Legends and Tales from Angmagsalik. 247 



death; and then it went into the house and frightened all the in- 

 habitants to death. 



The following day Natatek loaded his boat and went with his 

 wife to Ingmikertok^), where there lived two old people with their 

 daughter. When he had arrived there, he heard that the other 

 people from the mouth of the fjord were coming out to avenge the 

 murders. One day when it was light, he saw a number of umiaks 

 and kaiaks coming out on the fjord, with the head-man in the 

 leading boat. When Natatek perceived this, be began to sing magic 

 chants and perform tornak incantations, although he was not an 

 angakok. As he performed the incantations, he saw that all the 

 wooden trays were filled with salmon , and there appeared a seal 

 with a skeleton for a head which terrified him and the others to 

 death. While he was performing the tornak incantations, the old 

 folks and their daughter sang for accompaniment. Natatek and his 

 wife soon after came to life again. The head-man now came in from 

 outside and stabbed the inhabitants in the face with his knife, but 

 though they stood perfectly still, the knife was unable to pierce 

 them on account of the tornak incantations that had been performed. 

 He had therefore to give up his purpose and went out again. 



Natatek and his wife now moved to the head of the Sermilik 

 fjord, and went and lived with the Timerseks (inland-dw^ellers). Here 

 they found a lodging with a man and wüfe who had no children. 

 While they lived there, they went out hunting reindeer and nar- 

 wdials , which they harpooned from the land at Sarfak ('the 

 stream, the current'). The Timersek stuck his harpoon in a 

 narwhal and drew^ it to land. Natatek likewise stuck his harpoon 

 in a narwhal; but at the same moment a Timersek on the opposite 

 side of the stream stuck his harpoon in the same narwdial and 

 drew it over to his side. 



When Natatek came home, his house-mate taunted him saying: 

 "Well, did they draw the narwhal away from you?" To this Nata- 

 tek replied : "I intend to fetch it this evening". When night appro- 

 ached, Natatek and his house-mate, the inland-dweller, went to the 

 stream. As the current was very strong, a rawhide thong had 

 been stretched taut across the stream, and they clambered over it 

 to the opposite side. There they saw the narwhal lying, and 

 Natatek took it and tied it to the line. Now he had to go to the 

 house and fetch his harpoon-line. 



When he came to the house of the Timersek, he looked in at 

 the window- and saw the Timersek standing in front of the lighted 



An island in tlie Angmagsalik fjord. 



