hunt. I shall not take you above; you must get up by yourselves." Moon-man declared: "Watch us! Something will take us back." A ladder appeared, reaching far above through the hole in the ice. Moon-man and his wife, dragging the youth by his wrists, climbed. On the earth's surface, before leaving for the moon, Moon-man said: "0, youth, now I am pleased. I have my wife again. I gave you the ivory hook. Whenever you want anything, no matter how far away, reach out the hook and you will get it." The youth, with ice-pick and hook, became a great hunter and married a young woman from Big Diomede island. One time, on the far side of the mountain, he caught a mouse by the tail just as it was about to dive in a hole. He skinned it alive and flung down the body. Mouse, in great pain, ran home where her young ones, frightened at seeing her thus, hid whimpering. That night Mouse told her young: "That youth was helped by Moon-man and the man down below." Then she went to the young man's home, where all were sleeping. Across the entrance she raised her paws over her head and slapped them so hard on the floor that all arose and looked at her. Immediately the youth, his wife, and all the family became old people, wrinkled, doddering, and just about at the point of death. She ran over their bodies and went through the entrance and then up the slope behind the village. The youth, with his entire family, followed Mouse over the mountain. Where they went from there, no one knows. The Big Diomede Medicine-man A man, a powerful medicine-man and formerly a killerwhale who now had become human, lived with his son across the mountain. When the son became seriously ill, many medicinemen were called in, but although much food and many gifts were presented, none could cure or find the cause of the malady. Then the boy died. Instead of being buried, the body was placed in the back of the room and medicine-men were gathered from all around to try to raise the dead. The father gave each a huge bowl of food to test his supernatural powers, but none could eat all, and none could bring back the son's spirit. The distracted father brought all the medicine-men first from the Alaskan mainland, and then from the Siberian shore. None could raise the boy. As a final resort, the father invited the only medicine-man left, one from Big Diomede who had no reputation for being powerful. This man was able to eat all the meat in the bowl, and the father said, " If you succeed, I shall give you the hind-quarters of a whale, because I am a great whale-hunter." The medicine-man, after eating, commenced to drum and sing. Soon his spirit left the body, still drumming, and travelled all night over the world, asking every living thing if it had seen the boy's spirit. At dawn his spirit returned, and the medicine-man reported: "I have travelled all over the world, asking every living creature if it had seen or heard of your son's spirit. I could not find it." "All medicine-men and I too have tried to raise him. I shall bury him in the morning, because I can find no one else to try." "Let me attempt it once more, tonight," urged the man from Big Diomede. After talking all day, then eating a pan of meat, the medicine-man drummed, sang, and sent out his spirit once more. When it returned, he said: "I have travelled all through the sea, asking every living creature if it had seen or heard of your son's spirit. I was unable to find him." "You have tried again and failed. At daylight I shall bury my son." "No, let me have one more trial." The medicine-man's spirit, sent forth again, went out the entranceway under the house, and to the rear. There he saw two pairs of tracks leading into the sky. He knew then that the Sky people had stolen the boy's spirit, so he followed through the air, arriving after a long VOL. XX-I 7 {view image of page 130} I30 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN journey in a land in the sky. There he saw a house with a bird perched on each corner of the roof- crane, loon, eider-duck, and ptarmigan. At his approach, they protested loudly. He turned into a blade of grass, whereat the birds ceased their shrill calls; but each time he tried to approach closer as a human, the birds shrieked. Then he became a mouse, and entered the dwelling unperceived by the birds, but four spirit-powers of the house-owner saw him. They remained quiet, neither saying anything nor calling out in alarm. The house had two stories; the one below a men's room inhabited by the spirit-powers, one sitting on each bench along each wall, while the owner lived alone above. The owner of the house, the Sky-man, shouted down to his spirit-powers: "Some one must be approaching! The birds called warnings, but I can see no one! One of you come up here!" The chief spirit-power thrust head and shoulders through the upstairs opening, and said: "You know that there is no sign of any human about. Those birds lie sometimes." The chief then returned to his place and instructed the others, "When our owner sends for you, do not tell him about that mouse we saw enter." The second spirit told Sky-man: "There is no one near here. The birds have lied." The third declared, " If any one had come here, we should have told you." The fourth complained to his owner: "You know that I am the weakest of your powers. There was no need to call me when you knew that the others had found nothing." In the presence of the other spirits, the chief instructed the medicine-man's spirit, which now had changed from the mouse to spirit form: "You can go upstairs now. You will be asked by Sky-man to show what you can do, so go outside and enter from the smoke-hole. If you succeed in overcoming him, refuse all his offers until he gives us to you." As the medicine-man's spirit was entering the room above, he heard Sky-man muttering to himself: "There must be a human about. Those birds always make a noise when any one approaches, but those spirits below sometimes lie to me." Then the medicine-man's spirit saw the boy's spirit for which he had been searching in the room. At the same time he was discovered and told by Sky-man: "This is the first time that any human or human spirit has entered my house. I have known medicine-men all over the world, but none has ever been strong enough to come up here. Why did you come?" " I came for the spirit of that boy." "You came to get him, but you can not take him." " I shall take him." "He must stay. I took him because I like him. Now you must show me your powers. Wife, bring my drum." The medicine-man's spirit took the drum from Sky-man's wife, and sang, calling on one of his powers. A snowbird entered, and when Sky-man struck at it, the bird disappeared. Skyman laughed scornfully: "Your power is so weak it does not amount to anything. Why did you come here, since you have powers-fit only to be laughed at?" While the medicine-man's spirit was drumming, he called, unknown to Sky-man, a hairseal, which began to undermine the house. Next he called a gull, and Sky-man derided: "Here is another weak power. Watch me drive it away!" The medicine-man's spirit, now angry, then brought in a many-legged monster of the sea. Sky-man, in terror, jumped back and cried: "Send that away! I shall let you take back the boy's spirit!" As the sea-monster power was being drummed away, the hair-seal carried the house down to earth on his back and brought it to the boy's home. Then the medicine-man's spirit put aside the drum, and said to Sky-man: " I shall take the boy home. Your house is now on earth." "You are very powerful, and you reached my country in the sky, but no medicine-man has the power to bring my house to earth." "You know it is lighter up above in the sky than here on earth. If you doubt my word, go out and see for yourself. If you refuse to let me take this boy, I shall call back my seamonster power." Sky-man went out, returned, and wailed: "I am on earth. Take the boy's spirit, but do not bring back your sea-monster. Send me back to my land in the sky!" "You are a medicine-man. I shall not help you. Go back by your own powers." " I shall give you half of my powers if you will carry me back," said Sky-man. {view image of page 131} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND I3I The medicine-man, remembering the instructions of the chief spirit-power, refused. "You are not very strong, but you must go back by yourself," he declared. " I shall give all four of my spirit-powers if you will send me back," protested Sky-man. Then the medicine-man returned Sky-man and his house to the land above, but kept the four spirits, who belonged to him thereafter. Next he took the boy's spirit to the father's house and raised the body, so that the boy was alive and well once more. The boy, on becoming a hunter, brought much game to the medicine-man, and thenceforth was as a son and hunter to him. Siuktinyi and Angasuk Three brothers, all married, lived together in one home. The eldest, Siuktinyi, so hairy that his skin was completely covered and hidden, was a powerful medicine-man. He had four forms: seal, whale, cormorant, and a knife. He always instructed his brothers to keep a careful lookout to the north, because, said he, something would come from there some day. The others continually scoffed, "No one will ever come from the north, because there is no land in that direction." One day a speck appeared on the horizon to the north. As it grew larger, the watchers discerned a large boat with a crew of eight men. It followed the island coast to the village and landed. All were strangers to the villagers, but were welcomed, as are all newcomers, and taken to the home of the brothers. Siuktinyi asked: "Whence came you? Where is your village? Why have you sailed here?" "Our headman has sent us to bring you to our village. We shall let you return soon." Siuktinyi asked his brothers: "What shall I do? Shall I go with the strangers?" They answered: "Do you not know? You are a medicine-man." He decided: "You, my brothers, do not want me to go, so I shall stay here. Let the strangers depart without me." The wind, which had blown from the north steadily for a long time, veered to the south the following morning, and the strangers made ready to sail away. All the village went to the shore, but Siuktinyi remained in his home. Just as the boat was launched and the stern pushed out, Siuktinyi rushed down, a long knife in a sheath under his arm, caught the stern-line, and pulled the boat back. Taking off the knife and presenting it to the steersman, he said: "Give this to your headman. It will take my place, because it represents me." At their village the steersman gave the knife to the headman, Angasuk, who was also a medicine-man. Angasuk, a great whaler, used the knife to cut off flukes and flippers. His two wives examined it closely, because it was something new. When Angasuk did not go whaling, he hung the knife from a peg on the back wall. One time a watcher called, "Whale! Whale!" In the hurry to launch his boat, Angasuk forgot the knife, and in the bustle, unnoticed by the crew, an orphan boy slipped aboard. In the chase, each time when about to harpoon, the whale sounded. The whale was one of the forms of Siuktinyi. In the house of Angasuk, one of the wives saw the knife shake, then fall to the floor, where it stuck, quivering, in the wood. At once it changed into Siuktinyi. He said to the women: "I have stayed here too long. I am homesick and am going back to my village." He snatched the younger and prettier wife of Angasuk, swallowed her, turned into a cormorant, and flew away. As he flew over the whale boat, the orphan boy pointed, and shouted, " I never saw a bird like that before!" The whale form of Siuktinyi sounded and never was seen again, so the boat went home. Siuktinyi flew home to Little Diomede. There he vomited forth the girl and took her as his second wife. Siuktinyi had a tall pole before his house, with a live hawk chained to it. The Hawk could see anywhere in the world and tell what was happening: it foretold future events; it gave notice of any one's approach to the village. Siuktinyi drummed, and asked Hawk to find Angasuk. After long drumming, he questioned, "Did you see Angasuk, the medicine-man?" " I saw him once, but he has hidden. I can not find him now." All summer they tried to find him, but failed. In the fall, many walrus came down with the ice, so that the village was very busy hunting. All boats had gone out, except that of Siuktinyi and his brothers. Hawk called: "I still see nothing of Angasuk, but there are birds diving for fish near our village. There is something strange about one." Then, as other boats came in laden with meat, the brothers shoved off. Siuktinyi, a rope {view image of page 132} 132 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN about his waist, rushed to the shore at the last moment and clambered in over the stern. The walrus had left the shore ice, so the boat followed them into the straits to the floes. The brothers paddled hard to pass between two large bergs before they could come together. Suddenly, with a terrific rumbling and grinding, the floes crashed, crushing the boat. Siuktinyi, when he regained consciousness, was sitting on the sea-bottom, the dead bodies of his brothers around him. He saw a large salmon swimming slowly near him. He knew that the fish was Angasuk and that he had caused the ice to smash the boat. Siuktinyi swallowed his brothers, turned into a spotted seal, and chased the salmon, which he also gorged. Then he swam home and vomited forth his brothers, alive and well, and Angasuk. He gave back his wife to Angasuk, and told his brothers: " I must find out why Angasuk came here. Bring me an adze and an ivory tusk." For a long time Siuktinyi deliberated, but said nothing. Finally, he addressed Angasuk: "You will never go back to your home. You will stay here for the rest of your life and make spear-points, nothing else." The Orphan Who Raised the Dead The daughter of a wealthy man died, and was buried on the mountainside. Although the medicine-men from up and down the coast, stimulated by offers of great reward, did their best to raise her, none was successful. The daughter's spirit went up and down the coast trying to find some good hunter to help her. She found none on the Alaskan mainland, and only two on the Siberian shore who might be of some use. At last, coming to the village of Kuma, on Big Diomede, she found a hunter who could carry out her instructions. In the morning, this hunter, seeing the weather to be calm and young ice forming, picked up harpoons, carrying the coiled line about his neck, and went out. He heard a hair-seal blowing through a hole, and carefully crept to it. Then when the seal breathed again, he thrust the harpoon downward. Immediately he lost consciousness. When he revived, he found himself standing on the sea-bottom, a woman beside him. She explained: "I came here to get you. I died, and my father had many medicine-men try to raise me, but none could do so. I have looked about for some good hunter to help me. I have found you after a long search. Here, take this harpoon-point; it possesses a power. There is an orphan in my village, not yet a medicine-man, who is to raise me, but you must help." The spirit-woman and man walked far on the sea-bottom; above was ice. As the sea became shallower, the ice drew closer until it touched their heads. They emerged through an ice crack and went up the mountain to her grave. There she instructed: "This is the grave containing my body. I shall enter, but you must remain here until night. When you see a stirring, roll off the stones and lay aside the boards and wrappings. First I shall sit up and then stand. You must put your arms about me. Do not be afraid, but remain, even if you are alarmed. No harm will come to you." With these words her spirit vanished into the grave. All day he watched. After dark, he detected a movement in the grave. The hunter was frightened, but remained, because, he thought: "I can not run. I am very far from home. This spirit-woman promised no harm would come to me." The man rolled aside stones, pulled off boards, and raised the body to a sitting position. It fell forward again, breathing out fire four times, and then sat up as if just awaking. The girl said, " I am very glad you have helped me, for I shall soon be alive again." He held her in his arms as she arose. Then she exclaimed: "Listen! That orphan is about to begin. I hear drumming and singing in the men's house." They walked toward the village. Meanwhile the orphan, as he was conjuring, said to the girl's father: "I have seen your daughter approaching with some one who walks on the ground. He must be a human. He is wearing an auklet parka and carries a harpoon and line." The father, pleased, answered, "If you succeed in raising my daughter, I shall give you a kaiak with equipment, and fill it with seal meat and oil." On the way down the mountainside, the girl, still part spirit, told the hunter: "The orphan has already seen us. My father offered him a kaiak filled with seal meat and oil. The orphan does not know where you are from. Now my father offers more riches. The orphan is telling him we are behind the men's house." Then the orphan said to the father: "Your daughter and this human are now in the entranceway. They are coming in." {view image of facing page 132} Diomede girl [photogravure plate] {view image of page 133} ESKIMO OF LITTLE DIOMEDE ISLAND I33 As the two came up through the entrance hole, the father recognized his daughter and sprang toward her, but was stopped by the orphan, who explained that he was not quite finished in his conjuring to return her to life. After all was done, the father embraced her. He gave the orphan an umiak, a kaiak, half his wealth, and even offered his daughter to wife. The orphan refused her, saying that because the Big Diomede man had done most of the raising, he should have the girl. The Big Diomede hunter married the daughter and took her to his own village, while the orphan became the wealthiest and most powerful medicine-man in the village. Story of Unguktunguk No one knows where ngiuktdnguk obtained his power, but all knew that after drifting to sea on an ice-floe and returning with a frozen heel, he became a medicine-man. One time he made two sets of masks and brought them into the men's house, where were all the people. After men put on the masks and danced, Ungfiktdngik ordered a large piece of ice with a hole in it to be placed over the entrance hole. His seal-power took possession of him, and he went under the piece of ice. He came up to the hole three times, blowing like a seal. When he rose a fourth time, the chief dancer harpooned tngfktungfik through the head. He bled profusely, and all present saw the weapon with attached line through his head. He then disappeared below the entrance hole, and men pulled in the line with the harpoon on the end. Soon Unguktdnguk, his seal-spirit gone, reappeared as well as before. One summer, when two boats failed to return to the village, he announced that he would fly through the air looking for them. As is customary when medicine-men prepare to fly, all the people crowded into the men's house. There they blocked up entranceway and smoke-hole, stripped Unguiktungutk to the loins, tied his hands and feet, and laid him on a bench. Sealskin trousers were hung from beams for him to use as wings. On the floor below him they placed a plank wish sharp knife-points inserted and pointing upward. To his body they attached a long rope, with a sharp knife at the end. Ungiktdngfik directed: "When I fly, you must all shut your eyes. Whomsoever looks will be stabbed with this long knife trailing behind me. I shall find those lost boats." All lights were extinguished, and two men pulled Ungfiktunguk off the bench, so that he fell on the sharp knife-points. Then his hawk-spirit entered his body and cried out loudly. They heard him flying about the room with a great flapping of the trousers used as wings. At his bidding, men lit the lamps again, and all saw him sitting on the floor, chest bleeding. Although he was still tied, the sealskin trousers, his wings, were on his arms. The long line with the knife was woven in and out among the overhead beams. Three times he flew about the room, and then commanded: " I shall fly once more; then light the lamps and look for me. If I am not here, sing until I return." When they looked for him, he was gone, although the entranceway and smoke-hole were still blocked. They sang all his songs, and at the end heard him call faintly from outside. Three men rushed out and found Unguktungfik hanging on a drying rack. He was chilled through, but his nipples were the coldest. They carried him in the men's house, and he said: " I flew up in the air to go over to Cape Prince of Wales. Then the rope and knife caught on a drying rack and dragged me down. That is a sign that I can not find the lost boats and that I must not fly again." Unguiktunguk often went under the sea, and then there was good walrus- and seal-hunting for the village. On the sea-bottom he saw ropes used by former medicine-men when they were lowered down. Down there he set up a large stone, thinking that his son, after he himself had died and turned over his powers, would get it. One time he decided to give his supernatural powers to his son by both going to the seabottom together. The night before, he called all the people into the men's house and spent the whole night telling stories of medicine-men. The next day men cut a hole in the ice and prepared the lines to lower father and son. The son was naked when bound, though he felt no cold. Unguiktunguk was clad in waterproof parka and mittens. When they were cast into the sea together through the hole in the ice, their bodies broke though a thin scum of shell ice. This was an evil omen for Ungfikt6ngufk, for the hole should remain free of ice. They were soon pulled up by the men and women inside the men's house. The son became a medicine-man, but in the following year Unguktdnguk died. {view image of page 134} I34 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Story of Unurutuk In the men's house all the people were gathered to watch the medicine-men in their incantations. Among these latter were Unurutuk, clad only in a reindeer robe and boots, and his cousin, also a medicine-man. When Unurutuk announced his intention to visit the land below, two men doubted his ability. Bidding these come with him and watch, and instructing his cousin to keep the people informed as to his progress, he went out. As he passed the last house, he stumbled and fell. A little farther he fell so hard that his head burrowed under the ground. Falling a third time, he was nearly buried. Then Unurutuk instructed the two men, "If I fall again and do not rise, you must run back to the men's house." Unuriutuk stumbled once more, and this time his body sank completely out of sight in the earth. After waiting a long time, the two men ran back to the men's house, where they told what had happened. The cousin of Unurutuk took a drum, and, beating softly, intoned what Unurutik was doing: "He is now far below. I see him going in the entrance of the spirits' house. He comes out. One of you men build a fire on top of this men's house to guide him." Soon he cried: "Unuriutk is returning! He is near! I can hear him on the roof! He is coming in here!" Unuriutk, robe and body covered with earth, howling like a dog as he always did when possessed by his spirit, circled the room several times before sitting. Then the spirit left him. He beat the drum, pulled some whale-bones from his mouth, and said: "On my way back, a medicine-man in a grave asked me for some of these bones, but I refused him. In some way he made me drop a few. I shall give one to this medicine-man who built the fire which guided me, and without which I should have been lost and missed the village. The bone will bring him a whale. To boat-owners I shall give the rest, but they must be careful not to miss whales when harpooning. I went only in the entrance to the spirits' house, because they informed me that I must come four times, once each year, before I can go inside. On my fourth journey below I shall be gone two days and two nights, and one of the spirits will take me around the world. Then I shall have great power." In the following spring, all boats speared whales, but each man lost his whale because the medicine-man in the grave had stolen some of the whale-bones from Unurutuik. As he was preparing to go below on his second trip, a child died in the village and was buried on the mountainside. Because this grave blocked his way, Unurutuik followed the shore before diving down through the earth. On his return, he distributed walrus whiskers to medicine-men and boatowners, saying, " I have brought these things from the land below, so that our people will have much walrus meat." That spring the people made such a large catch of walrus that it lasted more than a year. A third time Unurutuk went to the land below, diving through the earth after the fourth stumble, as he had done before. This time he went up the mountainside, because the grave no longer blocked his way. Returning, he distributed seal whiskers, with the result that a great seal-killing was made the following spring. As Unurutuik prepared for his fourth and last journey to the spirits below, on which he was to be taken around the world in two days and two nights and given great power, an epidemic,of sickness came to Little Diomede, during which Unurutuk died. {view image of facing page 134} Tahopik, Diomede [photogravure plate] {view image of page 135} Eskimo of Cape Prince of Wales General Description KINGEGAN, the village of Cape Prince of Wales, lies on a long, gently curving beach which extends northward and eastward for more than a hundred miles to Kotzebue sound. Back from the wind-swept arctic shore stretches the low-lying tundra plain. The tundra flat behind Kingegan and extending to Shismareff inlet is broken by many shallow lagoons with narrow outlets to the sea. Lopp lagoon, which is close to the village, is more than fifteen miles in length. These lagoons are of economic importance to the natives, as they are the breeding and feeding grounds for countless waterfowl. The summer and fall hunting and fishing camps of the Cape Prince of Wales people are scattered along the beach at favorable points as far northeast as Shismareff and southward to Prince William sound. The southern end of this sandy shoreline, where the village proper is situated, terminates abruptly in the high, stony Prince of Wales mountain, the cape itself. The traveller observes small figures resembling men in watchful attitudes stationed at intervals up the seaward face of the mountain to the top. One is informed that these are stone piles built in human form so that enemies approaching from the sea would believe the village to be ever alert and ready. The enemy, then thinking a surprise attack to be unfavorable and not caring to risk heavy losses in landing and open battle, would turn back. The present population of Kfngegan is only about a hundred and sixty-five, but a century ago it was probably one of the largest of the North Pacific Eskimo villages, and no doubt the dominating group; indeed the village numbered four hundred in the year I88o. They were a vigorous, aggressive, seafaring people. Cape Prince of Wales is the most westerly point of the American mainland. The unbroken winds from the arctic sweep down from the north upon its inhabitants, and from the south, across the full I35 {view image of page 136} I36 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN stretch of Bering sea, blow no less vicious storms, while the ice-packs of two seas pile up on the shores. Upon these grinding packs and storm-swept waters the Eskimo hunt and fish. None but a hardy and fearless people could wrest food, clothing, and shelter from such a cruel environment. Emboldened by their numbers, these people preyed on many disabled or icebound whaling ships; but all their contact with the whaling fleets was not that of piracy, for it was here and on the Diomede islands that ships recruited native crews - and they also spread the diseases of civilization. At Cape Prince of Wales, as at all points on the North Pacific coast, the native population dwindled rapidly after the coming of the white man's ships. As a final blow to Kfngegan came the influenza epidemic of I9I7 which reduced the population to the meagre number before mentioned. At one time, it is said, the village was divided into three parts. The northern was separated from the others by a small river, now filled in. The southern section in turn was divided from the other parts by a small stream. Such bitterness prevailed between the three groups that there was no social intercourse between them, but open warfare never broke out. Legend has it that one night the medicinemen of the northern village caused a dense fog, and, concealed by it, the people silently withdrew and disappeared. It is said that they migrated to the Point Barrow region, where place and family names of Cape Prince of Wales origin may still be found. Kingegan today, therefore, is composed of two settlements, each with its own men's house. While they still remain aloof to some extent, much of the former enmity has died away, so that the inhabitants of the two now engage in free intercourse. Each settlement gives the Messenger feast, and intermarriage takes place. In the latter instance, however, the man retains his affiliation with his own settlement and men's house. The Kingegan houses are of dugout construction, with wooden framework, differing only in details from the dwellings of other places on the Alaskan coast. The most distinctive feature is the commodious entranceway, large enough to shelter kaiaks and small boats. Along the coast, in the summer and fall camps, before the innovation of canvas tents, round shelters were erected, their frames consisting of wooden hoops with ends thrust in the ground and crossing one another at the top. The covering consisted of seal- or caribou-skins. Another type of summer shelter was a conical structure resembling a tipi. The poles were braced inside by a wooden hoop to which the poles were lashed about a third of their length from the top. The hoop {view image of facing page 136} Home structure, Cape Prince of Wales [photogravure plate] {view image of page 137} ESKIMO OF CAPE PRINCE OF WALES I37 itself was strengthened by two crossed sticks intersecting at right angles and lashed to the rim. Hunting at Cape Prince of Wales, as throughout the Alaskan Eskimo area, is largely that of migrating animals as they pass by, each kind in its season, when they must be captured, if at all. In more southerly regions it may be the habit to defer work until the morrow; but with the Eskimo in the matter of securing food there is no morrow. From the sea they take whale, walrus, sea-lion, seal, and fish; from the ice-fields, the polar bear and white fox; from the lagoons, tundra, and rocky cliffs come many kinds of birds and their eggs. Primarily the Cape Prince of Wales people were whalers. Other food animals were hunted, to be sure, particularly by those who were not strictly whalers; but it was the whale which furnished the most important food staple. Naturally the whaling crews were composed of the sturdiest and bravest men of the village; in fact, they were regarded as a class by themselves. To go out upon the storm-swept sea in small skin boats, provided with the most simple if not crude equipment for killing an animal twice the length of the craft, required courage and skill indeed. Hunting for the bullhead or bowhead whale takes place only in spring, the season which ends about the first of June, when the whales migrate northward. The belugas are caught during spring, summer, and fall, either in seal-nets or by spearing from the ice. The whale crews, who hold their positions permanently, are usually relatives of the boat-owners, who steer when on the hunt. Just before the time for whale-hunting arrives, preparations are begun. New skin covers are drawn over the boat frames. This is done either in the entranceway of the owner's house or in that of the men's house. The boats, each having a crew of eight men, are smaller than those used for hunting walrus, in order that they may be more easily dragged over the ice, for walrus-hunting is done in open water. While the men are re-covering the boat, two boys engage in a tug-ofwar, using for the purpose the stick employed in cleaning the smokehole. A woman, considered a member of the crew, is now chosen to take part in the ceremonies, which sometimes are performed in the boatowner's home; or several crews may choose the same woman and hold joint ceremonies in the men's house. When the boats with their new coverings are taken out of the entranceways and placed bottom-up on the racks, the woman follows, bearing a dish of food, and takes her position beside a boat. The boys of the village line up on the opposite VOL. XX —I8 {view image of page 138} I38 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN side of the craft, and the woman throws portions of food over the boat, for which they scramble. The boats are allowed to dry and the skin coverings to become taut. Meanwhile the crews choose a day for launching. At night, all wooden boat gear, such as harpoon-shafts, spearshafts, masts, and paddles, are brought to the boat-owner's house, or to the men's house when several crews hold the same ceremonies. New equipment is made when necessary, and all the wooden gear is shaved with knives to impart the appearance of newness. Following this, the crew or crews feast and dance. The dance is for the purpose of driving away any evil influence which may cling to their work. At this time they wear new clothing. A few days later, all air-pokes, or floats, are soaked until pliable. Then the boat-owner and harpooner proceed to a cache on the mountainside. Each owner and harpooner has a cache, carefully hidden and known only to him, where are kept harpoon-heads and -points, talismans and charms, after the season has passed. These talismans of spirit-power, when the boat is ready to be launched, are placed in various parts of the craft, attached to the frame, on pokes, paddles, and harpoons. Each crew places them invariably in its own particular position year after year, although no two crews have exactly similar objects, nor does any one crew place its talismans in the same positions as any of the other crews. This prescribed custom is illustrated in several legends. Knowledge of the cache, of the objects therein, and of their usage, is carefully transmitted from father to son. The epidemic of influenza, above referred to, nearly eliminated the village, hence the locations of many of these caches were lost. During the season of I927, however, one such cache was discovered. It contained several stuffed bird-skins, thoroughly disintegrated; a wolf and a fox skull, each including the jawbones; a caribou hoof and shin-bone; a wolf-claw, to which two small stones were lashed; a headband with a blue bead in the centre; a box for talismans, made from a tree branch, six and a half inches in length and three inches in diameter. The inside of the box was hollowed out and the ends plugged. The cover end had a sinew handle. This box contained a pebble, a blue bead, several beads wrapped in intestinal parchment, and a rolled parchment. From several long sinew belts depended sewn skin bags, each about six inches long and an inch wide, hung side by side, and each containing dried whale meat. Other objects were a wooden harpoon-rest for the bow of a boat, a large wooden ladle, and a wooden bird. The body of the bird was thirteen inches long, with a wing {view image of page 139} ESKIMO OF CAPE PRINCE OF WALES I39 spread of eleven inches. The belly was hollowed out to hold spare harpoon-points, and had a snugly fitting wooden cover held in place with a rawhide thong passing around the body. Several harpoonpoints and -heads were found. When the boat-owner and harpooner return with their sacred objects, the crew bring in the pokes, stand them in the front of the room, and then return to the rear bench. Then at dark the men prepare four other pokes or air-bags. These, lashed together in pairs, are sewed to the boat-bottom to prevent harm and wear to the boatcover while dragging the craft over the ice. The women do any necessary sewing, such as making long mittens. Some crews devote a special day to these tasks. When necessary, a day is spent in making a harpoon-point. The bone or ivory is chosen by a medicine-man, and then fashioned. The medicine-man next, to determine if the point has been made properly and is without any evil influence, has an assistant recline, with a stick bound to his head. If the medicine-man can raise his assistant's head with the stick, it is a sign that his spirit-power approves the work and can "feel" no evil in the point. Should the man's head remain rigid, the new point, however well made, must be rejected. The harpoon, the last implement to be made, consists of three sections. The wooden shaft is about ten feet long, two inches thick, and an inch and a half wide; it tapers slightly for about a foot from the butt to afford an easy hand-hold. Next is a tapering bone foreshaft, twenty-three inches long, its greatest circumference about three and a quarter inches and the smallest an inch. This member, which also is slightly curved, fits into a hole in the wooden shaft and is securely lashed in place. The third section, the head, of ivory or of bone, is about a foot long and also is slightly curved. The top edge is nearly an inch wide at the butt, and tapers narrowly to the front. The sides are bevelled off in three grooves, so that the bottom is sharp. The last five and a half inches, from the top to the butt, is cut obliquely to a point at the bottom edge. On this sloping end surface is a hole for the insertion of the bone foreshaft described. The centre of the head is pierced to accommodate the long loop, about twelve feet, of heavy walrus-line. A slot is cut into the front of the head for a slate point. The point is further secured by a sinew thread passing through a hole in one corner to the hole in the head. The thin slate point is about three inches long and two inches wide. When the spear is cast, the downward-pointing curve of the bone foreshaft prevents it from glancing off the whale's back, so that it drives into the body, the force of the {view image of page 140} I40 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN throw being greatly aided by the weight of the weapon. The ivory head detaches itself from the foreshaft and swivels till at right angles to the looped line. The loop is secured to another line, at the end of which are the air-bags, or floats. The wooden shaft, now disengaged, floats attached to the loop and forms an additional drag to the airbags. At the present time such harpoons are in disuse, small bomb guns being employed. The head of the one described, with others, was found in the cache along with the talismans above mentioned. These were all identified by the owner's mark, the old men who made the identification stating that the owner and his family had succumbed to influenza. All refused to touch any of the objects, and predicted dire misfortune to the members of the expedition who handled them. After the harpoon is made, the air-pokes are inflated, brought into the men's house, and stood up in the front of the room. The crews fast all day and sing ceremonial songs, after which the pokes are placed in the boat, with the harpoon over them, as a sign that the boat is ready to be launched on the following morning. That night, while the boat-owner and harpooner keep vigil outside, the crew remain within, singing the ceremonial songs of the boat-owner all night. In the morning the boat is carried to the shore, all implements are laid on the ground, and the boat turned over them. The boys of the village stand at one side of the boat and sing as the chosen woman brings out a dish of food. This she throws over the boat to the boys, who scramble for it. She now puts a mark on her forehead. The boat is righted, all gear is put in its proper place, and, while the owner sings, it is dragged to the ice, where all stop and render a song accompaniment. The boat is next hauled to the middle of the shore ice, where the night before a paddle was set up by the owner. As the men pass, the spearer seizes the paddle and sets it in the bow. The boat, to singing, is carried to the ice edge, where all is made ready for launching. The boat-owner then ties a pair of animal-ears on the blade of the paddle and lightly brushes the surface of the water. The boat is launched and allowed to drift out. The crew sing, and the woman, left standing on the ice, sings. The boat is then put about and headed toward her, while the spearer makes as if to harpoon her. She then scatters ashes to drive away evil influence, and runs home without looking back. There she remains and fasts until a whale has been killed or the crew returns. As soon as a whale is killed, a member of the crew wraps some of the skin and blubber about his shoulders, in proof of the kill, and {view image of facing page 140} Start of whale hunt, Cape Prince of Wales [photogravure plate] {view image of page 141} ESKIMO OF CAPE PRINCE OF WALES I4I runs home to the woman. She distributes these evidences amongst the families of the crew or crews. The whale is dragged onto the ice, and one man is sent to the village with a piece of fluke on a small spear as a signal for the crew families to make ready to help in the cutting up. All the women line up on the roof of the men's house, behind the smoke-hole, and sing as the messenger approaches. When he reaches the spot in the shore ice where the paddle has been set upright, he stops. Then the woman, dressed in her best, leaves the house and advances as far as the boat-racks, where she dances, and sings as loudly as possible. The messenger sings and dances at the same time. She then returns to the house, and he runs to the smoke-hole, where he lowers the portion of fluke. The woman, singing, takes it and cuts it into small pieces, which she cooks. When done, they are placed in a new pot and carried by her as she rides out of the village in the first sled. As soon as the boat-owner sees the dog-teams in the distance, he sets the boat-mast upright beside a poke. When near the whale drawn up on shore, the dog-teams stop, and the woman dances and sings. The boat-owner then dances and sings. The woman distributes the cooked meat to the crew, who at once eat it. The woman sprinkles some fresh water on the whale's head to refresh the whalespirit's thirst, and also presents it with a hair from her parka. The crew pack all boat equipment but mast, paddles, and oars, to the village. The pokes are placed on the platform caches, and lines are strung on the boat-racks to dry. They then sleep, because the cutting up of the whale takes about two days of steady labor. When ready again for hunting, the boat is launched from the ice without ceremony. When the crews of several boats have harpooned a whale, the entire right side and the hind-part to the navel belong to the first boat which cast a spear; the second boat receives the left side and flipper; the third boat takes the tongue and head down to the breastbone; the fourth is allotted a strip from the chest, while any others are allowed only portions of the lips. In addition, the owner of the first boat may give away a strip from the nose over the head to any one he pleases. Ordinarily the hind-quarters and portions of the head are stored away for the feasts of the following winter. The owner of the first boat takes all the whalebone from the right side, while his harpooner receives that from the left side. Of this, however, they must distribute ten bones to their own crew and some bone to the next two crews. From his share the harpooner gives the woman of the ceremonies some bone taken from the middle of the whale. During the {view image of page 142} 142 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN whaling season, children may play games imitating their elders in a whale-hunt, but after the hunting is over, they must play the games of the following season, and so on through the year. In the early spring (ubanqgruk) the seal-hunting begins. The hunters move out to the edge of the ice, where they build snow or ice barricades to hide them from their quarry. They sit behind these walls on air-pokes and peep through holes on the lookout for seals. As the animals come up, they are harpooned and hauled in by the harpoon-line. When the southwest wind blows the shore ice in toward shore, the hunters watch for seal blow-holes and harpoon the seal as they come up for air, enlarging the hole to drag the body through. Since food is likely to be scarce at this season, unsuccessful hunters and their families ask the more fortunate for a share of the game. Their requests are granted, and it sometimes happens that a hunter is left only with the head and stomach for himself. Those hunters using kaiaks for seal-hunting first stretch new skin covers on the frames. A kaiak is placed on a rack, and an air-bag covered with a waterproof parka is set in the manhole to represent the owner. The hunter and his wife remain in their house and sing ceremonial songs until daybreak. The man, followed by his wife, then carries the kaiak to open water, both singing ceremonial songs as they proceed. While the woman, wearing mittens and holding ashes, stands on the edge of the ice, the hunter, with full equipment of weapons, lines, and air-bags, launches the craft and slowly drifts offshore, singing as he goes. He then paddles toward her, and, when close, motions as if to spear her, because at this time she symbolizes a seal. At that moment the woman scatters the ashes to drive away evil influences, and runs home. The hunter sets forth for game - the sea-lion and hair-seal which are now about to continue their northward migration. When these animals are harpooned, exhausted, and hauled in, the hunter kills them by clubbing, rather than spearing, in order to save the blood. This is poured into a bag of walrus stomach. After the skin has been removed, the cut-up meat is stored beneath the decks of the kaiak to be carried home. The first sea-lion or seal is cut up to be eaten without first removing the skin. Some walrus are caught when the southwest wind blows in the shore ice. These are harpooned through blow-holes and the meat hauled back to the village by dog-teams. Polar bears are killed with spears and bows. Following the sea-lion and seal migration, about March and the early part of April, the hunting of young sea-lions and {view image of page 143} ESKIMO OF CAPE PRINCE OF WALES I43 seal, which appear then, occurs. At this time tomcod are caught with lines and hooks through the ice. During the last of April and the first part of May, eider-ducks come in large flocks to the edge of the shore ice. These are killed with bolas. Each ovoid bola of the six is of ivory or bone, secured to a three-foot section of sinew. The handle usually bears a charm or talisman of the owner. Each hunter carries about five sets of bolas, the five considered to be worth a red-fox skin. When these are thrown from boats, floats of seal-bladder are attached to the handles. After the first ducks have been killed, boys play at duck-hunting with slings. One boy throws his sling in air while others try to hit it with theirs. While the smooth ice is still beyond shore, crabs are gathered, but they are found only in the region between Cape Prince of Wales and what is called Tin City, a few miles southward, around the cape. Crabs are caught in dip-nets, of which the hoop is made of horn. The weighted net is baited with bits of fish or blubber, and lowered in deep water, to be drawn up at intervals and the catch removed. In May, some hunters depart inland at the caribou fawning season. After a herd is sighted, the hunters lie hidden and watch until the fawns are dropped and cleaned by the mothers. Then they kill the newly born animals either by running them down or with dogs trained for the purpose. Squirrels, just emerging from their holes, are caught at this time of year in snares laid at the entrances. Herds of walrus appear about the time when the whales have gone north, and the walrus-hunt lasts until about the first of July, when these animals migrate in their turn. Skilful hunters stalk them on the ice, but this method needs extreme care, because the walrus is very wary. The hunter must creep slowly toward his quarry, and always in the same direction. From time to time he scratches on the ice with an implement carried for that purpose, in order that the walrus will think that the hunter is a walrus and pay no attention to him. When close enough, the harpoon is cast and the animal played on the line until exhausted. It is then brained through the eye with the small end of the harpoon, or clubbed with the bone end. The usual method of walrus-hunting is by boat, one larger than the whale boat, and capable of holding a large catch and of carrying a crew of nine or more. Boys and sometimes women are allowed to participate in the hunt. When a herd is seen upon the ice, the boat creeps along the ice edge. The crew don waterproof parkas with hoods, make ready the harpoon, and attach air-bags to the heavy {view image of page 144} I44 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN line running from stem to stern. When near enough, the harpoon is cast and the animal killed with the long spear when hauled in on the line. It is cut up on the ice and stored in the boat, which then proceeds to its next victim. If walrus are scarce on the ice, or difficult to approach because wary, the hunters sing as they draw near, in the belief that they will be forced to sleep soundly and thus be easy to kill. When the herd is moving in the water, the boat approaches from the rear and the nearest walrus is harpooned. As the wounded animal tows the boat, other weapons are cast into the walrus swimming near by. These are hauled in on the harpoon-lines and clubbed or brained until a boatload has been obtained. The carcasses are towed to ice, cut up, and taken to the village. Polar bears are sometimes killed from the boat. In this event the harpoon is thrown at the hind-quarters and the crew keep the line taut by backing away. This keeps the deadly forepaws and jaws away from the boat. Heavy stones on loops are then slid down the line until the bear sinks with the weight and drowns. The early summer (uwunnok) is occupied with the storing of the spring catch, drying and tanning of skins, the making of lines, repair of equipment, and other necessary tasks. At the village, gill-nets are run out from the shore. Many families go in camp along the beach, perhaps fifty miles to the north. There they also set out gill-nets. While wading out to set them, the people wear a waterproof garment of sealskin in which the only opening is at the neck. This garment is also very useful in cutting up whales, inasmuch as it protects the wearer from blood and grease. Hunters go inland to a lake where caribou are killed by the enclosure system. Runners round up the animals and stampede them toward the lake, driving them between two lines of men whose shouts and gestures frighten the animals so that they head for the water. Once in the lake, they are speared from kaiaks. People stationed around the shores prevent the animals from escaping. The runners and spearers take the best of the meat. The families who move up the coast stalk caribou and pack the meat on sleds to a nearby stream before the snow melts, if possible. There it is dried. Then walrus-hide is wrapped around the sled and sewed to make it serve as a boat, and the dried meat is brought down to the lagoon. After the caribou-hunting, the poorer families remain along the coast to fish. Some families go south as far as Teller for this purpose. Those who can afford large skin boats travel to Siberia, the Diomedes, and Kotzebue to trade. The Diomede people often {view image of facing page 144} Umiak and crew, Cape Prince of Wales [photogravure plate] {view image of page 145} ESKIMO OF CAPE PRINCE OF WALES I45 come to Cape Prince of Wales before the villagers have scattered along the coast. The trade with Siberia is for iron for weapons, and for such furs as beaver, deer, fox, otter, and wolverene; with Kotzebue for furs of caribou, fox, muskrat, and squirrel. In the fall (ugiiUksk) the people return to the village and engage in placing in caches the summer's catch and in repairing houses or building new ones. At this time nets are set out for beluga, sea-lion, and seal, but this must be done only when the water is cold, otherwise they will rot. When set out at the proper time, and cared for, a net will last for as long as six years. The nets are visited every day and kept out until ice forms. Some boat crews, about ten men, take their nets to the rocky point of the cape. Here they put out five anchor-stones on lines, each stone as much as two men can carry. The five nets are extended in five directions, and the other ends also are anchored. Each net is in three eighty-foot sections, five or more sealskins being required to make a section. In depth a net is about twelve feet, or thirteen to sixteen meshes. Two heavy lines run along the top edge and are secured to the net at eight-foot intervals. Every twenty-four feet is a float of sea-lion bladder or flipper, or of walrus bladder or flipper. Opposite the floats, on the bottom edge, are sinkers. The owners, two to a net, take whatever is caught in their net. A good catch will fill a boat. Some crews stretch their nets straight out from the shore. Men who own nets, but not boats, or who do not belong to boat crews, and sometimes even boat crews, wait for a south wind and then go up the coast, stretching their nets seven or more miles apart from one another. The men who work together tie their nets end to end as one long net. The shore-lines are securely fastened to posts. The other end is then carried beyond the breakers as far as it will reach, and there anchored. The net is visited several times a night, and the owners take whatever is in their sections. Nets placed out in this manner must be hauled in during stormy weather or be lost. One informant put out his net three times in the season and made a catch of eighty seals. As many as fifty have been caught in all the sections on a good night. It is said that nets employed in this manner keep in better condition than those left out in all weather. Those set out by the cape, it should be mentioned, receive some shelter from storm. After the fall storms, many clams are collected on the beach. In late summer and early fall women went south to Tin City to make pots and lamps from a clay found there. Since the epidemic of influenza, however, the site has been lost. VOL. XX-19 {view image of page 146} I46 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN In winter (uiguiuk), after the freeze-up, seal-nets are set out. One method of seal-netting is with the short, two-fathom net. The hunter makes or chooses a seal blow-hole and hangs the net under the ice from four pegs in such a manner that when the seal comes up for air, it is enmeshed. When the shore ice is solid, and very thick, the hunter goes out to smooth ice by the water's edge, where he stretches a section of net underneath the ice, the ends suspended through two holes. The waiting hunter makes a tinkling sound above the net by lightly touching the ice surface with a small piece of ice attached to a pole. The curious seal then comes up to find out what causes the sound, and is enmeshed. These methods can be used only in winter, when the days are short and dull, and the nights long; for in the longer, brighter days, the animals see and avoid the nets. When the families move into the village in early winter, the boys gather and watch. In the evenings, as the houses are opened, the boys go from one to another in turn. They gather by the smoke-holes and shout, "Is it time to come in?" As soon as an affirmative answer is made, they enter and sit around the walls, keeping their faces concealed. A woman will give them food, after which they depart to visit the next house. After all the families have returned, the men's house is opened; there is no women's house. Each family brings in its stone lamp and sets it before its place in the house. Food is brought by each family for a feast, games are played, stories told, and whole crews dance and sing. Each family has songs and dances, records of lives and hunts, handed down from generation to generation. During the winter, dances are held, lasting a day, wherein families render their songs and dances. The old men, young unmarried men, and boys live and sleep in the men's house. Here the men perform work on sleds, weapons, and implements of all kinds, and while working receive food brought in by the women. It is a gathering place at all times, and a place where men return after hunting and other work to tell stories. Some time during the winter, the Messenger feast is held by the two men's houses. These take turns in holding it in successive years. One men's house, the hosts, practises songs and dances for four days, and then sends out two messengers to the other men's house. Only about five of the members are invited, although all are privileged to come, and usually do so. Each morning the messengers bring their guests and wives, and before leaving their own men's house the guests feast the messengers. In the hosts' house the guests sit by the rear {view image of page 147} ESKIMO OF CAPE PRINCE OF WALES I47 wall, their wives in front of them, and are feasted. The wives bring bags along to hold the food they can not eat immediately. Opposite them, by the entrance hole, are the hosts with many lamps on each side, and they render their practised songs. On the morning of the fourth day the messengers bring in the guests at an early hour. Now the hosts paint ludicrous marks in charcoal on the faces of their guests, who must endeavor not to laugh. While painting, the hosts ask gifts of their guests. Men ask for women's utensils, and women ask for men's implements. Guests are not allowed to ask verbally what they desire, but may indicate their wishes by signs, such as pointing to their boots or parkas. The guests then leave, and both parties indulge in brisk trading amongst themselves to get the requested articles. The guests are brought back that night, wearing their best clothes and bringing the requested articles, which are sent in the entrance by the messengers to the persons requesting them. While still outside, they request articles of their hosts, which must be procured by the following night. Each guest enters in turn and sings two songs as he thrusts his head through the entrance hole. When all are within, a dance and a feast are held. On the morning of the fifth day the guests make up songs for their hosts and a special one for the headman - songs which pertain to the gifts they desire. Then, preceded by their dancers, wearing light clothes and dancing as they go, all bearing sticks with food on the ends, the procession marches to the men's house of their hosts, who are outside waiting for them. As they arrive, the dancers hold out their food-laden sticks to people whom they like. Then the hosts enter and take their places, sitting with heads averted in order not to be recognized. The most athletic of the visitors, as they enter, endeavor to jump through the entrance hole and to land on their feet. The hosts, women, and boys surrounding the men, stand in the middle of the floor, while the guests sing their new songs. If the visitors are able to recognize their hosts, they touch them with the food-laden sticks. All day and until midnight gifts are exchanged, both guests and hosts trying to outdo one another and to be the last to give away an article. The Messenger feast is concluded on the following, the sixth night, by a dance at which the guests receive quantities of food. While the more important ceremonies at Cape Prince of Wales are connected with the hunting of whales, walrus, sea-lion, and seal, and include the Messenger feast, other ceremonies, relative to the {view image of page 148} I48 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN various events of social life, are held. Of these, the first in order of human life, is concerned with customs of childbirth and the giving of names. As soon as the navel of a child has been tied and healed, the child is given a name, customarily that of a relative to keep the name in the family. If the name of a recently deceased relative has not been given as yet to some child, the newly born receives that name. When the birth occurs during the winter, the mother is obliged to limit her diet to one form of food, usually seal meat, and refrain from drinking water until the following spring. It is believed that this regimen will aid a male child to grow up to be a good hunter, and the female to become skilled in womanly duties. Boys are given bows and arrows as soon as they are old enough and able to use them. The first bird the boy kills is carefully skinned, and the skin, together with the bow and arrows, is laid away. Then the parents make gifts to those who visit them on hearing of the boy's good fortune. The following fall, after the men's house has been opened, the parents give a feast at which the boy's head is shaved and the bird-skin and weapons are hung on the wall. After the feast, the bird-skin and the bow and arrows are burned behind the village to signify that the spirit of the bird may return to its nest and that the boy will be aided in becoming a good hunter. When girls pick their first berries and plants, they must present them to the old men and women of the village. A youth is eligible to marry after he has killed both a sea-lion and a seal. Should he presume to take a wife before he has shown his prowess as a hunter, the other men may take his first sea-lion and seal, leaving him only the heads. Before a youth may live with the woman of his choice, after the consent of the parents has been obtained, he must present her with a complete outfit of clothing and provide meat for her parents for some time, in order to prove his worth as a hunter and provider of food. When the youth's parents choose a suitable wife for their son, they send a woman, an intermediary, to ask the girl's parents for their consent to the marriage. If all is arranged satisfactorily, the youth's parents must provide the bride-to-be with clothing, while the youth hunts for his prospective parents-in-law. But if the girl does not consent to be married, she signifies her rejection by returning the clothing. Clothing also is returned when the couple agree to separate. Divorce occurs by mutual agreement, or when either party is unfaithful. An adulterer may be killed. When a person is about to die, new clothes are made for him. In any event, the body is dressed in its best and kept in the house {view image of facing page 148} Aiyak, Cape Prince of Wales [photogravure plate] {view image of page 149} ESKIMO OF CAPE PRINCE OF WALES 149 overnight, watched by the relatives. Then it is wrapped in a walrushide and securely lashed. The body is hoisted through the smokehole, that all sickness and evil may pass out with it, and laid on the roof, head toward the south. The relatives, six of them carrying the corpse feet first on sticks thrust beneath, others bearing food, water, grave-boards, and the person's tools, implements, utensils, and weapons, all proceed up the mountain to a suitable spot. There the body is laid, head toward the south, a grave-board underneath, on each side, and on the top, and covered with stones. The possessions are placed around and on the pile. Before the family leaves the grave, they build a fire and burn a pungent herb (iksudtt), purifying themselves by making rubbing motions over their bodies in the smoke. After returning home, the smoke-hole is closed, the room is heated, and the family bathes. During the bath, each rubs his body with a stone, an act with a dual meaning: evil and sickness pass from their bodies into the stone, and they are further hardened against evil or sickness. If the deceased is a man, the family remain indoors, performing no work and fed by relatives for four days; if a woman, five days. Men may not hunt, nor women fish, until the next new moon, before which they must first bathe, put ashes in their boots, and sprinkle them over their clothes to drive away any lingering evil influence. On returning from their first hunting or fishing trip, and before partaking of food, men and women must bite a stone; this is to prevent their teeth from falling out. The period of mourning prevents the spirit of the deceased, which may be wandering about the village, from doing harm, and the preparations for the first hunting and fishing are necessary to keep game and fish from avoiding the village. After a year has elapsed, the family carry food to the burial-place and scatter bits on the grave. A feast, to which the relatives who helped with the burial are invited, is held. It is believed that the spirit which lives somewhere on the mountain will also be present and eat of the food on the grave. If the deceased had been a good hunter, the bones of the |