STORIES 437

water*® River, a short distance above its junction with the Bella Coola. The
soil in the vicinity was of clay, supporting a heavy, but not dense forest
growth. At that period it was the custom of the Bella Coola to cover a
corpse with skins and place it in a crouching position in a box, which was
lashed with sinews and suspended from a tree. The inhabitants of this
town became worried when, on the morning after a funeral, the coffin
would be found on the ground with the lashings cut, and the body re-
moved. The son of a commoner suggested to a friend, the son of a chief,
that they try to solve the mystery. It was thought that a sorcerer must
be robbing the coffins, so the two planned that the young commoner
should be placed in one alive, and hung from a tree, with full funeral rites,
while his comrade watched from ambush. This plan was carried out.
The place of disposal for the dead was some distance from the town, but
connected with it by a well-cleared straight trail. The son of the chief
lay concealed in the bushes, and the townspeople provided themselves
with resinous sticks for torches, in case their assistance should be needed
in dealing with the malefactor.

The boy in the coffin kept watch, and presently he saw approaching,

not a sorcerer, as expected, but a smumig. The creature leaped for the box,
ripped its lashing, and pulled it to the ground, where he hauled out the
supposed corpse. The smug stuffed the boy into a basket carried on his
back supported by a tump-line round his forehead; it was provided with
spikes, projecting inward and downward to prevent the escape of anyone
within. The boy continued to feign death, while his friend roused the
town. A good trail led along the Whitewater for about twenty miles,
and over this the smug travelled at a tremendous speed, ability to move
rapidly being a characteristic of these animals. Across the trail lay two
windfalls which had never been cleared away because they were at such
a height that a man could pass under them. The boy knew of these fallen
trees and planned to grip the first in passing, hoping that the animal
would be unable to turn round to get at the basket, and, therefore, would
be pinioned. He did this, and hung on as long as possible against the
straining of the sug, but at last was forced to emit wind through his
rectum and release his hold. The animal thought the pannier had been
caught in the tree-fall till he heard the sound made by the boy and grew
suspicious. He took off the basket, removed his prey, and laid his hand
over his heart, but the lad held his breath long enough to deceive the
smmg. The youth made another attempt to escape at the next fallen
tree, but again he was forced to give up and emit wind. This time the
smug was still more suspicious, but again the boy succeeded in holding
his breath for a very long time and escaped detection.

They had now reached the base of Mount Tsodx, which was ascended

“The Atnarko.