Language and Folklore. 411 
Niwaangiaq died. When, after his death, he regained conscious- 
ness his soul crept into other beings.*™ After it had done with dwell- 
ing in the dog* (his dog), without getting anything to drink** it 
departed and took up its abode in the seals. When it noticed here 
that human beings sought for it (wished to catch it)® .... because 
they ever beat it (and) when it cried aloud (from pain), they put a 
muzzle on it.* It worked that off and fled. The poor dog died vo- 
luntarily.® Then the soul crept into a blade of grass.“ When he 
became tired of the constant swaying in the wind he again left this 
and crept into a raven.®) As soon аз he had begun to creep into it 
he noticed that it was (or he became) rapacious in its (his) desire 
to devour seals.“ (But) as it began to be very thievish * he again 
left (and) the poor wretched raven died. ® He crept into a Greenland 
seal. Now he was to move like a Greenland seal and join their herds. © 
When the kaiak-men were never able to sneak close enough to them 
because they (the seals) ducked under they left him behind as the 
last.® When he began to play among the mighty animals of the 
high billowing deep, and they (the seals) dove under, he was always 
the very last.“ 
Finally he said: “Why am I always left until the last?” The 
others answered: “Do you kick (set off) toward the line of incision 
of heaven?” *@) — “No, I do not kick toward it.” — “Look there, 
the incision line of heaven! If you set off toward it, as you go down, 
you would get up great speed.” “?) — When the kaiak-men approached 
to harpoon him, he always, after that, kicked hard toward the line 
of the incision of heaven“ and got ahead of all the others, however 
it now came about. 
He left the Greenland seal and when he had left it, the Green- 
land seal died.“ He crept into a fjord seal, it became winter (and) 
people began catching seals at their blowing holes on the ice.“ When 
people came out on the ice and were seen approching (he said): 
“T am astonished. I just saw another person come down (to the ice), 
now he vanished from my sight. I must have made a mistake. (7 
What was it, was there one unexpectedly wearing an amulet under 
his foot?* on the fourth finger (or toe?)?” — How softly he drew 
his breath!** Finally, after having held in his breath as long as pos- 
sible — think of it, how long he could!“ — What a surprise! With 
a firm grasp he was drawn up through the ice. 4 When he (the 
hunter) stuck it (the seal) with the knife, he (his soul) should usually 
then become loose (but) it could not become loose. 
While he resolutely tugged it off, it (the soul) continually fol- 
lowed.®® When he (the hunter) had pulled it ashore and arrived 
with it, he brought it into the house. His wife went across the floor 
to it.@) While she was flensing it she examined it (with her fingers). 
Between its hind quarters (was) its great anus, lying upwards. @) As 
she cut it open lengthwise from above she went (with the knife) over 
to its throat.@ As she cut the throat he (the soul) had the sudden 
desire to slip into her. % He slipped into her interior (and) cleaned 
her interior within the anus. While she was still flensing him, be- 
fore she had entirely finished it, she nearly died from loss of blood 
(menstruation). >) However she gradually began to tighten it securely 
