GAMES 379 but the Bella Coola do not consider this aspect and the children grow up in an atmosphere entirely lacking in restraint of speech. Some stories teach a moral lesson, but they are re- counted merely for entertainment. At the present time, no one knows who invented the stories; they have been handed down from dim antiquity and alterations or embellishments are considered improper, while the composition of new tales appears to be unknown. Another pastime is smoking. Among some Indian tribes the practice has a definite religious significance, but this ap- pears to be lacking among the Bella Coola. Most of the men enjoy either a pipe or cigarettes, and some of the women also indulge, but few carry the habit to excess. All the older people afirmed that their ancestors had smoked for generations. Tobacco was not grown, but kinnikinick, milix~‘, was used, and also a plant known as /saix‘. Another smoking mixture was bark of isxwafefp, toasted before a fire until dried and brown, and then crumbled between the hands. These materials have given place entirely to imported tobacco, and the white man’s pipe has replaced the native one. The latter consisted of a gooseberry cane from which the pith had been extracted; sometimes a small bowl of elderberry wood was added, but often the mixture to be smoked was simply placed within the end of the hollow stem. Adults, especially the men, are addicted to gambling. They are fond of placing stakes on a race or other trial of strength, and enjoy all kinds of games of chance. Some of the younger men have mastered a few of the simpler games of cards on which they spend a certain amount of time and money. The favourite gambling game, however, is one found in all parts of the coast, which is played with a pack of fifty-four smoothed crabapple sticks. The rules are complicated and no effort was made to learn more than the general principles. The pieces are divided among the eight or ten contestants and concealed; then one player guesses in whose hand a certain marked stick is hidden. If he is successful, the others pay him a forfeit; if *