NELSON] THE DWARF PEOPLE 481 



from long strips of wood running lengthwise, but after they had seen 

 the dwarf's sled with many crosspieces, they adopted this model. 



Up to the time when they saw the dwarf people bury their sou in a 

 grave box with small articles placed about him, the villagers had 

 always cast their dead out upon the tundra to be the prey of dogs and 

 wild beasts. But thenceforth they buried their dead and observed 

 four days of seclusion for mourning, as had been done by the dwarf. 



Since that time the hunters claim that they sometimes see upon the 

 tundra dwarf people who are said usually to carry bows and arrows, 

 and when approached suddenly disappear into the ground, and deer 

 hunters often see their tracks near Pikmiktalik mountains. jS^o one 

 has ever spoken to one of these dwarfs since the time they left the vil- 

 lage. They are harmless iieople, never attempting to do any one an 

 injury. 



THE SUN AND THE MOON 



(From St Michael) 



In a coast village once lived a man and his wife who had two children, 

 a girl and a boy. When these children grew large enough, so that the 

 boy could turn over the gravel stone, he became in love with his sister. 

 Being constantly importuned by the boy his sister finally, to avoid 

 him, floated away into the sky and became the moon. The boy has 

 pursued her ever since, becoming the sun, and sometimes overtakes 

 and embraces her, thus causing an eclipse of the moon. 



After his children had gone their father became very gloomy and 

 hated his kind, going about the earth scattering disease and death 

 among mankind, and the victims of disease became his food, until he 

 became so evil that his desire could not be satisfied in this way, so 

 he killed and ate people who were well. 



Tlirough fear of this being people threw the bodies of their dead 

 just outside the village that he might be fed without injuring the 

 living. Whenever he came about the bodies would disappear during 

 the night. Finally he became so bad that all the most powerful sha- 

 mans joined together and, by using their magic powers, were enabled 

 to capture and bind him hand and foot, so that he was no longer able 

 to wander about doing mischief. Although bound and unable to move 

 about, he has still the power to introduce disease and afflict mankind. 



To prevent evil spirits from wandering and taking possession of 

 dead bodies and thus giving them a fictitious animation for evil pur- 

 poses, and in memory of the binding of this evil one, the dead are no 

 longer thrown out, but are tied hand and foot in the position in which 

 the demon was bound and i)laced in the grave box.' 



•There is another Norton aound version of this tale similar to the one from the lower Yukon, which 

 will be given with the tales from that diatrict. 



18 ETH 31 



