30 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS ;

the Indian. A native convert, for example, finds no difficulty
in understanding the Old Testament, for the frequent mani-
festations of the supernatural are like those to which he has
been accustomed. One intelligent Indian went so far as to
say that he was a better Christian than any white man because
he believed every word in the Old Testament, while he had
heard that white men doubted the historical accuracy of some
of the stories there recorded.

The following incident illustrates rather clearly the attitude
of the Bella Coola towards the supernatural. A few years ago
a party, consisting of a number of Indians and one white man,
was proceeding by canoe up Dean Channel. On the shore,
some distance ahead of them, they saw what seemed to be a
grizzly bear with its pelt showing the white sheen so much —
desired by hunters. Hoping for a shot at the animal, they |
paddled in behind a long point which offered a hidden means
of approach. But as the canoe cautiously rounded the tip,
within easy rifle range, all that could be seen was a white
water-washed stump, somewhat resembling a bear in shape. —
To the white man it was obvious that they had all been de-
ceived by this resemblance in the distance, but to the Bella
Coola it was equally obvious that the bear had changed into
a stump. A bear had been there, they had seen it, now there
wasastump: “The bear must have changed itself,” they said.

If the reader grasps the mental attitude which explains an
optical illusion as a manifestation of the supernatural, he will
be able to comprehend the important part played by super-
natural beings in the lives of the Bella Coola. Creatures of
this type, some anthropomorphic and others zoomorphic, range
not only the mountains and forests of British Columbia, but
also the waters beneath and the sky above. Their true home
is on the flat country above the sky; most of them are merely
visitors to this world. Supernatural beings of all kinds are
termed siut. The attitude of Indians towards them, and their
concepts concerning them, can best be understood by the stories
in vol. I, chap. x, and vol. II, chap. v. Bella Coola beliefs are