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The immense region lying between Hudson's Bay on the east and the Rocky Mountains on the west, and stretching from the Peace River north to the Arctic, is one of peculiar fascination alike to the scientist and the traveller. The difficulties of travel have, however, been such that few men, other than those connected with government expeditions, have penetrated to the remoter parts. Dr. Russell, in the course of the three years which he spent in the Fur Countries, may therefore be considered fortunate in that he was able to push a considerable distance northeast of the Great Slave Lake, crossing the route followed by Hearne in 1771-72, and nearly reaching Bathurst Inlet. On his return from this extremely arduous trip, the author descended the Mackenzie to its mouth, and returned to San Francisco by one of the Herschel Island fleet of whalers, visiting the Siberian coast on the way.

As Dr. Russell states in his preface, the main object of his trip was "to obtain specimens of the larger Arctic mammals," and, as this was a task requiring the greater part of his time and energies, he was able to collect but little in the way of folk-lore from the tribes belonging to the Athabascan stock. He does, however, give some details as to distribution and population. From the figures it is evident how extremely thin the Indian population of the region is, and by comparing the figures for previous years, it is evident that no marked change has taken place in their numbers for long periods. Some linguistic material was collected, but except for the names of the months, the numerals, and a few other words, the bulk of this has been reserved by Dr. Russell for further elaboration.

While at Grand Rapids, however, in the autumn and winter of 1892, Dr. Russell collected from the Wood Crees a number of myths, which will be most welcome to students of Algonkian mythology. With few exceptions, the myths are of the common Algonkian type, and vary only in details from those of other northern Algonkian tribes. The stories of how Wisagatchak's brother was turned into a wolf; how he himself secured a wife; how he brought on the Deluge and recreated the earth,—all find their counterparts in the tales of the Ojibwa, Menomeni, etc. Of those stories which deal with the more humorous side of Wisagatchak, most are very close to the same stories told of Nanabojo. He is caught by the tree, and his dinner eaten by an enemy; he captures the water-fowl by strategy while they are dancing; and is pinned to the earth by the rock with which he runs a race. In the first of the myths given (the familiar story of the woman and her serpent lovers), the ending differs considerably from the two versions given by Petitot (and called by him "mixed Dene and Cree ")