TALES TOLD BY THE ESKIMO 61 



secured the mouth of the third bear with a thong 

 made of reindeer s hide, then lifting the huge 

 animal, he carried it into the village as easily as he 

 would previously have lifted a young puppy. He 

 unmuzzled the bear, and pushed it among his 

 enemies, who fled across the snow with the great 

 animal in pursuit. Then there came from a hiding- 

 place the little girl who had presented a knife to 

 Kaud when he was young and weak, and after a few 

 days spent on a very pleasant honeymoon among the 

 hills of snow, Kaud and his bride settled in a snow 

 hut near the sea, and it is said that the boy who had 

 been so weak became a hunter whom every one 

 feared and admired. 



The Eskimo are particularly fond of stories 

 describing some poor ill-treated boy who lived to 

 become strong and famous, so in the story of 

 Kiviung we have no exception to the general rule. 



This poor boy was kept by a grandmother who 

 had no one to go out hunting, and no articles to 

 offer in exchange for skins of the seal and reindeer, 

 so it came to pass that both of them had to be 

 content with clothes made from the skins of birds, 

 instead of the double fur suit which Eskimo people 

 usually wear. Playmates who were better clad 

 mocked young Kiviung, and some went so far as 

 to tear his birdskin coat, a cruel act which made 

 him run home to his grandmother, crying for 

 protection. 



Now it so happened that the grandmother was a 

 very clever witch, but no one knew of this, for the 

 old lady had been too kind to harm any of the 



