470 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

whom, moreover, he made a shaman. The boys were able to make some
return present to Nuskiaxek, whose wife had eyed the skin cloak covet-
ously; this they presented to her. In the course of a few days the boys
expressed a desire to go home.

“That is easy,” said Nuskiaxek. ‘Your land is not far away, just a
mé-tgi’’®

Nuskiaxek showed them their home, and indeed it appeared to them
as if it were less than an inch away. When he sent them off he warned
them not to open their eyes, otherwise the journey would be a long one,
but that if they kept their eyes closed they would reach their destination
almost immediately. The boys did not know what kind of canoe they
were in, and it was not till later that they found they were with Nodkxnum,
the bringer of the salmon. The wanderers sensed the proximity of their
own land, and opened their eyes to find themselves in front of their own
village. They had been absent a whole year.

THE BOYS WHO DRIFTED TO SEA
(Second Version)

Once upon a time, long, long ago, when a number of lads were bathing
on the tide-flats at the head of North Bentinck Arm, one of them, a boy
of fifteen or sixteen years, swam out to a huge log which was floating a
short distance from the shore. He clambered on to it and, finding it
comfortable, called out to his companions to join him. Three younger
boys did so. It was early in the afternoon of a warm sunny day and the
four soon fell asleep, stretched on their stomachs, and lulled by the gentle
movement of the water. Late in the afternoon the other bathers went
home, without disturbing the four sleepers. The sun had set before the
eldest of the boys awoke to find that the log had drifted so far out to sea
that not even the peaks of the mountains were in sight. Dismayed, he
roused his sleeping companions, who, realizing their plight, cowered to-
gether in fear. It began to grow cold. One of the boys discovered that
their craft was hollow, with an entrance at the end from which roots had
grown. The four crawled inside, where it was warmer, and spent an
uncomfortable night with their craft pitching and tossing on the waves
of the open sea.

The next morning when the eldest boy, who was the first to awaken,
crawled to the entrance of the log he saw, projecting down from above,
the tail of a bird which must have been perching on the very end of the
shell. With a quick motion he seized the tail, by which he dragged a

®°A mé-igi is a measure of distance equal to the width of the thumb and one
finger.