a7 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

The three boys followed the dwarf to Nuskiaxek’s house, which they found to be similar to their own, except that seals were running around on the floor instead of dogs; these are, in fact, dogs to the people of the Land of Ashes. On looking around, they saw to their consternation their missing companion, dead, and hanging spitted through the mouth like a salmon. They further saw that their hosts were eating human heads; they fish for human beings as mortals fish for salmon. The boys cried out in horror at sight of their dead comrade and, when Nuskiaxek asked them the reason of their exclamations, they told him their story. He said nothing, merely invited them to sit down, and brought them a human head to eat. When they declined this with expressions of disgust he killed one of the seals, on which they made a hearty meal. After his guests had eaten, Nuskiaxek removed the corpse of their friend from the spit, placed in the ears some stale urine, and rolled the body in a mat with only the head exposed. He gently massaged the body, spitting on it and on his hands as he did so, until, when he had rolled back the mat, the three youths saw their comrade restored to life. The joy of the four at thus being reunited was past expression.

They asked Nuskiaxek whether they might return home.

“Yes,” he replied. ‘‘Nodkxnum leaves shortly taking the berries and salmon to Bella Coola. I will find out the exact time of his departure and you can return with him.”

Nodkxnum left the next day, taking with him the four boys who had spent the intervening night in Nuskiaxek’s house. The journey home was uneventful. When their supernatural conductor had moored his craft at the submerged pile near the mouth of the Bella Coola River the wanderers found a canoe in which they returned home. Their friends welcomed them as returned from the dead, having abandoned hope of their safety during their year’s absence.

THE SALMON-BOY®!

One spring morning, soon after the first people had reached this earth, and when it was still sparsely populated, some women were cutting and cleaning salmon on the beach. As one of them, whose name was Ma- qwants, sliced open a fish, she saw inside of it a diminutive baby boy. At her cry of wonder, all her companions rushed up; there was much talking and excitement. Nearly all advised her to kill the infant because it was unusual and, therefore, to be dreaded, but one wise, thoughtful man told her to tend the child carefully; after some deliberation Magwdnts decided to

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*'For another version of this story see Boas, p. 73.