Legends and Tales from Angmagsalik. 249 



taken off her boots, she lay down herself on the sleeping- platform 

 and grasped Natatek between the legs in order to pull out his guts; 

 but he seized hold of her, threw his legs around hers, gagged her 

 mouth with one hand, and with the other hand pressed her ab- 

 domen, so that her guts were crushed together. When the father 

 heard her death-rattle, he thought it was her daughter that had 

 killed Natatek, and so he whispered: '■'■Ilaglugo, ilaglugoV (''Go on, 

 go on!"). When Natatek had despatched her, he went and lay down 

 by his companion's side and told him that he had killed her. 



The other daughter now came and took Natatek, who made as 

 if he slept, in her arms, and carried him off to her place. She 

 wanted to pull out his guts; but he stopped her mouth with his 

 hand, and squeezed her so that her guts burst. When the father 

 heard the rattling sound, he stretched himself and whispered again: 

 "Go on, go on!" When the other daughter likewise was dead, 

 Natatek and his companion went off while it was still night. 



Natatek and the inland-dweller heard some time after that the 

 father was wrath because Natatek had killed his daughters, and so 

 they went back to him again. On their way they came to a stream 

 where many people were standing catching narwhals in blow-holes 

 in the ice, and among them was the father whose daughters he 

 had killed. When he caught sight of them, he hurled a black nar- 

 whal at Natatek; but Natatek sprang aside, so that the narwhal 

 missed him. The same action was repeated again, and Natatek 

 picked up the narwhal and hurled it back each time at the inland- 

 dweller. The latter shrieked out that he was afraid he would be 

 hit. Natatek now leapt forward, and they seized hold of one an- 

 other. Natatek pressed the inland-dweller to the earth, and began 

 to twist his neck; but the inland-dweller called out that he would 

 pay him with his angmaletarsiutek^), if he would but let him escape 

 with his life, and so Natatek let him go. The man, however, failed 

 to keep his promise, and Natatek never heard of him any more. 



Both Natatek's wife and his house-mate's wife were barren. 

 They therefore agreed to exchange wives for some time, whereupon 

 both wives became pregnant and both bore sons, first the inland- 

 dweller's wife, and then Natatek's. The children began to grow 

 up, and kaiaks were made for them. When Natatek's son^) began 

 to go about, and his father had left him, the birds perched upon 

 him. His mother told him that next time the birds perched upon 

 him, he should catch hold of them. This he did, and when he 



^) Angmaletarsiutek is a hunting-implement for catching narwhals in blow-holes. 

 '-) i. e. the son of Natatek's wife and the inland-dweller. 



