There is a strong suggestion in this story that the giants were whales.
This and the incident of their inhabiting a mysterious country beyond
the sea and the fog would identify them with the enchanted land of the
Eskimo, visited by the Angakok in their trances, and by others in
_kayaks_. This country was named _Akilinek_, "a fabulous land
beyond the sea." The whole story of Malaise, the man who traveled to
Akilinek, is in every detail extremely like an Indian tale. (Rink, page
169.) It has also a Norse affinity. The land of the giants was supposed
by both Icelanders and Indians to be in the North Atlantic. There is a
Norse tale of a man changed to a whale which indicates a common origin
with the one here given.
It is believed that the _m'teoulin_ can, when speaking, make
themselves heard to whom they will, at any distance. They, can confer
with one another secretly when miles away, or make themselves known to
many. I was informed by an Indian in all faith that an old witch who
died in 1876, twelve miles from Pleasant Point, was heard to speak in
the latter place when at her last. A very intelligent Passamaquoddy
told me that when Osalik (Sarah) Hequin died he himself heard all she
said, though sixty-five miles distant. I am certain that he firmly
believed this. This woman died a strange death, for she was found
standing up, dead, in the snow, with her arms extended and "hands
sticking out.
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