154 THE BIG CANOE

the killer whale was so filled with ice that he ap-
peared to be choking to death.

Not a soul was abroad in the village. All remained
within the warm Haida houses where they were very
comfortable beside the great fires that roared on the
gravel hearths beneath the smoke holes. There was
plenty of firewood, and the lodges were so stoutly
built that none of the inmates feared the storm. There
was plenty of food, also, in every house, for the
Haidas were a thrifty race and always, during the
summer, filled their big food boxes with enough pro-
visions to last them through the long rainy months of
winter.

In the chief's lodge were many people—his own
large family, his slaves, and the wives and children
of his relatives who had been killed in battle. Shim the
Story-teller was present also. Poor old Shim was wel-
come everywhere, but he was most often found in the
chief’s big lodge, where he acted as jester and en-
tertainer.

As the long stormy day wore on, the children be-
came noisy and quarrelsome. For many hours they
had been shut up in the big room where they had
played games, raced back and forth along the wide
platforms, hid behind the food chests piled high on the
upper level, and quarreled and screamed and wrestled
until the chief’s wife, who had been a famous Niska
princess before her marriage, noted the frown upon
her husband’s face and hurried to the upper ledge