10 CAVE RELICS OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS. 



bora and watched the boy lest he should go too far from the shore. The boy 

 saw on the sea a diving bird, (diver,) followed it, and shot at it with his arrow. 

 The diver retreated further and further from the shore. The father saw him 

 (the boy) getting farther away, and shouted to him, but the child could not hear 

 him ; and as it was getting dark the father presently could not distinguish the 

 boy any longer, and returned home. The boy went further and further until 

 finally he perceived that he could not distinguish the island from which he came, 

 and that he was far from home. He turned toward the shore, paddling slowly, 

 admiring his boat as he went, until he was not far from the beach, when he 

 heard some one coming after him. He increased his speed, but did not gain on 

 the pursuer who began to throw arrows at him. The boy did not know who the 

 person was. On another island lived an Aleut, whose wife was the boy s sister; 

 but as the Aleutian custom was, this Aleiit did not take her to his own island, 

 but often visited her. This evening, as usual, he was going to his wife, he saw a 

 little bidarka with a child in it, and pursued it to find out who it was, and dis 

 covered that it was his wife s little brother. He admired the swiftness of the 

 boat and the skill of the boy, but continued to throw arrows at him with the 

 intention of frightening him, and threw one so carelessly that it struck the boy s 

 paddle, and he, losing his balance, was overturned. The brother-in-law soon 

 came up with the boy, and endeavored to right the canoe, but without success, 

 and so the little brother was drowned. The Aleiit wept over him, and thought 

 at first of abandoning the boy s body where it was, but finally towed the boat to 

 the shore near the boy s own island, and left it in a mass of kelp so that it might 

 not drift to sea ; but fearing the anger of the father, he went away without hav 

 ing seen his beloved wife. This was in October or November. Morning came, 

 and the boat was discovered in the kelp ; and they told the father, Kat-haya- 

 koochak, who sent out to see what it was, and they went and brought it back. 

 The father recognized his son s canoe, which he had built in the previous winter 

 and summer. 



&quot;What could be done? He wept and lamented over the boy, remembering 

 the love and care he had bestowed upon him, and directed the body to be brought 

 into the casime, (largest house of the village,) called Ulagamak, and dressed in 

 his handsomest parka and placed in the place of honor. He ordered that no one 

 should make any festivity, no tambourines were to be beaten or singing done. 

 He sent out to all his friends to say that he, his son, had been drowned, and that 

 they should come to the funeral. On hearing this, the people of the Four Craters 

 immediately repaired to the island of Kagamil. When they had arrived, Kat- 

 hay-a-koochak commenced to prepare for the funeral of his son. When all was 

 ready, and the day began, he ordered him to be taken to the old burying place, 

 according to the Aleiit custom, with songs, lamentations, and beating of (the 

 Aleiit) tambourines, in company with all the assembled natives, which was done. 

 Among the people was also the sister of the dead boy, who was about to have a 

 child. A stone lay across the path, which all had to pass in going to the burying 

 place. There was a good deal of snow on the ground, partly melted by the 

 warm weather. The sister, who was walking with the father behind the corpse 

 with her face covered and constantly weeping, and was barefooted, in carelessly 

 stepping on the stone, slipped, and fell on her back, bringing on a premature 

 delivery and fatally injuring herself; dying very soon afterward. What could 

 Kat-hay-a-koochak do ? He went out to bury one, and, instead, had three to 

 bury his son, daughter, and grandson. He stopped the procession and had his 

 son brought back to the house (barrabora) and gave orders for the funeral of his 



