258 G- Holm and Johan Petersen. 



more!" "Why not?" answered the inland-dweller. The kaiak was 

 now fetched down, but it was so dry that it could not be used as 

 it was; so it was placed on the side-platform by the window, to 

 be repaired. His wives covered and sewed it; but they also sewed 

 up the man-hole. "It must be open, so that I can creep down into 

 it!" said Pouia. When the kaiak was ready, and he was going to 

 set out, he said: "I wish I could go out and catch birds!". His 

 father-in-law took him and put him in the middle of a lake, then 

 went out into the water, and cried: "Ke\ KeV When he had got 

 to shore again, a great number of birds came out into the water. 

 Pouia. caught as many as he could take on the kaiak, then went 

 ashore and flung them on a little island in order to catch more. 

 While he was catching birds, he saw a tongue of fog coming down 

 upon the island, and the inland-dweller's wife came walking on 

 the fog to fetch the birds. When Pouia was tired of catching birds, 

 he went home. 



When he had been at home some time, Pouia said: "I wish I 

 could go out and hunt narwhals!" "Why not?" answered his father- 

 in-law, set him in his kaiak out in the fjord, and snorted like a 

 narwhal, crying: "Яо! HoV\ Then he went ashore again. Pouia 

 threw his harpoon at a narwhal and lanced it all by himself. 

 When it had been killed, he took it home with him, and his wives 

 cut it up. 



Pouia soon got tired again of staying at home, and so he said 

 to his wives: "Shall we go out to sea?" They now went all three 

 down to the coast, up here at Tasiusak, and set down in a place 

 where the coast-dwellers came to collect tugdlerunat. He told his 

 wives to louse his head. One of his wives said: "I believe an umiak 

 is coming". Pouia replied: "No, it is only a piece of ice with sea- 

 weed on it". The umiak, which now approached, went under lee of 

 the shore. The sound of human voices came from the boat, and 

 Pouia knew them well. One of his wives said: "It sounds just as 

 if someone were speaking!" Pouia replied: "Let us listen! To those 

 who have never been on the coast, the cry of mews sounds like 

 human voices". 



The umiak approached nearer and nearer. The people stepped 

 out of the boat, and one of his wives said: "It sounds just as if 

 someone were speaking behind us". The people now came forward 

 quite close to them, but when they perceived the Timerseks, they 

 ran down to the boat again. "I am not a Timersekl I am Pouiai 

 I am Pouial It is they that have taken me; now take theml" cried 

 Pouia, and stuck his arms into both his wives' boots, in order to 

 prevent them from running away. The boot of the most beautiful 



