74 A Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



The Wolf — Second Version 

 (Told by Ikpakhuak) 



Originally the wolf had a fox tied on to his tail, but he lost it. One day he 

 killed a caribou, and was returning to pick up his bow and arrows when he met 

 a white fox which was following in his trail. He said to the fox: 



pixikxita'yyuya qdtqa' yilan 



"Did you not find my bow-case?" 



The fox replied: 



na-'una pixikxita-xirji'l-uya ama'qum kix-iami 

 pamej''Yyuaya qdtqaylua'yiya hshdhd 



"1 know nothing about it. I haven't the bow-case. I found a wolf's tail; 

 that was all. Ha, ha, ha." 



But the wolf was enraged at the fox for mocking him, so he promptly bit 

 it and killed it, then returned and devoured his caribou. 



B. MAN AND THE ANIMAL WORLD 



54. The Man and the Squirrels 

 (Told by Avranna and his wife Milukattak) 



A man was sitting on the ground all by himself one day when he heard 

 a slight noise behind him. He turned round and saw a squirrel in the very act 

 of pushing back the mask from its face and changing into a human being. The 

 man thought to himself, "I am afraid that all the Eskimos hereabouts are 

 going to starve." So he said to the squirrel, "You tell all your brothers and 

 sisters to come out. Remember, I have spared your life. Let them come out 

 in great numbers so that we Eskimos may live on them and not die of starva- 

 tion." 



55. The Caribou and the Hunter 



(Told by Avranna) 



A man was once on the point of spearing a caribou when it opened its 

 mouth and said: 



Lnyui'toq'a'n-a qaydqtai'toq-a'n-a ima'qhuyide'ktuya 



kapite'ylaya nu'lian au'yaq tunuyuaqtayi'n-avoq 



kdpituaqxin-a'ynaya xuli qaqituaqxi.rjna' qtuya^ 



"There is no-one down here, there is no kayak down here. I am going into 

 the water, let me escape being speared. Your wife this summer has 

 plenty of deerfat. Although he tried to stab me I got ashore before 

 he speared me" (?) 



56. The Whale and its Wife 

 (Told by Ikpakhuaq) 



A whale was once married to a woman. The two lived on an island and 

 the whale had the form of a man. Opposite them, on the mainland, lived two 

 Eskimo men. One day these crossed over to visit the whale's wife, and on 

 their return they plotted to carry her off. Now the whale was afraid that his 

 wife might some day try to escape, so he always kept her tied up whenever he 

 went out himself. "The Eskimos landed near the whale's house and stole quietly 



* There is some doubt as to the meaning of the last three words. Avranna learned the story from an Akiliniq 

 (Thelon River) native named Atqaq, who visited the Dolphin and Union strait Eskimos in December, 1915. 



