Sketches From Oldest America 



from one generation to another for an immense 

 length of time. They are supposed to have a 

 mystic charm and are never sung loud, but are 

 hummed in a low voice. No outsider is allowed to 

 learn the words or hear the tunes. If a seal on the 

 ice is very watchful, the hunter that has received 

 such a legacy will lie still and sing the magic 

 words, at which the animal is supposed to go to 

 sleep and so be readily approached. The same is 

 said about the whale; if it has been struck, and 

 there is danger of its being lost, the initiated will 

 sing the magic words, after which the whale can be 

 captured. 



One song of the first named class relates the ex- 

 periences of a young woman. Her parents, who 

 are growing old, are desirous that she should 

 choose a husband from among the young men of 

 the village. She, refusing to do so, selects a skull 

 as her lover. Her mother is indignant, and one day 

 during the daughter's absence accuses her son-in- 

 law of keeping her awake the previous night by too 

 much whispering. Taking a stick she thrusts it 

 into the eye socket, then tosses the skull out-of- 

 doors. The wind rolls it down the beach and far 

 out into the ocean. The daughter, on returning 

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