Sacred-Texts Native American Inuit
Index Previous Next
THE orphan boy Inoosarsuk was greatly loved by his foster-mother, but not by his foster-father. p. 429 One day, when the father was out on a seal-hunt, the mother told Inoosarsuk she was tired of seal-flesh, and ordered him out in her husband's other kayak to catch some frog-fish. He remonstrated, saying that his father had forbidden him to take the kayak; but still she went on desiring him to go, at the same time assuring him she would clean and put it back all right in its place. Notwithstanding, the father coming home observed that it had been used, and beat Inoosarsuk till he could not move for pain. Another day his mother went on persuading him in the same way to take the kayak in order to go out and get her some quannek (the eatable stalk of Angelica archangelica), growing near the shore, a little up the firth. But when he had ascended the hills in order to fetch her some, and came back to the beach, he found, to his great alarm, that the tide had carried away the half-jacket belonging to his foster-father's kayak. On approaching home he got so frightened at the thought of his foster-father that he passed it by and turned right out to sea. Having rowed beyond the outermost islands he suddenly remembered his two amulets, a quannek and an old whetstone; and jumping out on a flake of drift-ice, he planted one of his newly-gathered stalks, calling out, "Thus shalt thou remain standing erect,"—an invocation to secure him calm weather. Like Giviok, he passed by the ocean-lice for Akilinek, and having first encountered the cannibals, he afterwards fell in with the women who captured fishes by putting bladders to them at low tide. From the cannibals' chimney a black smoke arose in the air, but from that of the latter a white smoke was seen. Among these he was very kindly treated, but still he at last grew tired of his sojourn; and one day pretending to row a little in the neighbourhood, he took himself far off, and fled to the south. At length he arrived at a wide firth; but thinking it too long to enter, he resolved merely to cross the inlet to the opposite shore. When half-way across he saw what he fancied p. 430 was a rock; but on coming closer he found it to be an enormously big kayaker, who took hold of him and lifted him up quite easily, kayak and all, in one hand, and put him down before himself on his own vessel, intending to take him home as an amulet for his little daughter. When they approached the homestead of the giant, something like a big iceberg was standing in front of the house; on closer inspection it proved to be an enormous gull, which the giant's daughter was in the act of catching. Inoosarsuk was now brought up to the house and put upon a shelf near the window. During the night he took a fancy to some very nice-looking eatables lying behind the lamp. He managed to slide down on the side ledge, but finding it quite filled up by the giant's sleeping daughter, without any room left where to put down his foot, he had no choice left but to step along her one leg; unfortunately he lost his footing and fell down. The giant's daughter on being awakened in this way, and unconsciously grasping him, had nearly eaten him up, but luckily remembered that he was her little amulet. The giant seeing Inoosarsuk's dismay and utter dejection, at length put him down on the floor, and covered him up with his large cloak, saying, "Thou shalt grow as big as that, as big as that." He forthwith cornmenced to grow, and was soon as tall as the daughter, after which the giant furnished him with a kayak of suitable size. He now remembered his foster-parents; and longing to take revenge for the many blows he had formerly got, he crossed the ocean, and soon found the place where they had formerly lived. But the house was laid waste, and the old people buried beneath its ruins. He then returned to pass the rest of his days at Akilinek.