2G4 THE HUDSON BAY ESKIMO. 



Oriijin of mosquitoes. — A mau- had a wife who was negligent and 

 failed to scrape his skin clothing properly when he returned fioiu his 

 expeditions. He endeavored to persuade her to uieud her ways aud 

 do as a wife should do. She was again directed to remove the accu- 

 . mulated layer of dirt from the man's coat. She petulantly took the 

 garment and cleaned it in such a slovenly way that when the liusbalid 

 discovered the condition of the coat he took some of the dirt from it 

 and Hung it after her. The particles clianged into mosquitoes, and now 

 (in sijring), when the warm days come and the women have the labor of 

 cleaning clothes to perform, the inse(;ts gather around them, and the 

 women are thus reminded of the slovenly wife and what befel her. 



t<tory of the mail and his fox wife. — A hunter who lived by himself 

 found when he returned to the place after an absence that it had been 

 visited and everything put in order as a dutiful wife should do. This 

 happened so often with no visible signs of tracks that the man deter- 

 mined to watch and see who would scrape his skin clothing and boots, 

 hang them out to dry, and cook nice hot food ready to be eaten when 

 he returned. One day he went away as though going oft' on a hunt, 

 but secreted himself so as to observe the entrance of anything into the 

 house. After a while he saw a fox enter. He suspected that the fox 

 was after food, lie quietly slipped up to the house and on entering 

 saw a mo.st beautiful woman dressed in skin clothing of wondrous make. 

 Within the house, on a line, hung the skin of a fox. The man iiiquii'ed 

 if it was she who had done tliese things. She replied that she was his 

 wife and it was her duty to do them, hoping that she had perfoi'med 

 her labor in a manner satisfactory to him. 



After they had lived together a short time the husband detected a 

 musky odor about the house and inquired of her what it was. She 

 replied that she emitted the oilor and if he was going to find fault with 

 her for it she would leave. She dashed off her clothing and, resuming 

 the skin of the fox, slipped quietly away and has never been disposed 

 to visit a man since that time. 



The following is a story obtained from Labrador: 



The rivals. — Between two men there existed keen rivalry. Each 

 asserted himself to be the stronger and endeavored to prove himself 

 sui)erior to the other. One of them declared his ability to form an 

 island where none had hitherto existed. He picked up an immense 

 rock and hurled it into the sea where it became an island. The other, 

 with his foot, pushed it so hard that it landed on the top of another 

 island lying far beyond. The mark of the footprint is visible to this 

 day, and that place is now known as Tu kik' tok. 



The jealous man. — A man fell in love with two women and was so 

 jealous of them that he would not permit them to look upon others, 

 much less s^ieak to them. The women finally wearied of the restric- 

 tions placed upon them and resolved to desert the man. They lied 

 along the coast until they were faint from hunger. At length they 



