A TREASURY OF

ESKIMO TALES

BY

CLARA K. BAYLISS

_Author of "A Treasury of Indian Tales," "Old Man Coyote," etc._

ILLUSTRATED IN COLOR BY GEORGE CARLSON

NEW YORK THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY PUBLISHERS

COPYRIGHT, 1922, By THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY Second Printing

Printed in the U. S. A.

[Illustration: HE SUMMONED HIS MASCOT WHICH WAS A HUGE WHITE BEAR]

PREFACE

The Central Eskimo live away up north in that great American archipelago which lies between Hudson Bay, Baffin Bay, and the Arctic Ocean; an archipelago in which the islands are so large, so numerous, and so irregular in outline that, as one looks at a map of them, he could fancy they were "chunks" of the continent which had been broken to pieces by some huge iceberg that bumped into it.

The land is ice-bound during so much of the year that the inhabitants cannot depend upon getting a living by the cultivation of the soil, and have to subsist almost entirely upon meat which they get from reindeer, seal, bear, whale, and walrus.

In summer their clothing is of sealskin and fishskin; and in winter it is of the thicker reindeer hides. Their life is a hard one owing to the rigorous climate, and they make it harder by their superstitions, for diseases are supposed to be cured by charms and incantations of the shaman or priest; and everything in the way of hunting, fishing, cooking, or of clothing themselves must be done in a prescribed way or it is "taboo" or "hoodoo" as the negroes say. When you read "The Baby Eskimo" you will see just a tiny bit of the hardships, but I should not like to tell you how much more terrible a time he might have had, if he had happened to be a girl baby.

By referring to the Table of Contents you will note that the first group of tales were told by the Central Eskimo. The second group were derived from the Eskimo living along Bering Strait, to the west; and it is interesting to compare many of these folk tales along similar subjects.

The writer is indebted to the Sixth Ethnological Report, issued by the U. S. Government, for many of the legends found in the Central Eskimo group; and to the Eighteenth Report for many of those from Bering Strait. She wishes to express her thanks for this invaluable and unique material.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

_CENTRAL ESKIMO TALES_

I. THE BABY ESKIMO 1

II. KIVIUNG 3

III. THE GIANT 12

Table of contents (by pages)

• 1: A Treasury of Eskimo Tales by Clara Kern Bayliss
• 2: Michael 85 xxii
• 3: The Rip Van Winkle of the Eskimos
• 4: Kiviung thought she was a very good woman
• 5: Kiviung became rested and refreshed after his weary travels
• 6: He looked at Kiviung keenly and Kiviung looked at him
• 7: When the Kalopaling sits sleeping
• 8: The names of the houses were Quern and Exaluq
• 9: In her hut was a litter of pups
• 10: Itajung became a highly respected man
• 11: Leaving Itajung standing alone
• 12: Strong people called the Tornit
• 13: The Tornit tribe had been aware of the growing dislike
• 14: And called out Better call your white bear mascot
• 15: He remained poor little Quadjaq
• 16: He gave the soup to the old witch
• 17: He thanked the loon very heartily
• 18: Whenever she came to the surface to breathe she cried Louk
• 19: Both Indians and Eskimo believe that the eagle
• 20: Pushed up its beak like a mask
• 21: While the sticklebacks are already on their way to the sea
• 22: And muskrats and beavers to swim about near their borders
• 23: By catching more salmon than they needed
• 24: With these strips they set snares for reindeer
• 25: Until this time mosquitoes had never bitten people
• 26: Raven then left Man lying on one side
• 27: You slept there just four years
• 28: Caught ten reindeer which he took up to the skyland
• 29: He was our Headman until he went away with Raven
• 30: He easily drew the sled up the steep bank
• 31: Very long ago there were many men living in the northland
• 32: Over the entrance way of the kashim or assembly house
• 33: Catching up the shovel in one hand
• 34: Then he went into the kashim and said
• 35: There the man would be eaten by the young thunderbirds
• 36: Your pretty wife was carried away by the thunderbirds
• 37: The inua never came back to the room
• 38: Raven quickly pulled down his mask
• 39: And very soon the marmot came home
• 40: Far out on the tundra there grows a solitary tree
• 41: Illustration A GALE SWEPT IN BRINGING REINDEER
• 42: Soon after a black brant passed
• 43: The geese kept steadily on and on
• 44: It spied a bunch of herbs growing close by
• 45: Holding up the tuber in its paws and nibbling it
• 46: As the nights grew colder and colder