NELsoNl SUPERNATURAL POWERS 429 



tlie tungliiit of inauimate things tbe shamans can see the shades of 

 dead people or animals which are invisible to persons not specially- 

 endowed. 



The shades of people or of animals frequently come at the call of 

 shamans, doing their bidding, and sometimes the shade of a dead shaman 

 will appear for this purpose. 



The Unalit told me of a shaman who once lived among them and 

 was aided by his dog, with whom he could talk, the dog being a 

 tumjliak whicli had taken that form. A common form of tunghdlc is 

 the yn-u^ or spirit of the elements, places, and things. 



Along the coast of Norton sound and the lower Yukon shamans 

 sometimes cause the death of newborn infants and afterward steal the 

 body and dry it carefully, in order to keep it and have control of its 

 shade as a specially strong inllufence. On the Yukon I heard of an 

 instance in which one of these men stole the dried body of an infant 

 from another shaman and by aid of its shade became noted for his 

 remarkable powers. When he died his relatives were very much afraid 

 of the small mummy and burned it. 



Men who are not shamans, but who understand some of these things, 

 will sometimes cause the death of a new-born child for the purpose of 

 having the services of its shade to secure success in hunting. The 

 child must be killed secretly and its body stolen, so that no one knows 

 of it; after the body is dried, it is placed in a bag and worn on the 

 person or carried in a kaiak when at sea. One of the best hunters at 

 St Michael had such a body, which he carried, wrapped in a little bag, 

 in his kaiak. By careful inquiry I learned that he had caused its 

 death and then obtained the body from its grave box near the village 

 without the knowledge of the mother. It is believed that when the 

 hunter carries one of these objects the shade of the infant, which is 

 clairvoyant, assists its possessor in finding game and directs the spear 

 in its flight so that the animal shall not escape. Owners of these 

 objects are extremely jealous of them and try to keep their possession 

 secret. It was by mere accident that I discovered the existence of the 

 one just mentioned. 



At Point Hope, on the Arctic coast, a young man came on board the 

 Corwin wearing a pair of gloves, on the back of which were sewed a 

 pair of outspread feet of the sea parrot {Mormon arcMca). On question- 

 ing his companions they said that he was a shaman, and once while he 

 was fishing along the shore one of these birds had alighted on his 

 hands, leaving its feet to bring him success in salmon fishing. 



Shamans are greatly feared, and their advice concerning hunting, 

 traveling, and other matters of this kind is usually obeyed, but many 

 failures on their part to give good counsel or to cure sickness may result 

 in serious consequences. In the fall of 1879 the Malemut of Kotzebue 

 sound killed a shaman, saying in explanation that he told too many lies. 



If a shaman is suspected of using his powers to work evil upon his 



