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Updated: April 30, 2025
This, however, did not relieve the widow of her obligation to pay the "Ongootkoot" for his valuable services, and as she was very poor and had nothing with which to meet it, Puneunau took the widow herself for his fee. The Inupash believe there are spirits wandering through space. Occasionally one of them, becoming discontented, desires to enter the world as a human being.
It was during one of these latter occasions that he discovered the art of running a small slim stick down his throat without injury or great discomfort. After the death of the chief, Puneunau returned to the village, claiming he could perform a marvelous feat, and in proof of the assertion he ran the stick down his throat, then went around uttering guttural sounds.
The thing seemed wonderful in the eyes of the villagers, gaining for him the reputation of being an "Ongootkoot." One thing troubled Puneunau, however: he was still a widower, much against his will, not for any lack of perseverance in offering himself to all the neighboring widows, but because none of them would accept his offer. At last that slight difficulty was removed.
A widow belonging to another tribe came to the village with her children, and her son being ill, Puneunau offered his services to cure the lad. Day after day he would go to the iglo, run the stick down his throat, then walk around uttering gutteral sounds, but the boy refused to be cured and finally died.
His fame extended throughout the surrounding country, his services being solicited from far and near, and he soon became quite prosperous, the rule among "Ongootkoots" being the greater the pay, the more efficacious the treatment. At a far more recent day it was discovered that a certain Puneunau had a great admiration for his neighbor's dogs, he considering them a toothsome dish.
The chief banished him from the tribe, with the warning that if he returned, the death penalty would be inflicted. In his wanderings Puneunau led quite a checkered career with its accompanying hardships. Several times starvation seemed to stare him in the face.
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