Once upon a time two women who were with child quarreled with their
husbands and fled from their families and friends to live by themselves.
After having traveled a long distance they came to a place called
Igdluqdjuaq, where they resolved to stay. It was summer when they
arrived. They found plenty of sod and turf and large whale ribs
bleaching on the beach. They erected a firm structure of bones and
filled the interstices with sod and turf. Thus they had a good house to
live in. In order to obtain skins they made traps, in which they caught
foxes in sufficient numbers for their dresses. Sometimes they found
carcasses of ground seals or of whales which had drifted to the shore,
of which they ate the meat and burnt the blubber. There was also a deep
and narrow deer pass near the hut. Across this they stretched a rope and
when the deer passed by they became entangled in it and strangled
themselves. Besides, there was a salmon creek near the house and this
likewise furnished them with an abundance of food.
In winter their fathers came in search of their lost daughters. When
they saw the sledge coming they began to cry, as they were unwilling to
return to their husbands. The men, however, were glad to find them
comfortable, and having staid two nights at their daughters’ house they
returned home, where they told the strange story that two women without
the company of any men lived all by themselves and were never in want.
Though this happened a long time ago the house may still be seen and
therefore the place is called Igdluqdjuaq (The Large House).