342 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

and one was held up by the bow paddler as the craft neared the
shore to protect him and those behind from arrows and stones
cast by slings. When not in use, shields were laid away in
boxes with some white substance resembling flour. On the
shore of the fiord below Bella Coola, opposite Winter Bay,
there are some boulders of the same white tint; even now
these are often spoken of as “The Shields of the Bella Coola.”
It is said that hostile raiders, seeing them, used to remark that
they had reached the outposts of Bella Coola.

The same lack of leadership shown during preparations for
a war was evident during hostilities. The so-called leader had
little authority over his men, who could desert and return home
at any time. Lack of martial ability among their own chiefs
sometimes led the Bella Coola to place themselves under the
authority of a Bella Bella in a way which would be impossible
for a war-like people. Frequently such divided leadership led
to disaster, and is the surest proof that the Bella Coola were
not as aggressive or bellicose as other coastal tribes.

Except when attacking the Carriers, all raiding parties
embarked in canoes and followed a definite order of procedure
handed down from the past. In the stern of each craft sat the
captain, a chief, who, as the craft was leaving, began to sing
his xe-t#a song, keeping time to it with the beats of his paddle;
the recounting of the glories of their ancestors was supposed
to encourage the warriors. Instead of leaving simultaneously,
a rendezvous was often chosen down the fiord, and the expedi-
tion finally moved off from there when all the canoes had ar-
rived. While still in friendly territory, a flotilla proceeded
openly. A small amount of dried salmon and water was car-
ried by a war party and morsels of the former were eaten at
intervals. The bow-man took as much food and drink as he
thought could be consumed at one sitting, put a fragment of
dried salmon in his mouth, chewed it four times on the same
side of his mouth as he was paddling, and swallowed it. Then

‘Some undetermined substance said to have had protective or preservative
qualities.