NELSON] ALASKAN FOLKLORE 499 



foster parents died he was taken by other people, and so lived for 

 many generations, until finally he died. From him people learned the 

 custom of wearing- masks, and since his death parents have been 

 accustomed to make dolls for their children in imitation of the people 

 who made the one of which I have told. 1 



THE STRONG MAN 

 ^ (From the lower Yukon) 



In ancient times a very strong man (Yukhpuk) lived in the Askinuk 

 mountains, near the Yukon river. One day he picked up a part of 

 these mountains and, placing them on his shoulders, carried them out 

 upon the level country, where he threw them down. In this way he 

 made the Kuslevak mountains. When the mountain was thrown from 

 the man s shoulders, the effort caused his feet to sink into the ground 

 so that two deep pits were left, which filled with water, making two 

 small lakes, which now lie at the base of this mountain. From there 

 he traveled up the Yukon, giving names to all the places he passed. 



THE OWL, GIRL 



The lower Yukon Eskimo have a legend that the short-ear owl was ^ 

 once a little girl who lived at a village by the river. She was changed 

 by magic into a bird with a long beak and became so frightened that she 

 sprang up and flew off in an erratic way until she struck the side of a 

 house, flattening her bill and face so that she became just as these owls 

 are seen today. 



TALE OF AK -CHIK-CHU -GUK 



(From Sledge island) 



At the village of Ktil-ul -I-git 2 a terrible wind was blowing, which 

 filled the air with flying snow and kept everyone in the house. One 

 house in the village was occupied by a family of eight people the par 

 ents and five sons and a daughter. The eldest son, named Ak -clnk- 

 chu -guk, was noted for the great breadth of his shoulders, and the 

 strength of his hands was greater than that of the most powerful walrus 

 flippers. The daughter was well known for her kindness and beauty. 



As the day passed, one of the brothers asked his mother for some 

 food, and she replied that none had been prepared, nor did she have 

 any water with which to cook meat. Turning to the daughter, she 

 told her to take a tub and go down to the water hole in the ice and 

 bring some sea water that she might boil meat. The girl hesitated 

 about going on account of the storm, and the brothers joined with her 



The path of light mentioned in this tale is the galaxy, which figures in numerous Eskimo myths. 

 2 Point Rodney, on the eastern shore of Bering strait. 



