The fire ball

In the village of Kin-i’-gun, a mistreated orphan reported a fiery apparition that led to a terrifying encounter with a skeleton-like tunghak, which killed the villagers who followed it. A fisherman later faced the tunghak but escaped using enchanted items that turned into protective dogs. Guided by a mysterious black man and a magical woman, he received an amulet, became a shaman, but ultimately vanished seeking the woman.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The appearance of the fiery apparition and the skeleton-like tunghak highlights interactions with otherworldly entities.

Divine Punishment: The villagers’ mistreatment of the orphan leads to their demise, suggesting retribution from higher powers for their transgressions.

Transformation: The fisherman’s enchanted items turning into protective dogs symbolize physical changes aiding in his escape from the tunghak.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from Sledge Island

In the village of Kin-i’-gun (Cape Prince of Wales), very long ago, there lived a poor orphan boy who had no one to care for him and was treated badly by everyone, being made to rim here and there at the bidding of the villagers. One evening he was told to go out of the kashim and see how the weather was. He had no skin boots, and being winter, he did not wish to go, but he was driven out. Very soon he came back and said there was no change in the weather. After this the men kept sending him out on the same errand until at last he came back and told them that he had seen a great ball of fire like the moon coming over the hill not far away. The people laughed at him and made him go out again, when he saw that the tire had come nearer until it was quite close. Then the orphan ran inside telling what he had seen and hid himself because he was frightened.

► Continue reading…

Soon after this the people in the kashim saw a fiery figure dancing on the gut-skin covering over the roof hole, and directly after a human skeleton came crawling into the room through the passageway, creeping on its knees and elbows. When it came into the room the skeleton made a motion toward the people, causing all of them to fall upon their knees and elbows in the same position taken by the skeleton. Then turning about it crawled out as it had come, followed by the people, who were forced to go after it. Outside the skeleton crept away from the village, followed by all the men, and in a short time everyone of them was dead and the skeleton had vanished. Some of the villagers had been absent when the skeleton, or tunghak, came, and when they returned they found dead people lying on the ground all about. Entering the kashim they found the orphan boy, who told them how the people had been killed. After this they followed the tracks of the tunghak; through the snow and were led up the side of the mountain until they came to a very ancient grave, where the tracks ended.

In a few days the brother of one of the men who had been killed went fishing upon the sea ice far from the village. He stayed late, and it became dark while he was still a long way from home. As he was walking along the tunghak suddenly appeared before him and began to cross back and forth in his path. The young man tried to pass it and escape, but could not, as the tunghak kept in front of him, do what he might. As he could think of nothing else, he suddenly caught a fish out of his basket and threw it at the tunghak. When he threw the fish it was frozen hard, but as it was thrown and came near the tunghak, it turned back suddenly, passing over the young man’s shoulders, and fell into his basket again, where it began to flap about, having become alive.

Then the fisherman pulled off one of his dogskin mittens and threw it. As it fell near the tunghak the mitten changed into a dog, which ran growling and snarling about the apparition, distracting its attention so that the young man was able to dart by and run as fast as he could toward the village. When he had gone part of the way he was again stopped by the tunghak, and at the same time a voice from overhead said, “Untie his feet; they are bound with cord;” but he was too badly frightened to obey. He then threw his other mitten, and it, too, changed into a dog, delaying the tunghak as the first one had done.

The young man ran off as fast as he could, and fell exhausted near the kashim door as the tunghak came up. The latter passed very near without seeing him and went into the house, but finding no one there, came out and went away. The young man then got up and went home, but did not dare to tell his mother what he had seen. The following day he went fishing again, and on his way came to a man lying in the path whose face and hands were black. When he drew near, the black man told him to get on his back and close his eyes. He obeyed, and in a short time was told to open his eyes. When the young man did this he saw just before him a house and near it a fine young woman. She spoke to him, saying, “Why did you not do as I told you the other night when the tunghak pursued you?” and he replied that he had been afraid to do it. The woman then gave him a magic stone as an amulet to protect him from the tunghat in the future, and the black man again took him on his back, and when he opened his eyes he was at home.

After this the young man claimed to be a shaman, but he thought continually of the beautiful young woman he had seen, so that he did not have much power. At last his father said to him, “You are no shaman; you will make me ashamed of you; go somewhere else.” The next morning the young man left the village at daybreak, and was never heard of again.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

Tale of Ak-chik-chu-guk

A family of eight faces a storm’s wrath in a coastal village, leading to the separation of a daughter and brother on drifting ice. Ak-chik-chu-guk, the eldest son, displays superhuman strength and cunning, battling hostile villagers and a wicked shaman to rescue his sister. Despite victories, a cursed oversight transforms the siblings and their boat into stone, leaving their tale immortalized in the landscape.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Quest: Ak-chik-chu-guk embarks on a perilous journey to rescue his sister, facing numerous challenges along the way.

Transformation: The siblings’ eventual metamorphosis into stone serves as a poignant conclusion to their saga.

Supernatural Beings: The narrative features interactions with a wicked shaman, highlighting the influence of supernatural entities in Inuit folklore.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from Sledge Island

At the village of Kal-ul’i-git [Point Rodney, on the eastern shore of Bering strait] a terrible wind was blowing, which filled the air with flying snow and kept everyone in the house. One house in the village was occupied by a family of eight – the parents, five sons and a daughter. The eldest son, named Ak-chik-chu-guk, was noted for the great breadth of his shoulders, and the strength of his hands was greater than that of the most powerful walrus flippers. The daughter was well known for her kindness and beauty. As the day passed, one of the brothers asked his mother for some food, and she replied that none had been prepared, nor did she have any water with which to cook meat. Turning to the daughter, she told her to take a tub and go down to the water hole in the ice and bring some sea water that she might boil meat.

► Continue reading…

The girl hesitated about going on account of the storm, and the brothers joined with her in trying to persuade the mother to give up the idea of having water brought at that time, but all to no purpose.

Then Ak-chik-chu-guk told the youngest brother to go and help his sister, and the pair left the house. After some difficulty in getting to the water hole they rested for a time, and then slowly filled the tub; when it was full they turned back and, with bowed heads, struggled toward the shore in the face of the wind. As they were moving along the path, they suddenly started back in tear, for, in place of the shore, they saw the black, open water in a rapidly widening crack where the ice had broken and was drifting away from the land. Dropping the water tub they ran wildly back and forth along the edge of the ice until they were exhausted. After waiting for some time, the people in the house became alarmed, and one of the brothers ran down to the shore where, by the open water, he saw what had taken place. He hastened back and told his family and, as soon as the storm ceased, the brothers searched the sea as far as they could, but saw nothing of the missing ones. Then one of the brothers traveled along the coast to the north and another went to the south, informing the villagers they met of their loss, but both returned without any tidings.

Spring came, and their mother told the brothers that they must search for their lost ones far along the coast, for it was likely that they had been driven on shore somewhere. The brothers then set to work to build a fine, large umiak; when it was finished they decided to try it before they started on their voyage. Launching the umiak the three younger brothers rowed while Ak-chik-chu-guk sat in the stern with the broad-blade steering paddle. They had gone only a short distance when a wild goose came flying by, and the three brothers strained their arms in trying to equal the bird in swiftness, but in vain. Suddenly Ak-chik-chu-guk raised the broad paddle and the first stroke caused the umiak to leap forward so suddenly that his brothers were thrown from their seats into the bottom of the boat; after this, he bound them firmly to their seats and had them take in their oars. Then, under his strokes, the umiak darted through the water like an arrow, throwing a streak of foam away on both sides. Very soon they were close along side the goose, and the bird tried hard to escape from its strange companions, but was quickly passed by the umiak and left far behind.

On another short preparatory trip they made along the coast they landed near a great rock. Ak-chik-chu-guk told his brothers to take up some small drift logs on the beach and follow him; then, taking up the rock, he placed it upon his shoulders and carried it up the shore, although his feet sank deep in the earth at every step, so heavy was his burden. At some distance from the water he stopped and had his brothers form a platform of their logs, on which he placed the stone, saying: “Now I will not be forgotten, for the people who come after us will point out this rock and remember my name;” and this is true, for the villagers say that the rock lies there until this day and Ak-chik-chu-guk’s name is not forgotten.

Then the brothers returned home and completed their preparations for the journey. When everything was ready, Ak-chik-chu-guk had his brothers remove all their clothing and, taking his knife, with a single stroke he cut off the head of each. Alter this he made their mother carry the bodies outside and dismember them, putting the fragments into a great earthen pot, where they were boiled. At first his mother refused, but Ak-chik-chu-guk compelled her to obey him. When she had done as she was bid, she came in and told him; then, ordering her to remain in the house and upon no account to come out side until he gave her permission, he went out and, by the aid of a powerful inua that did his bidding, restored his brothers to life again.

When all her sons entered the house alive once more, the mother was very glad. At the bidding of Ak-chik-chu-guk she put some decayed fish roe and some bird-skin coats into the umiak, and they started on their search, leaving their parents alone. The brothers journeyed on until they reached a large village, where they stopped, and, going into the kashim, asked for tidings of their sister.

The people answered in an unfriendly way, and soon after one of the villagers cried out, “We must kill these men,” and everyone seized his weapons and started toward the brothers. Ak-chik-chu-guk seemed not to notice the treacherous villagers until they were close to him; then, raising his right arm and placing the elbow against his side, drew the entire arm into his body; as he did this everyone of the villagers was compelled to do the same, and they stood helpless, without the use of their right arms.

“Why do you not kill us? Why do you wait?” and similar mocking taunts were directed to them by Ak-chik-chu-guk. When the villagers had promised to let them go in peace, he thrust forth his own arm again, and at once everyone of the villagers was able to do the same; the people then told them that they might hear of their sister in the next village.

After journeying for several days they came to the village and went into the kashim, where again they made inquiries for their sister. As before, the people answered in an unfriendly tone and rushed at the strangers to kill them. Ak-chik-chu-guk paid no attention to his enemies until they were close to him, when he suddenly closed both eyes and the villagers were forced to do the same, after which he taunted them as he had taunted the men at the other village, then made them promise not to try to injure himself or his brothers, and restored their sight by opening his own eyes. These people told them that possibly they might get tidings at the next village, so the brothers went on.

When they reached that place they made inquiry, and, as at the other villages, the people wished to kill them, and were quite near the brothers with their weapons raised when Ak-chik-chu-guk put his hands on each side of his face and turned his head about on his shoulders so that his face looked backward. Instantly the heads of all the villagers turned around on their shoulders and the backs of their heads rested where their faces should have been, while their bodies were in the position of rushing forward. On getting the usual promise from them, Ak-chik-chu-guk replaced the villagers heads, and the brothers were directed to make inquiries at the next place.

In that village they were attacked again, and the villagers were forced to put their hands behind their backs by the strong magic of the elder brother. Here the people told the brothers that their sister was in the next village, but that she was the wife of a very powerful and wicked shaman, and they tried to keep the brothers from going on, saying that harm would come to them if they did. No heed was given to this, and they went on until they came in sight of the village.

There they stopped while Ak-chik-chu-guk smeared his hands and face with the decayed fish roe and changed his fine deerskin clothing for the old bird-skin garments his mother had put in the boat. Then he coiled himself up in the bottom of the boat, bending down his shoulders until he looked like a feeble old man. His brothers were instructed what to do, and, rowing on, they soon landed at the village. Then the brothers started to carry Ak-chik-chu-guk into the village, when they were met by several people, among whom was the bad shaman. He asked them why they carried with them such a miserable old man; to which they replied that he did not belong to them, but they had found him on the shore and brought him along with them.

Asking about their sister, they were told that they could see her when they had carried the old man in the kashim. Ak-chik-chu-guk was placed in the kashim, where they left him lying apparently helpless. Then they were taken to another house and shown a young woman dressed in fine furs, and were told that she was their sister. The two elder brothers believed this, but the youngest one was suspicious of some wrong, but said nothing and went back to the kashim with the others.

When the brothers were inside the kashim, the shaman went down to the beach, where he untied the lashings of the umiak, rolled the framework up in the cover, and hid it. When night fell and everyone was asleep, the youngest brother crept out and went to the shaman’s house. In the passageway he heard a hoarse, choking sound, and at first was frightened, but soon felt stronger and asked, “Who is there?” No reply came, and he went forward carefully until he reached the door beyond which he had heard the strange sound. He listened a moment, and then pushed the door open and went in.

There on the floor lay his sister dressed in coarse, heavy sealskins and bound hand and foot, with a cord drawn tightly about her neck and another fastened her tongue. Very quickly she was released, and then told him that the wicked shaman had kept her in this way and treated her very cruelly; her brother put his hand on her breast and found her so emaciated that the bones were almost through the skin. Leaving her there, he closed the door and soon brought the next elder brother to the girl; after which both went back and, awakening the others, told them what they had seen.

After this all the brothers kept awake and watchful until morning. As dawn appeared the bad shaman came to the window in the roof and cried out, “Now it is time to kill those strangers.” Going into the kashim, he sent a man for a large, sharp-edge piece of whalebone, while he had another take away loose planks from the middle of the floor, which left a square open pit several feet deep, and about the edge of this the shaman bound upright the piece of whalebone with the sharp edge. The brothers were then challenged to wrestle with him. Ak-chik-chu-guk whispered that they should wrestle with him without fear, as he had killed and restored them to life again before leaving home, so that men could not harm them.

One of the brothers stepped forward, and after a short struggle the shaman stooped quickly, caught the young man by the ankles, and raising him from the floor with a great swing, brought him down so that his neck was cut off across the edge of the whalebone. Casting the body to one side, the shaman repeated the challenge and killed the second brother in the same way. Again the shaman made his scornful challenge, but scarcely had he finished speaking when Ak-chik-chu-guk wiped the fish roe from his face and hands, and with a wrench tore the bird-skin coat from his body and sprang up as a powerful young man with anger shining in his eyes.

When the shaman saw this sudden change he started back, with his heart growing weak within him; he could not escape, however, and very soon Ak-chik-chu-guk caught him in his arms, pressed in his sides until the blood gushed from his mouth, and, stooping, caught him by the ankles and whirled him over his head and across the whale bone, cutting his neck apart; then he brought the body down again and it fell in two. Throwing aside the fragment in his hand, he turned to the frightened villagers and said, “Is there any relative, brother, father, or son of this miserable shaman who thinks I have done wrong? If there is, let him come forward and take revenge.”

The villagers eagerly expressed their joy at the shaman’s death, as they had been in constant fear of him, and he had killed every stranger who came to their village. Then Ak-chik-chu-guk sent everyone out of the kashim, and soon, by help of his magic, restored his two brothers to life; after this they went out and released their sister, and clothed her in fine new garments. She told them of her long drifting on the ice with her brother and of their landing near Uni-a’shuk [a village near St Lawrence bay, on the Siberian shore of Bering strait], the village at which they then were; also how the shaman had killed her brother and kept her a prisoner.

The brothers were now treated so kindly by the people in the village that they lingered there from day to day until a considerable time had elapsed, during which two of them made fine bows and quivers full of arrows, and another made a strong, stone-head spear. One day nearly all the men were gathered in the kashim when the youngest brother hurried in and said that the sea was covered with umiaks, so that the flashing of their paddles looked like falling rain drops in the sun. The villagers told the brothers that the umiaks were from a neighboring place and that the men in them meant no harm to the people of Uni-a’shuk, but were coming to kill the strangers. Hearing this, Ak-chik-chu-guk told the villagers to stay within their houses and sent his brothers out to meet the enemy. The umiaks soon came to the shore and a fierce battle ensued. The umiak men tried in vain to kill or wound the brothers, while the latter killed many of them. Finally the youngest brother returned to the kashim, saying that his arrows were exhausted, but that their enemies were nearly all dead. Soon afterward the next younger brother came in and said that all his arrows were gone and only a few of the enemy were left. He had scarcely finished speaking when the third brother came in, his spear all bloody, and told them that only one man had been spared to carry home news of the fate of his comrades. Going out the villagers saw the shore covered with the dead men and were astonished, but they said nothing.

Still the brothers lingered, disliking to begin the long homeward journey, and at last another fleet of umiaks, larger than the first, bearing the friends and relatives of the men slain in the first battle, came in sight; these, the villagers said, were people coming for blood revenge. Again Ak-chik-chu-guk sent all of the villagers to their homes, telling them not to leave their houses. When they were gone he sat side by side with his brothers in the kashim and awaited the enemy.

The umiaks came to the shore very quickly, and the warriors, fully armed, hurried to the kashim to seek their victims, coming in such numbers that the last had hard work to get into the house. The brothers sat still in the midst of their enemies, who became quiet when they were all in the house and seemed to be waiting for something. In a few moments two extremely old women came in, each carrying a small grass basket in her hands. One of them sat quietly in a corner while the warriors made room for the other to come up in front of the brothers. She looked at them with an evil eye and drew from the basket a finger bone of one of the men killed in the first battle, setting it up on the floor in front of the youngest brother; then taking out a human rib, she looked fixedly at the young man and struck the bone with the rib, saying at the same time, “He is dead.” Instantly the young man fell over from his seat dead. Quickly she placed the second bone in front of another brother and he, too, fell dead from his seat. At this Ak-chik-chu-guk uttered a cry of anger, and springing upon the witch, before anyone could move, caught both her hands and crushed them to a shapeless mass. Then he caught up her basket and scattered about him in a circle all the finger bones it contained. Without a moment’s delay he took the rib and striking the bones as quickly as possible, repeated, “He is dead. He is dead. He is dead.” And his enemies fell as he moved until not one of them was left alive. Then he exercised his magic power and restored his brothers to life again, after which the villagers were called in. When the latter came and saw the kashim filled with dead men, they were full of fear and told the brothers that so many people had been killed by them that they feared to have them remain there any longer.

The brothers consented to go, and preparing their umiak, they embarked with their sister. Just as they were leaving, the villagers told them to be sure to stop and build a large fire on the beach as soon as they came in sight of their native village. They traveled slowly back as they had come, and finally they were pleased to see their village just ahead of them. At this time the sister was walking along the shore with a dog, towing the boat by means of a long, walrus-hide line. When she saw the houses she remembered the directions of the villagers about building a fire when they came in sight of their home, and reminded her brothers of it, but Ak-chik-chu-guk was eager to complete the journey, and said impatiently, “No, no, we will not trouble ourselves to do that; I wish to hurry home.” When the sister turned and started to go OH she had scarcely taken a step forward when her feet felt so heavy that she could not raise them. She shrieked in fear, and said, “My feet feel as if they were becoming stone.” As she spoke she changed into stone from head to foot. Then the same change occurred with the dog, and out along the line to the boat, changing it and its occupants into stone. There until this day, as a rocky ledge, is the boat where it stopped, the brothers facing their home, and a slender reef running to the land where the towline dropped, while on shore are the stony figures of the girl and the dog.

The strong man

Yukhpuk, a legendary strongman, lived in the Askinuk Mountains near the Yukon River. He carried part of these mountains to a plain, creating the Kuslevak Mountains. The effort left two deep pits, now small lakes, at their base. As he traveled up the Yukon River, Yukhpuk named the places he passed, leaving a lasting mark on the region’s geography and lore.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Cultural Heroes: Yukhpuk is a foundational figure whose extraordinary feats, such as relocating mountains and naming geographical locations, have significantly shaped the cultural landscape and heritage of the Inuit people.

Supernatural Beings: Yukhpuk’s immense strength and abilities surpass ordinary human capabilities, aligning him with otherworldly or supernatural entities within mythological narratives.

Creation: The story explains the origin of specific natural formations, such as the Kuslevak Mountains and the lakes at their base, contributing to the broader understanding of how the world and its features came into existence according to Inuit mythology.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from the Lower Yukon

In ancient times a very strong man (Yukhpuk) lived in the Askinuk mountains, near the Yukon river. One day he picked up a part of these mountains and, placing them on his shoulders, carried them out upon the level country, where he threw them down. In this way he made the Kuslevak mountains.

When the mountain was thrown from the man’s shoulders, the effort caused his feet to sink into the ground so that two deep pits were left, which filled with water, making two small lakes, which now lie at the base of this mountain.

From there he traveled up the Yukon, giving names to all the places he passed.

► Continue reading…

Origin of winds

A childless couple in a Lower Yukon village creates a doll from a tree trunk found on a path of light. The doll comes to life, eats, and departs, traveling to the sky’s edge. It uncovers wind portals influencing weather, regulating their effects. Returning to the village, the doll fosters community ties, living for generations. After its death, it inspires mask-wearing traditions and the creation of dolls for children.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Creation: The tale explains the origin of the winds, detailing how a doll brought them into existence by unsealing a portal at the sky’s edge.

Supernatural Beings: The doll, animated from a carved tree trunk, exhibits life and agency beyond natural human capabilities, engaging with elements of the supernatural.

Sacred Objects: The doll itself serves as a sacred object, its creation and actions leading to significant changes in the world, such as the introduction of winds and the inspiration for cultural traditions like mask-wearing and doll-making.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

The path of light mentioned in this tale from the Lower Yukon is the galaxy, which figures in numerous Eskimo myths.

In a village on the Lower Yukon lived a man and his wife who had no children. After a long time the woman spoke to her husband one day and said, “I can not understand why we have no children; can you!” To which the husband replied that he could not. She then told her husband to go on the tundra to a solitary tree that grew there and bring back a part of its trunk and make a doll from it.

The man went out of the house and saw a long track of bright light, like that made by the moon shining on the snow, leading oft across the tundra in the direction he must take. Along this path of light he traveled far away until he saw before him a beautiful object shining in the bright light. Going up to it, he found that it was the tree for which he came in search. The tree was small, so he took his hunting knife, cut oft a part of its trunk and carried the fragment home.

► Continue reading…

When he returned he sat down and carved from the wood an image of a small boy, for which his wife made a couple of suits of fur clothing in which she dressed it. Directed by his wife, the man then carved a set of toy dishes from the wood, but said he could see no use for all this trouble, as it would make them no better oft than they were before. To this his wife replied that before they had nothing but themselves to talk about, but the doll would give them amusement and a subject of conversation. She then deposited the doll in the place of honor on the bench opposite the entrance, with the toy dishes full of food and water before it.

When the couple had gone to bed that night and the room was very dark they heard several low whistling sounds. The woman shook her husband, saying, “Do you hear that? It was the doll,” to which he agreed. They got up at once, and, making a light, saw that the doll had eaten the food and drank the water, and they could see its eyes move. The woman caught it up with delight and fondled and played with it for a long time. When she became tired it was put back on the bench and they went to bed again.

In the morning, when the couple got up, they found the doll was gone. They looked for it about the house, but could find no trace of it, and, going outside, found its tracks leading away from the door. These tracks passed from the door along the bank of a small creek until a little outside the village, where they ended, as the doll had walked from this place on the path of light upon which the man had gone to find the tree.

The man and his wife followed no farther, but went home. Doll had traveled on along the bright path until he came to the edge of day, where the sky comes down to the earth and walls in the light. Close to where he was, in the east, he saw a gut-skin cover fastened over the hole in the sky Avail, which was bulging inward apparently owing to some, strong force on the other side. The doll stopped and said, “It is very quiet in here. I think a little wind will make it better.” So he drew his knife and cut the cover loose about the edge of the hole, and a strong wind blew through, every now and then bringing with it a live reindeer. Looking through the hole, Doll saw beyond the wall another world like the earth. He drew the cover over the hole again and bade the wind not to blow too hard, but he said “Sometimes blow hard, sometimes light, and sometimes do not blow at all.”

Then he walked along the sky wall until he came to another opening at the southeast, which was covered, and the covering pressed inward like the first. When he cut this cover loose the force of the gale swept in, bringing reindeer, trees, and bushes. Closing the hole again, he bade it do as he had told the first one, and passed on. In a short time he came to a hole in the south, and when the cover was cut a hot wind came rushing in, accompanied by rain and the spray from the great sea lying beyond the sky hole on that side.

Doll closed this opening and instructed it as before, and passed on to the west. There he saw another opening, and as soon as the cover was cut the wind brought in a heavy rainstorm, with sleet and spray, from the ocean. This opening was also closed, with the same instructions, and he passed on to the northwest, where he found another opening. When the cover to this was cut away a blast of cold wind came rushing in, bringing in snow and ice, so that he was chilled to the bone and half frozen, and he hastened to close it, as he had the others. Again he went along the sky wall to the north, the cold becoming so great that he was obliged to leave it and make a circuit, going back to it where he saw the opening. There the cold was so intense that he hesitated for some time, but finally cut the cover away. At once a fearful blast rushed in, carrying great masses of snow and ice, strewing it all over the earth plain. He closed the hole very quickly, and having admonished it as usual, traveled on until he came to the middle of the earth plain.

When he reached there he looked up and saw the sky arching over head, supported by long, slender poles, arranged like those of a conical lodge, but made of some beautiful material unknown to him. Turning again, he traveled far away, until he reached the village whence he had started. There he circled once completely around the place, and then entered one after the other of the houses, going to his own home last of all. This he did that the people should become his friends, and care for him in case his parents should die.

After this Doll lived in the village for a very long time. When his foster parents died he was taken by other people, and so lived for many generations, until finally he died. From him people learned the custom of wearing masks, and since his death parents have been accustomed to make dolls for their children in imitation of the people who made the one of which I have told.

The strange boy

A unique boy, distant and contemplative, embarks on a journey to the mysterious north despite his mother’s warnings. Along the way, he encounters supernatural challenges and receives mystical gifts from wise elders. Conquering deadly foes, including a shaman and a giant eagle, he marries a woman of his dreams but uncovers betrayal. After punishing her, he returns home, ultimately finding lasting happiness with a new wife.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Quest: The protagonist embarks on a journey to the mysterious north, facing various challenges and adversaries along the way.

Supernatural Beings: Throughout his journey, he encounters mystical gifts from wise elders and confronts supernatural challenges, including a shaman and a giant eagle.

Love and Betrayal: He marries the woman of his dreams but later uncovers her betrayal, leading to her punishment and his eventual return home.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from Andreivsky, on the Lower Yukon

At a village far away in the north once lived a man with his wife and one child, a son. This boy was very different from others, and while the village children ran about and shouted and took part in sports with one another, he would sit silent and thoughtful on the roof of the kashim. He would never eat any food or take any drink but that given him by his mother.

The years passed by until he grew to manhood, but his manner was always the same. Then his mother began to make him a pair of skin boots with soles of many thicknesses; also, a waterproof coat of double thickness and a fine coat of yearling reindeer skins. Every day he sat on the roof of the kashim, going home at twilight for food and to sleep until early the next morning; then he would go back to his place on the roof and wait for daybreak.

► Continue reading…

One morning he went home just after sunrise and found his new clothing ready. He took some food and put on the clothing, after which he told his mother that he was going on a journey to the north, His mother cried bitterly and begged him not to go, for no one ever went to the far northland and returned again. He did not mind this, but taking his bear spear and saying farewell, he started out, leaving his parents weeping and without hope of ever seeing him again, for they loved him very much, and his mother had told him truly that no one ever came back who had gone away from their village to the north.

The young man traveled far away, and as evening came on he reached a hut with the smoke rolling up through the hole in the roof. Taking off his waterproof coat, he laid it down near the door and crept carefully upon the roof and looked through the smoke hole. In the middle of the room burned a fire, and an old woman was sitting on the farther side, while just under him was sitting an old man making arrows. As the young man lay on the roof, the man on the inside cried out, without even raising his head, “Why do you lie there on the outside? Come in.” Surprised at being noticed by the old man with out the latter even looking up, he arose and went in. When he entered the house the man greeted him and asked why he was going to the north in search of a wife. Continued the old man, “There are many dangers there and you had better turn back. I am your father’s brother and mean well by you. Beyond here people are very bad, and if you go on you may never return.”

The young man was very much surprised to be told the object of his journey, when he had not revealed it even to his parents. After taking some food he slept until morning, then he prepared to go on his way. The old man gave him a small black object, filled with a yellow sub stance like the yolk of an egg, saying, as he did so, “Perhaps you will have little to eat on your way, and this will give you strength.” The traveler swallowed it at once and found it very strong to the taste, so that it made him draw a deep breath, saying, as he did so, “Ah, I feel strong.” Then he took up his spear and went on. Just before night he came to another solitary hut, and, as before, looked in, seeing a fire burning and an old woman sitting on one side and an old man making arrows just below him. Again the old man called out without raising his head, and asked him why he did not come in and not stay outside. He again was surprised by being told the object of his journey, and was warned against going farther. The young man gave no attention to this, but ate and slept as before. When he was ready to set out in the morning the old man saw he could not stay him, so gave him a small, clear, white object, telling the traveler that he would not get much to eat on the road, and it would help him. The young man at once swallowed this, but did not find it as strong as the object he had swallowed the day before. He was then told by the old man that if he heard anything on the way that frightened, him he must do the first thing that came into his mind.

“I will have no one to weep for me if anything should happen,” said the traveler, and he journeyed on, spear in hand. Toward the middle of the day he came to a large pond lying near the seashore, so he turned off to go around it on the inland side. When he had passed part of the way around the lake he heard a frightful roar like a clap of thunder, but so loud that it made him dizzy, and for a moment he lost all sense of his surroundings. He hurried forward, but every few moments the terrible noise was repeated, each time making him reel and feel giddy and even on the point of fainting, but he kept on. The noise increased in loudness and seemed to come nearer at every roar, until it sounded on one side close to him. Looking in the direction whence it came, he saw a large basket made of woven willow roots floating toward him in the air, and from it came the fearful noise.

Seeing a hole in the ground close by, the traveler sprang into it just as a terrible crash shook the earth and rendered him unconscious. He lay as if dead for some time, while the basket kept moving about as if searching for him and continuously giving out the fearful sounds. When the young man’s senses returned, he listened for a short time, and, everything having become quiet, went outside of his shelter and looked about. Close by was the basket resting on the ground with a man’s head and shoulders sticking out of its top. The moment he saw it the young man cried out, “Why are you waiting? Go on; don’t stop and give me a good loud noise, you.” Then he sprang back into the hole again and was instantly struck senseless by the fearful noise made by the basket. When he had recovered sufficiently he went out again, but could not see the basket. Then he raised both of his hands and called upon the thunder and lightning to come to his aid. Just then the basket came near again, with only the man’s head projecting from the top. He at once told the thunder and lightning to roar and flash about the basket, and they obeyed and crashed with such force that the basket shaman began to tremble with fear and fell to the ground.

As soon as the thunder stopped the basket began to retreat, the shaman being almost dead from fear. Then the young man cried out, “Thunder, pursue him; go before and behind him and terrify him.” The thunder did so, and the basket floated away slowly, falling to the ground now and then. Then the traveler went on, arriving at a village just at twilight. As he drew near a boy came out from the village to meet him, saying, “How do you come here from that direction? No one ever came here from that side before, for the basket shaman allows no living thing to pass the lake; no, not even a mouse. He always knows when anything comes that way and goes out to meet and destroy it.”

“I did not see anything,” said the traveler. “Well, you have not escaped yet,” said the boy, “for there is the basket man now, and he will kill you unless you go back.” When the young man looked he saw a great eagle rise and fly toward him, and the boy ran away. As the eagle came nearer it rose a short distance and then darted down to seize him in its claws. As it came down the young man struck himself on the breast with one hand and a gerfalcon darted forth from his mouth straight toward the eagle, flying directly into its abdomen and passing out of its mouth and away.

This gerfalcon was from the strong substance the young man had been given by the first old man on the road. When the gerfalcon darted from him the eagle closed his eyes, gasping for breath, which gave the young man a chance to spring to one side so that the eagle’s claws caught into the ground where he had stood. Again the eagle arose and darted down, and again the young man struck his breast with his hand, and an ermine sprang from his mouth and darted like a flash of light at the eagle and lodged under its wings, and in a moment had eaten its way twice back and forth through the bird’s side, and it fell dead, whereupon the ermine vanished. This ermine came from the gift of the second man with whom the traveler had stopped.

When the eagle fell the young man started toward the shaman’s house, and the boy cried to him, “Don’t go there, for you will be killed.” To this the traveler replied, “I don’t care, I wish to see the women there. I will go now, for I am angry, and if I wait till morning my anger will be gone and I will not be so strong as I am at present.” “You had better wait till morning,” said the boy, “for there are two bears guarding the door and they will surely kill you. But if you will go, go then, and be destroyed. I have tried to save you and will have nothing more to do with you.” And the boy went angrily back to the kashim. The young man then went on to the house, and looking into the entrance passage, saw a very large white bear lying there asleep. He called out, “Ah, White-bear,” at which the bear sprang up and ran at him. The young man leaped upon the top of the passageway and, as the bear ran out at him, drove the point of his spear into its brain, so that it fell dead. Then he drew the body to one side, looked in again, and saw a red bear lying there. Again he called out, “Ah, Redbear.” The red bear ran out at him and he sprang up to his former place. The red bear struck at him with one of its forepaws as it passed, and the young man caught the paw in his hand and, swinging the bear about his head, beat it upon the ground until there was nothing but the paw left, and this he threw away and went into the house with out further trouble. Sitting at the side of the room were an old man and woman, and on the other side was a beautiful young woman whose image he had seen in his dreams, which had caused him to make his long journey. She was crying when he went in, and he went and sat beside her, saying, “What are you crying for; what do you love enough to cry for?” To which she replied, “You have killed my husband, but I am not sorry for that, for he was a bad man; but you killed the two bears. They were my brothers, and I feel badly and cry for them.” “Do not cry,” said he, “for I will be your husband.” Here he remained for a time, taking this woman for his wife and living in the house with her parents. He slept in the kashim every fourth night and at home the rest of the time.

After he had lived there for a while, he saw that his wife and her parents became more and more gloomy, and they cried very often. Then he saw things done that made him think they intended to do him evil. Becoming sure of this, he went home one day and, putting his hand on his wife’s forehead, turned her face to him, and said: “You are planning to kill me, you unfaithful woman, and as a punishment you shall die.” Then taking his knife, he cut his wife’s throat, and went gloomily back to his village, where he lived with his parents as before. When the memory of his unfaithful wife had become faint, he took a wife from among the maidens of the village and lived happily with her the rest of his days.

The Red Bear

An orphan boy, abused by villagers, returns home to his aunt, who crafts a magical red bear from a carved image to avenge his suffering. The bear wreaks havoc on the cruel villagers and others in its path until summoned back by the aunt. She tames the bear, commanding it to harm only in self-defense, thus birthing the lineage of red bears.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Revenge and Justice: The aunt creates the red bear to avenge her nephew’s mistreatment, seeking retribution against those who harmed him.

Supernatural Beings: The transformation of a carved image into a living, destructive red bear introduces a supernatural element central to the tale.

Cunning and Deception: The aunt’s clever use of magic to craft the bear demonstrates cunning in addressing the injustice faced by her nephew.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from Andreivsky, on the Lower Yukon

On the tundra, south of the Yukon mouth, there once lived an orphan boy with his aunt. They were quite alone, and one summer day the boy took his kaiak and traveled away to see where people lived on the Yukon, of whom he had heard. When he came to the river, he traveled up its course until he reached a large village. There he landed and the people ran down to the shore, seized him, broke his kaiak to pieces, tore his clothing from him, and beat him badly.

The boy was kept there until the end of summer, the subject of continual beating and ill treatment from the villagers. In the fall one of the men took pity on him, made him a kaiak, and started him home ward, where he arrived after a long absence.

► Continue reading…

When he reached home he saw that a large village had grown up by his aunt’s house. As soon as he landed, he went to his aunt’s house and entered, frightening her very much, for he had been starved and beaten so long that he looked almost like a skeleton.

When his aunt recognized him, she received his story with words of pity, then words of auger at the cruel villagers. When he had finished telling her of his sufferings, she told him to bring her a piece of wood, which he did; this they worked into a small image of an animal with long teeth and long, sharp claws, painting it red upon the sides and white on the throat. Then they took the image to the edge of the creek and placed it in the water, the aunt telling it to go and destroy every one it could find at the village where her boy had been. The image did not move, and the old woman took it out of the water and cried over it, letting her tears fall upon it, and then put it back in the water, saying, “Now, go and kill the bad people who beat my boy.” At this the image floated across the creek and crawled up the other bank, where it began to grow, soon reaching a large size, when it became a red bear. It turned and looked at the old woman until she called out to it to go and spare none.

The bear then went away until he came to the village on the great river. It met a man just going for water and it quickly tore him to pieces; then the bear stayed near this village until he had killed more than half of the people, and the others were preparing to leave it in order to escape destruction. He then swam across the Yukon and went over the tundra to the farther side of Kuskokwim river, killing every one he saw, for the least sign of life seemed to fill him with fury until it was destroyed. From the Kuskokwim the bear turned back, and one day it stood on the creek bank where it had become endowed with life. Seeing the people on the other bank he became filled with fury, tearing the ground with his claws and growling, and began to cross the creek. When the villagers saw this they were much frightened and ran about, saying, “Here is the old woman’s dog; we shall all be killed. Tell the old woman to stop her dog.” And they sent her to meet the bear. The bear did not try to hurt her, but was passing by to get at the other people when she caught it by the hair on its neck, saying, “Do not hurt these people who have been kind to me and have given me food when I was hungry.”

After this she led the bear into her house and, sitting down, told him that he had done her bidding well and had pleased her, but that he must not injure people any more unless they tried to hurt or abuse him. When she had finished telling him this she led him to the door and sent him away over the tundra. Since this time there have always been red bears.

The Sun and the Moon

A coastal village tale recounts a boy’s forbidden love for his sister, leading her to escape into the sky as the moon, pursued by him as the sun, causing eclipses. Their father, consumed by despair, turned malevolent, spreading disease and consuming both the dead and living. Shamans eventually subdued him, inspiring burial traditions that bind the deceased to prevent possession by evil spirits.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Forbidden Love: The brother’s prohibited affection for his sister initiates the central conflict.

Transformation: The siblings’ metamorphosis into the sun and the moon, and the father’s change into a malevolent being.

Supernatural Beings: The involvement of shamans and the father’s transformation into an evil spirit highlight interactions with supernatural entities.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from St. Michael

In a coast village once lived a man and his wife who had two children, a girl and a boy. When these children grew large enough, so that the boy could turn over the gravel stone, he became in love with his sister. Being constantly importuned by the boy his sister finally, to avoid him, floated away into the sky and became the moon. The boy has pursued her ever since, becoming the sun, and sometimes overtakes and embraces her, thus causing an eclipse of the moon. After his children had gone their father became very gloomy and hated his kind, going about the earth scattering disease and death among mankind, and the victims of disease became his food, until he became so evil that his desire could not be satisfied in this way, so he killed and ate people who were well.

► Continue reading…

Through fear of this being people threw the bodies of their dead just outside the village that he might be fed without injuring the living. Whenever he came about the bodies would disappear during the night. Finally he became so bad that all the most powerful shamans joined together and, by using their magic powers, were enabled to capture and bind him hand and foot, so that he was no longer able to wander about doing mischief. Although bound and unable to move about, he has still the power to introduce disease and afflict mankind. To prevent evil spirits from wandering and taking possession of dead bodies and thus giving them a fictitious animation for evil purposes, and in memory of the binding of this evil one, the dead are no longer thrown out, but are tied hand and foot in the position in which the demon was bound and placed in the grave box.

The dwarf people

Long ago, a small family of dwarfs arrived at a village near Pikmiktalik, astonishing the villagers with their strength and unique customs. After the tragic loss of their child, the dwarfs introduced sled innovations and burial practices that transformed village traditions. Departing in sorrow, they were fondly remembered. Hunters still report sightings of these elusive, peaceful dwarfs, said to vanish into the tundra near the mountains.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The dwarfs possess extraordinary strength and unique customs, distinguishing them from the villagers.

Cultural Heroes: The dwarfs introduce innovations in sled design and burial practices, significantly influencing the villagers’ traditions.

Loss and Renewal: The death of the dwarfs’ child leads to the introduction of new burial customs, marking a transformation in the villagers’ cultural practices.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from St. Michael and Pikmiktalik

Very long ago, before we knew of the white men, there was a large village at Pikmiktalik. One winter day the people living there were very much surprised to see a little man and a little woman with a child coming down the river on the ice. The man was so small that he wore a coat made from a single white fox skin. The woman’s coat was made from the skins of two white hares, and two muskrat skins clothed the child. The old people were about two cubits high and the boy not over the length of one’s forearm. Though he was so small, the man was dragging a sled much larger than those used by the villagers, and he had on it a heavy load of various articles. When they came to the village he easily drew his sled up the steep bank, and taking it by the rear end raised it on the sled frame, a feat that would have required the united strength of several villagers.

► Continue reading…

Then the couple entered one of the houses and were made welcome. This small family remained in the village for some time, the man taking his place in the kashim with the other men. He was very fond of his little son, but one day as the latter was playing outside the house he was bitten so badly by a savage dog that he died. The father in his anger caught the dog up by the tail and struck it so hard against a post that the dog fell into halves. Then the father in great sorrow made a handsome grave box for his son, in which he placed the child with his toys, after which he returned into his house and for four days did no work. At the end of that time he took his sled and with his wife returned up the river on their old trail, while the villagers sorrowfully watched them go, for they had come to like the pair very much.

Before this time the villagers had always made a bed for their sleds from long strips of wood running lengthwise, but after they had seen the dwarf’s sled with many crosspieces, they adopted this model. Up to the time when they saw the dwarf people bury their son in a grave box with small articles placed about him, the villagers had always cast their dead out upon the tundra to be the prey of dogs and wild beasts. But thenceforth they buried their dead and observed four days of seclusion for mourning, as had been done by the dwarf. Since that time the hunters claim that they sometimes see upon the tundra dwarf people who are said usually to carry bows and arrows, and when approached suddenly disappear into the ground, and deer hunters often see their tracks near Pikmiktalik mountains. No one has ever spoken to one of these dwarfs since the time they left the village. They are harmless people, never attempting to do any one an injury.

The circling of cranes

Long ago, cranes preparing for their autumn migration encountered a beautiful young woman near a village. Enchanted, they lifted her on their wings and carried her away, their cries drowning her calls for help. She was never seen again. To this day, cranes circle and call loudly each autumn, echoing their ancient deed in preparation for their journey southward.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The cranes exhibit extraordinary behavior by communicating with the woman and abducting her, suggesting a supernatural element beyond typical animal behavior.

Origin of Things: The tale provides an explanation for the cranes’ circling behavior and loud calls during autumn migrations, attributing it to their ancient deed of abducting the young woman.

Transformation: The young woman’s life undergoes a dramatic change as she is taken from her village by the cranes, symbolizing a transformation from her human world to an unknown fate.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from St. Michael and other places on Norton Sound

One autumn day, very long ago, the cranes were preparing to go southward. As they were gathered in a great flock they saw a beautiful young woman standing alone near the village. Admiring her greatly, the cranes gathered about, and lifting her on their widespread wings, bore her far up in the air and away.

While the cranes were taking her up they circled below her so closely that she could not fall, and their loud, hoarse cries drowned her calls for help, so she was carried away and never seen again.

Ever since that time the cranes always circle about in autumn, uttering their loud cries while preparing to fly southward, as they did at that time.

► Continue reading…

text

The Giant (Kin-ak)

In the harsh tundra, a woman fleeing her abusive husband finds refuge on the body of Kin-ak, a giant whose vast form shelters and sustains her. Kin-ak helps her thrive and sends her back to her village with wealth and protection. Later, her son Kin-ak grows violent and leaves, only to vanish after defying the giant’s warnings. The giant’s breath still shapes the northern winds.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Authority: The woman escapes her abusive husband, challenging his oppressive control.

Guardian Figures: Kin-ak, the giant, provides shelter, sustenance, and protection to the woman, guiding her to a better life.

Supernatural Beings: The giant Kin-ak is a mythical entity whose actions influence the human world, such as shaping the northern winds.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from Unalaklit, Norton Sound

One dark winter night a woman ran through the village of Nikh’-ta and out on to the snow-covered tundra; she was fleeing from her husband whose cruelty had become unbearable. All through the night and for many days afterward she traveled on toward the north, always going around the villages she came near, fearing that she might be pursued. Finally she left all signs of human life behind, and the cold became more and more intense; her small supply of food was exhausted and she began to eat snow to lessen her hunger. One day, as evening drew nigh, she was in such a wind-swept place that she forced herself to go on. At last she saw before her what seemed to be a hill with five elevations on its crest; when she came to it she saw that it looked like an enormous human foot.

► Continue reading…

Removing the snow from between two elevations that looked like huge toes, she found it warm and comfortable, and slept there until morning, when she started and walked toward a single elevation that showed in the snowy level. This she reached near nightfall and noticed that it appeared to be shaped like a great knee. Finding a sheltered place by it she stayed there until morning, when she went on. That evening a hill like a huge thigh sheltered her for the night. The next night she was sheltered in a round pit-like hollow, around which grew scattered brush; as she left this place in the morning it appeared to her like a great navel.

The next night she slept near two hills shaped like enormous breasts; the night following she found a sheltered, comfortable hollow, where she slept. As she was about to start from there in the morning a great voice seemed to come from beneath her feet, saying: “Who are you? What has driven you to me, to whom human beings never come?” She was very much frightened, but managed to tell her sorrowful tale, and then the voice spoke again: “Well, you may stay here, but you must not sleep again near my mouth nor on my lips, for if I should breathe on you it would blow you away. You must be hungry. I will get you something to eat.”

While she waited it suddenly occurred to her that for five days she had been traveling on the body of the giant, Kin-a-g’ak, or Kin-ak. Then the sky became suddenly obscured, and a great black cloud came swiftly toward her; when it was near she saw that it was the giant’s hand, which opened and dropped a freshly killed reindeer, and the voice told her to eat of it. Very quickly she got some of the brushwood that grew all about, made a fire, and ate heartily of the roasted flesh. The giant spoke again: “I know you wish a place in which to rest, and it is best for you to go into my beard where it grows most thickly, for I wish to take breath now and to clear from my lungs the hoarfrost which has gathered there and which bothers me; so go quickly.”

She barely had time to get down into the giant’s beard when a furious gale of wind rushed over her head, accompanied by a blinding snow storm, which ended as quickly as it began, after extending far out over the tundra, and the sky became clear once more.

The next day Kin-ak told her to find a good place and build herself a hut of hairs from his beard. She looked about and chose a spot on the left side of the giant’s nose, not far from his nostril, and built her hut from hairs taken from his mustache. Here she lived for a long time, the giant supplying her wants by reaching out his great hand and capturing deer, seals, and whatever she wished for food. From the skins of wolves, wolverines, and other fur-bearing animals that he caught for her she made herself handsome clothing, and in a little time had on hand a great store of skins and furs.

Kin-ak began to find his mustache getting thin, as she used the hairs for firewood, so forbade her using any more of it, but told her to get some of the hair growing down the side of his face whenever she needed any. Thus a long time passed.

One day Kin-ak asked her if she would not like to return home. “Yes,” she replied, “only I fear my husband will beat me again, and I shall have no one who will protect me.”

“I will protect you,” said he. “Go and cut the ear tips from all the skins you have and put them in the basket. Then set yourself before my mouth, and whenever you are in danger remember to call, Kin-ak, Kin-ilk, come to me, and I will protect you. Go now and do as I have told you. It is time. I have grown tired of lying so long in one place and wish to turn over, and if you were here you would be crushed.” Then the woman did as she had been told, and crouched before his mouth.

At once there burst forth a tempest of wind and fine snow, and the woman felt herself driven before it until she became sleepy and closed her eyes. When she awoke she was on the ground before the houses of Nikh’-ta, but could not believe it was so until she heard the familiar howling of the dogs. She waited until evening, and after placing the basket of ear tips in her storehouse, entered her husband’s home. He had long mourned her as dead, and his pleasure was very great when she returned. Then she told her story and her husband promised never to treat her badly again. When he went to his storehouse the next day he was very much surprised to find it filled with valuable furs, for every ear tip brought by his wife had turned into a complete skin during the night.

These skins made him very rich, so that he became one of the head men of the village. After a time he began to feel badly because they had no children, and said to his wife, “What will become of us when we are old and weak, with no one to care for us? Ah, if we could but have a son.” One day he told his wife to bathe herself carefully; then he dipped a feather in oil and with it drew the form of a boy on her abdomen. In due time she bore a son and they were very happy.

The boy grew rapidly and excelled all of his youthful companions in. strength, agility, and marksmanship. He was named Kin-ak, in memory of the giant. Then by degrees the husband became unkind and harsh as he had been before, until one day he became so enraged that he caught up a large stick to beat his wife. She ran out of the house in fear, but slipped and fell just outside, and her husband was close upon her when she remembered the giant and called “Kin-ak! Kin-ak! come to me.” Scarcely had she said these words when a terrible blast of wind passed over her, blowing her husband away, and he was never seen again.

The years passed until young Kin-ak grew to be a handsome and powerful young man and became a very successful hunter, but he had a fierce and cruel temper. One evening he came home and told his mother that he had quarreled with two of his companions and had killed both of them. His mother remonstrated with him, telling of the danger he would be in from the blood revenge of the relatives of the murdered men. Time went on, and the matter seemed to be for gotten.

Again Kin-ak came home with a tale of having killed a companion. After this every few days he would quarrel with someone and end by killing him; at last he had killed so many people that his mother refused to permit him to live with her any longer. He seemed greatly surprised at this, saying, “Are you not my mother! How is it that you can thus treat me?”

“Yes,” she replied, “I am your mother, but your evil temper has ended in killing or driving away all our friends. Everyone hates and fears you, and soon no one will be left living in the village except old women and children. Go away; leave this place, for it will be better for all of us.”

Kin-ak made no reply, but for some time he hunted continually until he had filled his mother’s storehouse with food and skins. Then he went to her, saying, “Now that I have provided you with food and skins, as was my duty, I am ready to leave,” and he went forth. By chance he took the same road his mother had traveled during her flight, and came at last to the giant’s head. When the giant understood that he was the son of the woman who had been there he permitted the young man to stay on his face, but told him never to come about his lips, for if he ventured there evil would befall him. For some time Kin-ak lived there quietly, but at last made up his mind to go upon the giant’s lip and see what was there. After a great deal of hard work in getting through the tangled thicket of beard on the giant’s chin he reached the mouth. The moment he stepped upon the lips and approached the opening between them a mighty blast of wind swept forth and he was hurled into the air and never seen again. The giant still lives in. the north, although no one has ever been to him since that day; but whenever he breathes the fierce snow-drifting north winds of winter make his existence known.