74 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

and leapt away apparently uninjured. The Bella Coola say
that yearling goats have very strong spirits (I, p. 94) which
make possible such actions.

Though generally callous with regard to the sufferings of
animals, the Bella Coola are usually careful not to kill more
than they need; and knowledge of the supernatural power
possessed by animals sometimes leads men to treat them with
great consideration. For example, if a bull-head is caught in
an olachen net in the river, the fisherman throws it back into
the water, saying:

“T have saved you; please do the same for me.”

The following incident, believed without question by the
Bella Coola, shows the manner in which bull-heads help those
who have often befriended them. About 1880 a Kimsquit
fisherman, A#fakdn-i, fell into a rapids where he was in
great danger of drowning. A bull-head, seeing his plight and
mindful of former help, increased his size and shoved Affakani
ashore with its nose.

“T have saved you, mortal,” said the bull-head, as he did so.

The ability to increase in size is not restricted to fish, but is
shared by small mammals and reptiles. Lizards, for instance,
four feet in length, are said to live permanently in a pond
about seven miles below Kimsquit; they are termed qwalas.

Toads, too, can aid mortals. If aman see a snake devour-
ing one of them he will, if he is wise, kill the snake and say to
the toad:

“Please help me when I am in difficulties.”

A toad never forgets its obligations and if that man should
fall into a river when the toad is near, the latter will grow
large enough to drag him forth.

Snakes are regarded with aversion and disgust. This may
be in part due to the belief that they cook for Ai#at-iaiut
(I, p.49), but more because these reptiles enter the stomachs
of human beings. The Bella Coola believe that snakes are the
offspring of a supernatural Mother of Snakes, a mythical being
of dread powers. The following story illustrates their beliefs