NELSON] SCOPE OF ALASKAN FOLKLORE 451 



southeastern Alaska. These tales apparently have a common source. 

 The Thunderbird of the Tlinket also appears in the mythology of the 

 Eskimo, at least as far north as Bering strait. 



Young men who have an ai)titude for learning tales become narrators 

 and repeat them verbatim, even with the accompanying inflections of 

 the voice and gestures. On lower Kuskokwim river and the adjacent 

 district toward the Yukon mouth, some of the important tales are given 

 by two men, who sit cross-legged near together and facing each other; 

 one is the narrator and the other holds a bundle of small sticks in one 

 hand. The tale proceeds and at certain points one of these sticks is 

 placed on the floor between them, forming a sort of chapter mark. If the 

 narrator is at fault he is i^rompted by his companion. Some of the tales 

 are long, occupying several successive evenings in their recital. The 

 narrators are very careful to repeat them in a certain set phraseology, 

 with repetitions in definitely determined places. When an error is 

 made it is common for the narrator to go back and repeat from some 

 prominent incident. The voice is intoned to imitate the different char- 

 acters in a more or less dramatic manner, and with the gestures makes 

 a very effective recital. The listeners are quiet and attentive, and at 

 certain incidents express by a word or two their feelings of suri^rise or 

 satisfaction. These tales are heard with pleasure over and over again, 

 forming the unwritten lore upon which they draw for entertainment 

 during the long winter evenings. During a sledge journey to the 

 mouth of Kuskokwim river in 1879 I was kept awake several nights 

 by young men lying in the kashim repeating for hours the tales they 

 were memorizing, although the other Eskimo slept through it all with 

 perfect indifference. 



In addition to the more important tales, which are the property of 

 the men, there are many children's stories, which the women relate, 

 frequently entertaining each other as well as the children; these are 

 short, simple stories and are looked upon as belonging peculiarly to 

 the women. An example of these is the tale of the Eaven and the 

 Marmot. 



A collection of tales from the shore of Bering strait would undoubt- 

 edly give valuable insight into the intercourse formerly held with the 

 Asiatic shore, the tale Ak' -chtk-chu' -guk being an example in point. An 

 old man related this tale, at the same time drawing a map showing the 

 course taken by the brothers to Cape Prince of Wales and across the 

 strait to East cape, Siberia, and southward along that coast until they 

 found their sister; the villages were all marked and named, aud^ 

 the map, though rude, gave a good idea of the coastlines and islands. 



The tales of these people seem to have originated largely from cer- 

 tain distinct sources ; there are tales of hunting and adventure, includ- 

 ing voyages and incidents of the ordinary life of the people which may 

 start from someone who recounts an episode in his life in a pleasing 

 manner, so that it is taken up and repeated, with various additions. 



