482 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [kth.ann. 18 



THE SUN AND THE MOON 



(From the lower Yukon) 



In a certain village on the great river once lived four brothers and a 

 sister. The sister had for acomi)anion a small boy of whom she was 

 very fond. This boy was lazy and could never be made to work. The 

 other brothers were great hunters and in the fall hunted at sea, for 

 they lived near the shore. As soon as the Bladder feast was over 

 they went to the mountains and hunted reindeer. 



The boy never went with them, but stayed at home with the sister, 

 and they amused each other. One night the sister awoke and found 

 the boy lying in bed close to her, at which she became very angry and 

 made him go to sleep in the kashim with the men. The next evening, 

 when she carried food to her brothers in the kashim she gave none to 

 the boy; instead, she went home, and after mixing some berries and 

 deer fat, cut off one of her breasts, placed it in the dish, and carried it 

 to the boy. Putting the dish before him she said, "You wanted me 

 last night, so I have given you my breast. If you desire me, eat it." 



The boy refused the dish, so she took it up and went outside. As 

 she went out she saw a ladder leading up into the sky, with a line 

 hanging down by the side of it. Taking hold of the line, she ascended 

 the ladder, going up into the sky. As she was going up her younger 

 brother came out and saw her and at once ran back into the kashim, 

 telling his brothers. They began at once to scold the boy and ran out 

 to see for themselves. 



The boy caught up his sealskin breeches and, being in such a hurry, 

 thrust one leg into them and then drew a deerskin sock upon the other 

 foot as he ran outside. There he saw the girl far away up in the sky and 

 began at once to go up tlie ladder toward her, but she floated away, he 

 following in turn. 



The girl then became the sun and the boy became the moon, and ever 

 since that time he pursues but never overtakes her. At night the sun 

 sinks in the west and the moon is seen coming up in the east to go 

 circling after, but always too late. The moon, being without food, wanes 

 slowly away from starvation until it is quite lost from sight; then the 

 sun reaches out and feeds it from the dish in which the girl had placed 

 her breast. After the moon is fed and gradually brought to the full, it 

 is then permitted to starve again, so producing the waxing and waning 

 every month. 



ORIGIN OF LAND AND PEOPLE 

 (From the lower Yukon) 



In the beginning there was water over all the earth, and it was very 

 cold; the water was covered with ice, and there were no people. Then 

 the ice ground together, making long ridges and hummocks. At this 

 time came a man from the far side of the great water aiid stopped 



