The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-02
FOLK LORE HERE And IN ASIA,
THE JONAH STORY ~ AN ann.
RIGINAL AMERICAN FORM.
curious Myth ~ the Raven. and Wan,
Home stories OF the Peoples Living
In America and In Asia Which SHOW
Them 10 Iia,c Been q I nil *, Race Once

|
Interesting results Of the curiously fssci-
mating study Of folk lore, cleaned during the
Josup North Pacific expedition. show
that the folk stories Of the Inhabitants
OF both shores of the Northern Pacific
Ocean are many of them Identical and
almost all Of them intimately related. For
TINS reason, among others the ethnologists
nave come TO the conclusion that these
| corners Of the old and new continents have
been the home Of united race at some
Former period Of the worlds history.
| These results of the researches OF New
! lork Investigators have Just been formu-
| lated and were given to the recent congress
OF americanists held here, in paper by
MI "aldemar Bogoras Of the American
Museum OF Natural History, a member of
the Jesup expedition. which paper few of
the persons attending the congress we're
! able 10 hear. The myths and home stories
oi Vi" people occupying that part Of North
| America northwest Of a line drawn freely
! speaking. from tho Columbia River IN
Hudsons Bay, and overspreading a similar
area OF northeastern Asia, become the
more interesting for the help they give in
showing at this time that these people
were once united race and have retained
their lore, scarcely modified since their
separation Ivy the invasion Of some former
Esplimau people
The parallel between the Asiatic and
the American tribes. Mr.. Bogoras found
gained In strength as ono passed from
fhat"ria! life to the psychical and religious
culture OF the people. The material for
ms comparison was drawn from moro than
Nv" hundred legends and tales, which were
collected. He pointed out, too, that the
foiH lore OF northeastern Asia was etssen-
italy different from the NEUROLOGICAL
cycle Of the people in the territory border
ing that occupied by these America -Asia,ic
, tribes on its inland side.
The demons and creatures Of the fancy
il general he said. have wholly difIeren,
| forms. Instead of one-eyed and one 10 Rred
| spirits breathing forth fire. riding on SIX
| legged, four-winged iron steeCis and wrcst
ling with similar mounted knights, clad In
| metal or altogether metallic, there appear
! monsters of maritime origin: sea were
| wolves, which Ia the summer swim around
in the shape Of whales. but in the winter
come TO the shore and transform themselves
into wolves: fierce poar-bear monsters
with huge paws and bodies Of solid ivory,
salmon men and cannibal spirits from
| across the sea.
Skin boats wing In swiftness with birds
s"lf-moving canoes covered with lids like
sEuf-boS; adventurous travellers along
distant shores and among the islands.
and visiting strange and unseemly tribes;
all these are the motives most frequently
occurring in northeastern Asia, and mos,
Of them occur in the folk lore of northwestern
America"
The ribad stories of these people separated
by the Pacific Ocean also conceded. Mr.
Bogoras said, adding: ON account of their
very ircongruity they arrest attention and
suggest a common source"
He said that by the name Of Kelet the
Tchuktchees designated three different
classes OF beings, more or less akin TO each
other. The first elias. were evil spirits
who walked invisible about the earth. pro-
ducng diseases and preying upon the human
soul land body These were always desc rib. d
a. n tribe living very much as the tribes of
mon, in villages, needing food and obtaining
II by hunting mon with harpoons and nets.
Human souls are like fish or seals to
them" he said. reciting this mythology
OF the primitive peoples; they come In
the night time to human dwellings. nut
their nets across the entrance, and then
begin TO poke with long poles under the
tent-skirts, for the purpose Of driving
out the souls of the slcepers from the pro,
tccting cover of the inner room. How
ever, the spirits themselves are not immune
from the attacks Of certain magcans
among morals."
The second class of the "Keet- were
hostile, earthly tribes, more or less fabu-
lous. The third class were the spirits
that respond TO wizards calls and help the
wizards in their medicine and magic. These
are described by the Tchuktc hees in the
manner following:
over the steep banks OF tho river there lives man
voice lives there and speaks aloud
saw the master OF the voice and spoke with him
lie subjected himself to me and sacrificed to me
The small gray bird with the blue breast
sings wllnri songs In the hollow OF the bough
Gals her Sprl'S ana practlses magic.
The woodncckcr strikes his drum In the tree
WIN MS drumming nose; under the axe the tree
trcmhlcS
md walls Ike drum under the beating stick
Al INA, exists lives. The lamp walks around
The walls Of the house have voice Of their own.
The skins sleeping In the bags talk at night
Tho antrrS lying In the towels
Arise al night and walk IN procession around the
mound,
While the deceased get up and visit the living
Mr.. Borgoras mentioned among others
those tales Of the peoples among whom he
worked; The whale skull carving away
a young woman. who afterwsrd In rescued
by her brother and returns to her land
in u boat pursued by q whale.
The man who married . white goose