458 . THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

live a race of sturdy dwarfs called Snutsdlétst by the Bella Coola. They
have all moved away, but the exodus could not have taken place many
hundred years ago, because the ruins of the underground houses in which
they lived are said to have been visible as late as about 1870. Once
upon a time a youth went from Stuix to Axydtt, a place where bufalo-
berries were plentiful; during the day he became thirsty and knelt
to drink at a spring. At length he reached the town of the Snutsdlitst
people who rushed at him, asking:

“Where did you find the bear?”

“T found no bear,” he replied, somewhat puzzled.

“How then did you get your knees stained with earth?”

“Why, I knelt to drink at a spring.’

“That’s it!” cried the dwarfs.

They rushed off in all directions to prepare sharp sticks for digging.
When these were ready they insisted that the now thoroughly mystified
youth should guide them to the spring from which he had drunk, Un-
willing to anger his hosts, the lad consented, but his curiosity was not
lessened when at the spring the dwarfs proceeded to dig a number of holes
in a rough circle around it.

Soon one of the diggers called out, “Here is a [bear] leg!”

The lad looked into the hole and saw that it was the leg of a matsqus.

The Szutsdlatst people redoubled their efforts until they had uncovered
the animal which they killed, much to the fear of the Bella Coola youth.
He accompanied them back to their town where the matsqus was cut up,
amid the rejoicing of the Szutsé/dtst, who then proceeded to eat it. The
lad watched with horror, and refused to take part in the feast.

Afterwards the dwarfs began to strengthen their houses by placing
additional planks over the cracks, and stuffing the smaller crannies with
moss and mud. In answer to their visitor’s inquiries, they replied:

“You will see our danger soon enough. Every year we are attacked
by migrating birds, especially hummingbirds, which penetrate every-
where. We have had a feud with the birds for years. They attack us
every spring, but this year we are specially terrified, because the early
migrants have not yet come and we are afraid that all the birds are gath-
ering to assault us in a body. We kill many of them every year, but it
seems to make no difference in their numbers or their ferocity.”

The lad had noticed that many of the dwarfs were blind, and that

not many years ago. In time the historical setting will unquestionably be for-
gotten and the account will be considered purely as a tale. :

Another version states that the dwarfs had, in some mysterious way, realized
that he had power to locate the winter sleeping-places of bears.