12 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARt^TIC AMKRICA. 



fioiii Cape Mercy on the cast to Xuguinoiite on the west, not to exceed 

 lour limidred individuals. It is certain tlmt w itliin the last thirty yens 

 the mortality has been very great among them; even the whalemen 

 remark an astonishing diminution in tlieir Tuunhers nt tlie pi/'seiit day, 

 as comi>ared with twenty years ago. 



Numerous traditions exist among them of the time when tlie> wmred 

 witli otiiei- tril»es. :iii(l old men, now living, have pointed out to us islands 

 that were once the scene ofbattles, where the besieged party was starved 

 into submission by tiieir enemies. According to the usual story, the 

 hurling of st/Ones was one of the most efl'ective and common modes of 

 warfare; this was especially the case when one party could get* upon a 

 ledge above the other. At the present day they are peacefid and quiet, 

 have no recognized leader, and no desire to fight, even if theii- inimbeis 

 would permit of it. 



As the story goes, the present population Avere the victors in those 

 fights, and took posafssion of the country they now inhabit. Some say 

 they came from the northwest, and found another tribe, which they 

 overcame and drove away. Their stories on this subject vary, and 

 sometimes with this unusually interesting tradition, as well as many 

 others, they get events of a very recent date hopelessly mixed up with 

 the rest; and it is no unusual instance to find that some whaler with a 

 good imagination has supplied and restored lost portions of the nar- 

 rative, to their entire satisfaction; but these restorations are chiefly 

 remarkable for their utter disregard of truth or possibility. 



The following tradition is a translation from one of the most reliable 

 natives we became acquainted with: 



"A long time ago {tichcmaniadlo)* othei' Iniuiits (Eskimo) were found 

 here ; they were called " Tunak";t they were very strong, very large, and 

 had short legs and large arms; they had very wide chests. Their clothes 

 were made of bear skins, and then- knives from walrus tusks. Did not 

 use bows and arrows, but only the harpoon-lance; they harpooned the 

 reindeer in the water, from their kyacks; used very large kyacks. The 



•Here arises a great difficulty: tichemani signifies a loug ti/nc, i.e., it may be any- 

 where from a week to a year; tichcmaniadlo is a veiy nuu-li longer period, generally 

 conceded to antedate the advent of the whiles; at least, this wjis the only example 

 we could bring up which they could understand, except their own ages, which we could 

 ascertain with less certainty, ^\^len a virii long period (as in this case) is represented 

 as liaving intervened, they repeat tichrmaniodlo several times, but how much time is 

 added by each repetition \re are unable to say. 



t Variously pronotineed. "'I'linare,'' "Tiinnuk," or ••Tiinuak." 



