NELSON] THE LAND OF DARKNESS 513 



which pleased her very much, for until then she had never seen any but 

 bone needles. 



For some time they lived thus, until at last the man told her that as 

 they were living alone it would be better for her to become his wife, to 

 which she agreed. The husband then told her not to go outside the 

 house, and they lived quietly together. 



While her little boy was playing about one day, he cried out suddenly 

 with delight, and when the woman looked at him she saw that he had 

 spilled the things which she had put in her dish when she stepped on 

 the shore. Examining them, she found they were large, handsome, 

 blue beads. 1 



In time she gave birth to a fine boy, of which her husband was very 

 fond, telling her to be very careful of him. In this way they lived for 

 several years, and in time the boy she had brought with her became a 

 youth. His foster father made him a bow and arrows, and when the boy 

 had killed some birds with them he was allowed to accompany him when 

 hunting. One day the boy killed and brought home two hares, which, 

 like all the animals and birds in this country, were coal black. They 

 were skinned and left outside, and shortly after, freshly cooked and 

 steaming, they were placed just inside the door in a wooden dish, as was 

 always done with their food. The woman noticed for the first time that 

 when the dish was pushed inside the door it was held by two hands. 



This remained in her mind until she became suspicious that her hus 

 band was not faithful to her. Finally he saw that something troubled 

 her ; he asked what it was, and she told him. After sitting and thinking 

 for a short time he asked her if she did not wish to go back to her 

 friends, to which she replied that there was no use in wishing for any 

 thing that she could not do. So he said, &quot;Well, listen to my story, I 

 am from Unalaklit, where I had a handsome wife whom I loved, but 

 who had a very bad temper, which troubled me so much that I lost 

 heart and was in despair, and from being a good and successful hunter 

 I could no longer succeed. One day I was paddling in my kaiak far 

 out at sea, filled with heavy thoughts, when a great storm broke upon 

 me and I was unable to return to the shore. The high wind forced my 

 kaiak through the water so fiercely that at last I lost consciousness 

 and remembered no more until I found myself lying bruised and lame 

 upon the shore where you, too, were cast. Beside me was a dish of 

 food, of which I ate, and feeling strengthened, I arose, thinking that 

 the food must have been placed there by some one, and started to 

 search for the people, but could find no one. While my wants were 

 still supplied with food every time I became hungry, the thick dark 

 ness hid everything from me; but I could find no people, and when my 

 eyes became accustomed to the unbroken darkness, so that I could see 

 a little, I built this house and since then I have lived here, being cared 

 for by the inua who, as you have seen, serves my food. This inua usually 



1 Beads of this kind are still highly prized by the Eskimo of this coast. 

 18 ETH 33 



