of the Narwhal
I. Story of the Three Brothers
Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq the Cannibal
The Woman and the Spirit of the Singing House
Origin of the Adlet and of the Qadlunait
Comparison Between Baffin Land Traditions and those of Other Tribes
Arlum Pissinga (the killer’s song)
IV. Song of the Inuit Traveling to Nettilling
XIX. From Bessels’s Amerikanische Nordpol-Expedition
Eskimo Words Used, with Derivations and Significations
Eskimo Geographical Names Used, with English Significations
Introduction
The following account of the Central Eskimo contains chiefly the results of the author’s own observations and collections made during a journey to Cumberland Sound and Davis Strait, supplemented by extracts from the reports of other travelers. The geographical results of this journey have been published in a separate volume.1 A few traditions which were considered unsuitable for publication by the Bureau of Ethnology may be found in the Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, 1887. The linguistic material collected during the journey will be published separately.
Owing to unfortunate circumstances, the larger portion of the author’s collections could not be brought home, and it has therefore been necessary, in preparing this paper, to make use of those made by C. F. Hall, 1860–1862 and 1865–1869; W. Mintzer, 1873-’74, and L. Kumlien, 1877-’78. Through the kindness of Professor Otis T. Mason, I was allowed to make ample use of the collections of the National Museum and have attached its numbers to the specimens figured. The author’s collection is deposited in the Museum für Völkerkunde at Berlin. I am indebted to the American Museum of Natural History; to Mr. Appleton Sturgis, of New York; to Captain John O. Spicer, of Groton, Conn.; and to Mrs. Adams, of Washington, D.C., for several figures drawn from specimens in their possession.