232 ESKIMO TRADITIONS. 



In accordance with these views, the author explains some of the 

 most common traditions from Greenland as simply mythical narra- 

 tions of events occurring in the far north-west corner of America, 

 thereby pointing to the great probability of that district having been 

 the original home of the nation, in which they first assumed the 

 peculiarities of their present culture. The Greenlander's tales about 

 " inland people " are compared with what is known about the present 

 intercourse of the Eskimo with the interior of that part of America, 

 such as instances of relationship between the people of the coast and 

 the interior, sudden and murderous attacks of the latter, and a very 

 remarkable story about an expedition to the interior for the purpose 

 of getting copper knives from the inland people. Lastly, there are 

 some tales about the country beyond the sea called Akilinek, and 

 about the training of wild animals for sledge expeditions to this 

 country, in order to recover a woman carried off by some inhabitants 

 of that country. When we consider the existing intercourse between 

 the inhabitants on both sides of Behring Straits, we find many cir- 

 cumstances to justify the conclusion that those traditions of the 

 Greenland Eskimo refer to the origin of the Eskimo sledge-dog 

 from the training of the Arctic wolf, to the first journeys upon the 

 frozen sea, and to intercourse between the aboriginal Eskimo and 

 the Asiatic coast. 



