“We had no sooner landed, than we took possession of a rock,
where there was not space for more than twice our number, and which
admitted of our defending ourselves with advantage. in case we should
be attacked. The people in the three first canoes were the most
troublesome, but, after doing their utmost to irritate us, they went
away.’ 3

The search now becomes a matter of detail. The
first thing is to look for a village site, which can usually be
recognized by the nature of the vegetation. A little to
the north of Elcho Harbour a bright green patch of alder
catches the eye at once. Examination shews that this
was once the site of a village “‘in a situation calculated for
defence.’” There is a commanding view, the nature of
the country behind offers excellent protection, while the
canoe landings at each end afford a means of escape to
the north or south by way of Dean Channel, or towards
the west by way of Elcho Harbour. On the southern
canoe landing are a couple of petroglyphs, carved on
boulders a little below high water mark. The presence of
the petroglyphs apparently tends to confirm the supposition
that the place is an o!d village site. One of them, which
is in a remarkably fine state of preservation, somehow
seems to convey the warning that ‘‘Trespassers will be
Prosecuted.”” Dr. C. F. Newcombe, who has very kindly
examined the photograph, points out that the object in its
lower right hand corner is a “copper,” *! and that parts of
the design bear a strong resemblance to others on the
coast which have been interpreted as the ‘“‘Cannibal
Spirit,’’° a personage whose name | omit as special type
is apparently necessary to give an idea of its sound.

To the south of the village site is an isolated rock
which answers to Mackenzie's description. Its sides are
nearly vertical for the greater part and overhang on the
inland side, while in other places they have been built

% See page 346, Mackenzie's Voyages.

24 A part of the ceremonial dress of certain chiefs. These coppers were originally
beaten from the native copper, but after the advent of the traders sheets of the manu-
factured article were used. They represented wealth and social standing and were
frequently engraved with a crest of the chief who owned them. The top of the copper
was in the form of a bow, the sides straight and sloping towards each other for a dist-
ance, the remainder being parallel. The bottom was straight. The largest coppers
were about three feet in length. For further particulars see ‘“The Social Organization
and Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians,’’ by Franz Boas, Washington, 1897,

353

2 25 Amongst the Kwakiutl Indians of whom the Bella Bellas are a tribe the cannibal
spirit is known as BaxbakualanuXsiwae. For a full account of this spirit and the
cannibal dances, see Boas “‘Social Organization and Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl
Indians,” III, p. 437, ete. “‘Dr. C. F. Newcombe was a recognized authority upon the
history of the Northwest Coast and upon the manners and customs of its Indians. He
died on 19th October, 1924.”

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