236 G- Holm and Johan Petersen. 



that lay there, he said: "How can it be that it shrieks like a hu- 

 man being? — Now she has gone before I could eat her; if I only- 

 had not waited so long, but killed her before!" 



He noNv went round the walls of the house and stuck his knife 

 into the wall^) in several places, and in so doing narrowly missed 

 killing Misana; but he discovered nothing. He now went out to 

 look for his wife. When he had been away a long while, she went 

 to the window^ to look if he had gone, and as she saw no signs of 

 him, she ran off to her brother's house. When she had got a little 

 way, she heard her husband running after her. She hesitated an 

 instant, but when she had got to the other side of a hummock of ice^),^ 

 she exclaimed: "Well, I have a tree as an amulet; then I wish I 

 may become a piece of wood!" She threw herself down, and at 

 once was turned into wood. Imerasagsuk came up soon after. He 

 stuck his knife several times into the tree; it certainly hurt a little,^ 

 but did her no harm. "Had I only taken my axe with me", said 

 Imerasugsuk, "now I must go home and fetch it". When he had 

 gone home to fetch his axe, and he had disappeared from view, 

 she pursued her flight. Presently she perceived that her husband 

 was close behind her again. She fled dow^n to the shore, where 

 the tide w^as low, and said: "Well, I have seaweed for an amulet; 

 then I wish I may become seaweed!" When her husband got to 

 the spot, he could not fmd his wife, but thought to himself: "I will 

 wait till the tide is high , that she may drown". After high-tide 

 he w^ent home, and she fled to her brother. As she drew close to 

 her brother's house, a fear came upon her that her husband was 

 pursuing her; so she ran up to her brother's fox-and-raven trap, and 

 cast herself down through the opening, killing all the foxes and 

 ravens. At this her brother came up, and she shouted to him not 

 to be alarmed. "How did you get there?" he asked. "Imerasugsuk 

 has killed our brother and is pursuing me in order to kill me 

 too." After they had reached the brother's house, Imerasugsuk 

 arrived towards evening to fetch another wife. Having entered, he 

 affected to be very sorrowful and said: "Weep! I have lost my 

 wife". Misana, however, was lying on the platform under some 

 skins. Imerasugsuk sat down, covered his eyes with his hand, and 

 made believe to weep, but the others did not weep with him. 

 Misana's brother wet his drum and began to chant. As he chanted 

 he sqeezed the knees of all the company, and when he came to 

 Imerasugsuk, he chanted : "Imerasugsuk eats all his wives and children !" 



M In Sanimiiinak's version : he kicked the stones. 

 -') In Siinimninuks version: past a headland. 



