Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory: Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1889-1890, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1894, pages 159-350Turner, Lucien M. (Lucien McShan)
History
Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory: Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1889-1890, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1894, pages 159-350
Turner, Lucien M. (Lucien McShan)
Indians of North America -- Québec (Province) -- Ungava Peninsula -- Folklore; Indians of North America -- Québec (Province) -- Ungava Peninsula -- Social life and customs; Inuit -- Québec (Province) -- Ungava Peninsula -- Folklore; Inuit -- Québec (Province) -- Ungava Peninsula -- Social life and c
never say anything to him to make him angry if he went back. The brother
promised him not to do so. They then started to return, the brother
taking the bodies of the children and mother on his back, the husband
walking ahead. They soon arrived at the home of their people. The
brother threw down the beavers and directed his wife to skin them. The
husband of the beaver asked for the right hand and arm of the beaver who
had been his wife. It was given to him. He got one of the other women to
skin it, and told her to dry the skin and return it to him. Three nights
after their return to their people a great many beavers were killed and
a large kettle full of flesh was boiled for food. The people pressed the
runaway brother to eat of the flesh of the beavers. He informed them
that if it was the flesh of a female beaver he would not eat it. They
told him that the flesh of the male beavers was all finished long ago.
They forced him to eat a large piece of meat, and when he had swallowed
it they gave him more of it. The second piece was no sooner down his
throat than a large river gushed from his side. The Indian jumped into
the river, while the rest ran away in terror and, as these latter looked
down the river, they saw the man swimming by the side of his wife who
had been a beaver.
_The venturesome hare._--A hare, which had lost his parents, lived with
his grandmother. One day, feeling very hungry, for they were extremely
poor, he asked his grandmother if he could set a net to catch fish. The
old woman laughed at the idea of a hare catching fish, but to humor him,
she consented, for she was indulgent to him because he was her only
charge and looked forward to the time when he should be able to support
her by his own exertions, and not to rely on the scanty supplies which
she was able to obtain. These were very meager, as she was infirm, and
dreaded exposure. She then told him to go and set the net, but added
that she had no fire to cook them with, even if he should catch any. The
hare promised to procure fire if he caught the fish. He went to set the
net in a lake where he knew fish to be plentiful. The next morning he
went to the net and found it to be so full of fish that he was unable to
take it up. He lifted one end and saw there was a fish in every mesh of
the net. He shook out some of the fish and then drew out the net. Part
of the fish were buried, and a large load taken home. He put the fish
down outside of the tent, and went in. He told the old woman to clean
the fish and that he would go across the river to the Indians’ tent and
get the fire with which to cook them. The old woman was speechless at
such proposed rashness, but as he had been able to catch so many fish
she refrained remarking on his contemplated project of obtaining fire in
the face of such danger. While the old woman was cleaning the fish he
went back after the net which he had put out to dry on the shore of the
lake.
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