3. Yukaghir Tale

3. YUKAGHIR TALE.

There were two sisters. One time they walked about and met Kosetóka. ² The first sister saw him, and immediately let herself fall down, pretending to be dead. He came to her and investigated the body. He found an aperture in the hind part, and said, "Ah! this is the wound." Then he put his finger into the wound and smelled of it. "Ah!" said he, "bad odor. Probably she was killed long ago." Then he stooped down and smelled of the pretended wound. "Too bad!" said he, "I will not eat of it." ³ The other sister was deaf, and did not hear his words. All at once she looked back and saw the monster. "Ah, ah!" said he, "this is fresh meat. I will cook some of it for today." She retorted, "Better let us go and have a little play! After that you may eat me." They went to a lake which was frozen. "Let us have our play hereon the ice." The woman had two round stone scrapers concealed in her bosom. "Here, sister! what shall we play!" asked the monster. The woman put her hand into her bosom and took out one of the scrapers. This she jerked out suddenly, and threw it on the ice. It rolled down with much noise. "Ah sister! you have there some very nice playthings."--"You also have similar playthings between your legs. There are two of them. You may tear off one and throw it on the ice." He put his hand between his legs and roared with pain. "Quick!" said the woman, "tear it off and throw it down!" He threw his testicle

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down on the ice. It made a shuffling noise and stuck to the ice. "Ah, ah!" roared the monster, "now it is your turn!" The woman jumped up and jerked out the other scraper. Doing this, she also roared feigning great suffering. "Go along! It is your turn now!"--"Ah, sister! it is too painful."--"For shame, I, a woman, can stand as much." He tore off the other testicle, and immediately fell down on the ice. He was dead and the woman ran home. "Ah, ah!" said she to her sister, "I have killed him. We tried a new game, all of my own invention, and I killed Kosetóka." The end. ¹

Told by Anne Sosykin, a Russianized Chuvantzi woman, in the village of Markova. Recorded by Mrs. Sophie Bogoras, winter of 1900.

Footnotes

127:2 The narrator said that this was a Yukaghir "bad spirit." She knew nothing more about this spirit.--W. B.

127:3 See references in Boas, "Kutenai Tales" (Bulletin 59, Bureau of American Ethnology), 296, No. 16--F. B.

128:1 See notes in Boas," Tsimshian Mythology" (Thirty-first Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, 1916), 680.