22 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

the neighbouring Carriers, but Chilkotin as well sometimes
descended to the valley. On the coast, though the dense under-
brush prevented travel along the shore, the long fiords, shel-
tered from the open Pacific, were ideal for the use of canoes.
Comparatively lengthy journeys were neither difficult nor
uncommon. The Tdl-io people were usually on amicable
terms with the inhabitants of Rivers Inlet, and the Kimsquit
with the Kitlobe. The Bella Coola were accustomed to attend
potlatches at Alert Bay and Fort Rupert,!’ Knight’s Inlet,
and Bute Inlet, receiving their hosts, in turn, at Bella Coola.
On the other hand, there was little friendly intercourse with
the northern tribes, of which the Kitkatla especially were dread-
ed by the residents of the central coast. Until recent years the
Bella Coola had no direct knowledge of other Salish-speaking
peoples, although some of the Chilkotin told them of a tribe
living far to the south, in the interior, whom they encountered
in some of their wanderings and used to term Nuxalkimx, recog-
nizing the similarity between their language and that of the
Bella Coola. A few years ago several Bella Coola attended a
boarding-school and were amazed to find that many of their
words were understood by fellow-students from Chilliwack.

To sum up: The Bella Coola were in close contact with
the neighbouring coastal tribes, with the members of which
they felt themselves to have cultural affinities. They recognize
that they have received many ceremonial rites from their
neighbours, and must have adopted other elements of culture
which they now consider indigenous. It is probable that cer-
tain Bella Coola customs must likewise have been transmitted
to other tribes, but such lie without the scope of this mono-
graph, The outlying villages were in close contact with foreign
neighbours, and tended to assimilate elements of their culture,
but, on the whole, the Bella Coola present a tribal unity with
distinctive local customs, falling within the general pattern of
coastal culture.

1sFor types of canoes, see Appendix A.
The principal Kwakiutl villages.