BOAS.I TALE OP ITITAUJANG. Ql'J 



Ititaujang answered, "You must eat of the whale; that will fill 

 your stomach." Then she began crying and exclaimed, "I will not 

 eat it; I will not soil my nice white clothing." 



She descended to the beach, eagerly looking for birds' feathers. 

 Having found a few she put them between her fingers and between 

 those of her child; both were transformed into geese and flew away. 



When the Inuit saw this they called out, "Ititaujang, your wife 

 is flying away." Ititaujang became very sad ; he cried for his wife 

 and did not care for the abundance of meat and blubber, nor for the 

 whales spouting near the shore. He followed his wife and ascended 

 the laud in search of her. 



After having traveled for many weary months he came to a river. 

 There he saw a man who was busy chopping chips from a piece of 

 wood with a large hatchet. As soon as the chips fell ofi^ he polished 

 them neatly and they were transformed into salmon, becoming so 

 slippery that they glided from his hands and fell into the river, 

 which they descended to a large lake near by. The name of the 

 man was E^aluqdjimg (the little salmon). 



On approaching, Ititaujang was frightened almost to death, for 

 he saw that the back of this man was altogether hollow and that he 

 coiild look from behind right through his mouth. Cautiously he 

 crept back and by a circuitous way apj^roached him from the oppo-, 

 site direction. 



Wlien E^aluqdjung saw him coming he stopped chopping and 

 asked, "Which way did you ajaproach me?" Ititaujang, jjointing 

 in the direction he had come last and from which he could not see 

 the hollow back of E;i:aluqdjung, answered, " It is there I have come 

 from." Ejaluqdjung, on hearing this, said, " That is lucky for you. 

 If you luiil cimii^ frdin tlif ntliur siile and had seen my back I should 

 have iiniiiciliMtily killcil vdii wirli my hatchet." Ititaujang was very 

 glad that III' liail turned hack and thus deceived the salmon maker. 

 He asked him, " Have you not seen my wife, who has left me, com- 

 ing this way?" Ejaluqdjung had seen her and said, "Do you see 

 yon little island in the large lake? There she lives now and has taken 

 another husband." 



When Ititaujang heard this report he almost despaired, as he did 

 not know how to reach the island; but E^aluqdjuug kindly promised 

 to help him. They descended to the beach; E^aluqdjung gave him 

 the backbone of a salmon and said, ' ' Now shut your eyes. The back- 

 bone will turn into a kayak and carry you safely to the island. ■ But 

 mind you do not open your eyes, else the boat will upset. " 



Ititaujang promised to obey. He shut his eyes, the backbone be- 

 came a kayak, and away he went over the lake. As he did not hear 

 any splashing of water, he was anxious to see whether the boat moved 

 on, and opened his eyes just a little. But he had scarcely taken a 

 short glimpse when the kayak began to swing violently and he felt 



