NELSON] SCOPE OF ALASKAN FOLKLORE A451 
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 aptitude 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 prompted 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 surprise 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 Raven and the 
Marmot. é 
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/-chik-chi/-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, and 
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, 
