108 TXJRNEE ON THE INDIANS 



good ; the bad go iip to heaveu. They may make knowu their presence by a kind of 

 whisper, which the living understand and may enter into communication with them. 



The dead man's place of final repose is Adsited at times, and with a service of song, 

 and offerings of food, the living celebrate the memory of the dead. 



The names of the living are studies in themselves, and often indicate by their absurdity 

 the particular thought of good or bad actuating the bestowal of the term. The child may 

 be given a name while yet in ittero ; and as there are no distinctions of sex incltided in the 

 name, it cannot be misapplied. It is usually an objective term, often denoting some 

 peculiarity of the person ; or some propensity may suddenly develop that will affix to the 

 person an enduring name. Several names may be applied to a person at a single (contem- 

 poraneous) period of life, and the name be known only to a few, while another name may 

 be the one generally recognised. Other names may be so local in their application that 

 only certain persons may use them. The most trivial circumstances may be of sufficient 

 importance to cause the entire list of names to be discarded and a new name substituted. 

 Here are a few of the more common names given with their meaning : — Kdkik, denotes 

 the mucous of nose, or the mass of fat behind the eye ; Naksingat, she has a wrinkled nose ; 

 Tûkik, the moon ; Tvkiliak, straight ; A'hva, to step in a line, not deviate ; Ublugiak, a star ; 

 A^shivuk, a species of spider ; Oksogniuf, a lover of oil. 



The children, like those of civilised communities and families, are fond of asking 

 questions, and to answer them, the inventive faculty of the parent or elder is tasked 

 with the construction of a story, into which is woven a subtle lesson calculated to impress 

 the listener. Some of these recitals have been repeated so often as to be incorporated in 

 the folklore of the people and are a part of the most interesting chaptei-s in the life- 

 history of the Innuit. They assign attribirtes to the A^arious objects in nature, often at 

 A'ariance with their true «characters, while others so delicately interweave the habits of 

 the bird with other affairs, as to compose a theme worthy of consideration. The raven is 

 endowed with omniscience, A'alor and cunning. The swift-winged swallow was once a 

 child so wise as to build houses while playing It was changed to a bird, but yet continues 

 to fasten its mud domicile against the side of a cliff, on the top of which it once shouted 

 in childish glee. The hare was a child, tormented because of its large ears. It tied from 

 mankind, and endeavors to hide its ears by placing them along its back when a hirman 

 being is sighted. The blood-thirsty mosquito resulted from the carelessness of a wife, 

 who did not pay proper attention to her husband's garments, and, as a punishment, these 

 pests annoy her to remind her of her duty towards her husband. 



2. — Tlie Naskopies. 



The Indians of whom I propose to give a short sketch are known as the Naskopies. 

 They occupy the central portion of the region lying south of Hudson Strait. On the 

 north, in part towards the west, and all on the eastern side of this region, the Naskopies 

 are surrounded by Innuit ; to the south of them are the Mountaineers, or Montngnais of 

 the early Jesuit missionaries ; and to the south-west are the Moose River Indians. The 

 Naskopies are closely related to both of these Indian tribes, not only in customs but also 

 in language. The others are, however, believed to have been longer on their respective 

 lands, than the Naskopies have been on the tract now occupied by them. 



