Sacred-Texts Native American Inuit
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[This tale appearing somewhat obscure and fragmentary, has been added here only on account of its probable relation to Nos. 28 and 30. The details in the different manuscripts of these three stories appear to be more or less confounded and intermixed.]
A BROTHER and a sister once lived together, and were very much attached to each other. The sister, who was very desirous of going off for the salmon-fishing, asked her brother to take her up to a salmon river. Not being able to deny her, he put the boat into the sea and went with her to the fishing-place; but when they had landed and discharged the boat, putting all their things on the beach, she climbed a little way up the rocks, and went across a smooth level p. 266 to the brook. All at once she saw an inorusek (fabulous giant-like inlander) close beside her. Stupefied with terror, she tried to escape; but he caught hold of her and carried her further and further inland. The others plainly heard her shrieks for help, and hurried off to rescue her; but she was already gone, and her cries soon died away among the mountains. In the meantime the inorusek carried her up through the highlands till they stopped at a place with a number of huts. He intended to marry her, but first brought her to the house of a neighbour, where he put her down on the ledge and seated himself in front of her. She cried incessantly, but whenever she tried to run away, he took hold of her like a little child and put her down again. While she was thus sitting, an old woman peeped across the screen of the ledge, asking her, "What wouldst thou like to eat? dost thou like talu?" and the unhappy girl thought to herself, "I wonder what talu is like!" She soon heard the old woman step down to fetch something, and though still weeping, she peeped through her fingers, and perceived it to be the fat of a deer's heart they were giving her. However, she would not take it, and the old woman again retired. Then she again asked her, "Wouldst thou like some ernowt?" and the girl still crying, answered, "What may it be like?" This time she saw the old hag produce some common tallow, saying, "Now do eat that and be quiet;" but she would not take that either. Being very disheartened, she continued to weep; and the old woman now menaced her, and threatened to take away her boots, at which she cried still more. Then she heard a rattling noise, and peeping through her fingers, she saw a strange figure, all bones and joints, creeping along the ledge towards her. This creature warned her, saying, "Leave off crying, lest they should treat thee as they did me. I was once like thee; I was stolen and p. 267 brought to this place, and because I would not leave off crying, they took away my boots and gave me others filled with reptiles, spiders, and vermin. They fastened them on my legs, and when they were taken off, the flesh was all gone." When the skeleton had done speaking, she cried all the more. The old hag now in an outburst of ill temper and vexation approached; and she saw her holding a pair of boots, in which she observed something crawling about; but the giant took hold of them and flung them away into the corner of the room, and then at length she was able to leave off crying. Her husband, however, kept a close watch upon her, and led her by the hand whenever she wished to go out. One day she said to him, "Don't go on watching me so; I have no intention of leaving thee now; I like thee very much, and thou mayst safely leave me and go out deer-hunting as usual." After that she feigned to go behind the house; but she started from her hiding-place and ran up and down hill, and continued running towards the coast until she reached the tent of her parents, where she burst right through the door-curtain, not giving herself time to draw it before entering. She hastened to say, "Let us be off at once and remove to some other place; the inlanders are sure to come and seek me here." They at once left the mainland to settle down on one of the farthest-off islets; and after that time they never again ventured to pitch their tents on the continent.