a7 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

The three boys followed the dwarf to Nuskiaxek’s house, which they
found to be similar to their own, except that seals were running around
on the floor instead of dogs; these are, in fact, dogs to the people of the
Land of Ashes. On looking around, they saw to their consternation their
missing companion, dead, and hanging spitted through the mouth like a
salmon. They further saw that their hosts were eating human heads;
they fish for human beings as mortals fish for salmon. The boys cried out
in horror at sight of their dead comrade and, when Nuskiaxek asked them
the reason of their exclamations, they told him their story. He said
nothing, merely invited them to sit down, and brought them a human
head to eat. When they declined this with expressions of disgust he
killed one of the seals, on which they made a hearty meal. After his guests
had eaten, Nuskiaxek removed the corpse of their friend from the spit,
placed in the ears some stale urine, and rolled the body in a mat with only
the head exposed. He gently massaged the body, spitting on it and on his
hands as he did so, until, when he had rolled back the mat, the three youths
saw their comrade restored to life. The joy of the four at thus being
reunited was past expression.

They asked Nuskiaxek whether they might return home.

“Yes,” he replied. ‘‘Nodkxnum leaves shortly taking the berries and
salmon to Bella Coola. I will find out the exact time of his departure and
you can return with him.”

Nodkxnum left the next day, taking with him the four boys who had
spent the intervening night in Nuskiaxek’s house. The journey home was
uneventful. When their supernatural conductor had moored his craft at
the submerged pile near the mouth of the Bella Coola River the wanderers
found a canoe in which they returned home. Their friends welcomed
them as returned from the dead, having abandoned hope of their safety
during their year’s absence.

THE SALMON-BOY®!

One spring morning, soon after the first people had reached this earth,
and when it was still sparsely populated, some women were cutting and
cleaning salmon on the beach. As one of them, whose name was Ma-
qwants, sliced open a fish, she saw inside of it a diminutive baby boy. At
her cry of wonder, all her companions rushed up; there was much talking
and excitement. Nearly all advised her to kill the infant because it was
unusual and, therefore, to be dreaded, but one wise, thoughtful man told
her to tend the child carefully; after some deliberation Magwdnts decided to

SUSE eS CCN ns Ce

*'For another version of this story see Boas, p. 73.