488 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH. ANN. 18 
THE LAND OF THE DEAD 
(From Andreivsky, on the lower Yukon) 
[The following tale is known all along the lower Yukon, and was 
related by an old shaman who said that it occurred several generations 
ago. It is believed by the Eskimo to have been an actual occurrence, 
and it gives a fair idea of their belief of the condition of the shade after 
death. ] 
A young woman living at a village on the lower Yukon became ill 
and died. When death came to her she lost consciousness for a time; 
then she was awakened by some one shaking her, saying, ‘Get up, do 
not sleep; you are dead.” When she opened her eyes she saw that she 
was lying in her grave box, and her dead grandfather’s shade was 
standing beside her. He put out his hand to help her rise from the box 
and told her to look about. She did so, and saw many people whom 
she knew moving about in the village. The old man then turned ler 
with her back to the village and she saw that the country she knew so 
well had disappeared and in its place was a strange village, extending 
as far as the eye could reach. They went to the village, and the old 
mau told her to go into one of the houses. So soon as she entered the 
house a woman sitting there picked up a piece of wood and raised it to 
strike her, saying, angrily, ‘What do you want here?” She ran out 
erying and told the old man about the woman. He said, ‘‘This is the 
village of the dog shades, and from that you can see how the living dogs 
feel when beaten by people.” 
From this they passed on and came to another village, in which stood 
a large kashim. Close to this village she saw a man lying on the ground 
with grass growing up through all his joints, and, though he could 
move, he could not arise. Her grandfather told her that this shade 
was punished thus for pulling up and chewing grass stems when he — 
was on the earth. Looking curiously at his shade for a time, she turned 
to speak to her grandfather, but he had disappeared. Extending onward 
before her was a path leading to a distant village, so she followed it. 
She soon came to a swift river, which seemed to bar her way. This 
river was made up of the tears of the people who weep on earth for the 
dead. When the girl saw that she could not cross, she sat on the bank 
and began to weep. When she wiped her eyes she saw a mass of straw 
and other stuff like refuse thrown from houses, floating down the 
stream, and it stopped in front of her. Upon this she crossed the 
river as over a bridge. When she reached the farther side the refuse 
vanished and she went on her way. Before she reached the village 
the shades had smelled her and cried out, ‘Someone is coming.” 
When she reached them they crowded about her, saying, ‘Who is 
she? Whence does she come?” They examined her clothing, finding 
the totem marks, which showed where she belonged, for in ancient 
days people always had their totem marks on their clothing and other 
articles, so that members of every village and family were thus known. 
