438 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

in a diagonal direction until swumg’s home was reached, an underground
house entered by a hole in the roof which also served as a chimney. The
boy was carried in and thrown down at the base of one of the walls, where
he lay as if dead though taking stock of his surroundings through half.
closed eyes. A double-ended stone knife hung near the doorway, while
on the walls were numerous articles that had been placed in coffins, such
as skins and tools. A female smimig and two young ones were in the house
and one of them took the lad’s cloak, leaving him naked. The two young-
sters began to play with his testicles, and asked their parent if they might
have them for earrings.

“No,” the father said. ‘This is no ordinary corpse. I am going to
make earrings for your mother from the testicles.”

Meanwhile the female was cooking a meal of human flesh. Glancing
about the walls, the boy saw numerous corpses, or parts of them, hanging
up like salmon; they were bodies which had been taken from coffins.

After eating, the male smug sharpened his knife and prepared to skin
the boy. He seized his chin and raised his head, so that he could blow
on his throat to clear the hair away for a free passage for the knife—as the
Bella Coola do when skinning animals—and made a vertical incision in
the neck and chest. The victim had waited for this, in order that he might
have proof of his adventure when he returned home. He uttered a low
hoot, such as is made by supernatural beings, and the s#umg drew back in
surprise. Whereupon the boy hurled a brand from the fire at the other
animals, seized the hanging knife, and fled. When he reached the base
of the mountain he found that the smug was pursuing him, without the
basket. The animal tried to fascinate and intimidate him by emitting
flashing beams from his eyes, but without success, for the lad had now
supernatural power. The smug was gaining on him when he reached the
Whitewater, but he dived, swam under water, and emerged safely on the
other side. The animal lost time in searching the river bottom, but when
at last he saw the boy on the other bank he plunged rapidly down the
river-bed in pursuit. The lad again escaped by swimming to the other
shore, and in this manner the chase continued down the valley, the youth
crossing and recrossing the river whenever the sug came close to him.
Meanwhile his comrade had remained watching the trail near the village.
When he saw a solitary figure approach, he sent word to the town that
one of the search party, sent out after his friend, was returning. But all
of them had already come back, so they knew it must be the hero himself,
and all the villagers turned out to greet him. When the still pursuing
sninig saw so large a number of people he returned up the valley.

The boy related his experiences, and in proof of his veracity showed
the wound on his throat and chest. He suggested that it would be an easy