Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/188

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176
Journal of American Folk-Lore.

in the agli, from which wound he soon died. The two brothers now separated. One went ptarmigan-hunting, and was lost, but the other finally reached his home again. When his mother saw him return (whom she believed dead), she defecated from amazement and surprise.


XVIII. THE AGLIRTOQ WOMAN AND THE BEAR.[1]

A woman ran away from men. She came to a snow-house, owned by a bear. The bear was inside, but had changed himself to a man. This woman, who was aglirtoq (under restrictions), went into the house. After a while the bear, who was also in the snow-house (but whom she had not seen, as the house was a double one), got up and went into the entrance passage, where he put on his big skin and thus became a bear. Then he went down to the water and dived. He stayed under a long time, but finally reappeared, carrying a seal in his mouth. This bear then skinned it, and brought the seal into the house. Then he cut up the seal he had caught, and gave that aglirtoq woman some of the skin [fat?] to eat. She gave her children some of the skin and then went away, going home. When she arrived, she told her story: "There is a bear who has a snow-house. I went in. He caught a seal and I ate of his catch. He gave me its skin to eat."


XIX. QIGEXSSUUNG.

In a house was sleeping Qigexssuung (an evil old woman); in another near by, a woman with a child, which she was still carrying in her hood. Into this house came Qigexssuung. The woman woke up, and, seeing her, hurried out and away, leaving her child. Qigexssuung thereupon cut off the child's head and ate some. Later she ate the rest, too.


XX. THE BEAR.[2]

A woman had a bear for a child. At first it was small, but soon it grew very large. It used to go out and hunt seals and bring them home, thus providing for her.

One day, however, he was hunted. First the dogs caught him, and then the men came up and speared him and thus killed him. When his mother heard this she began to cry, and cried until she was turned to stone. She can be seen even now at Ita.

  1. Cf. Rink, T. and T. p. 462; Boas, p. 638; and also Rink, p. 413; and, for a similar idea, Rink, p. 470.
  2. Cf. Rink, T. and T. p. 413; Boas, p. 638.