WARFARE 351

arrow downwards from his station above the doorway so that its obsidian
point pierced the face of one of the assailants. This was obviously the
same man, so a Kimsquit chief promptly slew him as a first taste of
revenge. From the captive woman it was learnt that Tecdisa himself was
at Bella Bella. Here was a golden opportunity, but the Bella Coola
wasted it through divided counsels. Some wanted to proceed to Bella
Bella to capture Tevdisa himself, others to continue to Kitkatla and attack
during the absence of their warrior-chief. Either plan might have been
successful, but as usual there was no central authority and days were
wasted in idle talking. At length they determined to assault the village,
and cautiously drew nearer for the purpose. The same futile discussion
delayed matters, but at last one night some of the attackers lurked in
the woods behind the unsuspecting town, while others guarded the canoes
hidden at a distance.

Meanwhile Tcidisa, while at Bella Bella, had heard that a Bella Coola
raiding-party had set out. He knew that its objective would be his own
village, so he hurried home in a fast travelling canoe with relays of pad-
dlers to obviate delay through camping at night. Under cover of darkness,
he passed unmolested into Kitkatla at the very time that the attackers
wereinambush. Though unaware of this, Teidisa acted with promptness.
He called his followers together and told them what he had learnt in
Bella Bella, and that from the time which had elapsed since he heard the
news, the enemy must be at hand. Drums were beaten and all the
community called together in readiness. The lurking Bella Coola over-
heard the preparations, but could not make up their minds to attack
instantly; some wanted to do so, others desired to wait for dawn, and
once more lack of leadership caused an opportunity to slip by. Just at
daylight the assault was launched. With a wild yell the Bella Coola fell
upon the town, but the Kitkatla were on the alert, their arms beside
them, and the onslaught was a failure. The first rush was driven back,
so the assault degénerated into a sporadic musketry duel which continued
throughout the day with advantage to the assailants although the casual-
ties were heavy on bothsides. Tcidisa owned a small brass cannon which
he fired as a signal to-other towns of the Kitkatla to rally to his assistance,
and the Bella Coola were forced to consider the possibility of hostile
reinforcements arriving at any time. Some of the attackers tried to burn
the village by crawling on the roofs and setting them afire, but the wary
defenders pulled them through the smoke-vents and killed them. In the
afternoon several canoes came hurrying up, filled with allies summoned
by the fring of the cannon. As they sped past the place where the Bella
Coola canoes were concealed, they noticed one of the sentries and took
a few long-range shots at him. One struck him on the wrist, and the