36 A Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



to his home. Once when he went in the woman gave him some meat, but just 

 as he was taking hold of it, one of her sons scratched him with a scratcher made 

 from the 'foot of a duck-hawk. The boy immediately dropped the meat, then 

 picked it up with his un scratched hand and went out crying. All this passed 

 without the mother noticing. The boy was still crying when he entered his 

 home, and his grandmother asked him, "What made you cry?" The boy replied, 

 "Her son Tokok made me cry." The grandmother told him not to go there 

 again, but in the morning, when he went visiting the other houses, he went 

 to the same house, and the woman again gave him some meat. Again the young 

 man scratched him as he was taking hold of it, and when he let go the man took 

 it away from him altogether. The orphan went out cr3dng as before, but after 

 he had gone out the man's mother, who had seen what had happened this time, 

 said to her son, "Alas, the people have no pity for a poor orphan boy. You may 

 be grown up, but perhaps you may not live very long (?)" The young man, 

 however, paid no attention to his mother, but went and lay down. In the 

 morning, after the old woman and her grandson had breakfasted, the boy went 

 visiting again; receiving nothing from the other people, he entered the same 

 house, and again received the same treatment. When he went home his grand- 

 mother said to him, "Grandson, the people don't like you or they wouldn't act 

 in this way." Thereupon she taught him a song and told him to sing it in the 

 passage. He was a little afraid, but she told him not to be frightened. So next 

 morning he went out into the passage, crouched down and sang his song, then 

 at the end of it said "Beware." The inmates asked him whether he were not 

 making a mistake and he said no; but even while he was thus singing there 

 was a sound like dogs fighting. The people scolded him, saying, "Boy, you are 

 going to die;" but as they listened the boy began to sing faster than ever. . The 

 two youths went outside as soon as they heard the noise of fighting and promised 

 the boy that he should share their food in the same way as their own kinsfolk, 

 but he paid no heed to them. As they were going inside again he started to go 

 outside and met them in the passage. There had been an uproar just before, 

 but now everyone was silent. The people stayed in the same place, but they all 

 starved to death, one after the other. The grandmother turned into an ermine, 

 but her grandson became a wolf. 



9. The Orphan's Gratitude 

 (Translation of Text IX. Told by Qapqana) 



There were some people living at the mouth of a river. They used to go 

 inland in summer and return to the coast in winter. With them lived an old 

 woman and her grandson, but these two never left the coast. The little boy 

 was wont to put on his grandmother's clothes and go out and play on top of the 

 house. The young men, on the other hand, used to go out hunting, but some- 

 times they did not all return. Now there were two leading mpn in the settlement. 

 The elder one had three sons, the younger two sons and a daughter. The two 

 sons of the younger chief always returned home after hunting. , Now the orphan 

 boy would visit the different houses in order to get food. Whenever he entered 

 the dance-house, the younger chief would tell him to sit at the back, and the 

 people would then give him some food when it was distributed around. But 

 whenever he went to the elder chief's house, one of the sons would make scornful 

 remarks, telling him that he was wearing his boots out, and that he was a burden 

 because he had no one to hunt for him. The boy would wait for someone to 

 give him a little food, but in vain; in the end, he would always leave empty- 

 handed. But at the younger chief's house he could always obtain some food, 

 which he used to conceal under his clothes while he went on to another house. 

 This was how he procured food for himself and his grandmother. 



