BOAS.) ESKIMO GEOGRAPHY. 643 



The table shows that the following ideas are known to all tribes 

 from Alaska to Greenland : The sun myth, representing the sun as the 

 brother of the moon; the legend of the descent of man from a dog; 

 the origin of thunder by rubbing a deerskin ; the origin of hsh from 

 chips of wood ; and the story of the origin of deer. 



It must be regretted that very few traditions have as yet been 

 collected in Alaska, as the study of such material would best enable 

 us to decide upon the question of the origin of the Eskimo. 



SCIENCE AND THE ARTS. 

 GEOGRAPHY AND NAVIGATION. 



The Eskimo exhibit a thorough knowledge of the geogi-aphy of 

 their country. I have already treated of their migrations and men- 

 tioned that the area they travel over is of considerable extent. They 

 have a very clear conception of all the countries they have seen or 

 heard of, knowing the distances by day's joiirneys, or, as they say, 

 by sleeps, and the directions by the cardinal points. So far as I 

 know, all these tribes call true south piningnang, while the other 

 points are called according to the weather prevailing while the wind 

 blows from the diffei-eut quarters. In Cumberland Sound uang- 

 nang is west-northwest; qaningnang (that is, snow wind), east-north- 

 east; nigirn, southeast; and aqsardnirn, the fohn-like wind blowing 

 from the fjords of the east coast. On Nettilling these names are the 

 same, the east-northeast only being called qanara (that is, is it snow?) 

 In Akudnirn uangnang is west-southwest; ikirtsuq (i. e., the wind 

 of the open sea), east-northeast; oqurtsuq (i. e., the wind of the land 

 Oqo or of the lee side , southeast; and avangnanirn (i. e., from the 

 north side along the shore), the northwestern gales. According to 

 Parry the same names as in Cumberland Sound are used in Iglulik. 



If the weather is clear the Eskimo use the positions of the sun, of 

 the dawn, or of the moon and stars for steering, and find their way 

 pretty well, as they know the direction of their point of destination 

 exactly. If the weather is thick they steer by the wind, or, if it is 

 calm, they do not travel at all. After a gale they feel their way by 

 observing the direction of the snowdrifts. 



They distinguish quite a number of constellations, the most im- 

 IDortant of wliich arc Tiiktuiidjuii-- (the deer), our Ursa Major; the 

 Pleiades, Sakiclauii: an.l \\i<- h,-]i ,,f Orion, Udleqdjun. 



As their knuwIiMlyv of all the diivrtions is very detailed and they 

 are skillful draftsmen they can draw very good charts. If a man 

 intends to visit a country little known to him, he has a map drawn 

 in the snow by some one well acquainted there and these mat)s are 

 so good that every point can be recognized. Their way of drawing 



