230 ^- Holm and Johan Petebsen. 



As far as some of my records were identical in the main with 

 others in my collection, I have woven them together in one text, 

 citing the variants in foot notes. 



Captain Jacobsen's account of his voyage to the North West 

 coast of North America in 1881 — 83^) has drawn my attention to 

 many points of contact between the East Greenlanders and the 

 population of North West America, in their ideas of the spiritual 

 world, in their artistic skill, and in the appearance and use of their 

 household utensils and implements. 



I wish particularly to point out that points of contact are found 

 not only with the Eskimo, but also with the Indians. 



The Eskimo races on the coasts of Alaska form a ring about 

 the Indians who dwell in the centre of Alaska and are called: the 

 Ingaliks. In the Eskimo territory on the banks of the Yukon there are 

 remains of a remarkable large and ancient Eskimo village, which, 

 as we are told, was once 4 miles long and boasted of nigh on a 

 hundred houses for dances and other festivities. 



The Ingaliks cut wooden tubs out of a piece of wood which is 

 bent to the requisite shape in warm water and sewed tightly to- 

 gether with roots, after which the wooden bottom is inserted. (See 

 the description on page 39 of how the blubber buckets are made). 

 Furthermore Jacobsen (p. 180) writes "The Ingaliks are clever 

 potters. Most of the clay vessels which they make are used as 

 cooking vessels and lamps. The jars are fairly large, being often 

 the size of a half barrel". If we bear in mind that the people of 

 Angmagsalik call certain fabulous inland-dwellers Ingaliliks'^) (from 

 ingavok to cook) and relate of them that they carry large pots in 

 which whole seals can be boiled, it seems to me that there can be 

 no doubt that the "inland-dwellers", the Ingaliliks, spoken of by the 

 people of Angmagsalik, are identical with the Ingalik Indians. 



The Indians on the West coast of Vancouver Island form an 

 ethnographic district apart. Jacobsen gives the following descrip- 

 tion of a dancing festival among them : 



"Another dance was also most remarkable . . . Three naked 

 Indians represented a wolf. The foremost held a wolf's head, finely 

 carved in wood, in his hand, while two others had rolled them- 



') "Captein Jacobsens Rejser til Nordamerikas Nordvestkyst 1881 8;{' ed. by 

 A. Woldt (translated from German by Utheim). Christiania 1887. 



-') These beings are called in the West Greenland dialect Igalilik. Hanserak has 

 noted the form Ingalilik in the copy of Kleinschmidt's dictionary used by the 

 expedition. 



